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As a Colts season ticket holder now, i wonder the same thing you wonder, why don't teams run more against the Colts? Well, went back and watched a few games to try to figure this out. And a friend and I did see something interesting.
The Colts give up big chunks of yards on some run plays. but then will stop a couple in a row. Example: They will give up a 30 yard rush, which leads to a first down. Then they will stop 3 runs in a row for a combined 8 yards, forcing a punt. The stats will read: 4 rushes for 38 yards, which is a 9.5 average. Yet you still are forced to punt. Sometimes you have to go down field to keep the safties honest, and that plays into the Colts favor.
Perfect examples of this was Jacksonville and NE. Jacksonville ran for about 200 yards and lost, because the Colts forced them to punt a lot. 140 yards were on two possessions they scored on. That left 60 for the whole rest of the game. Two scores are not going to beat the Colts.
In the NE game the Pats ran for almost all their yards on their scoring drives, but were forced to throw on 3rd and long many times, leading to turnovers.
I don't think NFL coaches are dumb, they just realize you can't run every down on a NFL defense, even a poor one. If you get stopped on the first 2 downs, you're allowing our pass rush to pin their ears back and come full speed.
P.S. Bob Sanders makes a HUGE difference!
The Colts give up big chunks of yards on some run plays. but then will stop a couple in a row. Example: They will give up a 30 yard rush, which leads to a first down. Then they will stop 3 runs in a row for a combined 8 yards, forcing a punt. The stats will read: 4 rushes for 38 yards, which is a 9.5 average. Yet you still are forced to punt. Sometimes you have to go down field to keep the safties honest, and that plays into the Colts favor.
Perfect examples of this was Jacksonville and NE. Jacksonville ran for about 200 yards and lost, because the Colts forced them to punt a lot. 140 yards were on two possessions they scored on. That left 60 for the whole rest of the game. Two scores are not going to beat the Colts.
In the NE game the Pats ran for almost all their yards on their scoring drives, but were forced to throw on 3rd and long many times, leading to turnovers.
I don't think NFL coaches are dumb, they just realize you can't run every down on a NFL defense, even a poor one. If you get stopped on the first 2 downs, you're allowing our pass rush to pin their ears back and come full speed.
P.S. Bob Sanders makes a HUGE difference!
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