Colts is the name..... efficiency is the game

[Gavin]

Good evening Colts forum family, After reading through some posts I couldn't help but realize some were disappointed in the way some of our playcalling went many were pleased however, I was very pleased with the playcalling. Some things need worked on but I think were no the right track with Thornton as our RG), some obviously feel that the absolute best way to use our speed guys are with a vertical down the field passing game and while that works just like any other offense can work if your players are good enough it can and alot of times does take alot of unnecessary added risks as well as more often then not an element of surprise away from your game if your just doing 5-7 step drops every single pass play. Im going to run the numbers we put up vs the Browns offensively by everyone to show just how overall affective we were

 

 

Andrew Luck- 16 for 25 passing for 164 yards with 2 TD and a Int (that should have been caught by Havili....In fairness to Havili he did make a very nice effort play for a TD as well) and 4 of those 9 incomplete passes were because of drops. 2 by Wayne, 1 by Havili that led to the Int and 1 by Brown, Lucks completed passes went for an average of 10.2 yards. We had 26 First Downs, 18 through the air and we were 6-13 on 3rd down for 46%

 

Blocking wise the first team O Line (Im going to include Reitz in this for this particular piece because he saw the majority of the snaps at LT after Castonzo went down 3 plays into the game) gave up 1 sack on what I thought was a wicked hand punch by Kruger although to me it appeared that Cherilus gave up inside position on that play leaving Kruger a direct path to the QB (The same play that Castonzo got injured on). Ill focus on the run plays first of the first team(Ill just do them up to the half and if you guys like Ill do the 2nd half before Thursday:

 

1st run play: From what I saw was supposed to go behind Cunningham but it appeared Craig Robertson gave him a little push to avoid him forcing Ballard to bounce it behind Satele....I personally did not like the way Satele was blocking on that play......Perhaps I am wrong (admittedly I probably am) but it appeared Satele was trying to straight up maul Rubin over instead of using Rubins own weight against him by focusing on getting to Rubins right shoulder (underneath Rubins right arm pit) to get an angle on him to  "ride" him out of the play to open up a hole...Because Satele just wont hardly ever win a 1 on 1 mauling contest with Rubin

 

 

2nd run play:End Around with DHB using the Browns aggressiveness in pursuit against them, Was a good play call in my opinion it worked well, The Browns pursuited it well though to the sideline, what made the play work well was Satele and Cherilus's ability to get out as lead blockers

 

3rd run play:Excellent execution on this Outside Zone run especially by Havili and Cunningham, Havili for giving a good lead block and Cunningham for peeling off that DE and seeling off that Outside Linebacker so Ballard could get to the outside for a good run

 

4th run play: Another outside zone run, This time it didn't work well, The Browns linebackers had good discipline and pursuit on this play which was aided by Sowell allowing penetration of Rubin

 

5th run play:Another attempt at an outside zone run, Cunningham whiffed on a block on #54 (not sure who that is and the camera did not stay on him long at all) which looked like blew the play up right there

 

6th run play:Was ran right between Satele and Linkenbach at RG....Satele did a very solid job of getting underneath Rubins left armpit, D'Qwell Jackson had good pursuit on that play and took out Havili who was lead blocking...I think Ballard could have shown a little more patience on that particular run because Link and Satele opened up a pretty good sized hole where I think Ballard should have shown a little wiggle to make Jackson and Winn miss

 

7th run play:The Browns Linebackers strung this play well on the Play Side as there was no room to run on the outside zone run but on the backside there was a pretty good sized hole....That is...if Satele would have actually blocked

 

8.Straight ahead run by Donald Brown(Man Blocking Scheme), Satele 1 on 1 with Rubin....again not going to happen...If Brown had much in the form of vision he would have bounced that outside Thornton who was the Pulling Guard on that play and had alot of green ahead (yes I know it sounds like I am picking on Brown, Like I said I like him as a change of pace back but he has very little vision)

 

9.Was a run by Ballard behind Cherilus who go no push on that play

 

10.Looked like a Safety blitz and Thornton did not get his head up in time and him and Thomas collided, Havili appeared to miss D'Qwell Jackson on that play, Had Havili made that block I think Ballard scores

 

11.Thomas was used as a Pulling Guard on the run by Brown, The camera was zoomed in on Luck for to long but Thomas definitly got man handled by Taylor who shrugged him off  and made the tackle

 

12.Vick Ballard on an inside hand off, Cherilus and Thornton did a great job opening up a hole on the play

 

13.Thornton used as the Pulling Guard again trying to get short yardage for a first down, would have the 1st down if Ballard cut back across Thorntons right hip

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[#BringBobBack]

