INDIANAPOLIS --- The Indianapolis Colts are 0-2. It's a new feeling for head coach Chuck Pagano and quarterback Andrew Luck. It's the first time they've lost back-to-back games, after Monday night's 30-27 home loss to the Eagles. And they don't like it one bit.
"Stick to the process. Come back in, go back to the grind," said Pagano after the game when asked what his message to the team is about starting 0-2. "We've got to get that winning taste, get this losing taste out of our mouth right now. Again, we saw it for 30 minutes today. It's not a 30-minute game. It's 60 minutes. We've got stuff to clean up, and we'll go back to work and get ready like we always do."
"Process" has always been an important buzzword for Pagano. He's stressed it ever since he arrived in Indianapolis. He mentions it several times in his book Sidelined, which chronicles his 2012 fight against leukemia. It's what his players remembered when starting 2-3 in 2012, before winning 9 of their last 11 games as their head coach battled cancer.
And it's what they will again try to stick to now.
"Look, we've got fighters. We've got grown men in there. We've got warriors in there and they'll get the job done. We'll get this ship righted," said Pagano. "They'll come back to work, they've got the right mindset. We've got the right people, we've just got to eliminate friendly fire. You can't beat yourself."
"It stinks. It's not good," said Luck, when asked how 0-2 feels. "We realize it's not the end of the season by any means. Our minds are now, 'Hey, onto the next one.' Whoever that is, we know we've got to get in the win column and get moving in the right direction."
The next one is at Jacksonville Sunday, an even more important game considering it is against a divisional opponent.
"No, it's been worse than this before so we'll figure it out," said wide receiver Reggie Wayne, when asked if he was concerned about certain aspects of the game. "Come in with the right attitude on Wednesday, correct the film and move from there." Wayne also said his team has some soul searching to do.
Process. 14 games. Decide.
