Preseason Week One quick thoughts

[GoBigBlue88]

1. I don't take much of anything from preseason week 1. Week 3, maybe you take something. But all I care about preseason week 1 is the one-on-one matchups. Can players win those? In other words: it doesn't matter to me that Rock Ya-Sin honors a soft zone drop call and plays 10 yards off on 3rd-and-4 in a vanilla preseason defense. I don't count that as a knock on Ya-Sin.

But when an OL can't win a block, or a DL can't beat a block, or a CB loses in man coverage, I do take some note of that.

2. This isn't a new opinion for me for those who know me, but: Jacoby Brissett isn't very good. That is not basing off one preseason game. That's basing off a world in which people insist he has 2nd round trade value. He doesn't. He's slow to get the ball out and not accurate enough to be a full-time starting QB. Great guy, great arm and one of the better QB2s in the league. BUT that reinforces the gap between QB1s and QB2s, let alone between Luck and Brissett.

3. I think the Colts keep Phillip Walker around to simulate guys like Watson and Mariota in practice. That's the only reason I can figure out, because I've now seen this guy for 3 preseasons where he can't hit the broad side of a barn.

4. Chad Kelly won't make this roster, or probably a roster in general. But a QB like that at least lets you evaluate other players. Unlike Walker.

5. OL will be fine in regular season. As long as Castonzo doesn't get hurt. Woof, Le'Raven Clark is gonna make the roster as his backup and is a huge step down.

6. Kinda a weird night for Quenton Nelson and Braden Smith. Neither played long enough to make much of it, but both seemed uneven. Regardless, I know in an offseason where Reich has been all about architecting a better run game, he cannot be happy with his OL in the first week of preseason.

7. Hard to evaluate the RBs last night given how little they had to work with. You know Mack and Hines are stone-cold roster locks. The battle between Wilkins, Williams and I'm guessing Foreman enters the mix next week will be interesting, in the wake of Ware's injury. I like Wilkins; still not sure why Colts always seem so cold on him. But Williams made a good case last night.

8. WRs showed well overall last night. Funchess is going to be a solid, if unspectacular, addition. Again, mostly just interested in WR5 or WR6 if they carry that many. Obviously Hilton, Funchess, Campbell are locks. You have to figure between his reliable play, blocking and special teams contributions, Rogers is WR4.

Big thing last night was Cain vs Fountain at that WR5 spot. That battle should go down to the wire. It's pointless to call it now, but Fountain had the edge last night.

And of course can't write off Pascal or Marcus Johnson. So much comes down to upside and special teams role.

9. TEs didn't really play in the order I thought they would. Thought we'd see more of Hentges. Travis needs to get back on the field ASAP if he wants a shot.

10. Again, based on the larger trend, not just last night: I'm concerned about the pass-rush. Yes, I get that Houston is a solve. To what extent, we don't yet know. But you would expect Lewis and Turay in particular to make big Year 2 leaps. Lewis was anonymous last night, and Turay maybe won one battle after 5 seconds against a third-string OL, which Barkley evaded anyway.

I don't judge off this one game, but I do think it's problematic Turay doesn't look better than he does at this point.

11. I was thrilled with all of the linebackers who will be remotely relevant to the final roster. Think this corps checks all of the boxes and these guys won their battles tonight. Walker, Speed, Okereke. All looked good. Walker and Okereke is a fascinating battle.

12. I can't wait until Eberflus can take off the gloves and have some fun with this defense. While I have pass rush concerns, I still love the overall athleticism of the front seven. So many guys who can cover so much ground and have great wingspan. Think the pressure package potential of this group is through the roof. Firmly believe, in my heart of hearts, this is going to be a fun defense to watch. Maybe not a top-10 overall defense, but a good defense that plays a fun brand of football.

13. Similar to LB, no real concerns at CB for the guys who will actually play. Wilson looked good -- no clue whose fault the coverage bust was, but he won his 1-on-1s all night. Ya-Sin is going to be good. Encouraged by his play in man coverage, and not making much of soft zone asks. Not a perfect night for the rookie, but you can easily see where this group is a solid 4-strong at the top.

