Winners And Losers In The Bears Game.

[bluephantom87]

Any pass thrown by Bennett should honestly not be taken seriously at this point, Unless he comes out and pretty much has an All Pro like performance in game three when he comes in against 3rd stringers I'd even say one of our PS spots would be better served not wasting a spot on him:

 

Winners

1.Walden

2.Pendleton

3.Hughes

4.Robinson

5.Hilton despite the drop

6.Varga on kick return

7.Luck

 

Losers

1.If you were not on the winners list you were pretty much a loser tonight....Bennett gives me hope I can try out for the 3rd string QB job

As far as losers.... Matt hasn't been much BETTER (if any) than Bennett who is an undrafted rookie! For his 4 million dollar price tag Matt at nearly 40 is laughing ALL the way to the bank!!!

[GoColts8818]

Yes cause TY never drops passes

i saw him drop A pass and come back with two really nice grabs on the same drive that was the Colts only TD of the game. I am not concerned about Hilton.

[John Dee]

One area is just really concerning...  and it is the interior of the OL....     

 

the Colts might be the WORST pre season team in NFL history...   BUT ...  D is an issue and the OL is DEFINATELY one.  

 

Andrew Luck can simply not get hit the way he is getting TAGGED straight up the GUT or he will be on IR by year end.    REALLY GRIGS...  A WR first .................................?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

OK....     

[John Dee]

Collins to Dallas as a FA is a joke...    WOW...    This team NEEDS talent on the OL and let a bargan slide right bye....

 

OK rant over...

[John Dee]

I might try Chap or Parry at G...    and I am dead serious.

[Lef]

Trent Coles bull rush leading to sack of cutler was beautiful. He did not get sack but was responsible for it. Hope we see more of that.

[Lawrence Owen]

http://coltsauthority.com/2015-archives/16733.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=16733&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

I love this guy Marcus Dugan.   This is his 'wrap-up' of the Bears Game.  My favorite quote...:

 

"– T.Y. Hilton snags a deep pass, then draws a penalty from an apparently very butthurt cornerback.  Yeah, I said butthurt.  And this is only the preseason."

[HarryTheCat]

Winners:

 

Andrew Luck - duh

Andre Johnson - The timing between Luck and AJ looks great. Loved the 2 point conversion.

Josh Robinson - our future starting RB

Lance Louis - shockingly, our best o-lineman of the night (IMO)

Erik Walden - probably the biggest winner of the night. Provided tons of pressure and did well against the run.

 

Losers:

Matt Hasselbeck and Bryan Bennett  - lots of inaccurate throws/bad decisions.

Special Teams - beginning kick with McAfee. Poor returning

Jerrell Freeman - horrible in pass coverage. Junior Sylvestre looked better. 

Bjoern Werner - still not impressing against 2s and 3s. 

Jack Mewhort - his worst performance as a Colt. Struggled against McPhee.

Freeman didn't look like he had a clue as to what he was doing out there in pass coverage, other than auditioning for a remake of "Lost in Space".  I've seen statues with better coverage skills.

[Smonroe]

Honestly I don't remember Johnson having a drop. TY had a drop though but redeemed himself right after.

I'll have to watch it later but I Thought Johnson had a drop on our second possession. I know Andrew went to him several times on that series and he caught one.

What I meant by TY being our #1 is that it still appears he's our go to guy when we need to move the chains.

I realize it's preseason and they're not game planning yet. In the regular season I have to assume they'll target the receiver with the best matchup. With all good/great targets the only concern is giving Luck three seconds.

[Mr.Debonair]

i saw him drop A pass and come back with two really nice grabs on the same drive that was the Colts only TD of the game. I am not concerned about Hilton.

I'm not worried about him either. My comment was in response to the poster making it seem like we should be concerned about AJ because he dropped a pass

[NewEra]

I'm not to worried about our back up WR's when you have MH out there stinking it up. Good grief he was horrible. Besides that the tackling was my concern. Was horrible for defense and ST

[IndyColtScout]

JJ Watt vs Mewhort is going to be a bad time.

[mattceinicram]

I'd add Carter to the losers list. Two games and he's been a none factor and other than returns (where he hasn't exactly been Hester) he's been in there late in mop up time. For a kid who did so well in practice I was hoping to see more out of him at this point and I wouldn't be shocked to see them keep someone like Whslen over him right now.

He also has been playing with Bennett, so he hasn't had a chance to get some catchable balls throw his way.

[Hoosiernsavga]

I know it's just the second game in pre season but the OL looks worse than last year if that's possible! I don't care how many weapons we have on offense if Luck doesn't get more time we are in trouble. They are just flat out horrible!

