Preseason week 1 thoughts
 

Only watched 2.5 quarters. I pretty much bowed out once Walker was in the game. Didn't study anything too closely, all just first impressions...


THE GOOD:

1. Andrew Luck played, hit some passes, took some hits and survived. That's a win for the Colts.

2. Look, the defense is going to suck, but I did think they tackled well for a preseason week 1 game. Doesn't mean they got their angles right all the time, but you can tell this has been a more physical camp just by the tackling in this game.

3. Gone are the days where the offensive design is to run the RB aimlessly into the LOS on inside runs and have no creativity (besides dumb RB direct snaps that do the same thing) besides that. This is clearly an offense that's going to exploit matchups and play to RB skillsets.

4. Pressure up the middle doesn't look to be the QB thread anymore. Interior OL is night and day pass-blocking.


THE BAD:

1. ...but pressure off the edges is an issue. It will be far less of an issue if Castonzo is back and healthy, but this team needs an answer besides Castonzo. Not because Castonzo is bad, but because they've been pushing their luck relying on him to be there for every single game as long as they have, with no viable alternative. Also: I don't trust anyone at RT.

2. This defense is going to be pretty awful for a lot of reasons, but primarily because there are so few natural scheme fits. That front seven, as expected, is an absolute mess of inexperience and poor scheme fit.


WHO KNOWS:

1. I think the jury is very much out on Chris Ballard identifying defensive talent. Of his picks...

*Malik Hooker is probably a good player, but hurt and hasn't/hadn't reached his potential, so jury out a bit here.

*I like Quincy Wilson personally, but he isn't exactly locking down a starting spot and didn't look especially good last night. I think it's an incredibly tough look if your 2nd round corner from a year ago isn't confidently holding down a starting CB spot the following year.

*Tarell Basham doesn't really look like anything, if we're being honest. He's there. He gets a few unblocked pressures. That's really it.

*Grover Stewart doesn't look like a guy who should make the final 53.

*Nate Hairston is a good nickel back. This was good talent identification from Ballard.

*Jury is out on Anthony Walker, who can't stay healthy. I haven't seen anything special when he is healthy. I would take Skai Moore over him if both were healthy.

*Jury is out on the entire 2018 draft class, of course. There's not much to fairly judge, but between camp and the first game, could you tell me you have confidence in any of them besides maybe Leonard making an impact?

2. Chester Rogers making business decisions while locked in a heated battle for the WR2 spot tells me this WR2 spot is still completely open. I don't think Ryan Grant is any kind of talent that can hold on to the spot, and I don't think Deon Cain has proven anything yet. It's going to be really interesting to watch this battle. WR2 snaps in preseason week 3 will look so much different than regular season week 1 will look so much different than regular season week 8 etc.

Watched the entire game. Other than Luck looking as good as I could have hoped for, the most encouraging thing to me was that the team looked like an NFL team. Plays were called that actually had a chance to work and I wasn't predicting correctly almost every play. I didn't curse or throw anything at the TV because of idiot coaching decisions. I had forgotten how nice that is. I am going to enjoy watching this team play and improve. Good start.

I agree with this. Forgot to mention that -- and I realize the sample size is incredibly small -- this team didn't have its trademark undisciplined false start or offsides penalties galore as it did in the Pagano days. They looked composed at the snap, albeit defensively out of sorts after the snap.

The only really ridiculous penalty was Shamarko Thomas', and he was brought in a few weeks ago so no expectations he would be anything other than a flailing body out there.

He had 2 pretty dumb penalties IIRC

Good thing you didnt watch the end of the game..... it gets REALLY ugly in the 4th qtr.... The center almost gave the game away. 3 bad snaps in a row (fumbles under center) with the last one being launched into the endzone (shotgun) for a seattle TD

If I want to be critical, I could pick on Luck for retaining one of his classic bad habits, forcing the ball to TY in tight coverage. He was 1/3 to TY. On the last incompletion, Doyle was open running a crossing route to the left. Luck locked on to TY on that sideline throw that never had a chance.

Nice to see Luck in action. Locked in on TY too much. I liked his pass to doyle, 7 step drop and drove through the throw.

We executed a screen!

Nice use of short passing and RBs.

Defense will be an issue this year but I think better than last year.

I really think this offense will encourage (/force) Luck to go to the mismatch/open man whether it's Hilton or someone else. It makes sense that he'd favor Hilton in his first game in 500orwhatever days, but I saw enough role and play-specific action with RBs to make me think it won't be a season-long problem.

Think we'll see Luck comfortable with Hilton, RBs & TEs early. The major question is who wants to win the WR2 spot.

Luck's velocity and delivery seemed softer to me than usual. But rust and time off I'm sure had an effect. Hopefully that picks up as we go through the year.

Just off the top of my head:

- The team has a new offense and a new defense. They scored, stopped the other team and won the game. The team didn't suck.

- Luck moved and had mustard on the ball and he looked like he was having fun It's a tough game to play if you don't love it. I'm encouraged by his play.