14. I'm similarly confident at safety. I don't make much of a Derrick Kindred taking an awful fourth quarter angle and cutting himself, basically. That's preseason for you. I do just look at the play and skillsets of Hooker, Geathers, Willis and Farley and think: yeah, they're good there.

The George Odum thing is still so weird to me. We always hear about how much Ballard loves him. I personally have never been remotely impressed by him, and seeing him draw another flag last night was an "of course" moment.

15. I want Hines to stay healthy because I think he factors into the offense, but I wish he'd have taken a chance and tried to return the really returnable punt. I think Rogers ends up as the guy, but I'd like to at least see what guys not named Pascal or Rogers can do on kickoffs.

[Oldcolt]

I just want to thank you for this. It was a great thing to wake up to. Agreed on linebackers looking great and physical, Cain and Fountain both looked good. We need to improve offensive line depth in a big way. Defensive backfield may be a strength. Several times we were close to a coverage sack. Best part, nobody got hurt. Thanks again. Football, even shitty preseason football, is great to have on my TV again

[Chromeburn]

Some stuff just seems like a head-scratcher to me. Like releasing Jon Simon last year to keep Zaire Frankline and Mat Thomas. Neither of whom should probably make the roster this year. We could have used the extra pass rush Simon provided last year also. Not that Simon is complaining with his new SB ring. Still I have to think these decisions are made based on input from the coaches.

[GoBigBlue88]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

Some stuff just seems like a head-scratcher to me. Like releasing Jon Simon last year to keep Zaire Frankline and Mat Thomas. Neither of whom should probably make the roster this year. We could have used the extra pass rush Simon provided last year also. Not that Simon is complaining with his new SB ring. Still I have to think these decisions are made based on input from the coaches.

Are you thinking of Zaire Franklin and Matt Adams?

I think Zaire is a good special-teamer and Adams is a pretty good thumper backer. Both big reasons why special teams coverage was so strong last year.

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Originally Posted by GoBigBlue88

I don't judge off this one game, but I do think it's problematic Turay doesn't look better than he does at this point.

Turay banged up his shoulder on the second day of camp and then was held out for about a week of practices.

He could be:

1) not completely at 100% - although with how the coaching staff has been so ultra conservative with injuries this camp, probably not this option.

2) trying to "catch up" after missing those practice sessions.

[Hoopsdoc]

I was pretty disappointed in the offense, obviously. Buffalo punched us in the chin from the very first snap, which was a 3 yard loss with a holding penalty.

Seemed like the whole team was flat. I imagine Reich was pretty disappointed with the whole game.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc

I was pretty disappointed in the offense, obviously. Buffalo punched us in the chin from the very first snap, which was a 3 yard loss with a holding penalty.

Seemed like the whole team was flat. I imagine Reich was pretty disappointed with the whole game.

The O line wasnt complete, no Mack, no TY, and Brissett looked bad?

The Colts had nothing to gain playing this game except evaluate the film for individual match ups. Did anyone important get hurt so they may miss the first game?

I liked the young defenders. That Speed kid really brings it.

[YDFL Commish]

Originally Posted by JAFF

The O line wasnt complete, no Mack, no TY, and Brissett looked bad?

The Colts had nothing to gain playing this game except evaluate the film for individual match ups. Did anyone important get hurt so they may miss the first game?

I liked the young defenders. That Speed kid really brings it.

I'm telling you Speed will be the SAM. Now that might mean he only gets 30% of the defensive snaps in a game, but he will win the job.

[GoBigBlue88]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

I'm telling you Speed will be the SAM. Now that might mean he only gets 30% of the defensive snaps in a game, but he will win the job.

Yeah, I think that's almost foregone now tbh, unless they try Walker there with Okereke coming in hot at MIKE.

Okereke vs Walker fascinates me. I think Leonard/Okereke/Speed is your interchangeable core of the future, but Walker is too good on run downs to leave off the field. Good problem to have. Imagine some of it will be game-by-game: Okereke would be the better play vs Chiefs, for example, whereas Walker may get more snaps vs Jags and Titans.

[TheMugwump]

It may be just me, but I'm especially rooting for Okereke because of the way Pat Mcafee announced him at the draft. Nothing against Walker, and it's a nice problem to have at MLB.