After communication breakdowns, Colts make key defensive leadership change
· Yahoo Sports
INDIANAPOLIS — Camryn Bynum sounded relieved on Wednesday.
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Bynum, the Colts free safety who wore the green dot signifying the helmet transmitter to get the play call from defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo in Sunday’s season-opening blowout against Baltimore, will no longer carry that responsibility.
The Colts have scrapped the unusual arrangement. Veteran middle linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither will wear the green dot against the Chiefs in Kansas City after the Indianapolis defense repeatedly had trouble getting lined up.
Bynum simply plays too far from the line of scrimmage to wear the green dot.
“There were a few scenarios where it’s a deep ball, I’m playing post safety and I’m running to the ball, it’s an incomplete pass and I’ve got to run back to the huddle,” Bynum said. “I’m not saying it’s not possible, but if the offense is on the ball quick and I’m coming back from afar, I’m running back to the huddle listening to the call and trying to get it back. … I think it’s really good for a linebacker to do it. I think it’ll help the defense play a lot better this week.”
Indianapolis defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo initially gave Bynum the green dot in response to uncertainty at linebacker. The Colts drafted CJ Allen in the second round to be a starter, and when it became clear early in camp that Allen wouldn’t be ready to be an every-down starter right away, Anarumo started looking for answers. While he was in Cincinnati, strong safety Vonn Bell wore the green dot for a while, and Anarumo settled on Bynum.
Anarumo thought that making the free safety the primary play-caller would have limited ramifications. A defensive back at heart, Anarumo often has tips for the safeties between plays, and he liked the idea of talking directly to Bynum.
Bynum wore the green dot for most of training camp, but the speed of an NFL game day created problems. Baltimore’s offense rushed its tempo, putting even more pressure on Bynum to be on the move, and there were unintended complications.
Namely, that Bynum is the primary play caller for the secondary, and getting the call to the front seven robbed him of valuable time to assess what the Ravens were doing.
“Pre-snap, my biggest worry was making sure I get the call,” Bynum said. “Normally, my worry is I can hear the call, but I can see the offense leaving the huddle, but for me (to do it), my back is to the offense, and having to get the call to the guys, then run back 15 yards deep where I’m playing post or quarters or have the deep half. There’s reasons the linebackers normally have the job.”
Asking Bynum to handle the role was a mistake, a mistake that cost Indianapolis dearly on Sunday.
The solution has its own complications. The Colts originally wanted a linebacker to handle the role.
Davis-Gaither appears to be the best option at the moment. With Allen struggling, Davis-Gaither played 94% of the defensive snaps Sunday, and it appears he’ll be playing nearly every snap for the foreseeable future.
He’s also handled the green dot before.
“I did it four or five games my last year in Cincinnati, and of course, I’ve done it in practice,” Davis-Gaither said. “I’m comfortable with it.”
Davis-Gaither also knows the defense inside and out. The veteran linebacker spent the first five seasons of his career with Anarumo in Cincinnati, so he knows the defense inside and out.
When Anarumo begins his play call, Davis-Gaither almost always knows exactly what he’s calling, based on the down, distance and the team’s game plan that week.
“I could probably go up and give presentations on it,” Davis-Gaither said. “I know it pretty well. I don’t have to do a lot of studying of the playbook, I can lock in on offenses, be ahead of that and help teach guys.”
The problem is the Colts are still trying to figure out who should start at linebacker, although Davis-Gaither appears to be entrenched in the middle. From the sounds of it, Allen still needs development after sitting out the entire season opener, and the other two linebackers who saw time on Sunday, Jaylon Carlies and Bryce Boettcher, are competing for playing time on the weak side. Austin Ajiake returned to practice after a hamstring injury, and although he plays the middle, Ajiake has been the team’s strong-side linebacker in three-linebacker sets for the past two seasons.
Davis-Gaither is going to get his chance to prove he deserves another full season as a starter, only one year after getting his first chance in Arizona.
When he takes the field at Arrowhead on Sunday, Davis-Gaither thinks he’ll feel right at home.
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Especially because he gets to make his green-dot debut in front of a road crowd, an environment that actually makes defensive communication easier.
“It’s definitely going to be easier than it was in a home game,” Davis-Gaither said. “Our crowd’s getting pumped up, trying to throw off their offense, so the communication should be a lot better. Guys getting to their checks and things like that should be a lot calmer, because it’s going to be quieter.”
The Colts need everything on defense to be calm this week.
Because they’ve already seen what the defense looks like in chaos.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: After communication breakdowns, Colts make key defensive leadership change
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