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Caleb3502

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  2. Caleb3502

    Interesting stats

    By Caleb3502,

    Since it is the bye week I want to gather something interesting statistics that people might have not known or is a very important statistic.
    Offense
    Andrew Luck is 1st in the NFL for fewest interceptions thrown (QBs that started every game, Matt Ryan threw 4 INTs and Manning threw 3 INTs in Week 8, they previously both had three each)
    Andrew Luck has been sacked 15 times this year, sacked 7 times in the first 2 games. Sacked 18 times through 7 games last year.
    12th in the NFL in Total Yardage with 2,413 yards
    8th in the NFL in Rushing Yards per Game with 129.3
    5 in the NFL in Points Scored with 187
    Tied for 6th in the NFL in Yards per Carry Average
    3rd in the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns with 8
    Tied for 28th in the NFL in Fumbles

    Defense
    Jerrell Freeman is tied for 9th in the NFL in Tackles with 60
    Robert Mathis is tied for 2nd in the NFL in Forced Fumbles and 1st in the NFL in Sacks with 11.5
    6th in the NFL in sacks with 21
    4th in the AFC in interceptions with 8
    Tied for 4th in the NFL in Forced Fumbles with 10
    Tied for 4th in the NFL in Touchdown Passes Allowed with 8
    8th in the NFL in Passer Rating Allowed with 78.3
    12 in the NFL in Passing Yards per Game Allowed with 228

    Special Teams
    Adam Vinatieri is tied for 4th in the NFL in Field Goals made
    Vinatieri is tied for 1st in the NFL in 50+ yards field goals made
    McAfee is 12th in the NFL in Punt Yard Avg with 46.3
    Tied for 6th in the NFL in Punts Inside the 20
    David Reed is 11th in the NFL in KR Avg with 25.1
    T.Y. Hilton is tied for 15th in the NFL in PR Avg

    Conversion/ TO Difference
    6th in the NFL in 3rd Down Conversion % with 42.7
    2nd in the NFL in Fewest Penalties
    2nd in the NFL in Penalty Yards with 227
    Tied for 9th in the NFL in First Downs
    6th in the NFL in 1st Downs by Run
    2nd in the NFL in Turnover Differential
    7th in the NFL in 3rd Down Conversion % Allowed with 34.8%

