A Good Problem To Have

[TKnight24]

It's been a long time coming, but yes this is a positive thread about the offensive line

 

Yesterday was fantastic fellas! Absolutely fantastic. Backup targets to throw to and Andrew still had time to throw the football 

 

Now, here's the good problem. Jack Mewhort comes back next week I'd imagine. 

 

Joe Haeg was shown to be a better Guard than Tackle. What 5 do we put out there next week against a very good Kansas City front?

 

My pick: 

 

Castonzo

Mewhort

Kelly

Haeg

Reitz

 

No disrespect to Good, I like him. But I like Haeg as a Guard more than him as a Guard. Just my opinion 

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

Look. I get it. We won, everyone be positive. But let's be realistic here; the line wasn't any good. Our run game didnt do so great and anytime the titans sent a blitz our line totally collapsed. 

 

Luck simply got the ball out quickly or danced in the pocket like Brady. It took a near perfect game from Luck to win that one and our line play did us no favors. + the penalties, once again. 

 

Just a trend I've noticed every game. Every time they want to blitz the qb or get in the backfield, they do. Most teams only send 3/4 guys and thats often enough to mess our line up. 

[Old Colt]

6 minutes ago, Gabriel Alexander Morillo said:

Look. I get it. We won, everyone be positive. But let's be realistic here; the line wasn't any good. Our run game didnt do so great and anytime the titans sent a blitz our line totally collapsed. 

 

 

 

Run Game was actually solid, Gore averaged 3.5 yds a carry, which is great for this team.  OL has a long way to go, but a least it is trending in the right direction....  now as far as the defense... nuff said.

[JPFolks]

8 minutes ago, TKnight24 said:

It's been a long time coming, but yes this is a positive thread about the offensive line

 

Yesterday was fantastic fellas! Absolutely fantastic. Backup targets to throw to and Andrew still had time to throw the football 

 

Now, here's the good problem. Jack Mewhort comes back next week I'd imagine. 

 

Joe Haeg was shown to be a better Guard than Tackle. What 5 do we put out there next week against a very good Kansas City front?

 

My pick: 

 

Castonzo

Mewhort

Kelly

Haeg

Reitz

 

No disrespect to Good, I like him. But I like Haeg as a Guard more than him as a Guard. Just my opinion 

Good has been the worst lineman on the field in every game he has played.  Haeg is looking like the most impressive lineman this year, even slightly ahead of Kelly because he's played well at 3 positions compared to other starters. We didn't even miss Mewhort thanks to him, but we did miss him on the right side.  I bet he is the best option at LT (where he thrived in preseason in limited action) after Castonzo. He'd probably be the best backup center as well. 

[TKnight24]

5 minutes ago, Old Colt said:

Run Game was actually solid, Gore averaged 3.5 yds a carry, which is great for this team.  OL has a long way to go, but a least it is trending in the right direction....  now as far as the defense... nuff said.

The problem with the defense is a few bad apples make the whole unit look bad

 

McNary with the dumbest penalty of the day on the Robinson INT 

 

He needs to be cut asap. Bring in someone, anyone I don't care who. He was literally handing the Titans the game.

 

 

[TKnight24]

17 minutes ago, Gabriel Alexander Morillo said:

Look. I get it. We won, everyone be positive. But let's be realistic here; the line wasn't any good. Our run game didnt do so great and anytime the titans sent a blitz our line totally collapsed. 

 

Luck simply got the ball out quickly or danced in the pocket like Brady. It took a near perfect game from Luck to win that one and our line play did us no favors. + the penalties, once again. 

 

Just a trend I've noticed every game. Every time they want to blitz the qb or get in the backfield, they do. Most teams only send 3/4 guys and thats often enough to mess our line up. 

I beg to differ. Perfect blitz pick up

 

 

[chad72]

9 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

Good has been the worst lineman on the field in every game he has played.  Haeg is looking like the most impressive lineman this year, even slightly ahead of Kelly because he's played well at 3 positions compared to other starters. We didn't even miss Mewhort thanks to him, but we did miss him on the right side.  I bet he is the best option at LT (where he thrived in preseason in limited action) after Castonzo. He'd probably be the best backup center as well. 

