The Colts are making a change on defense after a rough opening week, and Shane Steichen thinks it could clean up a lot of the noise.
Following Indianapolis’ 41-23 loss to the Ravens in Week 1, the Colts are moving the green dot from S Camryn Bynum to LB Akeem Davis-Gaither. Steichen said the switch should sharpen communication across the defense and take some of the burden off Bynum on the back end.
“I think it’s gonna be better for everyone from a communication standpoint,” Steichen said, via Abby Halpin of the team’s site. “It’ll free Cam up on the back end, as well as to communicate with (the secondary).
We’ve got a lot of respect for Cam. He knows the defense really well.”
Davis-Gaither said he believes handling the signal-calling duties can help settle things down for the entire unit, from the secondary to the defensive line.
“I think it’s definitely going to calm the back end down,” Davis-Gaither said. “Calling at the line and running back 15 yards has to be tough, trying to get your reads, keys and stuff like that.
It helps everyone when the back end is calm, next level is calm. d-line is calm. Everybody can just play fast and be ready when the ball is snapped.”
Bynum didn’t sugarcoat the performance after the Colts gave up 506 yards to Baltimore.
“That’s never the standard. That’s awful for us as a defense,” Bynum said. “We just got to execute better, get off the field on third down, but also be better on first and second down to create a tough third down.”
In Houston, David Montgomery gave the Texans a bright spot even in a Week 1 loss to the Bills. He scored two touchdowns, and DeMeco Ryans made sure to point out that the work up front mattered just as much as the finish.
“David did an outstanding job today and David doesn’t do a great job without talking about the offensive line,” Ryans said, via TexansWire. “I thought those guys controlled the line of scrimmage really well, especially in those short-yardage critical situations.
We were able to press forward, gain a yard, keep our offense out on the field. David ran it well.
Woody [Marks] also ran it well. I really love where we’re head with that one-two punch at the running back position.
Those guys did a really great job.”
Over in Tennessee, Cam Ward is not backing away from his own standards after a Week 1 loss to the Jets. The rookie quarterback finished 19 of 32 for 140 yards and a touchdown, and while he says he knows he can play at a high level, he also knows the work ahead.
“I think I am a very good quarterback,” Ward said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s site. “I think I do a lot of things different, that a lot of quarterbacks can’t do.
And there’s also stuff I have to get better at, some things that I lack and that’s a process you take on each and every day. I have great coaches around me to keep pushing me to the level I want to play at, and when the tide turns I am pretty sure it’s going to be a different story.”
Ward said he’s taking the usual next step for a young quarterback: circling back, correcting, and getting ready to do it again.
“I am very critical of myself - I want to be a great player, whether it’s for myself or the coaching staff,” Ward said. “It’s: ‘What can I do to be the best for the team, and for us to be our best.
So that’s continue to take coaching for myself and get back to the drawing board and making plays happen. You are always going to have some type of adversity, whether it is middle of the season, late in the season or midseason.
The biggest separator is how you handle it.”
Ward also said Tennessee didn’t play well as a group in Week 1 and wants the film to look better moving forward.
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Clowney was one of the brighter spots in the opener, even as Houstons defense struggled overall, so any setback with his availability changes the conversation around this matchup. The Texans will keep monitoring him leading up to the game, and whether he can suit up against Cincinnati is now one of the more important injury storylines on their side. [Read more 🡒]
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For Houston, it is also a reminder of how quickly the AFC South picture can shift when a rivals defensive centerpiece is healthy. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has already been in the position of defending C.J. Stroud after a rough outing, pointing more to defensive breakdowns than to the quarterbacks turnovers, and matchups with Indianapolis figure to carry plenty of weight if Buckner is back to anchoring that front the way the Colts expect. [Read more 🡒]