Irsay gives Colts' brass 'earful' after defeat

Colts owner Jim Irsay didn't like what he saw on the field during his team's 44-20 preseason loss to the Bills on Sunday afternoon.

INDIANAPOLIS -- To some, it was just one preseason game. The Indianapolis Colts' starters played a couple of series against the Buffalo Bills and then took a spot on the bench as they watched their teammates try to catch the eye of the coaches and front office officials.

That wasn't the case with owner Jim Irsay, who didn't like what he saw on the field during his team's 44-20 loss Sunday afternoon.

On Monday, Irsay voiced his displeasure on Twitter.

Many starters played briefly or were nursing little injuries,but it was a crap performance,my apologies/My commanders got n earful from me!

— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) August 12, 2013

The Colts had problems with their special-teams coverage, highlighted by a 107-yard kickoff-return touchdown by Bills rookie Marquise Goodwin. The team's defense, meanwhile, gave up runs of 17 and 15 yards to Bills running back C.J. Spiller on Buffalo's first two offensive plays.

Also, Colts tight end Coby Fleener fumbled at Buffalo's 19-yard line and then dropped what should have been a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

"I think probably a combination of [mental and physical errors]," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said during a conference call Monday. "You get a lot of young guys out there -- I don't mean it as an excuse -- but we made some mental errors and then, give [Buffalo] credit, they did a nice job and put some heat on us, put some pressure on us and some things like that."