  3. Caleb3502
    So now we beat Denver and the so-called "unstoppable Manning and Broncos offense, which we stopped really well for most of the game and did not allow them to take the lead after they held a 14-10 lead in the 2nd quarter. The Colts do not have the best record in the NFL, but have beaten teams with the best records in the NFL. Denver was undefeated and now 6-1. Seattle was undefeated and now 6-1. San Francisco is back and is now 5-2. The only team with more wins than us that we haven't already beaten is the Chiefs, who currently sit at 7-0, and we play them this year. So, considering how well we have done against the NFL elite, I think we can be the best and Super Bowl contenders. I know we loss Reggie for the year but Grigson will find away to keep the receiving corps growing.
    Games Won Against Teams
    In this category I will break down the wins of teams in the NFL against the record of the team they beat. For example, we beat Denver that is 6-1.
    Indianapolis 5-2 record / 19-15 combined record of defeated opponents (7 of those losses come from the Jaguars)
    Kansas City 7-0 record / 14-33 combined record of defeated opponents (Cowboys only team beat with a current winning record)
    Denver 6-1 record / 12-28 combined record of defeated opponents (Cowboys once again only team with current winning record)
    Seattle 6-1 record / 16-25 combined record of defeated opponents (49ers only team with current winning record)
    New England 5-2 record / 14-18 combined record of defeated opponents (Saints and Jets teams with current winning record)
    New Orleans 5-1 record / 12-20 combined record of defeated opponents (Bears only team with winning record)
    Cincinnati 5-2 record / 18-15 combined record of defeated opponents (Patriots, Packers, and Lions teams with current winning record)
    Cincinnati is closest to us as fair as win-loss total of defeated opponents goes.
    Players on Team
    A lot of people don't realize how many good players or even great players are on our roster. I'll name a few but there are many more:
    QB Andrew Luck
    Not much too say that people do not know. Luck has 10 TD passes on the year with only 3 INTs. Not a lot of passing yards with 1,574 but is making good throws and leading this team to scoring drives. He also has 28 carries for 183 yards and three rushing touchdowns, not to mention how hard he is to bring down in the pocket and running. Future of the NFL and will continue his greatness for years to come.
    WR T.Y. Hilton
    We lost Reggie Wayne. It's unfortunate, but we still have a playmaker who will see a lot more receptions. Hilton has great speed and big play ability. He has struggled with drops like last year but has improved and does not miss to many catchable passes. DHB I think is getting closer to becoming what we wanted and looked better vs Denver other than the ball that was just thrown past him. He did have a nice 30-yard run and good fake on the touchdown. He and Hilton add 4.3 speed to our offense.
    ILB Jerrell Freeman
    Freeman is an outstanding linebacker who displays good pass coverage, which can lead to a sack when he blitzes like Sunday. He punishing tackler like LaRon and rarely ever misses a tackle. Such good speed and awareness that keeps the line backing corps together.
    OLB Robert Mathis
    Mathis is playing his best season of his career with 11.5 sacks already through 7 games, which leads the NFL. Mathis is making a strong case for DPOY. He might even break the single season sack record, which he is on pace to do.
    CB Vontae Davis
    Davis was unstoppable against Denver. Did not allow anything caught his way, going up against a great WR in Demariyus Thomas. Davis was thrown at 8 times and only allowed 2 completions for 4 yards. He is our top shutdown corner which helps eliminate that side of the field.
    K Adam Vinatieri and P Pat McAfee
    Vinatieri continues to get it done as the oldest player in the NFL at age 40. He made clutch field goals in the game that preserved the win. McAfee had a few bad punts but had some really good ones, not to mention his hit on Trindon Holliday.
    We have players on our roster that show we can be the best. As I said in a post months ago, we might have the best roster in the NFL.
    Remaining Schedule
    We have a bye this week to get injuries rested and heeled and they we have an easier schedule then the first half, which was the hardest part.
    Week 8: Bye
    Week 9: at Texans (Sunday Night Football) Foster was hurt yesterday and Case Keenum will most likely get the start.
    Week 10: vs Rams / They don't have Sam Bradford anymore, he is done for the season.
    Week 11: at Titans (Thursday Night Football)
    Week 12: at Cardinals / Carson Palmer is always throwing an interception
    Week 13: vs Titans
    Week 14: at Bengals / Going to be a possibly tough game. Depends on which team shows up. The team that lost to Cleveland or beat the Packers.
    Week 15: vs Texans / Never lost at home vs Texans ever
    Week 16: at Chiefs / Possibly tough team. They are 7-0 for a reason but have not defeated teams with really good records.
    Week 17: vs Jaguars / I think we know how likely this is going to end.
    The Colts have a possible shot at going 9-0 the rest of the year, but every team has a bad game and it might come against the Chiefs or Bengals. I don't think they will lose more than 2 games, only if the team can stay healthy, which has been a big issue. We can go 12-4 and take back our AFC South crown. If we do win the rest of our games, which we are capable of, we can be considered the best team in the NFL at 14-2. We did it without Chuck, we can do it without Reggie. I think we will be even more motivated now to win for Reggie.
  4. Caleb3502
    A lot of Colts fans are upset with our performance on Monday Night Football and I was furious. But, it was just one other game and we just so happened to be outplayed with injuries that plagued the defense. The Colts have a completely different mindset going into Week 7, when they will have Manning come home on Sunday Night Football. Every Colts fan will be watching the game and most would be happy for whoever wins (All Colts fans hope for the Colts to win, but most should might be happy if Manning wins). The Colts may look bad after Monday, but even the Broncos are having a slight decline. A lot of people will disagree, but here is why this game:
    The Broncos have a very high powered offense, but our defense will be better this Sunday. The Broncos will get Von Miller back, but he is just one part to that defense. If we can keep Miller from Luck and the ball carrier and try to not be as conservative and let Luck throw the ball, Luck can pick apart their defense and hopefully get some touchdowns on the board. Their offense is obviously fantastic and Manning is having the best season of his career, but we know Manning and might be able to hold him on drives. As been mentioned before, Manning has struggled in the past with a 3-4 defense. Manning only knows Indy for their 4-3 defense, which he practiced hundreds of times against. But now, we have a completely different defense with only two players that Manning was teammates with on the Colts in the Super Bowl. I'm sure Robert Mathis is waiting to finally hit Peyton.
    The Colts have been good on offense for really every game except Monday Night but that was in large part to the drops and the lack of time of possession. I'm not saying we should completely go away from the offense we ran on Monday Night. Can Richardson going, with a carry or two on the first drive. If he is able to get 4-5 yards, feed him the ball. If he has two carries on the drive for 3 yards, give the ball to Luck and let him pass. He has Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton, so I think he should be able to pass the ball. Work with Fleener and DHB on receiving during practice for 6 hours a day. We are going to need everyone if we want to one. When I say everyone, I now want to get into the topic of the defense. LaRon Landry has been hurt too long and needs to come back this week. I'm not sure on the situation with Freeman and how mad his concussion was, but we will need him too. Kavell Conner would be also nice to have back this week. Greg Toler was having trouble Monday Night and who knows who he will cover this week. Probably Decker or Welker, depending if they put Welker in the slot. Then it would be Butler covering Welker, which is a good matchup for our secondary.
    Every analyst is going to be picking the Broncos over the Colts and they are going to annihilate the Colts 48-14. Denver has struggled the last two weeks and going back to the Oakland game where they won 37-21. Big margin of win, but it was not 52-20. They nearly lost the game vs the Cowboys, winning by a field goal in a 51-48 score, and allowing Romo to throw 503 yards and 5 touchdowns. Last week, they beat the Jaguars 35-19. When the Colts played the Jaguars, we won 37-3. Manning has also throw back-to-back games with an interception after starting the first four games without one. Manning is stoppable and has shown that in the past. This will be a very emotional game, but don't influence who will win the game based off our performance on Monday Night.
  5. Caleb3502
    The Colts have been this force to be reckoned with after the loss to the Dolphins and the slight win over the Raiders. We nearly came away with a win against the Dolphins but we weren't in sync that game as a team. Week 3 we beat the NFC Champion 49ers and held them to 7 points. The 49ers steamrolled the Texans on Sunday Night Football. Week 4 we beat the Jaguars 37-3 but that is not a challenging thing to do. Week 5 was a really interesting game that kept me standing up pretty much the entire second half, but we still came away with a 34-28 win. Last year I don't think the Colts really had a lot of scoring and would win games like 21-14. We scored 30 points or more I think only twice all of last year. We beat the Packers 30-27 and beat the Lions 35-33. This year through 5 games we have done that twice. The scores from the other team have diminished thanks to a revamped defense that is missing key players like LaRon Landry and Ricky Jean Francois but players like Fili Moala and Delano Howell really have stepped up.
