The Colts are 0-2 and starting the season that way always leads to criticism of players and coaches.
Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton has been one of the leading targets of that criticism with his game plan on Monday night getting dinged for relying heavily on the run right up until the fourth quarter when he called a third down pass to T.Y. Hilton with the Colts in range for a field goal that would give them a 10-point lead. The pass was intercepted, the Eagles tied the game and the Colts went three and out to hand the ball back to Philly for the game-winning drive.
On Thursday, Hamilton said the emphasis on the run was designed to play the game at a pace that suited the Colts and admitted that there were some calls he’d like to have back. He also said that he understands criticism comes with his position.
“That is the nature of the beast,” Hamilton said, via the Indianapolis Star. “I understand that and embrace that challenge of making sure that, on a weekly basis, we put our players in the best position to be successful. We played a really physical football game up front. Trent [Richardson] ran the ball well and Ahmad [Bradshaw] ran the ball well. We made some plays in the passing game. But at the end of the day in this league, you guys know it always comes down to one or two or three plays that makes the difference in the game.”
There were similar criticisms of Hamilton’s reliance on the run last year as some believe the Colts aren’t putting enough of their offense on the shoulders of quarterback Andrew Luck. The approach wound up being good enough to get the Colts a division title, but anything less this year will lead to even more detractors and perhaps a hot seat under Hamilton.
