Colts-Titans quick thoughts
 

1. That was a really frustrating game. Obviously, Colts dominated throughout. But they did just enough dumb things, and the refs called just enough questionable penalties, to make it interesting. I hate games like that.

2. Kinda a weird game for Andrew Luck. Started off as strong as I've seen him, when I was a bit concerned about recent slow starts and early quarter inconsistency. Then, the pick-six. My God, that pick-six. I don't even know what to say about that pick-six. I love watching Luck play. Hard to make a case to trade him straight up for all but like 1-2 guys. But his quarter-to-quarter inconsistency, and turnovers within, are maddening.

3. I noticed Luck was really hesitant to climb the pocket today. If you do some math, he was also coming up to the line and making line calls. I don't think Luck trusts Evan Boehm at all. He probably should have a bit more today, but I get that Ryan Kelly is a huge missing piece. Boehm is pretty hopeless at the second level because he's a poor athlete, and while he's solid in pass pro, he's also given the absolute least to do.

4. I'm sorry, but at least 2 of the calls against Mark Glowinski were complete bullshit. Feels like the Colts are penalized once every other game just for pancaking someone. You can't hold someone who is already on their knees... Glowinski played well. Lazy analysis from NBC to suggest otherwise.

5. Inconsistent game from Marlon Mack, but more bad then good (EDIT: I misworded this in trying to get this out quickly; meant bad and good, wasn't quite what I was going for to suggest the balance of the two but I'll leave it in there for sake of honesty.) Loved seeing Jordan Wilkins get some burn today. I don't know how useful he'll be vs HOU, but long-term, you like to see him in the rotation with some value.

6. TY Hilton should get a statue for how he's gutted out this season. Just incredible. Almost any other WR would be down for weeks with that injury. This is one of the toughest performances we've seen from a NFL player, period.

7. But I also think Hilton's ankle limits where Colts can go in the playoffs. I think he's mostly a decoy at this point. Inman had a good game, but let's face it: the non-Hilton Colts WRs are just guys. Luck can only cook up so much magic, especially with Doyle also out.

8. Do you guys realize how close this offense is to being TERRIFYING next year, though? I mean, they need health, of course. Everyone does. But they're pretty much a WR2, possibly a RB and some spot depth away from being unfair.

9. Weird game from the defense. Honestly, their ask was pretty simple: they had to tackle soundly. Gabbert wasn't going to stress the back end at all. They tackled a bit inconsistently, IMO. Gabbert's awful passes bailed them out time and time again.

10. I already know Omaha will be pissed about me writing this, but it's true: George Odum was cut-worthy bad today. The penalty is one thing. His play in the base defense is just awful. He was solely responsible for Derrick Henry's big run that kept things interesting, he fucked up a sure INT to take 3 off the board for TEN, and was routinely lost in the MOF (just as he was last week).

11. Which leads me to: this team BADLY needs Geathers back. And Kelly.

12. I thought the Colts actually looked better after Tyquan Lewis went down, FWIW.

13. Jabaal Sheard had another silent stat game where he just blew up plays left and right all day. I really hope Lewis becomes Sheard in time. His role is just essential to this defense working.

14. Quiet game from Denico Autry, but he forced at least one big play (forget if it was an INT or PBU -- think it was Kenny Moore's INT) by jumping into Gabbert's first throwing lane and making Gabbert pull it down and reload.

15. Anthony Walker struggled with a few run fits today, but it was nice to have him back. He makes a big difference in communication alone.

16. Kenny Moore is just a baller. I think Eberflus has inflated the worth of a lot of players on this defense (Hunt, Desir etc.) But I think Moore is a legitimately good CB1. I think Moore and Leonard are good players in any defense.

17. Not sure Malik Hooker has ever been asked to do less in a game.

18. I know we get frustrated with Chester Rogers' fair catch (in)decisions, but he's in an unfair position, IMO. He shouldn't be the PR. That should have been upgraded years ago. But he's a great team player, and a tough kid. He does the best he is able to. The position needs upgrades, but he doesn't put it on the ground and he plays team football.

19. Also underrated moment: the Titans flashed a possible fake punt look. Colts communicated and adjusted quickly. If that happens last year, they fail to communicate adjustments and give up a first down for sure.

20. Frustrating game to watch from the officials. Ran about 20 minutes longer than it needed to because dumb shit was flagged. And they actually missed two obvious penalties on IND: an offensive facemask on Mack and whatever the hell JJ Wilcox was doing.

#5. ?????

I am not a Mack fan but 25 carries for 119 4.8 ypc and a TD wasn't inconsistent at all. His longest run was 21 yards so it was a pretty consistent 4 ypc without that run

That was pretty confusing.

The fumble was inexcusable (ball security/hands has been an on-again-off-again issue) and he left yards on the field in 2Q in general before being a lot more direct in the second half. I thought the OL absent Boehm at the second level played a FANTASTIC game today and Wilkins would have put up the same if not better numbers. We have to grade a bit on the scale of the holes and run lanes that were there.

