Judging by the 31-3 drubbing over the Baltimore Ravens, it appears the proverbial light switch has come on for the Indianapolis Colts.
By far their most complete game of the regular season to date, the Colts dominated the Ravens en route to their first Lucas Oil Stadium victory and first home victory in their past five contests.
Now above .500 for the first time this season, head coach Tony Dungy said overall, the team is beginning to capture the level of play that has been essential to their success in his tenure at the helm.
āWe played faster, we werenāt as hesitant to pull the trigger a little bit faster with our linebackers and secondary,ā Dungy said. āOnce we got the lead, it becomes a lot easier to play. Really itās just playing sharper more than anything else.ā
Though itās difficult to pinpoint the exact time of the teamās turnaround, Dungy asserts the beginnings of tangible improvements, particularly on the offensive end, materialized during the teamās bye week.
āWe just had some routine practices, we werenāt game planning, we werenāt dialing up plays against another teamās defense, we were just out there practicing and I thought we got sharper over the bye,ā the coach said. āWe made some progress against Houston, every week just a little bit sharper on offense.ā
Prior to their week six showing, the teamās offensive performance had raised questions as to whether the unit was hitting its downside. Of course various factors, most notably Peyton Manningās injury recovery and lack of game time, have stunted the teamās cohesion.
For Reggie Wayne, who is evolving into the teamās number one-A receiver, the question was never if the Colts could hit an offensive stride, the question was always when.
āWeāre doing what weāre supposed to do, just believing in each other, taking what they give us, making plays offensively,ā Wayne said. āLeaning on the defense, they were getting three-and-outs and giving us the opportunity to get back on the field. You give us a lot of opportunities eventually weāre going to figure things out.ā
Though offensively the consensus was that time would heal consistency issues, the defense can attribute their improved play to a specific point. Since the team trailed by 17 in week five versus the Houston Texans, the defense has asserted itself, playing fast and making tackles that had been missed much of the seasonās first quarter.
Added defensive captain linebacker Gary Brackett, the unitās confidence received the shot in the arm that had been lacking following that improbably victory.
āWe talked about playing with that passion we had the last three minutes of the (Houston game),ā he said. āI think that was our message early on in the game. How we played those three minutes, letās play the whole 60 minutes like that, and guys bought into it went out there and really played some dominant defense.ā
Assuming Sundayās thrashing was no aberration, the Colts would be hitting their stride at a most opportune time. With Baltimore in the books, the remainder of this quarterās schedule includes contests versus opponents that will be in the hunt for a playoff berth come the end of the season.
The Colts return to NFC North play this weekend as they travel to historic Lambeau Field for a date with the new-look Green Bay Packers. The Colts follow the 3-3 Packers with a critical week eight contest against the AFC South leading Tennessee Titans.