GREEN BAY, Wis. — Colts coach Shane Steichen is standing behind defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
But the Colts head coach also made it clear the Indianapolis defense needs to get fixed after hemorrhaging 474 yards in the running game through the first two weeks, leading to an 0-2 start for a team that has playoff hopes.
Bradley was asked earlier this week if he’s worried about his job security in his third season as the team’s defensive coordinator, and after another dismal performance on the ground, Steichen was asked if he’s confident Bradley can fix the defense.
“Absolutely,” Steichen said. “One hundred percent.”
Bradley explained the team’s ugly run performance in the season opener, in part, by saying that Indianapolis focused its game plan on slowing down Houston’s big-play passing attack.
The Colts cannot say the same this week.
An injury to Green Bay starting quarterback Jordan Love forced the Packers to start backup Malik Willis, and the Packers clearly wanted to throw the ball as little as possible. Willis attempted just 14 passes, and the Packers threw just five passes in the first half.
It didn’t matter.
Green Bay ran all over the Colts anyway, piling up 237 rushing yards in the first half, the most Indianapolis has given up in a first half since the Jaguars in 2006.
“I think the biggest thing there is we have to get it fixed,” Steichen said. “It starts with myself. I am the head coach, and we have to get in our meeting room on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and get it fixed. That is the bottom line. We have the guys in the locker room to do it. I have no doubt about that, I’m not going to lose any faith in that. We just have to get it fixed.”
Bradley is in his third season as the Colts defensive coordinator, a holdover who was retained by Steichen after being hired to run the defense in Frank Reich’s final season as head coach. Bradley’s defensive unit collapsed down the stretch in the fires of an ugly 2022 season, and in 2023, Indianapolis finished 28th in the NFL in scoring defense, 24th in yards and 20th in defensive DVOA.
Doyel: With holes on their roster and coaching staff, 0-2 Colts are teetering on edge of disaster
Bradley’s job security was questioned at the time.
But Steichen elected to roll with the defensive coordinator, who he’s known since they coached together with the Chargers. In the past, the Indianapolis head coach has expressed alignment with Bradley in the coordinator’s emphasis on preventing big plays — an emphasis that means Indianapolis does not blitz often — and he cited his belief in continuity as a reason to retain Bradley after the 2023 season.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard also defended Bradley by saying that he did not believe he’d given the coordinator a secondary experienced enough to play the style of football Bradley prefers to play.
Indianapolis is once again dealing with deficiencies on defense this season. The Colts lost starting cornerback JuJu Brents to injured reserve with a knee injury last week, did not have strong safety Julian Blackmon against the Packers and lost their two best pass rushers, DeForest Buckner and Laiatu Latu, to right ankle and left hip injuries, respectively, on Sunday.
The Colts have not been able to find any answers for their first two opponents defensively.
“I don’t know if I look at it and go, ‘Oh boy, I wonder if I’m on the hot seat,’” Bradley said when he was asked about his job security last week. “I think you always feel like that. You want to do what’s best for the fans, the organization, the players, the team. You’re always in that competitive mindset, because you’re competitive.”
From the sounds of it, Bradley will have a chance to find answers to his defense’s problems.
The Colts need him to find them quickly.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")