And to be clear: I think it was an inconsistent game. Not a bad game. You just wonder what Mack could be if he was like he was in the Cowboys game or 2nd half of this game every week...

Nyheim Hines has become a very valuable contributor. As he continues to progress I think the options how to use him are limitless. He's a real weapon.

Mack wasn't inconsistent. Just made a bad mistake. He made some good, hard runs, and he had one or two others called back due to penalties.

You're absolutely right about Geathers. I think that hurt the defense quite a bit with him out and Odumbass in there, who was absolutely AWFUL. He should not have been on the field. Horrible.

It was a dominating performance by this team. If not for the silly mistakes
and poor officiating this would have been a 30+ point spread.
Luck will always make a couple of WTF plays but you live with that like you
did for Big ben and Favre, he's that damned good.
This team can do some real damage in the playoffs but it's hard not to
think of what the blueprint will be in the offseason- solidify the RB position(Bell?) get a decent WR2 and go balls to the wall in the draft for D. A team like
that would be the AFC Superbowl favorite, I'd think.

He's a de facto slot WR. Love how he's translated as a receiver. Don't even really need him in the backfield other than a few motion looks to keep defenses off balance.

Right before the play Odum hit the guy far out of bounds. They cut to a close up of him for a split second. His eyes were as big as saucers and he had s look of “what the fuck is happening?” On his face. Felt kind of bad for the kid.

I get the Odum hate.

But take a step back and watch again and he was playing ok. Making special teams tackles and playing the box role in our d. He is an undrafted kid that made 2 bad plays.

He made up for the hit out of bounds with a pick a few plays late if desir doesn’t knock it out of his hands.

Hooker on the te td played like a pussy. That isn’t mentioned

Always like your opinions buddy

No, he wasn't. He was horrid. He made several terrible plays that were big, big mistakes.

Luck will make at least 1 wtf bonehead throw in every game.
TY is a baller.
Odum sucks donkey balls.
Boehm is a decent replacement for Kelly, nothing more.
Kenny Moore has done nothing but continue to get better every week.
I would like to see Wilkins get more carries.
I like Mack a lot. But I'm not sure that he's even at a Joseph Addai level right now.
WR2 has got to be a huge consideration this off season.
Mo-Allie Cox could become a really good all around TE.
Anybody see the play where Costanzo was the extra RT and Mo-Allie Cox was playing LT? At least that's what I think I saw.
The consistent pockets that this OL creates are a thing of beauty.
Reich is a great coach.
Dam may be smarter than all of us, but he sucks at analyzing football.

That just isn’t true.

The hit out of bounds and make the missed tackle but what else was “horrid”

Both of those were awful plays. The other one was him running into the other colts defender in the end zone who was in position to get the INT. He should have been benched for that late hit play alone. That was high level dumbfuckery. Make excuses for the guy if you want, but I don't give a shit if he was drafted or undrafted. If you make stupid plays like that, your ass needs to be on the bench.

We need to clean up the penalties. Especially offensive holding.

Outstanding commentary again - thank you GBB.

Numbers 16 might be the most interesting one to me - it wasn't so long ago that everyone was calling for Kenny Moore's head. He was the Nyheim Hines of last year's preseason (not to mention an undrafted free agent castoff from the Patriots). How far he's come is amazing and should be an inspiration for any other players who aren't drafted and who struggle at first.

Number 6 is also a big change in attitude from last year, when some fans suggested TY was soft.

How far we have come since last season.

This team needs two WRs next year. Probably one from their first three picks, then one from elsewhere.

One missed call that pissed me off was early in the 4th on that Titans WR screen. Moore read it add could’ve had a pick 6 but the off receiver was shoving him as the ball was in the air. It was pretty egregious especially after all the ticky tack penalties on Glowinski.

Don’t forget about Deon Cain

I look forward to seeing what Cain can offer. But he hasn't played a down yet, is coming off a knee injury, and would essentially be playing his rookie season next year. It may take a little time with him. Fountain should see some progress with a full NFL off-season. I think we make one more draft pick in the first 3 rounds and throw them into the bunch with Innman, Pascal, and Rodgers

Especially when earlier in the game the called a penalty against the Colts on the EXACT SAME PLAY by the exact same WR in that position.

Really this should not have been a close game and the Colts let the Titans stay in it almost the whole game with turnovers and penalties. Some penalties deserved, some were not. The "tripping" call in particular was total BS. He fell down and was rolling over, the guy jump over him vertically.

I thought Mack played great, hard to fault a guy for a 100+ yard rushing game.