    Bleacher Report has a ranked at #3http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1801139-nfl-power-rankings-standings-and-outlook-for-each-team-after-sundays-action and NFL.com had us ranked at #6 last week and we will move up this week. I will get the link when they list the power rankings which is after the Monday Night Football game. The Bengals will move up because they beat the Patriots but not Top 5 since they also lost to the Browns. Sometimes they are good and sometimes they aren't. The Chiefs may be or may not be ahead of us, probably won't even though they are undefeated, they have beaten teams like the Titans without Locker, the Giants (enough said), Jaguars, Cowboys (who have been off and on), and Eagles. The only team they have beaten with a winning record is the Titans at 3-2. We have beaten the Seahawks who were undefeated but now 4-1 and the 49ers who are now 3-2.
    I think we are the second best team in the AFC and the Top 5 Team in the NFL. The Saints and Broncos right now are better than us. In my opinion, the first half of our schedule up to the bye week was the hardest part. We had the risk of going 3-4, but now sitting at 4-1, we have a good shot at 5-2 going into the bye week. We have had trouble in the past with the Chargers but this isn't the same Colts that were apart of those losses. Vinatieri, Wayne, Bethea, and Mathis were the only ones really apart of those losses. We can go there on Monday Night and get the win and go play Peyton in Lucas Oil (The fans are going to be louder than ever). If we were to beat Manning and the Broncos we would be the #1 team in the NFL and unstoppable. We have a manageable schedule after the bye: at Texans (SNL), Rams, at Titans (TNF), Cardinals, Titans, at Bengals, Texans, at Chiefs, Jaguars. We could win 7-8 of those games and finish with a 12-4 or 13-3 record with the AFC South Division Crown.
  6. Caleb3502
    The Colts waived S Joe Lefeged and now they signed S Larry Asante to the 53-man roster. Larry Asante was a 5th round pick by the Cleveland Browns back in 2010 and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2010-2011. He was signed to a future/reserve contract back in 2012 for the Colts and played in the 2013 Preseason for the Colts. In the Preseason, he had a 48-yard interception for a touchdown in Week 3 and had 15 total tackles in the preseason finale. In the Regular season as a Buccaneer, he had 14 total tackles and a four-yard interception.
    I'm not sure if Lefeged is allowed to be on the a Practice Squad because I think there is a rule that a player cannot be on the PS after being in the NFL so many years. Lefeged was a fill-in starter in 2011 and was a fill-in starter for Zbitowski in 2012. He had 2 interceptions and 34 total tackles in 2011 and 31 total tackles in 2012 and had only one tackles in four games this year. Lefeged has had off the field issues and that is most likely why he was waived plus Asante has the upper edge after a strong preseason performance.
  7. Caleb3502
    The Colts made a surprising move. The Colts waived WR Griff Whalen. Whalen had only played three games this year after being on Injured Reserve all of last year. Whalen had caught two passes for 28 yards this season. I thought Whalen was going to be in the mix since Luck and him know the playbook well like Fleener because all three of them played at Stanford, and now running the Stanford Offense under Pep Hamilton. Whalen will most likely clear waivers and the Colts will sign him to the practice squad.
    To take his roster spot, the Colts signed FB Robert Hughes, who played in five games last year for the Colts. I don't know why you would sign him since you have a well-rounded fullback in Stanley Havili and a decent backup with TE Dominique Jones. Also, WR LaVon Brazill is officially done with his four-game suspension. Depending how well he plays during practice, will indicate if he will be active for Week 5 vs. the Seahawks. The Colts will have 53 players on the roster without Brazill so someone will have to be waived/released. If he is not activated or not taken off the reserve list, I don't think he would have to come back on the roster right now. If he has to be placed back on the roster, a player will have to be removed.
  8. Caleb3502
    There is one major question we need to be answered. Who is the season starter: Bradshaw or Richardson. Bradshaw will most likely start the next game but moving forward who will start the first series of the game or tried to be featured more. We gave the Browns a 1st round pick for Trent Richardson and you would assume that be would become the starter but Bradshaw makes a very good argument for how he has been running this season, especially against the 49ers. Let's break down the two backs:
    Ahmad Bradshaw
    Bradshaw was running "angry" at the 49ers defense and was a hard force to bring down. Bradshaw had 19 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. He had more yards against the 49ers than he had through the first two games (91 yards, 1 TD). So Bradshaw so far this year has 186 yards rushing, 2 TDs, and a 4.5 yards per carry average. Bradshaw is also a very good pass-blocking runningback and has looked good when Luck throws the ball to him. Bradshaw is a power runningback at 5'10 214 lb. but can be elusive and breaks tackles in the open field.
    Trent Richardson
    Richardson scored on his first carry as an Indianapolis Colt on a 1-yard run. He had 13 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. He might have had a measly 2.7 yards per carry average, but most of his runs were punishing and only got a few yards because of how the defense played against the lineman. But, what I saw from that was he was powering through the defense for a few yards and tired them. When, Bradshaw came on, they were too tired to stop him easily. Trent Richardson can tire a defense at 5'9'' 225 lb. and help set up the pass and even more runs.
    I think Bradshaw will be the starter for now. Richardson is going to probably be the franchise back even though Ballard should be back next year. Bradshaw has the momentum right now and has the most to prove. I know our team will be using a 1-2 punch this year with Richardson and Bradshaw but Bradshaw will get more touches. I know Richardson wasn't exactly prepared and well-rested going into the game which is why he saw limited carries. Even so, Bradshaw is probably going to get the more touches because he was here longer and has the upper edge.
    Another interesting thing is the use of Donald Brown. We will never be the starter this year unless they are injured but he adds a nice element to the run game. Bradshaw and Richardson are power backs, but Brown is more of an elusive back who does not rely on powering through defenders but trying to run around. Brown did a decent job yesterday with 3 carries for 27 yards. If he can occasionally come in and run past the defense after they were worn out by Bradshaw and Richardson, our running game will be even better. Luck is going to have fun throwing over a defense that is too tired after the effects of the running game.
  9. Caleb3502
    According the football ''experts'' everywhere, the Colts do not stand a chance against the 49ers.
    This is what NFL.com picks:
    Sunday 4:25 PM ET CBS 13 29
    The San Francisco 49ers will bounce back in a major way, thwarting an Indianapolis Colts offense that will need to run the football but will have a hard time doing so, even with Trent Richardson. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 116 yards the last time he played at the 'Stick, but that was last year, and that was for the New York Giants. Richardson, meanwhile, is too new to be expected to get his playbook, learn the offense and rack up 100 yards on the 49ers' defense. On the passing front, Indy must protect Andrew Luck by leaving a tight end in sometimes; don't forget that Dwayne Allen is out for the year. The key for Indy might be the matchup between Reggie Wayne and Niners cornerback Carlos Rogers when the veteran Colts receiver plays out of the slot. As far as the Niners' offense is concerned, we can expect Frank Gore to get 20-25 touches following a rough night in Seattle (nine carries for 16 yards) last Sunday. I don't expect San Francisco's offensive line to have trouble with Indianapolis' defensive front.
    This is what ESPN predicts (All 49ers): http://espn.go.com/nfl/picks
    This is what USA Today predicts: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/09/19/staff-picks-week-3-predictions/2836643/
    This is what Sports Illustrated Picks:
    4:25 p.m. ET (CBS) Indianapolis Colts (1-1) at San Francisco 49ers (1-1)
    Don't ever remember seeing Jim Harbaugh wear glasses on the sideline like he did last Sunday night in Seattle. It was almost as if the 49ers' head coach couldn't believe his eyes, given the whipping the bad-butt Seahawks were administering to his talented and well-balanced team. San Francisco was probably in a foul mood this week with wounded pride, and that means the Colts could suffer the consequences. Welcome back to the Bay Area, Andrew Luck. Now kindly prepare for defeat, signed, the 49ers.
    33
    24
    After searching and searching I found a pick from SB Nation that believes in us:
    Indianapolis Colts vs. San Francisco 49ers (-10)
    Jim Harbaugh reunited with his former quarterback at Stanford. Somehow I suspect Harbaugh in hyper-focused coach mode has as much sentimentality about the reunion as the rest of the world does. After all, it's not like he had much time or interest in a reunion with Richard Sherman last week, another one of his former players. On the Colts' side, it doesn't sound like Trent Richardson will be ready for a full-time role this week. This is another one of those giant spreads, which I've been warning you about. The 49ers should win this one outright, but I'm picking the Colts to cover.
    The pick: Indianapolis
    Then I went to CBS.com to see what they picked:
    IND at SF Sep 22, 4:25 PM ET -10.5
    SF
    So what does all these picks really mean, nothing, but it is interesting on how people feel about the Colts. Only five people are in favor of the Colts versus all of the people that are in favor of the 49ers. This will be a tough game and the majority is probably right, but they don't give the Colts much of a chance do they. We beat the Packers after coming off a loss from the Jaguars. Who's to say we won't beat the 49ers coming off a loss to the Dolphins.
  10. Caleb3502
    The Colts will most likely will not have the entire backfield make the Hall of Fame like the 1950's 49ers (QB Y.A. Tittle, RB Hugh McElhenny, FB Joe Perry, and FB John Henry Johnson), but could have one of the league's top backfields. Before I hear that our backfield is unproven, just let me say what I have to say. Our starting backfield currently consists of Andrew Luck, Ahmad Bradshaw, Trent Richardson, and Stanley Havili. Next year I would substitute Havili out of the Million Dollar Backfield and just say Vick Ballard or have them both. I'm not going to include Donald Brown because unless he produces something this year its the door for him.
