Colts owner Jim Irsay: Team has to be tougher
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said that for his team to take the next step and get to a championship level, the team has to be "tougher."
Irsay made the comments after the Colts were blown out 45-7 by the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game.
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"When you get to this level, this championship level, we have to be able to be a tougher team," Irsay said, according to RTV6. “We have to be able to stop the run. We can’t turn it over.
“What’s missing is trying to continue to bring in a team that I talked about, which is a really tough defensive team," Irsay said. "A team that can run the ball and surround Andrew with that."
Indianapolis ran for 83 yards and had only 209 yards in its 11 offensive drives. New England ran for 177 yards, led by LeGarrette Blount's 30 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns. The Patriots scored touchdowns on each of their first four second-half drives, turning a 10-point halftime lead into a rout.
"It’s hard to find much good right now, fresh off this game." Colts quarterback Andrew Luck said, according to the Indianapolis Star. "I guess you could say that we took another step, but we had our sights set higher and obviously we’re not there."
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