INDIANAPOLIS – With several options, Gus Bradley focused on one description for his defense’s performance in Sunday’s 45-33 loss to the New York Giants.
Embarrassing.
It was a shared shame among Bradley, his staff and the players.
“Listen, we all feel it,’’ the Indianapolis Colts’ third-year coordinator said Tuesday. “I think that if you’re not embarrassed by what took place on Sunday, well then, you’re probably the wrong person to be in the Colts organization.
“It burns you.’’
Or should.
Despite the season-long issues with the defense – not good enough against the run, not good enough at getting steady pressure on the quarterback, not good enough getting off the field on third down – the Colts faced one of the NFL’s worst offenses on Sunday in a game they absolutely had to win to maintain a playoff pulse heading into Sunday’s finale against Jacksonville.
Veteran defensive tackle DeForest Buckner stated the obvious: “As the entire team, we s**t the bed another year and it’s frustrating.’’
No area was more exposed than Bradley’s defense.
“First of all, I think the overall performance on Sunday was embarrassing,’’ he said. “As the leader, it’s my responsibility for our overall play and I take that responsibility.
“I think accountability starts with personal accountability. When you don’t hold yourself accountable as a player, then we have to do it as a coaching staff.’’
Bradley and his defense have been a lightning rod all year. The defense has ranked no higher than No. 28 in total yards allowed and No. 27 against the run all season. It’s been running uphill – no pun intended – since allowing 474 rushing yards and 800 total yards in season-opening losses to Houston and Green Bay.
The noise has reached a crescendo in the past two games. Including the second half against the Tennessee Titans and Sunday’s mess at MetLife Stadium, the defense has allowed 61 points, 555 total yards and an average of 6.7 yards per play.
The Titans and Giants generated eight TDs and one field goal on 16 possessions, excluding a pair of kneel-downs, during that six-quarter stretch.
Taking it a step further, the defense has allowed at least 30 points in three straight games and four of the last seven.
Bradley didn’t attempt to diminish the culpability of the entire defensive staff.
“It’s our job to put the players in position to make the plays and to make the calls, allow them to be successful,’’ he said. “We didn’t get that done on Sunday.
“We have to take ownership of this and that’s what we’re doing as a staff.’’
Bradley was asked whether he’ wa’s worried about his job security.
“I think I would worry about it if I wasn’t embarrassed,’’ Bradley said. “Is it accountability or is it ownership?’’
He insisted the accountability within the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center isn’t an issue.
If a player is late to a meeting, he gets fined. If performance dips, an individual’s playing time diminishes.
“All those things are taking place,’’ Bradley said. “But is it the personal accountability?’’
He made it clear there’s a point when performance is out of his hands.
The Colts have been one of the NFL’s worst-tackling teams all season. Blame Bradley and his position coaches for improper teaching methods, or players who either haven’t gotten the message or are incapable of properly executing.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Colts have missed 162 tackles this season. Only the Atlanta Falcons (163) have more. The 15-1 Kansas City Chiefs have a league-low 101.
Linebacker Zaire Franklin leads the NFL with 165 tackles, but has missed 21 others, according to PFF. Linebacker E.J. Speed has missed a team-high 24 tackles and safety Nick Cross, who’s 9th in the league with 138 tackles, has missed 17.
The only blame Bradley would shoulder on the wave of missed tackles dealt with preparation, not execution.
“You guys (the media) are all too smart – the fans are too smart – for me to sit here and say I take ownership on the missing tackles or some of the effort issues or missed assignments,’’ he said. “But I do have to take ownership on if the techniques aren’t taught properly, if there’s a poor call based on situations that we’re playing in or players just aren’t in position or players just aren’t in position to make the plays.
“That’s on me.’’
As is the overall performance against the Giants. Backup quarterback Drew Lock passed for 309 yards and four TDs, and ran for another. Rookie wideout Malik Nabers torched Bradley’s secondary for seven catches, a career-best 171 yards and two TDs.
The Colts allowed six plays that gained at least 30 yards, including receiving TDs of 32, 31 and 59 yards. Missed tackles – a total of 10 after a staggering 18 against the Titans, according to PFF – contributed to the wave of explosive plays.
Coaches have met with the players this week to rehash how it all went so wrong.
“It’s that old cliché, right?’’ Bradley said. “Each game, there’s one or two plays in a game that can determine the outcome.
“There were 10 plays in this game. Ten plays that determined the outcome of the game and that’s far too many. I think they all had a chance to see those 10 plays and see what took place.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.