The Indianapolis Colts had a very disappointing performance in Week 1. There was a lot of excitement leading up to the matchup with Daniel Jones returning from injury. Shane Steichen’s group set high expectations back in 2025 when it started off with a record of 8-2. Unfortunately, the Baltimore Ravens came in with a goal to dominate, and did just that. The final score was 41-23.
Meanwhile, Steichen’s offense faced plenty of criticism. With that said, the biggest concern came on the other side of the ball. Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo has a lot of work to do with his unit moving forward.
Baltimore totaled 506 yards on the offensive side of ball. That is not what any coach wants to see, especially in Week 1. There are always kinks to work out; however, this displayed that a bigger problem could potentially be brewing.
There are a lot of moving pieces for the Colts defense. No one is quite sure who will consistently wear the green dot. Communication seemed off. And, the schedule is not supposed to get any easier.
Colts’ Anarumo Takes Blame For Shaky Defensive Start
The Athletic‘s James Boyd gave fans some details about what the defensive play-caller said on Tuesday. He completely understands how bad the performance was from his collective. It all starts with him at the end of the day, and he didn’t hold anything back.
“#Colts DC Lou Anarumo on the team’s alignment issues: “A couple of their tempo plays caught us off guard. No excuses for that. … It starts with me,” Boyd posted on X.
Anarumo has been around the NFL for a long while, and has experience making adjustments. The Houston Texans put up 31 points in Week 1, and will be looking to get their first win of the year in Week 2. Something is going to have to change if the Colts want any chance of competing in the upcoming contest.
Indianapolis Reveals More Critical Information About The Defense
ESPN’s Stephen Holder provided some more context about Anarumo’s press conference on Tuesday. The Colts are already discussing things internally regarding how the defense can quickly turn it around.
“Colts def. coordinator Lou Anarumo says everything is being evaluated after a particularly poor outing by his unit in Week 1,” Holder reported on X. “Among those things: Whether safety Cam Bynum will wear the “green dot” helmet, taking calls from the sideline. Communication miscues were rampant Sunday.”
This isn’t a coaching staff that is unaware. The main goal after a performance like Sunday’s is to diagnose problems and fix them. Still, accomplishing will prove to be difficult. In addition, Houston is one of the better-coached teams across the National Football League. The film can only help a staff so much, which means the players need to buy into whatever is being asked of them.
The green dot situation remains murky at best. Rookie linebacker C.J. Allen was completely absent on Sunday, and that isn’t something that was expected to be the case back in May. Altogether, Anarumo has a lot of things to adjust and fix. If not, things could go south quickly.
Colts’ Lou Anarumo Sends Blunt Message After Defensive Disaster In Week 1