Once again, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard found himself sitting in front of the media at his season-ending press conference, having to answer questions about the defensive secondary.
“We’ve got to get better,” said Ballard about the cornerback and safety positions.
While there was some good that came from this group, which included the emergence of Samuel Womack and strides made by Nick Cross and Jaylon Jones, the overall play on the back end still wasn’t good enough.
The Colts’ secondary allowed 7.6 yards per pass attempt–the fifth-most in football–and showcasing both the efficiency and big play ability that opposing quarterbacks had against this secondary.
Indianapolis also generated the fourth-fewest pass deflections, allowed the second highest completion percentage, and the 10th best opponent passer rating.
“That falls on all of us,” Ballard said of the defense via the Indy Star. “I bet on some young players coming through. JuJu (Brents) gets hurt, Dallis (Flowers) was coming off his injury, and at the end of the day, I did not give them enough. We have got to, in totality, do better defensively, from a player acquisition standpoint and from a play standpoint.”
Ballard’s approach in free agency and in the draft will be an important element in getting more production from this group. Added competition is a must.
However, another part of that equation will be new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s ability to maximize the skill sets of this position group, something he’s often done throughout his career.
While Anarumo had been the Bengals’ defensive coordinator for the past six seasons, his coaching roots started in the secondary.
That knowledge of the position and ability as a teacher and coach has obviously contributed to the on-field results. But also benefitting the defensive backs in Anarumo’s defense is his scheme.
Known as the ‘Mad Scientist,’ Anarumo’s ability to disguise what the defense is doing helps keep opposing quarterbacks off-balanced and guessing.
He accomplishes this with late movement, versatile defenders who can handle a variety of roles, along with utilizing a variety of coverage looks.
According to the Colts’ team site, from 2021-2024, here is the coverage distribution Anarumo utilized and its ranking:
– Cover-0: 5.1% (6th)
– Cover-1: 20.7% (13th)
– Cover-1 Double: 0.5% (6th)
– Cover-2: 14.9% (9th)
– Cover-3: 28.9% (22nd)
– Cover-3 seam: 4.8% (13th)
– Cover-4: 10.7% (24th)
– Cover-6: 7.0% (19th)
– 2-Man: 0.9% (17th)
The end result of all this has been a Bengals’ defense that has often ranked well at various times in certain pass defense categories during Anarumo’s tenure, whether that be in takeaways, ball production, yards per pass attempt allowed, or completion percentage.
And this also includes some impressive performances against some of the game’s top quarterbacks.
“You are going to identify what the team does well, identify who the problem players are, where is the great receiver and what do we have to do to slow them down,” Anarumo said via 107.5 The Fan. “Whoever or whatever the issues are we have to put them in front of the guys and say, ‘If we can take these guys away or minimize their damage in the game, we are going to give ourselves a chance to win.’”
Too often last season we saw this Colts’ pass defense plagued by big plays or the opponent’s top receiving option having a big day against Indianapolis. While there will be other factors that will have to contribute to improved play from the Colts’ secondary, Anarumo’s coaching background and defensive scheme can help with some of that heavy lifting.
