Colts lose Flacco: Is the offense’s strategy the biggest flaw?

The Colts had the unenviable task of abandoning their Anthony Richardson development plan because the management thought Joe Flacco might elevate an offense whose luck had run dry through eight games.

Flacco has efficiency, the ability to call the signals on the offence and experience that Richardson had not yet acquired as a QB during weekly preparation.

Nevertheless, the Colts lost something in order to get something, and the Minnesota’s defense sorted out the Flacco version of Shane Steichen’s offence in a 21-13 loss, the worst offence game of the season.

Flacco is probably surprised he couldn’t get going with a game like tonight he said. To come in here and play against a squad such as this is going to be difficult, but I don’t believe that is something you would hope for.

Flacco meant a night when the Colts had a season-low 227 yards of offense, 68 rushing yards and no offensive touchdown. It came from Grover Stewart as he dispossessed Vikings’ Sam Darnold of the ball and handed it to Kenny Moore II who took it home to the only end zone.

The Vikings complicated, blitzing style under the inspirational defensive coordinator, Brian Flores comes at you like a Mexican burrito with sev affordable and several levels and coverage abilities.

At the same time, Flacco appeared to be better equipped to navigate the complexity of it.

Nevertheless, he mostly bought into the hard part of Minnesota’s strange expectations: thrilling and disheartening. During the Colts final drive the Vikings recorded three sacks, all of which came when the Colts needed a touchdown.

Most of the time, Flacco could throw.

Flacco: “I thought we did a good job. He was not to blame for what may have been achieved by singling up the lads, I think our guys did a great job upfront. But our mistakes and lack of sequestration was more of an issue.”

On Sunday night, Flores did not complicate things for the Vikings; he adhered to one basic rule: Whatever he called, Flores wanted two safety over the top to stop Alec Pierce from making a run down the field.

Steichen said, “They did a great job, defensively, there on the two shell, pretty much the entire game staying over the top. ” Sometimes, we need to be looking for ways to hit those chunk against different formations.

Indianapolis has been an awful side in terms of offence with Richardson’s 44.4% completion percentage, the lowest in the league.

While this can be considered being careless, there is more to his style of taking the ball down the field as we shall see. Normally Richardson composes great dramatic works.

Flacco once had a cannon for an arm and that was why Indianapolis signed him; he should throw for more yards than Gardner Minshew who left so many yards behind him on the field last year.

Tyrod has proved in four games this season that he cannot beat a team that plays back. Flacco’s yards per attempt for the season is 6.6, the submitter but the Indianapolis passing game with Flacco has been petty save for Pierce’s late outburst against Jacksonville’s terrible coverage.

Flacco will have a hard time trying to unlock a well-organized team like the Vikings that suffocate with an overdose of over the top pressing. The safeties must be lowered in a traditional way by Flacco.

Flacco said to run and finish underneath. “You must try to sustain drives early in the game and possibly get them out without doing that. Complete some passes and run the ball.”

Running the ball is harder with Flacco than with Richardson.

Indianapolis has been reluctant to run Richardson, possibly to protect a player who has struggled with injuries in the first two seasons, but a player who has averaged 5.9 yards per carry this season can open holes even against the best run defenses.

Minnesota has a defense.

Prior to Sunday night’s game, the team was third in NFL running yards per game and yards per carry. Indianapolis star Jonathan Taylor logged just 22 of the first three runs of the game, then 25 of the next 10, paralyzed by a Vikings defense that merely had to key on him.

With J.T. and whatnot, we have to run the football efficiently but we’ll clean that up, Steichen added. “I have full faith and confidence they will clean it up.”

There are more play constrains in the Flacco offense than principle ones.

This proves Flacco’s scouting value adds another dimension to the Colts’ repertoire, which make for better reading of the games.

“I know there are definitely a lot of different things that we can call, just because of his experience,” Taylor said. “Not many RPOs. … In fact, Joe can check these play calls. For instance, a former Colts quarterback termed Philip Rivers could call anything.”

However, philosophically, a defense can limit the Colts’ options by stealing elements of Steichen’s playbook by playing.

Therefore, not all defenses play out like Minnesota’s situation. Some do not have the capability of corralling Taylor or at least putting a spy on all of Steichen’s deep passing targets like the Colts’ mastermind has done in Indy so far.

But Indianapolis has to string drives together when a defense can do both and the Colts have not done that this season. On Sunday night, Indianapolis had the football for 23 minutes, six seconds; they’ve been averaging nine fewer minutes to their opponents all year.

“We’ve got to stay on the field,” Taylor added. This is the NFL. We must assemble drives.”

Curtis and Leaf have each been able to lead the Colts to victories this year.

When Flacco is taking snaps at quarterback, they believe they can triumph.

If we had a week of practice, wide receiver Alec Pierce said. “In-game, it’s more challenging due to different play types. I think we get along with both.”

Indianapolis changed to open offense.

Minnesota showed on Sunday night that Flacco does not address all of Indianapolis’ offense’s problems.