- Knee injuries already, WTF??????

- The Colts ran play action, holy shit! They ran a screen, double holy shit!

- Don't worry about the D. No one game plans for pre season. Wilson is a very good QB and he's smart. Just remember how young the Colts are on the back end and LB. He did what he should do, move the ball.

- I fell asleep, (had to go to work) and when I got up to check the score and I'll quote myself: FUCK ME THEY WON!

I smiled all the way to work

Luck has to stop that with TY.

I thought the same. It seems like he often has the bad habit of staring down TY. Don’t see it as much with other receeivers. It’s week 1 of preseason after having missed a lot of time so it’s hard to be critical. Still, they really need someone else to step up and gain Lucks trust. From camp that may be Ebron. Hopefully a WR will step up though.

[QUOTE=Puck;74253]He had 2 pretty dumb penalties IIRC

Good thing you didnt watch the end of the game..... it gets REALLY ugly in the 4th qtr.... The center almost gave the game away. 3 bad snaps in a row (fumbles under center) with the last one being launched into the endzone (shotgun) for a seattle TD[/QUOTE

Who was playing C at the time?

[QUOTE=YDFL Commish;74315]I think it was Haeg. I may be wrong.

Good start, winning was important for a team that is adapting from scratch. The offensive showed that they can work, they can be versatile and can take advantage of that to hurt. Luck was pretty good, he seemed like a not spent those almost 600 days off the field, the line will help a lot, especially the central part, they were excellent, we need AC back and the right side is still the weak point of the OL, I don’t know what to expect from JMarcus Webb or Howard. Bad news about Cain, he has potential to produce in the season, that keeps leaving open (more than it was) the spot for the second receiver, it seems to me that KJ Brent and rookies Ishmael and Reece Fountaine can put pressure on Grant and Rogers for the position.

On the other hand the D needs to work a lot because together as a team they don’t adapt to the new scheme, and it is obvious, there were only individual flashes. Since his arrival I always liked John Simon a lot and I expected to see how he would handle the new scheme and I think that he had a pretty good game, he is able to adapt and produce in the role the team ask for. Hassan Ridgeway shine in pressure and especially against the running game, several of us expected that Walker was projected as a defensive leader, but the yesterday game made rookie Sky Moore puts in everyone's sight, was very good in coverage and against run. Hooker and Geathers have to come to improve the depth, to be the first preseason game for me was a good one. Let's see what happens on Monday 20th.

[QUOTE=Puck;74328]Was #64, Mark Glowinsky, that guy is not a guard? :confuso:

As I re-watch the game. Somethings pop out to me. Nelson had his hands full and got beat several times in run and pass. Welcome to the NFL Nelson, he was getting the full court press thrown at him. One time he got beat, he recovered enough to ride his guy past Luck, but Luck over reacted and scrambled from the pocket. This is when Wagner tackled him on the first drive. Luck is going to have to get those jitters out, gonna take some time. Also, slide man slide.

You know, Wagner could have really hit Luck on his throwing shoulder if he wanted to. Instead he just wrapped him up and took him to the ground. Classy.

I like Wilkins shake, I like all our RB's. But I think Mack and Wilkens will make a good duo. Mack also impressed me on some of his runs, too bad about the hammy. Kid needs to catch a break.

[QUOTE=Puck;74328]No, I don't think so. Haeg had a long night. He played LT and center.

Nelson had some welcome to the nfl moments. That is to be expected.

I also like our rbs if Mack gets healthy.

Couple thoughts i had were. this is off 1 watch and obviously just the 1st game so things can change.

1) basham sucks. dude just runs himself out of every play. he has a decent get off but cant seem to do anything with it.

2) howard at rt is not better than Good. Why was Webb starting over him to begin with.

3) like a lot of teams, we have very little tackle depth.

4) this team is going to get gashed in the run game. be prepared for free linemen destroying our lbers time and time again.

5) the young lbers are light. moore got straight smoked by a fb. dude flew back at least 3 yards.

6) playing 12 yards off the wr on 1st and 10 hopefully isn't a trend. although i assume it will be. more than once i saw wilson about 12 yards back and immediately backpedal at the snap. going to lead to a lot of 2nd and shorts if we actually do that in a game.

7) in the 2nd year of being the gm, this team has very little talent. it doesn't look good for ballard right now. i get he has a plan and it takes time. just commenting at the moment, it looks bad.

i do plan on watching again with defense specifically in mind. i don't think there is anything on offense i really need to see. i think it is pretty clear as of now what we have.

ok i did a rewatch. condensed version of the game on nfl gamepass is pretty awesome. here are some thoughts.

1) i love this play. and we used it a few times with different looks but it is pretty much the same. we pass to a back in the flat. simple. we do this with man d so the lber is already in a tough spot to get there. but we also do a rub with at least 1 wr. not really a rub but just get in the way.

give me a back on a lber 1 on 1 an i generally take the rb. especially when the rb has quickness like mack. who can destroy a lbers angle with his speed.

