-
Stephen HolderESPN
INDIANAPOLIS — Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday defended his clock administration within the closing minutes of Monday night time’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, saying he determined in opposition to taking a timeout till 30 seconds remained as a result of he “did not really feel like time was actually of the essence at that second.”
The Colts, trailing by seven, have been in a little bit of a frantic state of affairs, going through fourth-and-3 from the Pittsburgh 37-yard line on the two-minute warning. After changing, Indianapolis quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked for a 7-yard loss on first down then scrambled for 14 yards on second down.
The second-down play was snapped with 59 seconds remaining, however the Colts elected to not name a timeout regardless of possessing all three of their timeouts. They as a substitute used a gradual strategy, snapping the ball late into the play clock then handing the ball to operating again Jonathan Taylor, who was stopped for no acquire on a third-and-3. The Colts lastly referred to as timeout after the Taylor run, with 30 seconds left.
With Saturday and playcaller Parks Frazier working simply their third sport of their new roles, it may very well be argued the Colts would have benefited from a reset in that circumstance, however Saturday stated the employees already had the run play dialed up and appreciated its possibilities of success.
“I believed we had an excellent play,” he stated. “And I felt like we’d get it. Clearly, we did not do an excellent job [blocking] on the bottom, so it is worse. However I felt good concerning the name earlier than. Felt like we had time, we’d have timeouts afterwards. We have been in putting distance. So, I by no means felt just like the stress of needing the timeout.
“We simply did not execute it.”
Saturday appeared to recommend the Colts snapped the ball later than he desired on the third-down play, saying, “Would I’ve appreciated [Ryan] to snap it a little bit bit earlier? Certain. However, once more, by no means felt pressed for time.”
It is unclear whether or not there was a miscommunication between the employees and Ryan.
On fourth down, the Colts tried a throw to well-covered Parris Campbell that was incomplete. The Steelers (4-7) took over on downs and ran out the clock to protect a 24-17 win.
The Colts (4-7-1) are 1-2 since Saturday took the helm after Frank Reich’s firing final month.
