Big Cat Country
As the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 14, we sat down with Chris Shepherd of Stampede Blue to learn more about the opposing side.
Question 1: The Colts began the season 7-1 with 33.8 points per game (PPG) but they’re 1-3 with 21.8 PPG over their last four contests. Beyond a tougher schedule, what led to this decline?
Better opponents have played a part but also defenses are adjusting to what Indy is doing and so far the offense has yet to develop a counter. Early on it felt like Daniel Jones was great under pressure and Shane Steichen was giving him answers for everything on every play. In the last month it seems like teams are heating Jones up and instead of there being a quick win option underneath, Jones is trying to navigate free rushers while his receivers are running slow-developing deep routes.
So teams are loading the box to stop Jonathan Taylor and blitzing Jones and it’s working. Personally I feel that the Colts have gone to 12 personnel too often, taking slot receiver Josh Downs off the field in favor of a blocking tight end. Downs is too talented to take off the field in any situation that isn’t short yardage.
The defense has actually been much better of late, which is the opposite of what the Colts were earlier in the season. If the offense gets back on track, the Colts could be a really difficult team to deal with.
Question 2: How have injuries to DeForest Buckner and Sauce Gardner impacted Lou Anarumo’s defense?
Sauce has played well but it’s pretty clear he isn’t completely comfortable. That said, his presence allowed Anarumo to call a lot of man coverage, something he wants to do.
But losing Buckner has been a far bigger blow. Buck blows up runs and is almost impossible to shut down when you block him one-on-one all day. He’s just so good and his loss is felt on almost every down. The Colts actually have solid rotational DTs behind him, but Buck is just so good it’s impossible for them to replace what he gives you with any combination of players.
Question 3: If you were gameplanning against the Colts, which areas would you look to exploit?
If I’m the Jaguars this week I’m loading the box and sending the blitz at Jones until Indy shows they can beat it. It’s still possible Jonathan Taylor takes one 80 yards to the house on a play you thought you had him stopped for a short gain on. But it’s possible to keep him around 4.0 YPC if you sell out stopping him.
On offense, I find Grover Stewart before each snap and run the ball away from him. If I’m not running the ball, I’m going to try to force mismatches against Zaire Franklin in coverage. Franklin has been a great Colt despite his often annoying...