 

With the way Castanzo has been playing, I'd think we'd be fine if Haeg had another off season at the LT position. I would not be upset or sweat much if they got a draft pick by trading Castanzo at the end of this season.

[AZColt11]

I am not surprised by the OL.  Maybe just that they looked good in a game this soon and did so without Mewhort.  They are very young overall.  I would not have been surprised if they struggled in every game this season.  I think the Colts expected this somewhat.  But the fact that they had a game like this yesterday is very encouraging going forward.  I just wouldn't expect them to look like this the rest of the year.  Again, encouraging.  A step forward.  All that.  But remember they are still learning and growing as a unit.  

[WarGhost21]

I agree that it's good to have quality depth, but I don't agree that it's a "good" problem we have here. IMO, only 2 lineman we have would start on another team (Kelly and Mewhort). Haeg has potential but he still gave up a few pressures and a sack yesterday. Until the line proves it can protect Luck consistently, we are in for a long ride.

[JPFolks]

5 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

With the way Castanzo has been playing, I'd think we'd be fine if Haeg had another off season at the LT position. I would not be upset or sweat much if they got a draft pick by trading Castanzo at the end of this season.

I think they hoped that Haeg could take over for Castonzo at some point with Clark stepping in at RT.  Not sure Clark is going to make it, but Haeg is the real deal and I seriously think he is no worse than #2 across every line position.  

[BCoop]

Castonzo has been much better after the preseason and first week or two. Isn't his PFF score right around Mewhort? I thought I had seen he was in the top 5 LT after week 5 or 6. 

 

I'm finally to a point where I'm ready to start Haeg full-time. Throw him at RG or RT and sit whoever he's replacing. It seems like the best lineup right now might be Castonzo, Mewhort, Kelly, Haeg, Reitz. If we want to kick him out to tackle at some point, throw him at RT and slide Reitz back inside. If you feel that Haeg is the LT of the future, then you can switch Castonzo to the right side. Lots of options with the group we have currently.

 

Anything Clark eventually gives us is a bonus at this point. I do wish we didn't spend a 3rd on him though. Could have really used a LB at that spot this year.

 

 

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

2 hours ago, Old Colt said:

Run Game was actually solid, Gore averaged 3.5 yds a carry, which is great for this team.  OL has a long way to go, but a least it is trending in the right direction....  now as far as the defense... nuff said.

"Great for this team" thats not how that works. Saying the run game was solid would mean the run game had a good day. Barely 3.2 ypc isn't a good day and the line didn't open up many holes for them. Yes we converted on some short yardage situations but we also couldn't use the run to help us avoid long down situations much  

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

2 hours ago, TKnight24 said:

I beg to differ. Perfect blitz pick up

 

 

Ill trust pff's in depth analysis over Holder's. I don't put all my faith in off but theyre much more comprehensive than this guy and his one cherry picked video 

[Solon]

Reitz is horrible. Keep Good at RG and Haeg at RT. Reitz gets overpowered way too dam much.

[Mameluc]

2 hours ago, chad72 said:

 

With the way Castanzo has been playing, I'd think we'd be fine if Haeg had another off season at the LT position. I would not be upset or sweat much if they got a draft pick by trading Castanzo at the end of this season.

as much as i would like to dislike this post i agree. I dont know what happened to Castonzo, but he hasnt been playing well.

[richard pallo]

38 minutes ago, Solon said:

Reitz is horrible. Keep Good at RG and Haeg at RT. Reitz gets overpowered way too dam much.

Couldn't agree more.  Haag has a lot of problems with the bull rush too.  Just not strong enough but he has a lot of upside.  Good is getting better every game.  Only an injury keeps him out of the lineup. Remember this is his first year playing guard and he's played only six games.  

[James]

LT - Castonzo

LG - Mewhort

C - Kelly

RG - Haeg

RT - Good

 

For me Reitz is strictly a backup.

