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n a few years ago, when a lack of funding

in Allgemein 30.12.2018 14:35
von MJL456 • 2.720 Beiträge

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano put everything on the table this week.With a team still struggling to start fast, still struggling to protect Andrew Luck, still piecing together a defense that can live up to Paganos standards and still chasing their second win, he doesnt really have a choice.Something must change Sunday against Chicago, and it could begin to give Indys offense a whole new look.Its something that well continue to have dialogue about and with and talk about it as a staff, he said when asked about starting the game in the no-huddle.Pagano, of course, would prefer to keep the Bears (1-3) guessing all week, rather than dropping hints about any potential changes.Even if it is merely gamesmanship, its certainly time to contemplate making a switch.Indy has already been outscored 64-35 in the first half, while outscoring opponents 51-39 in the fourth quarter when they have largely been using the hurry-up offense to try and rally.The numbers, and Lucks 15 come-from-behind wins, have created a perception among fans that the Colts offense does its best work when Luck cranks up the pace and makes decisions on the fly.Luck isnt so sure.A lot of those up-tempos have been when were down big and maybe the defense is a little more soft, in a sense, he said after Wednesdays practice.But I dont think weve only been successful running the hurry-up offense. I think we can be successful with whatever is called.Indy (1-3) has had trouble executing the simplest plays this season, though.Last weekend, a wide-open Josh Ferguson dropped a screen pass that would have kept the Colts opening possession alive. Instead, Indy wound up punting.On the Colts next series, Dwayne Allen dropped a pass that would have taken Indianapolis inside Jacksonville territory. On the next play, Lucks batted ball was intercepted and set up the Jaguars first touchdown.The miscues have caused so much consternation among fans that theyre clamoring for the team to try something, anything to get Indy out of this early funk and a growing chorus is urging the Colts to use more no-huddle.Players think the fans have a point.It gives us a lot of advantages, receiver T.Y. Hilton said Wednesday. We can get the defense tired, it helps the offensive line (protect). If we go to it, we should be good with it. I like it.Making a switch comes with some real risks.Pagano has always preferred a balanced attack that includes a power ground game, a feature that could easily get lost when playing fast.Plus, with the Colts averaging 4.13 yards per first-down play, the second-lowest average in the league, failing to consistently pick up first downs could force the defense to stay on the field longer. Its a real concern for a team that has sabotaged itself with drops, penalties and sacks allowed.Its execution, its finishing a drive, its getting points, Luck said. Whatevers called, we just have to execute it better.But if throwing a change-up at the Bears prevents Indy from falling into another early deficit, enduring another bad first half or dealing with another loss, then Pagano could make the perfect pitch.Weve got to be better, he said. If youre 4-0, youve probably got the same problems going on, but nobodys talking about it. When youre 1-3, come on, what else are you going to talk about, your great record? Lets keep it real.Game notes After releasing starting inside linebacker Sio Moore on Tuesday, Pagano said he expected veteran Josh McNary and rookie Antonio Morrison to play the bulk of the snaps. Moore was the Colts leading tackler. ... Cornerback Darius Butler (hamstring), right tackle Joe Reitz (back) and right guard Denzelle Good (back) all did limited work at practice Wednesday. Running back Frank Gore (chest) and outside linebacker Erik Walden (chest) did not practice. ... Backup offensive lineman Jonotthan Harrison will not play Sunday after having an appendectomy last week. Pagano is hoping Harrison will return next week. ... DT Art Jones spoke to reporters for the first time in a month and said hell be ready to play as soon as the team clears him. Jones returned Monday from a four-game suspension for violating the leagues policy on performing-enhancing substances.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Cheap Jerseys Authentic . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. http://www.cheapjerseysfromchina.info/ . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Stitched Jerseys . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Wholesale Cheap Jerseys . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. One softball drought is over for the United States.And a little over a week before the Olympics begin without softball but with an IOC vote that could change that four years from now in Tokyo, perhaps seeds have taken root for a bigger celebration to come.The United States defeated Japan 7-3 on Sunday in Surrey, British Columbia, in the winner-take-all final game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation World Championship, currently the sports most important international tournament.Team USA beat Japan, its main rival, twice in the event and finished with a 9-0 record.Japan was the two-time defending world champion, beating the United States in 2012 in Canadas Yukon Territory and 2014 in the Netherlands. Counting the Olympic gold it won in 2008, the last Olympics in which softball was contested, Japan arrived in British Columbia having won three of the past four major titles in a sport previously dominated by the United States.It tells the story of the international games past and present that while this was the 10th world championship for the United States, it was the first championship for every player on the American roster.Not only was Team USA winless in the final game of a major tournament since 2010, but it also entered Sunday having played 17 consecutive innings in such games without so much as a lead.It didnt take long to bring that streak to an end.After the first two U.S. batters were retired in the top of the first inning, Jazmyn Jackson doubled to right center and Valerie Arioto drew a full-count two-out walk, the ninth of the tournament for one of the sports most disciplined power hitters. Among the leading home run hitters in college softball this past season at the University of Washington, international rookie Ali Aguilar then kept her swing short enough to go the other way with an outside pitch for a single that scored Jackson.The hit was just the third of the tournament for Aguilar, who was in the lineup primarily because Amanda Chidester, who led Team USA with eight home runs and 17 RBIs, was out with an arm injury sustained a day earlier in a 4-3 semifinal win over Japan (which then beat Canada in the losers bracket Sunday afternoon to earn a rematch in the final).Japan soon paid an even steeper price for its inability to close out Sundays first inning when Michelle Moultrie waited on an off-speed pitch and pulled it for a three-run home run and a 4-0 lead.Unlike 2012, when American hitters couldnt come up with a run in support of Keilani Ricketts, or two years later, when it was Japan that rode a big first inning to victory, momentum belonged to the United States.Japan had a chance to cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom of the second, but Team USA center fielder Haylie McCleneys throw and catcher Aubree Munros positioning got Japans Yuka Ichiguchi at the plate for the final out of the inning.McCleney subsequently put the game awaay with a three-run home run in the fourth inning.ddddddddddddA day after she came within an out of a complete game in the semifinal, Ally Carda started again in the final, but four American pitchers split the workload almost equally.To the degree it is possible from a two-game sample size, the title validates the vision of Team USA coach Ken Eriksen. Now in his sixth year as coach of the national team, much of that time working essentially pro bono in addition to a paying job as head coach at the University of South Florida, Eriksen sought to build a program (largely from scratch) that offered opportunities to college-age talent and still developed a veteran core for an uncertain Olympic future.Consider how the opening runs were scored Sunday. Jackson, who also scored the first run when the United States beat Japan to win a junior world title a year ago, still has two seasons of eligibility at the University of California. Aguilar has another season at Washington. But Arioto and Moultrie have a combined 12 summers of international experience between them.Put another way, when Arioto played her freshman season at Cal, Jackson was in sixth grade.Look ahead to 2020 and the United States could well have a handful of key veterans in their early 30s and the rest of the roster spread throughout their 20s. Exactly what you would expect of an Olympic roster -- but what seemed like anything but a given a few years ago, when a lack of funding and attention made a revolving door seem more likely.There are, of course, dangers in drawing too many conclusions from the wins, just as from the narrow losses in the past two world championships. The U.S. and Japan have split six games this year. Sundays score notwithstanding, their games are almost always close. And Japans roster this time around didnt include pitching ace Yukiko Ueno, who won another domestic pro title last year but, at 35 years old, may finally be ready to stop haunting American dreams.Perhaps it would be wisest to make of the wins in Surrey only that they earned Team USA this title. That should be enough. Jacksons 12 hits, Chidesters power, Aguilars fearlessness and Jessica Moores four wins and 23 strikeouts worth commending solely for what they produced over a week near Vancouver.And yet the celebration after the final out appeared surprisingly muted, handshakes and high fives instead of bear hugs and dog piles. Perhaps it was the product of a game that lacked the drama familiar to the rivalry. Perhaps youth made the accomplishment difficult to grasp in the moment.Perhaps the players let loose later.Or perhaps to them, this was just the first step toward a bigger party in 2020.They did their part to put the United States back on top. Now they will wait and watch the vote from Rio. 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