2) the lbers are terrible in zone. get sucked up in playaction to allow a huge hole. don't drop in the flat. don't cover guy in their zone. a few times we had 2 lbers covering the middle of the field for no reason. like they were standing about 2 yards away from each other. just nonsense.

3) like a lot of people said, Luck didn't seem to have a lot of zip on the ball. he also threw late. Luck has never been a great timing throwing imo. i do believe this is an area where he will get a lot better in the following weeks and months.

4) Luck was throwing out of shotgun a lot. would like to see some under center drop back throws. 3 and 5 step drops and ball is out type thing. but it is preseason. the offense isn't going to be doing everything.

5) as advertised, Nelson finishes. it is pretty fun to watch. to the whistle every play. i love guys like that.

6) no wonder Luck went to TY every play. them other dudes weren't getting close to open. the colts are going to miss moncrief. yeah i said it.

7) manned up on the outside during short to intermediate yardage situation. makes sense and good to see.

8) tj green does absolutely nothing at safety. he is non existent.

9) how is desir our #4 cb?

10) offensive plays looked a little more creative when brissett was in. i imagine to get a look at some of the backup wr's.

11) kj brent looked pretty good to me. could be a nice possession wr option.

12) Clark is easily our best option at backup LT. i have no idea what his issue is. dude lets guys into his body and seemed to lean on dudes but he is agile enough to do the job. i want to see him start at lt next week. doubt we will though.

13) nunes-roches or whatever his name is has some nice get off. he was getting doubled pretty much every play late. ridgeway did a great job of taking advantage of it. he was abusing his man.

14) hines looks like a bad pr.

15) #66 dt was horrible. cut that dude now

16) no de looked worth a shit. basham went against duane brown so i will give him time before writing him off but i wasn't impressed. simon looks like the only hope of being decent unless the two 2nd round rookies can do anything. this will probably be a disaster

Has it been that long since Dungy's D was around here that we have forgotten the 15 yard DB cushions, light LB's, and getting gashed up and down the field, hoping to hold them to a field goal is exactly how this type of defense is going to be? Now imagine all of that without any fear of a Freeney, Mathis, or even Raheem Brock.

What did you think of Jacoby's play? I fell asleep shortly after Andrew's series and didn't get to see him. I was surprised last week to hear Reich proclaim him a "top 20 QB". With what we say re his challenge seeing the field I thought top back up QB was his ceiling but if there's more to develop I think Reich is the perfect person to get him there. Just curious to hear what you saw?

Seems Venturi is down on Wilson too....
Heard him say that his technique and speed aren't sufficient to be effective. If he doesn't use his strength at the beginning of a play he will get beat. Not sure if he thinks he is capable of developing technique....it was a very brief snippet.

I wonder if our RT woes might lead to the rook getting the start/position change...

@AWalkerColts
Out here at practice, #Colts showing a first-team offensive line of Le’Raven Clark (LT), Quenton Nelson (LG), Ryan Kelly (C), Matt Slauson (RG), Braden Smith (RT).

Glad they have Clark at LT.

I don’t mind giving smith a look at rt. But why wouldn’t haeg be the first choice if they don’t like Howard?

I know some people were happy with signing Howard but he was available for a reason. The dude isn’t that good.

Looks out of shape. Howard, I mean.

Yeah

Dude looked fat as fuck

Most NFL linemen do. Did you get a good look at Slauson?

It is different

Isn't Haeg the new Reitz? It makes sense to keep the Swiss Army knife lineman as your #1 backup if they feel another RT candidate has a higher ceiling. Get the guy with the higher ceiling more reps now and save the Swiss Army knife a bit for the regular season when filling in for the injured matters more.

I assume that is what they are doing. Letting the kid get some run at rt. I am mainly happy they are letting Clark play lt. Haeg just can’t do it.

Howard is just a tall fat guy right now, doesn’t look like a pro athlete.

Reitz was better than Haeg.

I think that this would be my preferred lineup based on what I saw on NFL Game Pass.

https://cbs4indy.com/2018/08/11/colt...even-practice/

This is encouraging that it doesn’t sound like an injury that would keep him out of opening day.

His injury is the one I am most concerned about. By far.

Haeg hasnt been hurt as often as Rietz. It might help if they just let him work at one position

Tarik Glen was svlet?

@gmbremer
Le’Raven Clark at LT and Braden Smith at RT. Can’t remember the last time tackles started consecutive days in the same spot. #Colts



Gotta wonder if Smith might be running away with the starting RT spot.

I’ll just be glad if this proves that this coaching staff will dump a FA veteran that shows up to camp clearly washed up, as opposed to simply handing him the spot ala Todd Herremans.

I don’t know that Howard is washed up. Just might not be as good as they wanted. Smith has done so little work at rt I don’t see how he would be running away with it. Be cool if he can do it though. He has the size

I agree watching him the other night, he just looks like he has a tackles body. He needs to put on some bulk to play guard.