    QB - Andrew Luck
    This is the centerpiece of the backfield. Andrew Luck is one of the future stars of the NFL and could eventually become the best quarterback in the NFL. So there's the first piece to the "Million Dollar Backfield".
    RB - Trent Richardson
    Still a very shocking trade by the Browns. Richardson is very young at 23 years old and had a productive yardage season last year gaining 950 yards. He may have a career 3.5 yards per carry, but he had 11 rushing touchdowns. The last season the Colts had a RB with at least 10 rushing touchdowns was Joseph Addai (10) in 2009. Richardson is also a very good receiving back and caught 51 passes last year for 367 yards. He will be a good power runningback and good receiving back for Luck to check it down to. Richardson is on pace for 864 yards but I think he should be able to break the 1,000-yard mark.
    RB - Ahmad Bradshaw
    Bradshaw had a 1,000-yard season last year despite being injured. He also had 6 rushing touchdowns last year. He is very good at pass blocking which the Colts are in need of. Bradshaw is also a tough runningback to bring down and should be a good 1-2 punch with Richardson. He is on pace this year for 728 yards. Not bad for the second string runningback this year.
    FB - Stanley Havili
    He is something the Colts haven't had in awhile, a fullback. Havili is a decent run blocker and is a good receiving fullback if Luck needs to dump it off to him for a 6-yard gain. The Colts rushing offense will have a lot of fun with the addition of a true fullback. The Colts are actually 5th in the league in rushing offense this year averaging about 130 yards per game.
    (Next Year) RB Vick Ballard
    Ballard is gone for the year with an ACL tear. But, if he can get back to form next year and produce again, this might be the best trio of runningbacks in the NFL, or at least the AFC. The 49ers and Seahawks both have a good trio of runningbacks. The Seahawks have Lynch, Turbin, and Michael and the 49ers have Gore, James, and Hunter this year and should have Marcus Lattimore next year. Ballard had a decent year last year with over 800 yards and did not start until later in the season.
    I know there will be criticism for this but take a look at the NFL rosters and see if you see a better combination of a quarterback and at least two good runningbacks. THe Redskins have a good quarterback and have a good runningback but no one comes to mind for runningbacks after Alfred Morris. There is something special about our running game this year.
  11. Caleb3502
    The Colts will most likely will not have the entire backfield make the Hall of Fame like the 1950's 49ers (QB Y.A. Tittle, RB Hugh McElhenny, FB Joe Perry, and FB John Henry Johnson), but could have one of the league's top backfields. Before I hear that our backfield is unproven, just let me say what I have to say. Our starting backfield currently consists of Andrew Luck, Ahmad Bradshaw, Trent Richardson, and Stanley Havili. Next year I would substitute Havili out of the Million Dollar Backfield and just say Vick Ballard or have them both. I'm not going to include Donald Brown because unless he produces something this year its the door for him.
    QB - Andrew Luck
    This is the centerpiece of the backfield. Andrew Luck is one of the future stars of the NFL and could eventually become the best quarterback in the NFL. So there's the first piece to the "Million Dollar Backfield".
    RB - Trent Richardson
    Still a very shocking trade by the Browns. Richardson is very young at 23 years old and had a productive yardage season last year gaining 950 yards. He may have a career 3.5 yards per carry, but he had 11 rushing touchdowns. The last season the Colts had a RB with at least 10 rushing touchdowns was Joseph Addai (10) in 2009. Richardson is also a very good receiving back and caught 51 passes last year for 367 yards. He will be a good power runningback and good receiving back for Luck to check it down to. Richardson is on pace for 864 yards but I think he should be able to break the 1,000-yard mark.
    RB - Ahmad Bradshaw
    Bradshaw had a 1,000-yard season last year despite being injured. He also had 6 rushing touchdowns last year. He is very good at pass blocking which the Colts are in need of. Bradshaw is also a tough runningback to bring down and should be a good 1-2 punch with Richardson. He is on pace this year for 728 yards. Not bad for the second string runningback this year.
    FB - Stanley Havili
    He is something the Colts haven't had in awhile, a fullback. Havili is a decent run blocker and is a good receiving fullback if Luck needs to dump it off to him for a 6-yard gain. The Colts rushing offense will have a lot of fun with the addition of a true fullback. The Colts are actually 5th in the league in rushing offense this year averaging about 130 yards per game.
    (Next Year) RB Vick Ballard
    Ballard is gone for the year with an ACL tear. But, if he can get back to form next year and produce again, this might be the best trio of runningbacks in the NFL, or at least the AFC. The 49ers and Seahawks both have a good trio of runningbacks. The Seahawks have Lynch, Turbin, and Michael and the 49ers have Gore, James, and Hunter this year and should have Marcus Lattimore next year. Ballard had a decent year last year with over 800 yards and did not start until later in the season.
    I know there will be criticism for this but take a look at the NFL rosters and see if you see a better combination of a quarterback and at least two good runningbacks. THe Redskins have a good quarterback and have a good runningback but no one comes to mind for runningbacks after Alfred Morris. There is something special about our running game this year.
  12. Caleb3502
    These injuries are really starting to bug me and affect the 2013 season. First we loose our leading rusher, HB Vick Ballard, then we losing our starting guard, Donald Thomas, who we signed this offseason. Now, which is really putting me over the limit. TE Dwayne Allen will be placed on season ending IR due to a needed hip surgery. This is hurts even more than it did when Ballard tore is ACL in practice. If we didn't have Coby Fleener, just think how bad this would be.
    Coby Fleener did pretty good against the Dolphins. He had a touchdown reception (should've had a second one) and a 40-yard reception. Fleener has great speed for a tight end and has great size, 6'6'' 252 lb. The major issue is that we don't have a great blocking tight end. Dwayne was a very good run-blocking tight end and also had great hands and total power. The one could take him down with only one hit. What does this mean for the second tight end spot, we either have Jack Doyle or Dominique Jones step up, or we could bring back up TE Justice Cunningham to the 53-man roster when Dwayne Allen is placed on IR. I'd like to see what Cunningham brings to the table and see how well of a blocker he is. As for receiving, we will probably be running a lot of 1 RB 1 TE 3 WR sets with Bradshaw, Fleener, Wayne, Heyward-Bey, and Hilton.
    The season isn't completely lost because we lost three offensive starters. Was it bad that they got hurt, yes. Will they be missed, you bet. But there is nothing we can do about so the "Next Man Up" will determine our season. Plus we have Luck. If Luck goes down, the season is over. Luck will work with what he has, plus Luck to Fleener and Luck to Whalen can be something great to hear this year them doing that at Stanford together.
  13. Caleb3502
    This is a sad day for Colts fan everywhere. A runningback who was showing promise as our starting running with Bradshaw as an ACL tear and is done for the year. This runningback is Vick Ballard. Ballard injured his knee during practice. I was hoping Ballard would get his first career 1,000-yard season for the way he has been running since becoming the starter when Donald Brown went down with an injury and headed to Injured Reserve. I hope Ballard has a speedy recovery and comes back as Adrian Peterson next season.
    But, since Ballard is gone for 2013, Kerwynn Williams was elevated to the 53-man roster. If we had a roster spot to fill at runningback, I'm glad it's Williams and that no one signed him when he was released/waived by the Colts. He has good speed and should make a decent replacement and be the 3rd runningback on the depth chart. I guess Bradshaw and Brown will have to be the platoon attack we wanted this year. And there goes all the runningbacks on roster had their last name start with a 'b' and all those nicknames.
  14. Caleb3502
    I'm not sure if anyone saw or even would care about Team Stats for Week 1 at all but the Colts are high up there on rushing offense. The Colts rank 6th in the league in rushing offense with around 127 yards in Week 1. I thought that was interesting. I didn't really realize how many yards Ballard, Bradshaw, and Luck gathered up. This is a statistic hopes stays high in ranking. If we can actually keep it in the Top 15 that is a huge improvement. If Ballard or Bradshaw can get 1,000 yards, that would be huge for the Colts. We haven't had a 1,000 yard rusher since Addai in 2006 and 2007. That was his first two years in the league, he never hit 1,000 yards again the rest of his career. I know I'm overreacting to the rankings of our rushing offense but I feel like it will be better this year.
    On the negative side, the Colts rank 31st in rush defense. Mainly because Terrelle Pryor was running wild for like 112 yards. Not to often does a quarterback have that speed and versatility or run with the ball. After Russell Wilson and Colin Kaeperknick we don't face really any fast quarterbacks. Alex Smith can run but not 10 times a game. We held McFadden under 50 yards rushing so if he cam continue keeping the runningbacks under 50 yards we should be alright. I'm sure our rush defense will actually get higher. It was ranked so low only because of Pryor.
    So, I just thought it was interesting that our rush offense was that productive in Week 1.
  15. Caleb3502
    A lot of people have done these so I decided to do one. Withoutfurther delay,
    Week 1: Raiders at Colts Colts Win 31-14
    Week 2: Dolphins at Colts Colts Win 27-21
    Week 3: Colts at 49ers 49ers Win 28-17
    Week 4: Colts at Jaguars Colts Win 38-20
    Week 5: Seahawks at Colts Seahawks Win 31-24
    Week 6: Colts at Chargers MNF Colts Win 28-17
    Week 7: Broncos at Colts SNF Broncos Win 42-31