Cherilus has been judged by some too quickly in my opinion. i know we payed him ALOT of money and just like Erik Walden (the other free agent besides Bradshaw im most excited about) whenever people see him mess up a block or get beat by a solid defender which happens to everyone people wanna whine about how he's worthless and a waste of money.cherilus getting beat by kruger is the same as walden getting beat by richardson it wasnt his lack of talent it was thier great ability to make guys miss and i feel we need to be patient and let cherilus gel into our  o-line . although i have been impressed overall with both so far       

[Smonroe]

Cherilus has been judged by some too quickly in my opinion. i know we payed him ALOT of money and just like Erik Walden (the other free agent besides Bradshaw im most excited about) whenever people see him mess up a block or get beat by a solid defender which happens to everyone people wanna whine about how he's worthless and a waste of money.cherilus getting beat by kruger is the same as walden getting beat by richardson it wasnt his lack of talent it was thier great ability to make guys miss and i feel we need to be patient and let cherilus gel into our  o-line . although i have been impressed overall with both so far

I wish people would quit judging players by how much their paid. It is what it is, now lets judge them by how they play.

The O line is still a work in progress, and that's what we should expect - progress. Cherilus is an upgrade, Thomas as well. Thorton looked pretty good for his first time as a pro. Reitz was passable. Looks like it's the deepest line in six or seven years.

We all have to remember that the other teams also have pro players. We're not going to win every series. Luck will get sacked. We won't break every run. All we want is to keep winning more and more plays. No team is perfect.

[lollygagger8]

I think Thornton moves like a guy 100 less than what he actually is. I'm impressed. 

 

The line obviously has a lot to work on, but the more tape they have to watch, the better they will become. 

[SteelCityColt]

Good work Gavin, it's nice to see someone bothering to add some depth to their thoughts rather than just knee jerking a "X sucks because of the play I just watched" mentality. 

 

My take from the game was that I feel a lot more confident for Luck in the new O, I didn't have this heart in my mouth feeling every time he dropped back and the expected progression seems to be there.

 

The O line is most certainly a work in progress, but injuries (as they did last season) have had a marked affect IMO. Satele is not the long term answer, fit or not, but aside from that I think the other starters either have promise or are solid enough (AC, Thomas, Thornton, Cherilus). I think some of the derision at Gosder's performance in this game was a bit silly given he was solid in the first 2. 

 

I was however a little disappointed in the run game, it's better sure, but not that much better. However patience, and I'd like to see Bradshaw playing to see if he takes up a level. As much as people will cry heresy I do think Brown has looked better so far this season, but as always his longevity across a season needs to proved. 

[Smonroe]

Good work Gavin, it's nice to see someone bothering to add some depth to their thoughts rather than just knee jerking a "X sucks because of the play I just watched" mentality. 

 

My take from the game was that I feel a lot more confident for Luck in the new O, I didn't have this heart in my mouth feeling every time he dropped back and the expected progression seems to be there.

 

The O line is most certainly a work in progress, but injuries (as they did last season) have had a marked affect IMO. Satele is not the long term answer, fit or not, but aside from that I think the other starters either have promise or are solid enough (AC, Thomas, Thornton, Cherilus). I think some of the derision at Gosder's performance in this game was a bit silly given he was solid in the first 2. 

 

I was however a little disappointed in the run game, it's better sure, but not that much better. However patience, and I'd like to see Bradshaw playing to see if he takes up a level. As much as people will cry heresy I do think Brown has looked better so far this season, but as always his longevity across a season needs to proved. 

 

Agreed.  The Oline is not great, but it's definitely not bad.  And as long as we continue to balance the runs and passes, the Ds will have to respect the run game.  Thorton looks promising, Satele seems to be the weak link right now.

 

We can't have teams playing nickle and dime on every play like some did against Manning.

 

I remember being at the KC game about three years ago where they played dime on first down.  Instead of running the ball, they'd have Addai split out.  We still beat them, but if we had a decent running game, we would have killed them.

[atapcl]

Thornton makes the OL look like a different unit. He and Thomas are both able to pull where it seems McGlynn can not.

[throwing BBZ]

Nice job.

 

Other than No FB would have caught that screaming High pass.

 

Bet you say Fleenor dropped the pass in the end zone right? ;)

It was actually a Great catch and the defender made a Great play getting his hand in to pull it out.

Bang Bang. Happens sometimes.

[GwinnettColt]

Awaiting bombardment for this one, but it's just a question that I do not know the answer to...

 

Is McGlynn a better center than Satele? 

 

(Covering head).

[throwing BBZ]

Seriously, I don`t see where one would be better than the other.

Neither holds up well at the point of attack.

Given a choice i think i would take McGlynn by a nose.