Stephen Holder | IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – The list of aggravating factors in the Colts’ dismal season is alarmingly long and includes contributions from every area of the team.

Near the top of that calamitous list: A defense that is flirting with infamy.

On pace to allow 6,173 yards in 2017, the Colts’ defense is on a trajectory that would have it finish with the second-most yards allowed in franchise history (just ahead of 2016).

So, yes, now might seem a ridiculous time to make the case the Indianapolis defense is witnessing noticeable improvement. Except, here’s the thing:

It’s true.

Coming off a bye week and heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans, the Colts have in their previous three games played their best defense of the season. Their marked improvement against the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers won’t count for much because the Colts went 1-2 in that stretch.

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But if you’re viewing this season through the proper prism – it’s about the future, not about today – then you see reasons to be encouraged about a unit that has rarely inspired optimism in recent seasons.

“You look at us defensively in the last three weeks, we played as good a defense as we’ve played since we’ve been here,” said Chuck Pagano, reflecting on his six seasons as Indianapolis’ coach.

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You see the improvement in a defensive front that, at times, has been dominant against the run. You see the improvement in a secondary that has, finally, seemed to find stability in its personnel and level of performance.

And, most of all, you see the improvement in the rapidly declining number of huge plays allowed by the defense.

Want to know why the Colts rank 30th in the NFL in yards allowed per game (385.8)? It’s largely because they’ve given up yards in massive chunks. Their defense has been gutted for a league-high 47 pass completions of 20 yards or longer. That’s seven more than second-place Washington and well out of step with the league average of 30.

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Notably, 40 of those long-pass completions came in the Colts’ first seven games. Since then – beginning with the aforementioned three-game stretch – the Colts have allowed just seven. That’s equal to the number the Colts allowed in their lopsided Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and one fewer than the Colts allowed a week later against the Arizona Cardinals.

Again, the Colts won just one of their three most-recent games, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort from the defense. An improved pass rush, solid rushing defense and an ever-improving secondary have kept the Colts in games. In the team’s last game, a 20-17 loss to the Steelers, the defense allowed two touchdown drives, one of which began at the Colts’ 10-yard line after a Jacoby Brissett interception.

A bit more offensive production – like, say, more than four first downs in the second half against Pittsburgh – and the result could well have been different.

Instead, the Colts are left to try and rationalize their unsightly defensive numbers, which aren’t reflective of their recent improvement.

“My first semester in college, my GPA was really low,” Pagano said, in an effort to explain the statistics with a little levity. “No supervision. On my own. So, I dug and dug and dug and it was hard to get above whatever. So, when you start out and give up a bunch of yards, it’s hard to get (the numbers) down. Those numbers don’t move. So, if you just take the numbers from the last three games – I don’t know what they are – we’ve played good. It’s hard to move those numbers once you get 10, 12 games in.”

If it’s numbers you want, there are some that might be more applicable to the current state of the Colts’ defense. Start with the relatively modest performances from three of the NFL’s top receivers in the Colts’ previous three games: A.J. Green (Bengals), DeAndre Hopkins (Texans) and Antonio Brown (Steelers). The trio averaged four catches for 53 yards against the Colts, no small feat considering all those big plays that were seared into our memories earlier this season.

The development of the defense should not surprise you. It was expected that forging chemistry on defense would take time when half the unit’s opening-day starters weren’t even on the roster last season. Adding talent is nice, but there is no magic formula when you’ve undertaken a complete overhaul of the defense.

“You want everything to gel right away, but sometimes that’s just not the case,” said cornerback Rashaan Melvin, a key reason for the recent surge. “We have a lot of young guys coming in and still trying to learn the defense, but they’re still going in and playing and trying to put it together on the football field. That’s going to be difficult. Right now, I think we’re in a good place.”

Said Pagano: “Guys are executing and communicating and they’re on the same page. They’ve put the time in, they’ve worked and they’ve practiced.”

No, there’s no substitute for time. The Colts apparently needed a lot of it. They’re 10 games into their season and the defensive progress is only now starting to show. But it’s there.

Even if their infamously poor defensive numbers suggest something else.

Geathers honored

Colts safety Clayton Geathers has been selected by his teammates as the recipient of the 2017 Ed Block Courage Award. The award honors courageous play.

The award is named after the head athletic trainer for the Baltimore Colts from 1954-1977. Block served as trainer emeritus with the club until he passed away in 1983.

The Ed Block Courage Award Foundation’s objective is to establish homes for abused children in each NFL city. Indianapolis established an Ed Block Courage home (Children’s Bureau) in October of 2000. The home is part of a national support network for abused children.