    Week 8: Bye
    Week 9: Colts at Texans SNF Texans Win 27-17
    Week 10: Rams at Colts Colts Win 31-20
    Week 11: Colts at Titans TNF Colts Win 24-14
    Week 12: Colts at Cardinals Colts Win 28-17
    Week 13: Titans at Colts Colts Win 21-14
    Week 14: Colts at Bengals Colts Win 28-24
    Week 15: Texans at Colts Colts Win 27-20
    Week 16: Colts at Chiefs Colts Win 20-14
    Week 17: Jaguars at Colts Colts Win 28-14
    Colts Record: 12-4
    Wildcard Round: Texans at Colts Colts Win 27-24
    Divisional Round: Colts at Broncos Broncos Win 37-28
    Colts win one more game than last year and are able to advance to the Divisional Round after a Wildcard Round win. It will take them one more year for them to be projected to be in the AFC Championship Game. In a few more years they will be Super Bowl contenders.
  16. Caleb3502
    After Peyton Manning's outrageous performance over the Ravens, I began to question if I would rather have Luck put up over 400 yards passing and 7 touchdown passes, or have him throw for 300 yards, 3 TDs, and Ballard and Bradshaw combine for 150+ yards. I think I would rather have the second choice. I started to think about though how one dimensional the Broncos offense was in that game. The Broncos only had around 60 yards rushing. Against the Raiders, I hope the Colts can put around 150, unlikely so I'm shooting for 100 yards rushing. If NFL defenses actually figure out the Broncos passing attack, they could be in trouble. Montee Ball was a Heisman finalist two years ago but he is not yet ready to be an elite runningback, neither is Ronnie Hillman or Knowshon Moreno.
    So what do you think? Would you rather have Luck put up Manning's Week 1 numbers or have a balanced offensive attack?
  17. Caleb3502
    The Colts just released their injury report for practice on Wednesday. Everyone participated fully except Kavell Conner and Anthony Castonzo. Here is the full list (I will update it everyday in case people didn't read it already:
    Dwayne Allen TE, Foot Injury Wed - FP Thu - FP
    Ahmad Bradshaw HB, Foot Injury Wed - FP Thu - FP
    Anthony Castonzo OT, Knee Injury Wed - DNP Thu - FP
    Kavell Conner ILB, Ankle Injury Wed - DNP Thu - DNP
    Coby Fleener TE, Knee Injury Wed - FP Thu - FP
    Mario Harvey ILB, Knee Injury Wed - FP Thu - FP
    Joe Lefeged S, Knee Injury Wed - FP Thu - FP
    Mike McGlynn OG, Knee Injury Wed - FP Thu - FP
    Fili Moala DE, Foot Injury Thu - LP
    David Reed WR, Head Injury Wed - FP Thu - DNP
    FP - Full Participation
    LP - Limited Participation
    DNP - Did Not Participate
    Out - Player will not Play
    Wednesday
    All the Colts have leg and foot injuries except for David Reed, who has a head injury. The major injury is Anthony Castonzo, who did not practice Wednesday. Hopefully he can get some participation Thursday. Conner's injury is not as serious because we have Angerer, Freeman, Sheppard, and Harvey who practiced in full today. The Tight End position is looking good going into Week 1 health wise. Mike McGlynn practiced in full today so as of right now still no Hugh Thornton.
    Thursday
    Kavell Conner does not look like he will play Sunday. Castonzo practiced in full today so that is good news for our offensive line. David Reed di not practice today after practicing in full Thursday.
  18. Caleb3502
    The Colts signed TE/FB Dominique Jones to the 53-man roster and place TE Justice Cunningham on the Practice Squad. The Colts now have four tight ends (Fleener, Allen, Jones, Doyle) on the 53-man roster heading into the season opener. Dominique Jones was on the actice roster last year heading into the season opener against the Bears. Dominique Jones finished the 2012 Season on the Practice Squad. The Colts had three tight ends on the roster at the end of the season, Allen, Fleener, and Saunders. Weslye Saunders was released by the Colts on July 25, 2013 due to a eight-game suspension.
    Justice Cunningham was drafted by the Colts in the seventh round as Mr. Irrelvent. He initially made the 53-man roster but was waived and placed on the Practice Squad. Both Jones and Cunningham are similar in size. They are both 6'3''. Cunningham, though, weighs three more pounds than Jones. Jones is listed as 255 lb and Cunningham is listed as 258 lb. I expect Cunningham to come back at some point this season. Jones and Doyle may see some time against the Raiders in case Fleener and Allen aren't healthy enough.
    I like the idea of signing Dom Jones to the 53-man roster and I like that they kept Cunningham in some way. This is not a major move by the Colts, but wanted to say it in case anyone did see it yet.
  19. Caleb3502
    This might go down as one of the worst moves by Grigson. He doesn't make a lot of foolish moves so this is one of the worst. Grigson sent Rayford to the Cowboys for a conditional draft pick. Now let's say what all Rayford did for us when he was a Colt. Rayford had 11 tackles, 5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. I am also certain that the draft pick that we get will not perform as well as Rayford in preseason or have that incredible size. Maybe it will, and be even better, hopefully.
    Caesar Rayford is 6'7'', 245 lb. Rayford was not good enough the first time around when he came out of college (Washington) and signed with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League. From 2009 to 2012 Rayford played in the Arena Football League for the Spokane Shock and Utah Blaze. In his career as an Arena player, he gathered 55 tackles, 26.5 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 15 Passes Batted, and 2 interceptions. This was impressive enough for the Colts to take a shot at him by signing him on May 23, 2013. After an impressive preseason, he made the 53 man roster, but not for the Colts for very long.
    I really liked Rayford and thought he had potential to turn into a really good situational pass rusher. Lawrence Sidbury was suppose to handle that role but he landed on Injured Reserve. I thought Rayford was going to mold into the role but appently not for the Colts. I hope he has great success with the Cowboys, but will be a little angry when I see what the Colts could have had. All I know is the draft pick better be at least 6'7'' linebacker, or someone good. There is a positive thing though. We got a draft pick from an undrafted free agent who is 27 years old. Whatever happens, I trust Grigson still to put together the best team possible.
  20. Caleb3502
    I see a lot of people projecting the awards and pro bowl selections for a team so I decided to do one. Here's my list (bolding the names of Colts, but I will also do the rest of the league:
    MVP: QB Tim Tebow...... just kidding QB Drew Brees
    Drew Brees has a great shot at winning the MVP. He has over 5,000 passing yards back-to-back seasons and leads the league in touchdown passes in 2012. Peyton Manning has a shot at winning it if Brees doesn't get the Saints into the playoffs. If he fails to, it will be Manning.
    OPOY: QB Andrew Luck
    It's not because Luck is our quarterback that I picked him here. He looked good last year and is looking even better this year. I know it's only preseason but Luck is still doing a great job against 1st team defenses. If Luck doesn't win it, surprisingly, I think Dez Bryant could win it if he pulls it all together.
    DPOY: LB Luke Kuechly
    Kuechly is an unstoppable force at limebacker. Led both the team in tackles and the entire league in tackles. He will continue to dominate. If it is not Kuechly, it will be DeMarcus Ware. Ware probably won't get the award but he had 11.5 sacks last year and 6 forced fumbles. The Cowbous switched their defensive scheme so we will have to see how he plays.
    OROY: HB Eddie Lacy
    DuJuan Harris was placed on IR, which means Eddie Lacy is the Packers' starting runningback. Lacy is a good, powerful runningback who can gain some great yardage. A lot of people think Tavon Austin or E.J. Manuel will win it but I think Lacy has a shot at winning it.
    DROY: Tyrann Matthieu
    After not playing at all in 2012 for LSU, he was selected by the Cardinals in the third round. He has big play ability and has performed well in preseason. If Matthieu doesn't make the DROY, they it will be Jon Bostic. Bostic has big shoes to fill in Brian Urlacher, but he is a very good linebacker who will help the Bears' absense of Urlacher.
    CPOY: QB Michael Vick
    Vick looked really sharp in preseason. After having fumbling issues last year and missing part of the year to injury, Vick is back with a new head coach, Chip Kelly. Vick works well in the Chip Kelly Offense due to his versatility. Sean Lee could win the award after being injured last year.
    AFC Pro Bowlers
    QB: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill*
    HB: C.J. Spiller, Arian Foster, Ray Rice, Chris Johnson*
    FB: Marcell Reece
    WR: Reggie Wayne, A.J. Green, Andre Johnson, Dwayne Bowe, Stevie Johnson*
    TE: Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Jermaine Gresham*
    T: Ryan Clady, Joe Thomas, Eric Fisher, Nate Solder*
    G: Marshal Yanda, Andy Levitre, Wade Smith*
    C: Chris Meyers, Mike Pouncey
    DE: J.J. Watt, Cameron Wake, Michael Johnson*
    DT: Geno Atkins, Haloti Ngata, Marcell Dareus*
    OLB: Robert Mathis, Tamba Hali, Elvis Dumervil, Paul Kruger*
    MLB: Derrick Johnson, Jerrell Freeman, Paul Posluszny, Jerod Mayo*
    CB: Vontae Davis, Laduarius Webb, Devin McCourty, Dee Milliner*
    S: Antoine Bethea, Eric Weddle, Eric Berry, Bernard Pollard*
    K: Justin Tucker
    P: Pat McAfee
    KR: Trindon Holliday
    LS: John Denney
    ST: Marcus Easley
    NFC Pro Bowlers
    QB: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Robert Griffin III*
    RB: Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, Eddie Lacy, Doug Martin*
    FB: John Kuhn
    WR: Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings*
    TE: Jason Witten, Jimmy Graham, Martellus Bennett*
    T: Joe Staley, Matt Kalil, Jason Peters*
    G: Evan Mathis, Kyle Long, Alex Boone*
    C: John Sullivan, Max Unger
    DE: Chris Long, Jared Allen, Charles Johnson, Ezekiel Ansah*
    DT: Star Lotulelei, Ndamakong Suh, Henry Melton*
    OLB: Aldon Smith, Clay Matthews
    MLB: Patrick Willis, Luke Kuechly, NaVorro Bowman*
    CB: Charles Tillman, Casey Hayward, Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman*
    S: Morgan Burnett, Kam Chancellor, Tyrann Matthieu, Harrison Smith*
    K: Blair Walsh
    P: Andy Lee
    KR: Devin Hester
    LS: Patrick Mannelly
    ST: Tramaine Brock
    *=Pro Bowl Alternate
  21. Caleb3502
    2013 Indianapolis Colts Roster

    QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck
    HB: Ahmad Bradshaw, Vick Ballard, Donald Brown, Kerwynn Williams (KR)**
    FB: Stanley Havili
    WR: Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton (PR) , Darrius Heyward-Bey, Griff Whalen, LaVon Brazil*, David Reed (KR)**
    TE: Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, Justice Cunningham
    T: Gosder Cherilus, Anthony Castonzo, Jeff Linkenbach, Emmett Cleary
    G: Donald Thomas, Hugh Thornton, Mike McGlynn, Joe Reitz
    C: Samson Satele, Khaled Holmes
    DE: Cory Redding, Ricky Jean-Francois, Drake Nevis, Fili Moala
    NT: Josh Chapman, Aubrayo Franklin, Montori Hughes
    OLB: Robert Mathis, Björn Werner, Erik Walden, Caesar Rayford
    ILB: Jerrell Freeman, Pat Angerer, Kavell Conner, Kelvin Sheppard, Mario Harvey*
    CB: Vontae Davis, Greg Toler, Darius Butler, Cassius Vaughn, Marshay Green
    S: LaRon Landry, Antoine Bethea, Joe Lefeged, Delano Howell
    K: Adam Vinatieri
    P: Pat McAfee
    LS: Matt Overton
    *Mario Harvey takes Brazil's roster spot for the first four weeks
    **Reed and Williams will rotate as kick returner