[IndyD4U]

Aside fron the obvious superstars that we have, Parry and Robinson showed what they can do for the second week in a row. IMO, Robinson has already claimed the #3 RB spot and will supplant Boom at some point this season for #2. Parry is demanding double teams already. I know it's pre-season and he's going up against 2nd stringers most of the time, but he has showed a lot and looks better than Chapman ever has.

 

I like that D front of Hughes, Parry, and Kerr. There are your "Monsters"...I'd add Pendelton to that list too

[will426]

I'll have to watch it later but I Thought Johnson had a drop on our second possession. I know Andrew went to him several times on that series and he caught one.

What I meant by TY being our #1 is that it still appears he's our go to guy when we need to move the chains.

I realize it's preseason and they're not game planning yet. In the regular season I have to assume they'll target the receiver with the best matchup. With all good/great targets the only concern is giving Luck three seconds.

Well honestly

[will426]

I'll have to watch it later but I Thought Johnson had a drop on our second possession. I know Andrew went to him several times on that series and he caught one.

What I meant by TY being our #1 is that it still appears he's our go to guy when we need to move the chains.

I realize it's preseason and they're not game planning yet. In the regular season I have to assume they'll target the receiver with the best matchup. With all good/great targets the only concern is giving Luck three seconds.

Well honestly that pass luck was hurried and the ball was higher than anticipated I mean for Johnson it can be caught but at the same time it still wasn't on target to begin with

[Dark_Indy]

I saw two humorous (and impressive) plays, one by Freeman and one by Josh Chapman.

 

With Freeman, He was blitzing from the left, and Cutler handed the ball to the left. Forte went past Freeman, and before Forte got to the line of scrimmage, Freeman had "tagged" Cutler, turned around and chased Forte down. Great pursuit to make up for a lack of play recognition. 

 

There was another play by Chapman where he made a tackle on a tight end after a six yard pass. That's our Nose Tackle.

[GoColts8818]

He also has been playing with Bennett, so he hasn't had a chance to get some catchable balls throw his way.

the one tonight hit him in the hands and he bobbled it. You have to catch those to get s shot higher up the depth chart.

[wig]

I might try Chap or Parry at G... and I am dead serious.

You being serious is what concerns me.

[Superman]

Parry was getting blown off the ball, particularly when they doubled him. He can gap, and has some quickness and slipperiness that Chapman doesn't, and is better on passing downs, but he's not a true "man in the middle" nose tackle. 

 

Montori Hughes was good. He did good at 3 and 5 tech, and showed some ability to hold up on run plays. But he got pushed back at times, also. 

 

D'Qwell Jackson did a good job making blockers miss, and stack/shed a couple times also. He also missed tackles. 

 

Langford I thought was the best DL in the game.

 

We didn't get much pass rush. The Bears gameplanned us a little, keeping some blockers in, going with stacked 2x2 formations and getting rid of the ball quickly. Then when they pulled Freeman and the safety out to the stacked groupings, they started running the ball up the middle. I'm cautiously optimistic that we'd counter that scheme in a real game. I'm not sure why Freeman and Geathers gave up the big gain to Bennett; someone misread the situation.

 

Bad tackling. Geathers arrived at the ball with some authority (which is my sticking point with him), but he still didn't finish well. He got trucked and/or dragged a few times. Got the man down, but not until he gave up an extra 2-5 yards.

 

Eric Patterson looked good before he left. Probably the best tackler of the day, and has an aggressive pass breakup. 

 

OL was shaky in pass pro. I'm not overly concerned. Not only do I think there are multiple ways to gameplan protection, but we know we have a young RT. There are gonna be some mistakes, and really he just got beat by a good pass rusher. Happens to everyone. He was better after that. AC is a rock, and he got beat by a good pass rusher last night also. 

 

The run blocking was decent. The backs -- Gore and Robinson -- know how to find creases and finish runs. The production they had is what Tipton left on the field last week. Robinson was really good on the first drive of the third quarter.

 

Moncrief concerns me. He mistimed his jump, which happens sometimes, and maybe even was interfered with, but his physical ability means he should win those jump balls in the middle of the field. Great play by the DB, but Moncrief is bigger, taller, has longer arms and jumps higher. Go take what's yours. I think Dorsett would have made that play...

 

Speaking of Dorsett, he has a suddenness and shiftiness to him. Corners don't like when the ball comes to him. His simple shakes are deadly, like on the smoke he caught. And on the play where he got hurt, he showed veteran savvy in the route, patiently set his man up, then separated from him with ease. He's ready to play. Hope his knee is okay.

