Indianapolis, IN
Colts coach Shane Steichen was asked if he’s confident Gus Bradley can fix the defense.
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.
INDIANAPOLIS – Josef Newgarden exited Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 76 laps early after spinning into the outside wall in Turn 4 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; and a day later, Newgarden was in a walking boot.
Newgarden was seen and released from the IMS infield medical unit after the crash, although he didn’t do IndyCar’s procedural media interviews afterward. At Monday evening’s Indy 500 Victory Celebration, the two-time Indy 500 champion had a boot on his left foot on the red carpet. Newgarden claimed he will race in this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix, and he said the boot will stay on “until the cosmetics are complete.”
“It’s just a big hit — big whip, I think was the big thing about it,” Newgarden said. “So, just the nature of the angle of it, more than anything.”
Newgarden finished 28th in the race after appearing to have race pace worthy of competing for the win. He was fourth heading into the restart before losing control of his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.
“It’s a tough mistake,” Newgarden said. “You touch that curbing and it happens quick. I mean, I didn’t even realize I made a mistake until I was sideways, and the next thing you know, you’re in the wall. Some mistakes you can see them coming and you can counteract them. That one, unfortunately, I didn’t know until it was too late.
“It was my fault. I lost my sight line, and you can’t be touching that curb.”
After winning back-to-back Indy 500s in 2023 and 2024, Newgarden has exited the last two races early. Last year, it was a fuel pressure problem that ended Newgarden’s day. Newgarden, who made last-lap passes to win both of his Indy 500s, had to watch from outside the cockpit as Felix Rosenqvist passed Marcus Armstrong and David Malukas for the win in the closest finish the race has ever seen.
“I just wish I was in the fight at the end. It looked fun,” he said. “They had a great race going, and it would’ve been amazing to be a part of that.”
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — This Memorial Day, you can honor United States service members who made the ultimate sacrifice. Crown Hill National Cemetery is hosting a service at 11 a.m. on Monday.
In a Facebook post, the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs said, “Never forgotten. Always remembered,” encouraging people to attend the ceremony. Crown Hill is the final resting place for nearly 1,000 veterans and eligible dependents.
According to Crown Hill, the keynote speaker will be Michael Hershman, the director of Veteran Health Indiana. Music will be provided by the 38th Infantry Division Band, Indiana National Guard, and the Indiana National Guard Ceremonial Unit will provide military honors.
The service will be in the open area adjacent to the Crown Hill Columbarium Annex.
Parking Information
Guests displaying a valid disability license plate or placard may enter the cemetery’s main gate for on-site parking.
General parking will be available at Butler University Lot 45 (near the intersection of West 42nd Street and Haughey Avenue), with shuttle service provided to and from the grounds of Crown Hill National Cemetery.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man and a woman died Sunday night when their motorcycle collided with a small SUV, police say.
The names and ages of the two who died were not immediately available, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Don Weilhammer said from the crash scene.
IMPD was called to the collision just after 9:20 p.m. Sunday in the 7500 block of North Keystone Avenue. That’s just south of the White River bridge.
Investigators think the SUV was southbound and had a green light as it turned east toward 75th Street. That’s when the northbound motorcycle hit the SUV near its rear passenger door.
A witness at a nearby Walmart told IMPD that the motorcycle had passed the shopping area, which is south of the intersection, at a high rate of speed.
The driver and passenger of the motorcycle died at the crash scene.
A man and a woman were in the SUV. The man in the SUV received minor injuries, and the woman was unhurt. They remained at the scene. The IMPD captain said no one in the SUV was intoxicated. Their names were not immediately shared publicly.
No one witnessed the crash, the captain said. IMPD’s Kevin Winks was seeking anyone with information or video footage to contact the officer at 317-327-6549.
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