    Practice Squad

    QB Chandler Harnish
    OLB Daniel Adongo
    WR Jabin Sambrano
    CB/S Daxton Swanson
    ILB Josh McNary
    WR Jeremy Kelley
    TE/FB Dominique Jones
    S Larry Asante


    Injured Reserve

    S John Boyett
    OLB Lawrence Sidbury
    ILB Scott Lutrus
    OLB Quinton Spears
    FB Dan Moore
    OLB Justin Hickman
    G Justin Anderson
    Josh McNary will make practice squad even though he has not played in preseason
    John Boyett will be placed on IR
    Dominique Jones could be called up from practice squad if Allen or Fleener is still hurt
    Marshay Green makes the roster after having strong performances last two games
    Harnish is put on PS to not waste a roster spot
    Delano Howell makes roster as a backup
    Lefeged makes roster if healthy. If he is placed on PUP, then Swanson will take his place
    David Reed makes team as returner
    Ben Ijalana is released in favor of Emmett Cleary



    Players That Will Be Cut

    CB Josh Gordy
    T Lee Ziemba
    FB Robert Hughes
    WR Lanear Sampson
    WR Nathan Palmer (he may head to IR)
    WR Maurice Williams (injured/waived Aug 25)
    OLB Monte Simmons
    ILB Shawn Loiseau
    C Thomas Austin
    T Ben Ijalana
    S Sergio Brown
    T Bradley Sowell
    CB Sheldon Price
    DE Lawrence Guy
    NT Martin Tevaseu
    DE Ricardo Matthews
    QB Chandler Harnish***
    WR Jabin Sambrano***
    WR Jeremy Kelley***
    TE/FB Dominique Jones***
    ILB Josh McNary***
    S Larry Asante***
    S Daxton Swanson***
    OLB Daniel Adongo***
    ***Practice Squad
  22. Caleb3502
    Another great preseason win by our Colts, who beat the Browns 27-6. It's not only offense that has been impressing recently, but our defense as well, even the backup defense. Our first team have been outplaying the other team's first team as well. Even against the Bills we held the lead and looked pretty good on defense when we had our starters out there. Our first teamers this week allowed no points at all and a turnover. Greg Toler is looking really good. He had an interception against the Giants and now a forced fumble this week against the Browns. I think our running game looked better this week. We had some nice gains but also had some negative yard rushes but in the end it was all positive yardage. Let's break down each category:
    Quarterback
    Andrew Luck looked really good against the Browns minus the interception off the hands of Havili. Luck was 16 of 25, 164 yard, 2 TD, and 1 INT with a passer rating of 92.8. Luck was accurate against the Browns with a completion percentage of 64%. Brandon Weeden was 12 of 25, 112 yards, 0 TD, and 0 INT with a passer rating of 60.8. Weeden's completion percentage was 48%. Luck outplayed Weeden in every statistical category except interceptions. For the backups, it was evenly played but Campbell had more attempts, yards, and completions but had a similar passer rating to Hasselbeck. Jason Campbell was 8 of 14 for 112 yards, 0 TD, and 0 INT with a passer rating of 83.1. Matt Hasselbeck was 5 of 9 for 59 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and had a passer rating of 75.8. Harnish didn't really play at all. He was taking snaps but was only handing the ball off the Kerwynn Williams. Brian Hoyer of the Browns did not look good and was 2 of 4 for 11 yards and had 0 TD but 1 INT. I think Hoyer's passer rating was along the lines of a 0.0 rating. The Colts win this category due to the strong performance by Luck.
    Runningbacks
    The Colts actually handedly won this category. Vick Ballard had 10 carries for 33 yards. Donald Brown had 5 carries for 35 yards with a 22-yard run. Kerwynn Williams had 37 yards on 9 carries with a 27-yard run. Davin Meggett had 3 carries for 20 yards. If you want to include non-runningbacks, Andrew Luck had 4 carries for 20 yards and DHB had a 6-yard run on an end-around. The Colts totaled up 149 yards rushing and a team rushing average of 4.4. The Browns had 90 yards less rushing than the Colts. Trent Richardson had 7 carries for 31 yards. Chris Ogbonnaya had 1 carry for 4 yards. Brandon Jackson had 5 carries for 8 yards. Brandon Weeden also had 1 carry for 5 yards and Jamaine Cook had 2 carries for 11 yards. The Browns only had 49 yards rushing and a team rushing average of 3.7. The Browns did not run the ball much but the Colts did so that is why they had a lot more yards. Plus, when we ran the ball, we got more yards. The Colts win this category easily.
    Receiving
    The Colts receivers looked good catching passes but the Browns receivers did not. Reggie Wayne had 7 catches for 79 yards. Darrius Heyward-Bey had 3 catches for 33 yards. T.Y. Hilton had 2 catches for 19 yards and a touchdown. Stanley Havili had 2 catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. Griff Whalen had 4 catches for 57 yards and a 28-yard catch. Dominique Jones had 1 catch for 13 yards. Vick Ballard had 1 catch for 4 yards and Robert Hughes had 1 catch for 2 yards. The Browns had a lot of dropped passes. Cordell Robertson had 2 catches for 34 yards. Josh Gordon had 2 catches for 24 yards. Greg Little had 3 catches for 28 yards. Josh Cooper had 2 catches for 16 yards. Jordan Cameron had 2 catches for 7 yards. Trent Richardson had a 10 yard catch and Owen Merecic had a 15 yard catch but fell down catching it and gained most of the yards after getting up. There were a few other receivers that caught passes for the Browns but it is not necessary to name them. The Colts win this category with the productivity of there starting wide receivers.
    Offensive Line
    The Colts offensive line looked really decent. They opened up a lot of holes for the runningbacks on offense and did not allow a lot of sacks. Paul Kruger had the only sack for the Browns but they were credited with a team sack when Hasselbeck fumble it and landed on it. Andrew Luck looked comfortable in the pocket and was only hit a few times. The Browns offensive line allowed three sacks and did not open a lot of running holes for Trent Richardson and especially Brandon Jackson. Hugh Thornton looked good in his first NFL game and ever pancaked a Brown's player. I know they were playing the Browns, but the Cols offensive line looked good and actually won this category.
    Defense
    The Colts defense has not allowed 1 TD the past two games. The starters did not allow any points at all yesterday and forced a turnover. Weeden had a scoring drive on 5 of 6 drives this preseason. Against the Colts, he had six drives that resulted in no points. Greg Toler forced a fumble and then recovered it. LaRon Landry played his first game with the Colts and had three tackles. Pat Angerer came back from injury and also made three tackles. Mario Harvey led the team in tackles with 5 and had a sack. Caesar Rayford was unstoppable again with two sacks and a forced fumble. Rayford is pretty much a shoe-in for a roster spot. Larry Asante had a 48-yard interception for a touchdown. Asante might be able to add more depth at the safety position. Not much happened for the Browns defense. They allowed 20 points and allowed twice as many first downs than the Colts' defense. The Colts' defense allowed 13 first downs. The Browns' defense allowed 26 first downs. Paul Kruger had sack and Tashaun Gipson had an interception off the hands of Stanley Havili on the Browns' 2-yard line. The Colts defense is looking better and better every week and I would be surprised if the defense does not do better than last year. Obviously, the Colts win this category.
    Special Teams
    Kick returning looked good for the Colts. Kerwynn Williams had 1 return for 39 yards to start the game off and recently acquired WR David Reed had a 27-yard return. CB Johnson Badermosi of the Browns had 3 returns for 24 yards, which means he averaged 8 yards per return. So kickoff coverage was excellent this week. Marshay Green had a great punt return for the Colts. He caught the punt at the IND 15 and took it to the CLE 47 on a 38-yard punt return. The Browns did not have a punt return in the game. Adam Vinatieri was 2 for 2 on field goals and Shayne Graham was also 2 for 2 on field goals. Punting was really similar. Pat McAfee had 5 punts for a 36.2 yard average but had 3 inside the 20. Spencer Lanning for the Browns had 7 punts for a 39.6 average and had 2 inside the 20. Special Teams was pretty much even so I say this one ended in a tie.
    So, the Colts pretty much won every category and tied in one category. The Colts offense looked goo and so did the defense but they were also playing the Browns. Then again, they played similarly against the Giants but this week we were running the ball well. So the Colts are now 2-1 in preseason and will finish it up at Cincinnati in Week 4. The starters might play one drive but it will be almost entirely backups playing the whole game. A great win for the Colts and hopefully they carry this over into the regular season.
  23. Caleb3502
    Yesterday the Miami Dolphins released CB Richard Marshall after an injury-plagued season in which he only started four games. But he was decent prior to that injury. He had one interception last year with the Dolphins but has 18 in his career at 28 years old. Darrelle Revis has only one more interception than Marshall but Revis has also played less seasons, but they are both 28. Marshall could be a good pickup for the Colts if he doesn't want a big contract. A one year, 1 million dollar contract I think would be reasonable, but don't guarantee any money. Marshall is definitely an improvement over a lot of cornerbacks on our roster. Let's take a look at the cornerbacks on our roster:
    Richard Marshall 5'11'' 198 lb 518 Tackles 18 INT 57 Passes Deflected 7 Sacks Age: 28
    Vontae Davis - 5' 11' 195 lb 199 Tackles 12 INT 40 Passes Deflected 2 Sacks Age: 25
    Greg Toler - 6'0'' 192 lb 128 Tackles 5 INT 19 Passes Deflected 1 Sack Age: 28
    Darius Butler - 5'10'' 185 lb 121 Tackles 7 INT 29 Passes Deflected 0 Sacks Age: 27
    Cassius Vaughn 5'11'' 195 lb 94 Tackles 2 INT 13 Passes Deflected 0 Sacks Age: 25
    Marshay Green 5'10'' 175 lb 4 Tackles 0 INT 0 Passes Deflected 0 Sacks Age: 27
    Josh Gordy 5'11'' 195 lb 63 Tackles 3 INT 5 Passes Deflected 1 Sack Age: 26
    Sheldon Price 6'2'' 180 lb 157 Tackles 5 INT 26 Passes Deflected 0 Sacks Age: 22 (College Statistics)
    Allen Chapman 5'11 181 lb 57 Tackles 5 INT 5 Passes Deflected 0 Sacks Age: 22 (College Statistics)
    Teddy Williams 6'3'' 202 lb 0 Tackles 0 INT 0 Passes Deflected 0 Sacks Age: 25 (Track Star)
    If you look at Marshall's statistics compared to our starters or anyone on our roster, he has the better statistics. But, he has also played longer. Marshall was 2nd round pick in the 2006 Draft. The top three corners on our roster are from the 2009 Draft and Vaughn was undrafted in 2010. Green, Williams, and Gordy were also undrafted from 2010 and Price & Chapman were undrafted from this year's draft. So, Marshall has more experience than all of our cornerbacks on our roster. He isn't the tallest but is the same size as four cornerbacks on the roster and is one inch away from seven of them. He is second heaviest among our cornerbacks coming behind Teddy Williams, but he is within ten pounds of five of our cornerbacks. He has a decent size for a cornerback and has proven he can break up passes and intercept them.
    As long as he has no injury, I don't see why we don't go out and sign him. We made a bold move to sign Ahmad Bradshaw to add depth to our runningbacks. So why not add depth at cornerback. A lot of people have been saying we need depth at cornerback, so here's your chance to add depth. I've heard a lot of people say they don't like the 5 out of the last 6 cornerbacks on our roster. I haven't heard really any hate for Josh Gordy yet but if there is than it is hate for our cornerbacks 4-9 on our depth chart. Marshall is at least better than Vaughn. I know a lot of you dislike Vaughn and hope he never takes the field. Marshall won't be our starter, but he could make a good #4 cornerback if he wants to.
  24. Caleb3502