Have to tighten things up in the playoffs to go far, though I think just making the playoffs was about as much as we could hope for from this team. They can beat Houston, but once they go up against KC or SD, maybe NE, I can't see the D being good enough. They'd have to win a shootout in those. Which they can do, but Luck won't be able to make any stupid mistakes like that INT last night. NE WR group and Offense is not what it was in year's past. I know they blew out the Colts earlier in the year but that was a Thursday game as well with Walker and Leonard not in the game.

The hit out of bound penalty on the Colts didn't look as bad in replay as in real time. And again, was no more egregious than the hit on Luck out of bound where he slid and easily could have been injured, which was not called.

I saw that same line up with Castonzo flanked by MoAllie as the tackle- and he played it pretty decent really, it was a strange looking play...

Yes, Reich is bad ass- we got so lucky McSuck showed his ass.

Think that was Desir? There's no guarantee Desir makes that catch or more importantly, successfully outfights the receiver for the ball. Odum was in a slightly better position to make the catch and getting in there ensured at least a pass defense

Hopefully we will see the following with the Texans.

* great Andrew, no bad Andy. Am I wrong or does he make one boneheaded decision at least every game?

* A huge decrease in the lazy penalties that we saw last night.

* they park Hilton in the training room for the week and then roll them out for Saturday because he doesn’t need to practice.

* Kelly back at center.

The pass was already defended. All Odum did was ensure the Colts defender had no chance to pick it off.

Luck wasn't hit out of bounds. He was pushed as he was headed out of bounds. Odum hit his guy a yard or two out of bounds and gave them the frist down with that stupid play. Do that stupid shit against the Texans and it may cost us the game.

Luck was shoved when he was obviously going out of bounds.

Like I said, Odum's play was not as bad on the replay as it looked in real time. The runner was still in bounds as he was going in for the tackle, then stepped out. He hit him out of bounds, but he was not yet out of bounds when odum started his tackle.

They were similar plays. Odum's was worse, but not by much

Luck was not out of bounds when he was pushed. That play looked worse because of the surface he slid on once he got out of bounds.

Odum's play was FAR worse.

Here is the angle he took on that tackle. You see that he's angled to go after the tackle clearly way out of bounds:

https://i.imgur.com/vhJIDRu.jpg


Here is where he hit Lewis:

https://i.imgur.com/xVFsPNd.jpg
WAY out of bounds on that hit

There isi ZERO excuse to take that angle for a tackle when headed to the sideline. You take the angle at the sideline and if you miss him, it's because he went out of bounds, but you don't take a tackling angle that puts you way out of bounds. That's just stupid.

I am not arguing that it was not a penalty or whether he should have done it.

But your pictures suck and don't really prove what you think.

I cut the guys some slack on these things, they happen once in awhile. We get all over them to be aggressive and play through the whistle and then also jump all over them when they make plays like this on the sideline that are closer than what you are saying and what your pictures show. They are trying to make a split second decision on hitting or holding up on someone going out of bounds.

Your picture doesn't show where the ball carrier was when he started the move for the tackle. Still pictures like this are not that valuable, especially from this angle.

The video shows the same thing as the pictures. Odum takes an angle to tackle the guy out of bounds instead of at the sideline. His body is squared up to go at the guy out of bounds and that's exactly what he did. It was a horrible choice of a tackling angle. It's like he didn't know where he was on the field.

I'm all for cutting some slack too, but in the first pic, the ball carrier is fully OOB, while Odum is 1.5 yards away diving for a tackle that would intercept the ball carrier 1.5 yards OOB. Just a crappy, unnecessary and unprofessional mistake, one that I would expect to be called 100% of the time.

Yes, officiating on this game was ridiculously tight, probably setting a record for the most obscure illegal shift calls in the last 10 years, but this hit was pretty cut and dried.

It was a late hit out of bounds, and the kind of shit that might not cost us a game against the Titans, but a hell of a lot more likely to cost us a game against the Texans or the Patriots.

Not arguing it should not be a penalty or that he shouldn't do it, it was dumb

I am arguing it was not unprofessional or that he had any negligent intent or harmful intent on the play.

This was not TJ green type of piling jumping we saw for far too long. Was a dumb lapse in judgement he needs to correct.

I don't remember anyone saying he had harmful intent, so who are you arguing that against? I said it was a fucking stupid play, which it was.

It was called "crappy, unprofessional and unnecessary". I guess specifically the "unprofessional" is what I would disagree with.

Also, there were far worse mistakes than this one by the Colts all game, which have been pointed out. This is pretty far down on my list of game mistakes that concern me. Two TDs were called back on penalties and two completely stupid turnovers basically cost the team 10-14 points.

I'm not. I would just rather slot him in at WR4/WR5. Wouldn't you?

I thought he was very consistent. I told my son that he was about to rip off a long run, and about five minutes later, he goes for about 20. You could just sense that it was a good day for him.

Yep. That was a clear OPI that did not get called.

I don't like Odum much, but he had his back to the other two players, so he may have not known that Desir had a play on it.

Odum caught the pass. Desir knocked it out of his hands. You are being ridiculous