[rockywoj]

I would not be upset in seeing false-start Reitz moving to backup.  Haeg at RT, for now.  I still believe that ultimately, Castonzo's future is at RT, but we need a better guy for LT before that can happen.

 

Regardless, hopefully the OL will continue to gel and this team can pull it out against KC next week and the Packers the week after, thereby heading into the bye-week at 5-4.  Thereafter, hope that the team continues to evolve and improve and turn into an actual solid play-off contender down the stretch.  (As flawed as the Colts are, they REALLY should be at 5-2 right now at the worst, given the horrible way they lost to Detroit and Houston.  Even 6-1 is arguable, as they arguably should have beaten the Jaguars.  Hence, they are actually not all that far removed from a team that should be slotted for the playoffs.  If they get there, just gotta hope for a 2006 type of playoff run thereafter, with everything gelling at the right time!)

 

Nothing wrong with being hopeful.  Go Colts!

[NewColtsFan]

4 hours ago, Gabriel Alexander Morillo said:

Look. I get it. We won, everyone be positive. But let's be realistic here; the line wasn't any good. Our run game didnt do so great and anytime the titans sent a blitz our line totally collapsed. 

 

Luck simply got the ball out quickly or danced in the pocket like Brady. It took a near perfect game from Luck to win that one and our line play did us no favors. + the penalties, once again. 

 

Just a trend I've noticed every game. Every time they want to blitz the qb or get in the backfield, they do. Most teams only send 3/4 guys and thats often enough to mess our line up. 

 

We only gave up 2 sacks.     So, did our line really totally collapse?

 

It's not like it was in the 4th quarter and OT vs. Houston when it looked like they were blitzing 10 guys and we had 3 to block them.

 

I thought the line was pretty good,  all things considered....

 

[krunk]

10 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

We only gave up 2 sacks.     So, did our line really totally collapse?

 

It's not like it was in the 4th quarter and OT vs. Houston when it looked like they were blitzing 10 guys and we had 3 to block them.

 

I thought the line was pretty good,  all things considered....

 

I thought they blocked fine as well.   Some people just can't see the sunlight I guess.

[krunk]

11 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

We only gave up 2 sacks.     So, did our line really totally collapse?

 

It's not like it was in the 4th quarter and OT vs. Houston when it looked like they were blitzing 10 guys and we had 3 to block them.

 

I thought the line was pretty good,  all things considered....

 

Last time I checked when somebody sends several blitzers I think it's a smart thing to get rid of the ball quickly!  Why do we have to look down on the line for that?  Oh you couldnt block all 7 of those blitzers with your 5 men!  Shame on you. LOL

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

2 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

We only gave up 2 sacks.     So, did our line really totally collapse?

 

It's not like it was in the 4th quarter and OT vs. Houston when it looked like they were blitzing 10 guys and we had 3 to block them.

 

I thought the line was pretty good,  all things considered....

 

Yes, it did collapse. He was pressured on half of his dropacks I believe. Thats why I'm so proud of Luck for maneuvering the pocket like a maestro and getting rid of the ball very quickly. credit to Chudzinski for making adjustments from the Texans game. 

[NewColtsFan]

16 minutes ago, Gabriel Alexander Morillo said:

Yes, it did collapse. He was pressured on half of his dropacks I believe. Thats why I'm so proud of Luck for maneuvering the pocket like a maestro and getting rid of the ball very quickly. credit to Chudzinski for making adjustments from the Texans game. 

 

The stats that I've seen say 2 sacks and 5 hits.       Considering we were on our 5th OB combination,  I think that's a pretty good days work.

 

Remember,  getting pressured is often a function of Andrew and how long he's willing to hold the ball.

 

It's pretty obvious that I'm an Andrew Luck guy,  but I embrace his willingness to hold on to the ball longer than most in an effort to find an open receiver and make a play.      I'm not sure the line can be blamed for much of that.

 

Just a difference perspective.....

 

[TKnight24]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

The stats that I've seen say 2 sacks and 5 hits.       Considering we were on our 5th OB combination,  I think that's a pretty good days work.