    Von Miller vs Colts

    By Caleb3502,

    As a lot of you know, Von Miller is facing a suspension for drug abuse. The bad news is the suspension doesn't cover the Colts vs. Broncos game on Sunday Night. Von Miller faces a six-game suspension. The Colts vs. Broncos game comes in Week 7. Too bad be couldn't have been suspended one game longer. Von Miller is a dangerous pass rusher and can cause havoc against our offensive tackles. Let's hope he isn't exactly "use" to playing in a game at that point because he wouldn't have done it for nearly two months at that point. Oh well what can you do. We have two good offensive tackles and a very good pass blocking runningback in Ahmad Bradshaw so he shouldn't cause a lot of trouble.
    It might not even matter if the Broncos aren't even doing well at all. I know it's just preseason but the starters have not done much and the defense has not been stopping. If we turn out to have a better defense at that point in the season, we might have a shot at winning the game. I know it is too early to talk about the game because it is two months away but I thought I wanted to talk about him coming back for the Colts game. It doesn't really matter if they have Miller or not because they still have talent at that position even though Shaun Phillips is old he still might produce some big plays. Anyways, let's go Colts because they can do it even with Miller playing.
  25. Caleb3502
    That was a whole lot better than last week. The Colts all around improved and showed a pretty good showing of what they are capable of beating the New York Giants 20-12. When I first starting watching it (since it was on Sunday Night Football), I was getting worried with our defense and offense. The first drive for the Giants went inside the red zone thanks to a defensive pass interference call. The Colts were able to stop them on 4th down. But when the Colts got the ball, two straight runs by Ballard went nowhere and Fleener dropped what would have been a first down. The Giants went inside the red zone again on their second drive but were held to a field goal. The Colts improved on the second drive but got lucky when Luck threw it right to Aaron Ross but he bounced it up in the air and Reggie caught it off the rebound in the end zone. So, the Colts did not allow a touchdown the entire game and held them to four field goals. Speaking of field goals, Vinatieri and McManus hit 50+ yard field goals. Let's break down the positions again with the Colts and Giants:
    Quarterback
    I really like the quarterbacking from Luck but Harnish and Hasselbeck did not do a very good job. Luck was 9 of 13 for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Hasselbeck came in and was 6 of 10 for 45 yards but threw a costly interception when the Colts were driving and were in field goal range. Harnish came in after Hasselbeck and was 2 of 5 for 25 yards. Not that bad but I would like to see less interceptions from the backups. At least (or hopefully), neither of the two will play during the regular season. Eli Manning was 8 of 17 for 97 yards and an interception. He did not look to good inside the red zone and had a completion percentage of 47% while Luck's was 69%. David Carr came in and led the Giants downfield but could produce a field goal. Carr was 7 of 11 for 57 yards. His completion percentage was 63% while Hasselbeck's was 60%. Aside from the interception, close numbers from the second string quarterbacks. After Carr came the rookie Ryan Nassib. Nassib was 2 of 6 for 48 yards. Nassib's completion percentage was 33% while Harnish's percentage was 40%. So very close numbers from the quarterbacks of the Colts and the quarterbacks of the Giants but the Colts win this position because of the two touchdowns from Luck. Luck finished with a 133.7 QB rating and Manning finished with a 40.6 QB rating.
    Runningback
    Here is one component to the Colts offense that needs work but will get better when Ahmad Bradshaw comes back. The Colts had nine more rushing plays than the Giants but had a 2.7 yards per carry average compared to the Giants' 4.0. The Giants had seven more rushing yards than the Colts but the majority came from the two starting backs, Andre Brown and David Wilson. David Wilson had eight carries for 36 yards and Andre Brown had eight carries for 34 yards. Ryan Torain is back in the NFL (anyone still remember him?) and rushed for 19 yards on five carries. Vick Ballard did not have a good game on four carries for a paltry four yards. Donald Brown had six carries for 21 yards. Kerwynn Williams had a nice 12 yard run but was getting stopped behind the line constantly so he finished with 19 yards on 10 carries. The only other notable runningback was Delone Carter who rushed for 16 yards on seven carries. So the Giants won in this category but probably would have lost if he had Bradshaw starting.
    Receiving
    The Colts did pretty well in this category minus the drop by Fleener, who also came out of the game with a sprained knee. Reggie Wayne had a great game with three catches for 37 yards and a miracle touchdown catch off of the fingers of CB Aaron Ross. Reggie also had a nice one handed catch at the line that went for about three to four yards. Heyward-Bey missed a catch but it was towards the ground. He came out of the game as the leading receiver though, catching four pass for 42 yards. Hilton is just unstoppable and proves my Harrison-Hilton comparison even more. Hilton had two catches for 36 yards. But the two catches or amazing. His first catch was with a defender an inch away from him on the sideline and then juked two Giants to pick up four extra yards and an amazing catch in the endzone where he was able to bring two feet down in the back of the end zone. Not much to say about the Giants. HB Michael Cox lead the Giants in receiving with two catches for 48 yards. Hakeem Nicks had two catches for 40 yards but his teammate Victor Cruz left the game with an injury. Ramses Barden had the most receptions on the Giants with four catches for 28 yards. Due to the amazing catches by Wayne and Hilton, the Colts easily take this category.
    Blocking
    The Colts did a good job in pass blocking only allowing one sack. I think pass blocking will be extremely better this year but we need better run blocking from the offensive line. The Colts could have a Top 5 Offense in the NFL if they had a good running game. If Bradshaw can get over 1,000 yards, the Colts will be Top 5 in Offense. The Giants did not have a good game with the offensive line. RJF landed awkwardly on C David Baas. He left the game on their first drive and did not return. As for run blocking they did a good job but pass blocking was not good for them. They allowed six sacks. The Colts defense was pressuring the quarterback all game and had a lot off hurries and hit on the Giants' quarterbacks. This one was pretty much an even match. The Colts exceled in pass blocking while the Giants didn't and The Giants exceled in run blocking but the Colts didn't. So this category ends in a tie.
    Defense
    The Colts defense started out slow but really improved. They only allowed four field goals the entire game. They also had six sacks, two from Caesar Rayford, two from Drake Nevis, one from Marshay Green, and one from Erik Walden. Rayford has been very good in preseason and will most likely get a roster spot. He leads the team in sacks with three. Nevis has been injury prone and has only one career sack. He stepped up against the Giants and wrapped the quarterback up for two sacks. Marshay Green had dismal pass coverage against the Bills but was able to get a sack. Erik Walden came around the edge and sacked Eli Manning. He also led the team in tackles with six. Walden will most likely be the starter Week 1 at OLB. Werner came close to a sack but fell to the ground and could not wrap the quarterback up. Greg Toler had an interception off of Eli Manning on the Giants' third drive. If the starters in the secondary can stay healthy, this is going to be a very good pass coverage defense in 2013. Nothing stood out for the Giants except for the pick by Jayron Hosley and the sack from Justin Trattou. Adewale Ojomo led the team in tackles with five. The Colts win this category with all the red zone stops and the five more sacks than the Giants. This will be a good defense if they can really stop the run.
    Special Teams
    Well, the Colts did not allow a kickoff return touchdown so it was already better than last week. The worst return they allowed was a 36-yard kickoff return by Michael Cox. Cassius Vaughn had a 27-yard return but fumbled and Kerwynn Williams had a 22-yard returned. Nothing stood out on punt returning from either team. A lot of field goals in the game. Josh Brown was 4 of 4 on field goals for the Giants. Adam Vinatieri nailed a 52-yard field goal and rookie Brandon McManus hit a 50-yard field goal off the left upright that bounced in. Pat McAfee and Steve Weatherford both had 6 punts. McAfee had a 43 yard punt average and Weatherford had a 43.8 yard average. The Giants win this category only because it was special teams that kept them in the game. Josh Brown was the MVP in the game for the Giants.
    So, overall this was a good win for the Colts. I was hoping the backups put up some more points but it is what it is. If the Colts improve on running game, both offensively and defensively, this will be a very good team. Once Bradshaw is inserted into the starting role, the running game should improve. If they establish the run and perform better on defense. It will be up to Andrew Luck on how far these Colts go. I am very excited for the regular season to come. It will be fun watching Andrew Luck show analysts he is almost as good as any other quarterback in this league.
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