Colts' Defense Is 'Pissed Off' At Week 1 Performance, According to Darius Leonard
Sunday's performance by the Indianapolis Colts' defense against the Seattle Seahawks's high-flying offense simply wasn't good enough.
Though the Colts' offense dominated the time of possession on Sunday, holding the ball for nearly 35 minutes compared to nearly 25 minutes for the Seahawks, the Colts' defense simply couldn't get the job done, allowing the Seahawks to strike quickly through the air and on the ground.
Against the Seahawks, the Colts allowed 10 plays of 10-plus yards, including touchdown passes of 23, 11, 69 and 15 yards from Russell Wilson as the Colts' defense simply had no answers under Matt Eberflus in the home opener.
That rough debut in the 2021 season has some key Colts' defenders upset with themselves and the overall team performance coming out of the 28-16 loss, marking the eighth straight loss to open the season for the Colts.
"We got our ass kicked," Colts' star linebacker Darius Leonard said to reporters following the loss. "Especially in the first half, we didn’t do enough, and then in the second half we made some adjustments. We kind of got it going, but we didn’t have enough takeaways. If you want to win football games, you have to take the ball away, and we only had one. We have to make sure that we get more takeaways. They had two turnovers. If you count the fourth downs, there are takeaways there, so we have to be better there.”
The Colts certainly have to be better at taking the football away moving forward, especially as the Colts' offense comes along slowly while missing some key players and working in new faces.
The explosive plays have to be cut down on dramatically too, as the Seahawks racked them up left and right on Sunday on the road, winning individual matchups and taking advantage of certain play calls to put points on the board.
"It was just beaters. I mean, if you look at it, we’re in Cover 2," Leonard said regarding the long touchdown by the Seahawks to Tyler Lockett late in the first half. "(In) Cover 2, the middle of the field is under attack. They had a great game plan. Kudos to them, but we have to watch the tape and understand that when you play Cover 2, you have to understand that you’re going to have the Cover 2 beaters in. We have to find a way to stop them.”
That touchdown, which came on second and 20 following a sack by Colts' safety Khari Willis and defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, was a back breaker for a defense that was starting to make plays and get stops. Instead of forcing the Seahawks into a third and long, the Colts were lining up to try and block a point after attempt with the score nearing 21-10 at the half.
Though the Colts' defense bounced back some in the second half, the Seahawks had far too many pitch-and-catches on the day from Wilson to his top-flight receiving corps.
The beating the Colts' defense received on Sunday had Leonard in a sour mood following the loss, and rightfully so.
“The vibe – when you get your ass kicked, what do you think? You’re pissed off," Leonard said. "They come to the house, we’re at home, their defense talking trash – we didn’t do enough on our side of the ball defensively. You’re upset. We have to find a way to get the job done, so you have to watch the tape, see how you can improve and get better from there.”
The Colts' defense will need to get better in a hurry ahead of a Week 2 matchup with the explosive Los Angeles Rams' offense under head coach Sean McVay and new quarterback Matthew Stafford, especially after the Rams put up 386 total yards and 34 points against a Chicago Bears' defense on Sunday night.
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