Grades: Week 3 vs Jaguars

[Superman]

http://espn.go.com/n...923011&period=0

Offense, C+ -- 75 plays, 437 yards, one turnover, 23 first downs (15 passing, 6 rushing, 2 penalties), 10/19 on third down, 17 points

QB: Is the weight of the world on my shoulders?

I think Luck played a really good game, and it goes beyond his passing stats, which were good aside from the pick and the 23 other incompletions (seriously, that's a lot of incompletions in one game). I like that he got out on the move and hurt the Jags with his legs, repeatedly, and averaged over 12 yards per rush. I really think he can be more effective in his passing by actually running more, which will give the defense one more wrinkle to worry about. I like that he kept his eyes downfield when the pocket collapsed and made several good throws under duress. But, as I already said, he threw 24 passes that didn't get home. Not all his fault: there were drops, he got hit on a couple, a couple had to go out of bounds, etc. But 47.8% is a Curtis Painter-type of completion rate. And the pick was a HUGE mistake (he's on pace for 21 interceptions this season). The pick that got called off was ... fortuitous. Better judgment might have prevailed there on 3rd down, but we got the call. I like the way he controlled the game, remained composed, and drove us down for a(nother) go ahead score with less than a minute to play. He did it twice in this game, plus a scoring drive at the end of the first half. He did it last week, and at the end of the half. He had us in scoring position at the end of the half in the opener (undone by a missed FG). There was a graphic up at the end of the game about how Luck runs the two-minute offense, and it's doggone brilliance is what it is. Even the final desperation possession, he and Hilton hook up on third down for a 36 yarder, and we're at the 26 yard line (greatly aided by the strong kickoff return, but still). He's stronger in the two-minute, and that's most decidedly NOT reminiscent of Curtis Painter. We can only ask the rookie to do so much. B-

Receivers and backs: Much better than Week 3 last year

Every opportunity counts for a young and challenged team, so dropped passes are particularly painful to see. Now that that's out of the way, I felt good about how our backs and receivers played in this one. Reggie has some of the best hands in the league, and makes plays. Period. No wonder he gets targeted so much. It was awesome to see Hilton get in the act, and his speed is going to be a huge weapon in this league. Unfortunately, he'll probably be getting a lot more burn now, with Collie out for the year. This really hurts me, as a big Austin Collie fan. But I'm also a big TY fan, so let's hope he continues playing well. But, still, too many drops, all the way around. I got on Luck for 24 incompletions, but a significant portion of those go to the receivers in this one. The backs did a serviceable job for the most part. Brown's catch and run was a well-designed and well-executed play, and it shows how he can be a weapon if we use him sensibly. Still not a lot of actual production from the ground game, outside of the quarterback, but there was improvement. I'd like to see more touches for Vick Ballard. I see big things in the future for our receiving corps, and I think that will help the run game. B-

Offensive line / blocking: It's not you, it's me.

Still just not good enough. Injuries suck, but we can't blame this on injuries. On a positive note, we were better than the past two weeks. And I also think that the bye week will help us with Satele and hopefully Reitz getting back on the field and being closer to 100%. For the first week, there were no sacks, but most of the credit for that goes to Luck and his artistry in avoiding and outrunning the rush. We also got more push in the run game, and even created a good amount of decent gains on the ground. The run game was serviceable in the second half, and we were ::thisclose:: to converting on the 3rd and 8 before AV's made field goal, which would have effectively ended the game. That would have been a major accomplishment for a beleaguered unit. But still, too much pressure, a few mistakes in blown assignments and penalties, and a mostly underwhelming performance run blocking in crucial situations. I'll take solace in the improvement from the last two weeks, but I hope for more... a lot more. C-

Defense, C+ -- 54 plays, 333 yards, zero turnovers, 15 first downs (3 passing, 10 rushing, 2 penalties), 4/13 on third down, 22 points

Defensive front: Baby steps

We gave up 185 yards on the ground for an average of 5.8 yards per carry, yet, I feel we did an okay job keeping MJD in check. With the exception, of course, of the long touchdown. I think we just took a couple of bad angles, but the play was well executed by the Jags. Their back is really good, and their gameplan obviously centers around giving him the ball. They even gashed us a couple of times, 12 yards here, 19 yards there, 8 yards here again, but we made good adjustments and got them off the field. There also was a good deal of uncalled holding by their offensive line, but Colts fans are used to that. Better tackling would help, also, but that's a recurrent theme for us as well, especially against MJD. Then, there was the sack on third down to quell the scoring threat, and oh by the way, is Robert Mathis going to have a sack in every game this season??? The man is on a mission, and I'm more glad he stayed every week. There's a lot of improving to do here, but I see the promise. Stay in our lanes a little better, hold the edge, wrap up and tackle more effectively, and I think, not only would we have prevented the touchdown run, but we probably could have cut MJD's production down by about 40% otherwise. C+

