Frank Reich Holds Annual Foundation ‘Inspection’

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“We ran out of gas.”


That’s how Reich described the Colts’ loss to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the playoffs that ended their season two wins shy of a Super Bowl title.


The grind of an NFL season is taxing, no doubt about it. But, as Reich reminded his players last week, the human body can do amazing things when you might least expect it. And when an entire team buys into reaching down and pulling from those reserves down the stretch, then magical things can happen.


“I know you’ve pushed it hard to get in these seats, but I promise you there’s more in your body,” Reich said. “And I don’t care if it’s Adam (Vinatieri) or it’s our youngest guy on the team: there’s more in our body, right? There’s more in our body if we will keep pushing the limits.


“And if we do that as a team, then what happens is that capacity as a team increases, right? ‘Cause what happened last year? What happened last year? We did that, we got in this right mindset, we got in this beastmode trust, and we got in this beastmode toughness, and we were unstoppable, we were a team of destiny, we win 10 of 11, right? We were the hottest team in the NFL — everyone knew it; no one wanted to play us. And then what happened? We ran out of gas. We ran out of gas. We faced a team that had more capacity than us.”


The good news, though, is Reich is fully confident his team can be even better in 2019.


That work is starting now.


“Can I physically get better? Yes, I can. That’s Phase 1, that’s Phase 2. Can we understand the scheme better? Can I increase my capacity to understand that? Yes, in every aspect we can push it, push our limits, get better and better. That’s what can distinguish us as a team,” Reich said.


“Our why is stronger than a trophy. I’m just tellin’ you right now. I’ve been on teams where that’s the why. That’s not a good enough why. That’s not a good enough why, right? The ring — those are nice. There’s a few rings in this (room). Those are nice; the rings are nice. That’s not a strong enough why. That’s not what gets you to the top. That’s not what gets you to the top,” he continued. “What gets you to the top, what can distinguish us, what can separate us is just our belief in each other and our belief in the process, that all we’re gonna do is focus on gettin’ better every day.”