Colts
The root of the Colts’ struggles this season can be traced to the fall of their once-elite offensive line. The numbers are dismal. The Colts are 27th in yards before contact and 29th in rush yards per game despite facing the fewest stacked boxes of any team. They’ve allowed 26 sacks and 122 pressures, which are 31st and 30th in the league. And they’re spending twice as much on their line as they are any other position group on the roster, and are fourth in the NFL in that category.
The Athletic’s Zak Keefer talked to retired LT Andrew Whitworth and Trench Warfare’s Brandon Thorn, an offensive line analyst, to try to dissect the problem for the Colts. Whitworth says things started to go wrong when the Colts bet on career journeyman Matt Pryor to hold down the fort at left tackle.
“Any time you’re trying to hope that somebody’s going to play well at left tackle in the NFL, it’s usually not a solution for success,” Whitworth said. “Because then you don’t really have a guy who you think is ‘The Guy’ … and for that to be a position where you aren’t comfortable moving Quenton there — and I agree, leave him where he is — and you don’t have somebody else? I really think they should’ve been in the Terron Armstead business in the offseason. I’m sure they were [Keefer reports they weren’t a finalist]. And you don’t win out on those moves, that kinda sets you back in how you’ve invested in the draft.”
Thorn agreed the Colts’ problems started when they bet on Pryor and OL Danny Pinter as starters when they weren’t good enough or ready for the roles. That has had a cascading effect on the rest of the line, who have not played up to their reputations or contracts.
“Then the issues just started compounding,” Thorn said. “To me, it looks like [center] Ryan Kelly just isn’t the same guy. There’s just no movement being created by Ryan Kelly in the run game. He’s not a bad player, but he’s not in that top 5-6 conversation that he was a few years ago.”
The struggles have even reached elite G Quenton Nelson, who has had some uncharacteristic struggles, to the point where Whitworth wondered if he was playing hurt. He hasn’t been on the injury report all season, per Keefer.
“I think Quenton’s still really good,” Thorn said. “Honestly, I think this whole time, people have gotten a little ahead of themselves with Quenton. Yes, he’s a generational prospect. I agree. But it wasn’t like he was Zack Martin. To me, Martin is a little different with the consistency of technique. Quenton is more of a mauler. His mental processing is remarkable, but in terms of pure technique, with his hands and feet time and again? It’s not at the level of Zack Martin and Marshal Yanda. He’s still the best left guard in the league, but now it’s a little closer … He’s the least of their worries.”
- Thorn added the rest of the line taking a step back has hurt RT Braden Smith, who has been bounced back and forth a bit between tackle and guard: “He’s a really good run blocker and solid pass protector, but solid gets beat.”
Jaguars
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence said the team is better than what their record shows and they want to match potential to production.
“I’ve said it before and I’m kind of sick of saying it, but we know we’re a good team,” Lawrence said, via the team’s website. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to go win.”
Lawrence said a lot of the team’s losses have come down to one or two possessions. They’re looking to change their fortunes and close out the tight games.
“The way it’s gone, each game has kind of been its own story of what has happened, but still the same message of, ‘Right there and losing by a possession,‘” Lawrence said. “Obviously that starts to bubble up. People start to get frustrated. I was frustrated for a couple of days after the game and even carrying into today – it just gives us that edge to go back and work.”
Lawrence took the blame for the team’s losses and vowed to continue working in order to put his team in a better position to win.
“I know I didn’t give us the best chance to win, and I’m disappointed in that,” Lawrence said. “Guys work too hard for that. There’s definitely frustration. Guys talk about it, and I think that’s the great thing about our team. Guys communicate. You don’t put on a smile and act like everything’s all right. It’s not. We’ve lost five in a row. Everybody’s pissed and frustrated. Not at each other. There’s no pointing the finger. But we all understand and have that dialogue of what we need to do. Everybody knows what we need to do. We just need to go do it.”
Texans
- Texans WR Brandin Cooks was a hot name at the trade deadline this week and there were serious negotiations with multiple teams. But among the reasons nothing happened, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, is that the Texans would have needed to eat 60-70 percent of Cooks’ $18 million guaranteed base salary in 2023, and they weren’t willing to do that.
- Regarding the two sides finding a resolution after failing on a possible trade, ESPN’s Ed Werder reports it’s a fluid process between both sides and Cooks potentially being released is “very unlikely” given the guarantees in his contract.
Titans
- Titans RB Derrick Henry said there is no concern about his foot after being listed on this week’s injury report: “My foot is fine. There’s nothing wrong, I’ll be out there on Sunday playing. [My] foot is fine, there’s nothing to panic about.” (Jim Wyatt)
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