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Bell Tolls: Colts' Chuck Pagano facing a different kind of adversity

Jarrett Bell
USA TODAY Sports

Chuck Pagano is on the clock, and by some measures that should not be the case. The Indianapolis Colts have been to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons on his watch. You’d think team owner Jim Irsay, eager to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again, would want to keep a certain continuity intact.

Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano

Yet this is the NFL, with all of its competition, high stakes -- and impatience.

Then Andrew Luck gets knocked off course.

The Colts (1-2) host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday with the possibility of starting backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, after a shoulder injury took Luck out of the practice flow during the week.

Exactly how much practice activity Luck missed is a bit of a mixed-signals mystery. Luck wasn’t seen during the portions of practice open to the media. Although Pagano kept maintaining he is confident Luck will play on Sunday and intimated that rest is one of the prescriptions, the quarterback is officially listed as “questionable” on the injury report.

All things Colts: Latest Indianapolis Colts news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Week 4 injuries: Andrew Luck questionable; Drew Brees likely; Luke Kuechly out

Pagano, looking so much like a win-or-else, lame-duck figure in the last year of his contract, can really prove his worth by the manner in which he manages these challenging circumstances.

Hey, that’s in the job description for every NFL head coach. They are there to put out fires, adapt to injuries, squash drama, set a tone … and win.

In this case, assuming Luck doesn’t have a long-term setback, Pagano, with offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton in tow, needs to figure out better ways to help the face of the franchise survive.

At this rate, he might not make it to the much-anticipated playoffs.

Luck, with his NFL-high seven picks, needs better protection. He needs his projected playmakers in the passing game to produce. He needs the defense, too, to take pressure off by raising its game.

But it’s not like the Colts can fix it with a quick Irsay spending spree. That happened with the offseason headlines, and look at them now. Still trying to put it together.

That’s why Pagano, whose chemistry with embattled GM Ryan Grigson has been widely questioned, needs to do his best coaching job now. We know he has the substance for it. In 2012, Pagano demonstrated that in the manner in which he beat leukemia.

Now it’s a professional crisis that amounts to taking the hand he has been dealt and making it better in a hurry.

If that means re-tooling the offense to reduce the number of throws on Luck’s sore shoulder, to account for the faulty blocking up front and to find what works best for the targets in the passing game, then so be it. The status quo isn’t working.

Since he has been in the NFL, Luck has taken way too many hits. He can protect himself better in some cases by getting rid of the ball more quickly. But Pagano & Co., must do even more to help Luck.

Perhaps Frank Gore, lured as a free agent, will be the ticket. Gore had his breakout game in the win at Tennessee last Sunday, averaging 6.1 yards a carry.

It’s a bit much to expect Gore would carry an offense, as he did for so many years in San Francisco. That’s not the style the Colts are built for. Besides, he’s 32. But if Gore can deliver the balance to reduce the pressure on Luck – the Colts have gone 43 games without a 100-yard rusher – it is sorely needed about now.

It’s too early to panic. The Colts are in one of the league’s weakest divisions, the AFC South. They were 1-2 last year, too, then put it together and wound up in the AFC Championship Game.

Sure, expectations have been turned up a notch after the progress of the past three seasons was bolstered by the big headlines of the offseason.

That’s life in the NFL. So, too, is the reality that somewhere, the clock is always ticking.

Steelers sign K Chris Boswell, Josh Scobee is officially out

Other items of interest as Week 4 rolls along:

  • Who’s hot: Julio Jones. Never mind that the Falcons have had to come from behind to win each of their three games, when opposing defenses knew  Matt Ryan needed to throw the football. Jones still hasn’t been stopped. The star wideout is off to a blazing, record-setting pace, with his 34 catches the most in NFL history through three games. He also heads into Sunday’s game against Houston as the first player to post at least 135 receiving yards in each of his first three games. Beyond the stats, the rub is the manner in which new coordinator Kyle Shanahan has deployed Jones all over the place – wide left, wide right, in the slot – to keep defenses off-balance and unable to consistently disrupt his routes.
  • Pressure’s on: Ryan Tannehill. After a miserable experience last weekend against the Bills, when he was blitzed relentlessly, hit 11 times, sacked twice and intercepted three times, the Miami quarterback goes up against the Jets defense that has adapted well to new coach Todd Bowles’ aggressive scheme. The Jets have allowed an NFL-low 13.7 points a game, lead the league with 11 takeaways and have all-pro cornerback Darrelle Revis on the back end. This might not be the most pleasant overseas trip for Tannehill.
  • Rookie watch: Amari Cooper. The former Alabama receiver has been nothing short of what was advertised for the Raiders, providing big-play production and a glimpse of future promise while growing with young quarterback Derek Carr. Heading into Sunday’s game at Chicago on the heels of back-to-back 100-yards games, Cooper is just the second rookie over the past 30 years (DeSean Jackson, 2008) to post two 100-yard games during the first three weeks of the regular season.

