This team is Good, this team is VERY good...

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by DrSpaceman

I know its not the starting D and not going against the starting O, but I was very impressed with the secondary and the speed to the ball after a catch. Right on them, no YAC to be had. Some great open field tackles after catches as well.

That INT by Kelly was a bad throw, underthrew it, but otherwise he has looked great. Again, not starters

He does tend to float some passes high though rather than zip them in

Yeah the keep it in front and rally to the ball, damn, we get there in a hurry.

Tell is one of those guys- I really think that this is a guy who is scrapping to catch the 53 in the final pre-season game, and doing quite well in that regard, who 3 years ago would have been sitting on his helmet this game and probably starting in the slot next Sunday.

Damn I am itching to see this crew out in LA!

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by DrSpaceman

What we are seeing right now is for the first time in a long time, on offense, its the coaching, not the QB, that are leading it.

ANd that is a good thing. With Reich calling plays, you don't have to rely on a Manning outsmarting everyone or Luck's athleticism being the key Run the scheme and spread it around to the talent.

Seems like this team has like 8 Tight ends that can play

Yep, 100% agree, and I for one believe that the combo of Ballard and Reich probably look at the Luck situation as just another source of motivation to be even better at their jobs- they are competitors and they seem like the type that would like nothing better to be able to sit down to dinner one evening in February and toast one another with a "fuck-em' all"...

[kitekrazy]

I'll be a skeptic for about the 1st half of the season.

[albany ed]

This might be the week to trade a few players and maybe get some OL depth

[ukcolt]

I haven't seen yesterdays game yet, but have watched all 3 of the other preseason games, and would say hold your horses just a little bit. Our depth guys were playing other teams depth guys and we had a record of 1-3. When Brissett was starting we couldn't move the ball at all, the run game has generally been terrible throughout the preseason games.

Now i do believe that we have the best depth that we have had in a long time, but the facts show that our bottom of the roster guys couldn't win the games against other backups. This could be answered because our offensive line depth has been rough, and makes it hard to actually play a proper game plan, and yet despite this Kelly has played really well.

I really like the depth of our receivers, TE's, the DL and the DB's. Even the LB's have young fast guys now, but they have yet to actually prove anything yet.

I think we will end up being a very good team by the end of the season, but may have some early season troubles, whilst the new guys find their feet.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by ukcolt

I haven't seen yesterdays game yet, but have watched all 3 of the other preseason games, and would say hold your horses just a little bit. Our depth guys were playing other teams depth guys and we had a record of 1-3. When Brissett was starting we couldn't move the ball at all, the run game has generally been terrible throughout the preseason games.

Now i do believe that we have the best depth that we have had in a long time, but the facts show that our bottom of the roster guys couldn't win the games against other backups. This could be answered because our offensive line depth has been rough, and makes it hard to actually play a proper game plan, and yet despite this Kelly has played really well.

I really like the depth of our receivers, TE's, the DL and the DB's. Even the LB's have young fast guys now, but they have yet to actually prove anything yet.

I think we will end up being a very good team by the end of the season, but may have some early season troubles, whilst the new guys find their feet.

Holder brought up some similar concerns yesterday. One lingering question is what is the starting 5 Oline going to look like? For whatever reason intra-sqaud, all camp our DL gave them fits- now that could also be a reflection of how improved we may be up front on DL as well. However, we never really saw the starting OL in PS and Holder said he is a bit concerned that because of this hold everyone back from live fire approach they may be rusty coming out of the gate AND he noted how all too frequently when you have guys that haven't really been busting it in camp- those first couple weekends guys arent in shape and you get things like hammy's and groins as they try to go too hard, he even mentioned the fact we start in LA and it will prob be hot as hell out there.

Definitely see some of the risks he's talking about and think that line holds the key to the whole thing. If we see a line play like they played down the stretch and through the Houston playoff game, we should be a damn good football team. If we start getting little nickle and dime injuries early, that will set us back quite a bit- Andrews does not look good, Boehm hasn't looked good, Barton looks like a disaster to this point.

[Brylok]

... preseason

[Hoopsdoc]

Originally Posted by ukcolt

I haven't seen yesterdays game yet, but have watched all 3 of the other preseason games, and would say hold your horses just a little bit. Our depth guys were playing other teams depth guys and we had a record of 1-3. When Brissett was starting we couldn't move the ball at all, the run game has generally been terrible throughout the preseason games.

Now i do believe that we have the best depth that we have had in a long time, but the facts show that our bottom of the roster guys couldn't win the games against other backups. This could be answered because our offensive line depth has been rough, and makes it hard to actually play a proper game plan, and yet despite this Kelly has played really well.

I really like the depth of our receivers, TE's, the DL and the DB's. Even the LB's have young fast guys now, but they have yet to actually prove anything yet.

I think we will end up being a very good team by the end of the season, but may have some early season troubles, whilst the new guys find their feet.

Although I mainly agree with you, you have to remember, we were only playing a quarterback half the time. Walker doesn’t really count.

Also, I don’t think I saw the Colts do any blitzing or stunting at all, although I could have missed it. They played about the most bland preseason I’ve ever seen, in terms of keeping things close to the vest.

[Oldcolt]

I love your optimism but I have seen to many shitshows after a promising pre season. Preseason play means zilch. We should be ready to handle injuries much better (although as many have pointed out our offensive line depth seems to have taken a hit this pre season) but there have to be huge concerns at the most important spot on the team. I am also concerned about the emotional state of the team, most having found out about Luck just like us on Saturday night. If we get off to a bad start Reich will have his hands full bringing it back around. These dudes are human and they have a built in excuse if things go south (they won't vocalize it but I worry that it might just be there in the back of their minds). My hope is that this team finds a new identity fast and I hope that identity is a fast destructive defense. I would love us to go from a qb centered team to a defensive centered team. Looking forward to finding out what happens.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by albany ed

This might be the week to trade a few players and maybe get some OL depth

I agee on the need, I'm not sure anyone is going to give up anyone who's worth a pick. Everone is short on good O linemen and I think the Colts are lucky to have what they have.