The Indianapolis Colts' defense took a big step forward under Matt Eberflus last season. The Colts were the toast of the league in 2018, shockingly coming back from a 1-5 record to win nine of their next ten games and make the playoffs.
They even ended up winning a playoff game on the road, and their defense was a large part of the reason they made it that far. The unit made tremendous strides under their new defensive coordinator even though they didn't have a ton of big-name talent. Heading into his second year with his group, Eberflus is optimistic.
Stephen Holder of The Athletic predicts that the Colts will use more man coverage in 2019, and he points to recent comments by Eberflus as evidence.
Eberflus was recently asked about the team running more man concepts in practice, and his answer was interesting.
“I think it allows you to open up your package,” Eberflus said. “Every defensive scheme has a man-coverage concept to it, either split-safety man, single-high man or whatever that concept is – match coverage. It enables us to be able to look at those things and see, ‘Hey, how do they look? Let’s look at the skill sets of our players.’”
Eberflus clearly thinks it helps in the evaluation process to run more man, and it makes sense. During this stage of the offseason, the Colts have a lot to work out. Several players are locked into their roles, but there are many pecking orders and roster spots that have yet to be sorted. Eberflus likes to be aggressive, and it sounds like he'll be even more-so this upcoming season.
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