Colts mailbag: Is Gus Bradley coaching for his job with JuJu Brents hurt?

Finally, the Colts have played a real football game.

Sunday's 29-27 loss to the Texas at Lucas Oil Stadium didn't end the opener streak that many wanted, and it didn't give us all the answers we'll need yet to understand this Colts team. But it did give us plenty to talk about.

From that leaky run defense to Gus Bradley's future to Michael Pittman Jr.'s involvement, readers had more than a few thoughts on their mind.

(To get involved in future mailbags, follow me @NateAtkins_ on X , where I put out the call; or email longer questions to natkins@indystar.com.)

Let's get to it:

Question: "What was more costly in the Week 1 loss to Houston: the surprising inability to stop the run, or the multiple 3rd & long conversions allowed?" -- @noahesselborn via X

Question: "Was yesterday’s defensive more players not making plays or scheme? Players or coaches?" -- @youngmanpurdue via X

Answer: So, the run defense allowing 213 yards to the Texans on Sunday is what most fans wanted to talk about. It was the most shocking thing that happened in the entire game, and it led me to question whether this defense's floor is lower than we thought coming in.

"Going into the game," linebacker Zaire Franklin said, "this is how they weren't going to beat us."

It is alarming when an opponent has its best rushing performance in any game since 2019, especially when it comes against a Colts team that just spent more than $80 million in guaranteed contracts this spring to the faces engineering that run defense in Franklin, Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner. To add to it, Indianapolis also made backup nose tackle Raekwon Davis its only outside defensive free agent signing, brought back Tyquan Lewis and picked up a fifth-year option for Kwity Paye to lock in its edge setters.

And that, in a way, is where this began to unravel. The Colts became overconfident in the strength of this part of their team. Ever since C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins torched them in the season finale last year, they knew they'd have to make some adjustments to compensate in coverage. But that emphasis then went to the extreme when Houston added Stefon Diggs and returned Tank Dell from injury.

It moved the Texans from a wide-zone, play-action team with a fullback to one of 11 personnel. On the surface, that looks like a team ditching the run to lean into the pass, and that's how the Colts reacted, moving Julian Blackmon's role from what's normally a busy bee in on all the action to a purely coverage-specific player. They expected a ton of passing and thought that if they could create enough of a shell in coverage, it would allow Laiatu Latu, DeForest Buckner, Paye, Lewis and Dayo Odeyingbo to wreck the game.

After the game, it was not hard to find this coverage-first mindset still sitting with players.

"I don't even know the reason they had all those yards. I wasn't even noticing," said linebacker E.J. Speed, who played all but two defensive snaps. "I was just trying to execute on all my third-down situations."

The Texans did come out with a pass-heavy script, throwing on 10 of their first 13 plays. They only called 10 designed runs in the first half. But after those 10 runs averaged 5.6 yards per carry and Stroud took three first-half sacks, the Texans saw that there was another way to live and succeed. One that won't get their franchise quarterback killed.

Houston took the ball out of halftime with a newfound approach and flipped the time of possession on the Colts. The Texans held the ball for 24 of the final 30 minutes, and their style of forcing light personnel, running downhill at those pass rushers and ramming 220-pound Joe Mixon into defenders who haven't played a full game in nine months created a vicious storm.

This was the first game where the Texans could roll out this 11-personnel look on teams and ram them with Mixon after taking a lead, and it's something for the NFL at large to worry about.

It's one week, and if there's one thing you can trust the Colts to figure out, it's run defense. Bradley, linebackers coach Richard Smith and general manager Chris Ballard have created a linebacker factory, and this run defense has never struggled for significant stretches with Stewart on the field. I expect the focus to turn right back to stopping the run against Malik Willis and the Packers this week.

But this defense isn't done overcompensating for challenges in coverage. That problem only grew with the loss of JuJu Brents to injured reserve for a knee injury Tuesday.

MORE: Colts CB JuJu Brents suffers significant knee injury, placed on IR

Question: "Are our DEs going too wide like the awful rush defense of the Freeney/Mathis days?" -- @IndyColts1989 via X

Answer: This defensive line usage is worth a closer look after Sunday's debacle in the run game.

Indianapolis is building everything on defense around a pass rush that is deep, fast, powerful and unpredictable. We saw some creative looks on Sunday from new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge that had Latu moving around the formation and overload rushes from the left side, which overwhelmed the Texans to create four sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

The Colts will save most of these shifts and unbalanced looks for obvious passing downs, but the situations aren't always going to be so cut-and-dry when teams often treat third down as two-down territory in this aggressive era. To roll them out before those select plays is to risk a gashing run play.

Indianapolis kept 10 defensive linemen active among its 47 players, and it seemed pressured to find all of them a role. Many of the backups are one-trick ponies -- for now, Raekwon Davis only seems fit to play the run and Taven Bryan and Adetomiwa Adeboware the pass -- making it easy to identify the weakness of the unit pre-snap. It can them keep the Colts in that personnel through the hurry-up.

It's past time for this team to ditch the Bryan experiment, invest in a real player at outside cornerback and play its best defensive linemen more often.