 

Remember,  getting pressured is often a function of Andrew and how long he's willing to hold the ball.

 

It's pretty obvious that I'm an Andrew Luck guy,  but I embrace his willingness to hold on to the ball longer than most in an effort to find an open receiver and make a play.      I'm not sure the line can be blamed for much of that.

 

Just a difference perspective.....

 

Not to mention his weapons were practice squad players. Too many drops yesterday, but they caught the ones that mattered most 

[aReggie7]

4 hours ago, rockywoj said:

I would not be upset in seeing false-start Reitz moving to backup.  Haeg at RT, for now.  I still believe that ultimately, Castonzo's future is at RT, but we need a better guy for LT before that can happen.

 

 

Agree. Hopefully Clark can develop and by the LT.

[NewColtsFan]

58 minutes ago, ar7 said:

 

Agree. Hopefully Clark can develop and by the LT.

 

They won't make Clark the LT right away.      My guess would be he's tried at RT next year....   and perhaps in 18 as well.       A couple of good years at RT and then maybe if Castanzo is slipping,  and Clark has proven himself as a RT,  then you flip him to the Left side.      And Haeg would likely be the RT....   him or Good.

 

[Archangel]

I think some of you had better look at some of the games where Good was at RG and Haeg was at RT, Gore was chipping away almost 4.7 to 5 yards a carry their were a couple of promblems but that is to be expected and this is really good considering good was a first year starter at RG and he was pushing people down the field 5 to 10 yards and did not stop, it takes times we have 2 rookies and two 2nd year starters on the O-line a heck of a lot better then what we have had in the past. I just hope clark and blythe turn out to be half as good,  Then you will have your run offensive line. I will say give this guys 2 or 3 more games together then grade them. 

[dw49]

47 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

They won't make Clark the LT right away.      My guess would be he's tried at RT next year....   and perhaps in 18 as well.       A couple of good years at RT and then maybe if Castanzo is slipping,  and Clark has proven himself as a RT,  then you flip him to the Left side.      And Haeg would likely be the RT....   him or Good.

 

 

 

I agree with your assessment of Clark . If he's not a bust , he'll start at RT. As for Castonzo , he's already started to slip. Hopefully was due to injuries last year and maybe just a "slump" this year .

[NewColtsFan]

4 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

 

I agree with your assessment of Clark . If he's not a bust , he'll start at RT. As for Castonzo , he's already started to slip. Hopefully was due to injuries last year and maybe just a "slump" this year .

 

I think AC has been less than 100% this year.    I think he was pretty good this week,  and I'm not sure about last week vs. Houston.    I thought the heat came from the right side in that game too,  not the left.

 

So, I'm not sure if AC is slipping,  but I'm trying to keep a close eye on him.

 

I hope you're right....

 

[dw49]

10 hours ago, chad72 said:

 

With the way Castanzo has been playing, I'd think we'd be fine if Haeg had another off season at the LT position. I would not be upset or sweat much if they got a draft pick by trading Castanzo at the end of this season.

 

Be pretty tough to trade him next year. We would eat 8.4 mil in dead money.

[Mr Coffee]

11 hours ago, Old Colt said:

Run Game was actually solid, Gore averaged 3.5 yds a carry, which is great for this team.  OL has a long way to go, but a least it is trending in the right direction....  now as far as the defense... nuff said.

No.  3.5 yards a carry is below his avg for the season.  

[dw49]

39 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I think AC has been less than 100% this year.    I think he was pretty good this week,  and I'm not sure about last week vs. Houston.    I thought the heat came from the right side in that game too,  not the left.

 

So, I'm not sure if AC is slipping,  but I'm trying to keep a close eye on him.

 

I hope you're right....

 

 

 

He looked good yesterday. I wiped that Houston game from y memory bank , so can't comment on last week.

[dudeski]

11 hours ago, JPFolks said:

Good has been the worst lineman on the field in every game he has played.  Haeg is looking like the most impressive lineman this year, even slightly ahead of Kelly because he's played well at 3 positions compared to other starters. We didn't even miss Mewhort thanks to him, but we did miss him on the right side.  I bet he is the best option at LT (where he thrived in preseason in limited action) after Castonzo. He'd probably be the best backup center as well. 