Pass defense: One mistake

To me, this is easy. One blown coverage, and we lose the game. Other than that, the pass defense was stellar. And that's not that tall of a task against Blaine Gabbert, but we saw the secondary give up a lot of completions last week, and then held this offense to single-digits for practically the entire game. Until... The Jags obviously wanted to ride the run game, and that worked to an extent, but when it was time for them to make a play with the pass, they did, and we let them. It's disappointing, but I'm not discouraged. The past two weeks, our defensive backs have been in good position, they've tackled well, and they've been aggressive when the ball is in the air. I don't even mind the penalties, because that means we're challenging receivers, which is totally different from what we saw the past two years (really more than that). But, yeah, got to avoid the big play in the big spot. Totally ruined what would have otherwise been almost a perfect grade. B

Special teams: Disappointed

We didn't do anything wrong in coverage, the punting was great, we even got a couple of good returns, including the one at the end that really helped us get close to a score. This is probably the best special teams outing we've had in a long, long time. And then, our most reliable special teams player, the most clutch kicker in the NFL, misses a go-ahead field goal with less than five minutes to go, greatly influencing the rest of the game. Last week, Vinatieri deserved his own high grade, but this week, he's dragging it down. And even though he made the next one, it almost missed, too! It would be nice to not make these kind of mistakes in winnable home games. Alas... B+

Coaching: Who are we?

For the second week in a row, we blew a lead in the second half. To be honest, I don't think it was the fault of the coaching staff, and, unlike others, I don't agree that the offensive gameplan was too conservative in the second half. I think we were undone by two mistakes on defense, one mistake on offense, and one mistake on special teams. Still, 19-3 in the second half. At home. Against one of the least effective passers in the league. Hard to ignore that. I think Arians made an effort, not only to put the ball in Luck's hands, but also of helping him salvage gains out of broken plays. Luck demonstrated a great willingness to throw the ball quickly, and to run with it, and I think (read: hope) that was a point of emphasis in the gameplan. Maybe we should keep the offense running at a faster pace for certain stretches, given how well we do in two-minute situations. Defensively, I think Manusky did a decent job. We should probably get our safeties a little more involved, but I understand being cautious as well. I like the adjustments we made once their offense got into scoring position; we shut down several drives and held them to field goals or forced punts. We were stout on third down. And I don't fault the playcalling for the touchdowns, either of them. But still, 19-3 in the second half. At home. Against one of the least effective passers in the league. There's no ignoring those facts. The decision to run at the end was the right decision. Maybe a bootleg on second down might have changed the situation a little, but getting their timeouts was super important. It just wound up not mattering because we blew the coverage. Not too much to complain about, but it sucks giving up a two score lead at home. B-

Bring on the bye. GO COLTS!

[Superman]

A few notes I forgot to include:

There is simply no one better at the strip sack than our very own Robert Mathis.

Hilton's first punt return is a great example of his playmaking ability. Another poster compared his potential to Percy Harvin. Yup.

Great job shutting down the reverse, most of the work done by Bethea.

Antonio Johnson had his worst game at nose tackle, I think. He got blown off the ball on the very first play of the game.

The refs were terrible. Awful. And it went both ways.

Gabbert was equally awful for 59 minutes.

[gacker65]

IMO, you graded Luck and the receivers to high. Way to much inconsistancy in their play. I would grade Luck at C- and Wrs at C. I agree with the rest of your grades. have seen improvement in Oline play and in Defense. Still need a little more consistant play from DBs.

[Superman]

IMO, you graded Luck and the receivers to high. Way to much inconsistancy in their play. I would grade Luck at C- and Wrs at C. I agree with the rest of your grades. have seen improvement in Oline play and in Defense. Still need a little more consistant play from DBs.

I thought Luck played a really good game, overall. Some passes were off the mark, a couple of late/underthrows, but he was hurt by some drops by the receivers. And his decisions to get out and run were really good, and helped set up some other options offensively.

The receivers, I probably went a little easy on them. But the backs played well, given the circumstances. Really, just too many drops by the receivers, but we overcame most of them.