Question: "Will Gus Bradley be fired at the end of this year if the Colts don’t make the playoffs??? Or should Chris Ballard be blamed for the lack of defense back signings." -- @tylerfreeman21

Answer: I normally don't like to talk hot seats after Week 1, but Bradley was asked about it this week.

“I don't know if I look at it and go, ‘Oh boy, I wonder if I'm on the hot seat,’" Bradley said. "I think you always feel like that. You want to do what's best for the fans, the organization, the players, the team. You're just always in that competitive mindset because you're competitive and you're out there trying to put your players – with the players that you have, in the best position to make plays."

Again, it's been one game. We've seen the downside of this defense in one game, and that's worth dissecting. But to avoid being a prisoner of the moment, let's also consider the upside:

If the Colts can turn their run defense back into a strength and force teams to drop back, even with a young secondary, they're going to create explosive plays with the pass rush. That was evident even with four sacks and 10 quarterback hits against a great quarterback in Stroud and left tackle in Laremy Tunsil. It's the advantage Latu adds to an already deep unit where Buckner forces a double team against everyone.

Indianapolis can create those situations not just by stopping the run but also by scoring at a clip that forces teams to chase points. The Colts got the worst out of Jonathan Taylor and the designed run game on Sunday at just 3.0 yards per carry, thanks mostly to Demeco Ryans having 10 months to prepare, but it's going to hit a healthy floor and likely an explosive ceiling soon. Add in the return of Josh Downs on underneath throws, and this team can chew up clock to keep pass rushers fresh in a way it didn't against the Texans.

But Sunday was an example of how being so thin and inexperienced in the secondary can give teams avenues to avoid the pass rush, with max protection and downhill runs and a quarterback who can scramble. Those concerns now grow with Brents out until at least December, wiping out the top outside cornerback option and one of the two outside cornerbacks who were dressed on Sunday.

A disconnect has formed between Bradley's scheme and Ballard's team-building philosophy. We know the Colts general manager has his ways, but he's often adaptable to finding what his coaches say they want or need. He was willing to trade up into the top 10 for a pass catcher this year when Shane Steichen urged it. He drafted a 5-foot-9 wide receiver in Josh Downs, against his big-bodied prototype, because Reggie Wayne pounded the table. He circled Frank Reich's preferences at quarterback.

When Bradley first got here, Ballard traded a starting cornerback in Rock Ya-Sin to acquire the "LEO" edge rusher Bradley trusted in Yannick Ngakoue.

But the adjustment hasn't come at free safety, a position central to allowing Bradley to run the second-highest rate of Cover 3 in the league and one he has trusted to All-Pros like Earl Thomas and Derwin James. It's the one way he'll feel comfortable playing young, hulking cornerbacks on the outside, and the Colts had Pro Bowlers they could sign at reasonable levels in Justin Simmons and Quandre Diggs but chose to stand pat.

INSIDER: Why the Colts should have signed Justin Simmons -- and all Chris Ballard risks by not

Regardless of who you blame more for the current predicament, it will mostly fall on Bradley to find a solution now. I believe his future lies in the success of the defense, whereas Ballard's is ultimately tied to whether Richardson hits his ceiling.

QUESTION: "Any insight on Michael Pittman Jr.? Not something I've been worried about previously but seeing a few film folks including QB School mention his effort on certain routes. Didn't make a huge impact last game either. Anything there?" -- @saltuncensored via X

Answer: I think he'd have to be among my lowest concerns on this team right now.

The Colts had a game script against the Texans of running the ball to create situations where they could go play-action pass and take deep shots to Alec Pierce and Adonai Mitchell. Eight of their first nine snaps involved either a handoff or a fake to Taylor. One of those play-action moments resulted in a dig route to Pittman to beat zone coverage, but the Colts never found rhythm in the passing game to go to him more.

Pittman does need to work on his focus when he's not getting the ball. It's a challenge for most wide receivers, who like to work in a rhythm just like passers do. That will be more of a challenge this year, as the arrival of Mitchell, the pairing of Pierce with a strong-armed quarterback, the return of Josh Downs, the bell-cow nature of Taylor and the designed runs for Richardson are going to cut into the 142 targets a season Pittman has averaged the past three years.

But I think we'll see Pittman show up in some more explosive ways, too. Think back to 2021 with Carson Wentz, when he created those highlight downfield passes when Wentz would launch a 50/50 ball. Richardson had a play like that with Pierce that created a 55-yard gain. He's going to extend the play and create some broken moments.

He and Pittman just need reps together to build that scramble-drill trust in order to see it more often in games. But I feel it's coming, and one play like that a game is what will really get Pittman going.

Question: "Since the Colts are playing the Packers. Which would you start, bench, or cut: Bratwurst, beer, or cheese curds." -- @WadeRupard via X

Answer: I'm starting beer, benching bratwurst and cutting cheese curds.

All are exquisite options I will look for when I get to Wisconsin on Saturday, but my German heritage made these decisions I cannot go against.

Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts mailbag: Is Gus Bradley coaching for his job with JuJu Brents hurt?