Derek Carr, Amari Cooper fast-track Raiders' rebuild

  • Key matchup:  Andre Smith vs. Justin Houston. Nothing can wreck an explosive offense like an explosive pass rush, which is why Andy Dalton must be wary of the combination that the Chiefs will bring to Paul Brown Stadium. Smith, the right tackle, has been nursing a hip injury. And Houston, the NFL’s reigning sack champ, is capable of making it worse. The Bengals typically don’t provide a lot of help for their tackles, two of the better pass-protectors in the league. This allows Dalton to better pressure defenses with more targets running routes. Let’s see if the Chiefs can force adjustments with Houston (3 sacks) rushing off one edge and Tamba Hali keeping Andrew Whitworth’s hands full on the other edge.
  • Next man up:  Karlos Williams. With LeSean McCoy ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Giants to heal his hamstring, it’s essentially a case of Williams taking on an expanded role as the leading man for the NFL’s top-ranked rushing attack. While McCoy had nearly twice as many carries as Williams through three games, the fifth-round rookie from Florida State was actually the more effective back, averaging 7.8 yards on his 24 carries and producing three TDs. Still, there’s something to be said for a 1-2 punch, with Rex Ryan installing a run-heavy scheme that has resulted in the Bills running on 53% of their snaps. Of course, mobile quarterback Tyrod Taylor is part of the rushing mix, too. But without neither McCoy nor big-play wideout Sammy Watkins available, the challenge to sustain a consistent rushing attack against New York’s second-ranked run defense will be carried by Williams.
  • If the playoffs were today … The Vikings would be in as the sixth seed in the NFC. Now comes a measuring stick at Denver. During a two-game winning streak, Minnesota (2-1) re-established Adrian Peterson, largely scrapping the runs from the shotgun that were flat in the opener at San Francisco and running with downhill power. That will be tougher against the unit  Wade Phillips is coordinating with the Broncos (3-0), where phenomenal edge rushers DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller are complemented by the overshadowed tackling machines in the middle, Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathen, who rank 1-2 on the unit with a combined 44 stops.
  • Stomach for an upset:  Panthers at Bucs. Carolina’s 3-0 start is a testament to the worth of Ron Rivera as one of the league’s most underrated coaches and Cam Newton’s progress as a star quarterback who can put his team on his back. There’s no Kelvin Benjamin (torn ACL), no Luke Kuechly since the first half of Week 1 (concussion). And now, no Charles Johnson (hamstring) for at least eight weeks. Through the setbacks, the tough, physical Panthers keep winning. And that resilience has been demonstrated by a knack of taking over games in the second half. But the trip to Tampa represents a classic “trap” game. The Bucs aren’t going to contend for the playoffs anytime soon, but they are a division opponent with a few playmakers who can make the difference, including Gerald McCoy. Jameis Winston has been up-and-down, but with twin tower receivers in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans, the threat looms.
  • Did you notice?  The dizzying flurry of yellow flags marked the most penalties ever through three weeks of a season, with the 884 accepted calls equating to 18.42 a game. Two years ago, the three-week rate was 14.77. But the uptick can’t be pinned on over-zealous zebras. How about the sloppiness? Slightly more than 33% of the penalties were pre-snap infractions at the line of scrimmage, which might also be a residual effect of the quick-tempo offenses more teams are incorporating into their system. In any event, it’s typical that as the season progresses, penalties are reduced as the officials set their standards, particularly with points of emphasis. But the numbers can also be scaled back with better discipline by teams at the line of scrimmage. Then again, Week 4 began at Pittsburgh with the Ravens winning despite committing 13 penalties for 116 yards.
  • Stat’s the fact:  Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has connected on 74.5% of his passes, the highest rate of his career through three games. At one point, he threatened the NFL record by completing 22 consecutive passes. But, like his 1-2 team, there have been glitches. Rivers heads into Sunday’s game against Cleveland hoping to snap an NFL-longest streak, dating to last season, of nine consecutive games with an interception.
  • Fantasy vs. reality: Marion Motley Crew, off to a 3-0 start in the 20-team Super League, drafted the Seahawks defense because of its propensity to produce sacks and big plays. But with special teams scores added to the defensive points, a nice bonus has come with rookie Tyler Lockett, who has given Seattle – and MMC -- an added dimension as a dynamic returner. Lockett, building on an impressive preseason, is just the second rookie in NFL history to score on kickoff- and punt-return TDs in his first three games (Tony Green, 1978), while leading the league with 334 return yards.

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