This is a joke right?

[dudeski]

11 hours ago, JPFolks said:

I think they hoped that Haeg could take over for Castonzo at some point with Clark stepping in at RT.  Not sure Clark is going to make it, but Haeg is the real deal and I seriously think he is no worse than #2 across every line position.  

Pretty sure that never crossed their minds

[jbaron04]

12 hours ago, TKnight24 said:

It's been a long time coming, but yes this is a positive thread about the offensive line

 

Yesterday was fantastic fellas! Absolutely fantastic. Backup targets to throw to and Andrew still had time to throw the football 

 

Now, here's the good problem. Jack Mewhort comes back next week I'd imagine. 

 

Joe Haeg was shown to be a better Guard than Tackle. What 5 do we put out there next week against a very good Kansas City front?

 

My pick: 

 

Castonzo

Mewhort

Kelly

Haeg

Reitz

 

No disrespect to Good, I like him. But I like Haeg as a Guard more than him as a Guard. Just my opinion 

Nope reitz should be benched, heag at rt 

[jbaron04]

11 hours ago, JPFolks said:

I think they hoped that Haeg could take over for Castonzo at some point with Clark stepping in at RT.  Not sure Clark is going to make it, but Haeg is the real deal and I seriously think he is no worse than #2 across every line position.  

Clark might be good player if his potential lives up 

[jbaron04]

I think the colts should roll with

Ac - Lt 

Jw - lg

Rk - c

Dg - rg

Jh - rt for this yr and have him and clark battle in the off season 

 

Joe reitz in no way shape or form should be starting he has costly  penalties in every game he plays. He should be back up swing tackle and heavy package te / t that's it 

[cbear]

I'm not sure what some posters are seeing, but I just finished my usual replay and timing of the OL, and they did a wonderful job.

 

On blitzes, the Oline averaged a very impressive 2.5 seconds for Andrew to throw (including several Lebeau specials with 6 and 7 men coming).  Even on the plays where you might say he was pressured, he still had time to stand in there and throw the ball.  On the few plays he did have to dance around, almost all of them were due to no one being open (game pass coaches view is great to see the pass patterns develop if you have NFL game pass).  Even in those cases with Andrew holding on to the ball, he still had an average around three seconds before he was forced to move.  

 

On four man or less rushes, they allowed him around 2.7 seconds.  Frankly, it could have been more, but Andrew was getting the ball out quicker, but the time was there, even on deeper balls.  

 

The only weak point on the line was Reitz.  On the first sack, it was a complete breakdown on his part.  The lineman across Good did a stunt and Reitz didn't pick it up.  On two other plays where I would say the line collapsed, it was Reitz again who allowed his man around him.  He is definitely our weak link on that line.

 

The running game was also solid.  At no time was any RB in danger of losing yards (I don't think they had a negative play).  If you take out the kneel downs and the two runs near the goal line, they averaged about 3.8 yards a play.  Not great, but not bad.  They also ran the ball more on short yardage, which was good to see.

[Gavin]

LT-Castonzo

LG-Mewhort

C-Kelly

RG-Reitz

RT-Haeg

 

Good needs to learn what it means to be a pro before he is considered to be a starter. He needs to get his weight under control and drop some weight and work on his technique

 

Its really not a good problem to have when you have to decide who you want to play at RT and RG half way through the season. You'd like to have a clear cut #1 guy at each spot that have those positions locked down. We dont

 

The problem is starting Haeg AND Reitz in affect takes away from that proverbial 6th O Lineman this coaching staff seems infatuated with so much unless you want to throw Clark into that role having only taken 1 snap on the season. Its a risk but it might e 1 I'm willing to take to get Good off the field

 

 

[RockThatBlue]

I'd be fine with Haeg taking Goods spot.

 

The OL yesterday was absolutely awesome. Best game of the year from that unit.