 

Holmes and Harrison were both good. They rotated a few possessions. On the TD drive, Harrison was in there. But the Robinson "four minute drill" to open the third quarter was Holmes; he won a couple of one-on-ones with Eddie Goldman. Both had good play in both phases.

 

Carter... I don't know. Might not make it...

 

Too many penalties, especially on special teams.

 

Lastly, when I watched Bryan Bennett's college tape, what little of it I could find, it was terrible. I'm not surprised that he's looked so bad in preseason. He has legs, and I think they'll keep him on the practice squad to run scout team -- we play Mariota twice, Tannehill, possibly EJ Manuel or Tyrod Taylor in the opener (both of whom can run), and Cam Newton. He'll be useful in practice. But even Hasselbeck hasn't been good. Rumor has it the Eagles will trade Matt Barkley. I'd look into it, and maybe even carry three QBs on the active roster this year. 

[BPindy]

Parry was getting blown off the ball, particularly when they doubled him. He can gap, and has some quickness and slipperiness that Chapman doesn't, and is better on passing downs, but he's not a true "man in the middle" nose tackle.

Montori Hughes was good. He did good at 3 and 5 tech, and showed some ability to hold up on run plays. But he got pushed back at times, also.

D'Qwell Jackson did a good job making blockers miss, and stack/shed a couple times also. He also missed tackles.

Langford I thought was the best DL in the game.

We didn't get much pass rush. The Bears gameplanned us a little, keeping some blockers in, going with stacked 2x2 formations and getting rid of the ball quickly. Then when they pulled Freeman and the safety out to the stacked groupings, they started running the ball up the middle. I'm cautiously optimistic that we'd counter that scheme in a real game. I'm not sure why Freeman and Geathers gave up the big gain to Bennett; someone misread the situation.

Bad tackling. Geathers arrived at the ball with some authority (which is my sticking point with him), but he still didn't finish well. He got trucked and/or dragged a few times. Got the man down, but not until he gave up an extra 2-5 yards.

Eric Patterson looked good before he left. Probably the best tackler of the day, and has an aggressive pass breakup.

OL was shaky in pass pro. I'm not overly concerned. Not only do I think there are multiple ways to gameplan protection, but we know we have a young RT. There are gonna be some mistakes, and really he just got beat by a good pass rusher. Happens to everyone. He was better after that. AC is a rock, and he got beat by a good pass rusher last night also.

The run blocking was decent. The backs -- Gore and Robinson -- know how to find creases and finish runs. The production they had is what Tipton left on the field last week. Robinson was really good on the first drive of the third quarter.

Moncrief concerns me. He mistimed his jump, which happens sometimes, and maybe even was interfered with, but his physical ability means he should win those jump balls in the middle of the field. Great play by the DB, but Moncrief is bigger, taller, has longer arms and jumps higher. Go take what's yours. I think Dorsett would have made that play...

Speaking of Dorsett, he has a suddenness and shiftiness to him. Corners don't like when the ball comes to him. His simple shakes are deadly, like on the smoke he caught. And on the play where he got hurt, he showed veteran savvy in the route, patiently set his man up, then separated from him with ease. He's ready to play. Hope his knee is okay.

Holmes and Harrison were both good. They rotated a few possessions. On the TD drive, Harrison was in there. But the Robinson "four minute drill" to open the third quarter was Holmes; he won a couple of one-on-ones with Eddie Goldman. Both had good play in both phases.

Carter... I don't know. Might not make it...

Too many penalties, especially on special teams.

Lastly, when I watched Bryan Bennett's college tape, what little of it I could find, it was terrible. I'm not surprised that he's looked so bad in preseason. He has legs, and I think they'll keep him on the practice squad to run scout team -- we play Mariota twice, Tannehill, possibly EJ Manuel or Tyrod Taylor in the opener (both of whom can run), and Cam Newton. He'll be useful in practice. But even Hasselbeck hasn't been good. Rumor has it the Eagles will trade Matt Barkley. I'd look into it, and maybe even carry three QBs on the active roster this year.

Your point on Moncrief I chalk up to a floated pass. Ideally, yes, he would go up and win it anyways, but he had to fully stop and come back (he had a good yard of separation on his man)

The difference with Robinson and Tipton is night and day. Gore I'm extremely excited about, but Robinson is looking like he could be a solid backup this year

[Defjamz26]

I thought Robinson was the best rookie for the Colts that day. I think he wins the day because he'll probably get reps with the 1s in practice and the next game. He checks all the boxes and it's really hard to find a flaw in his game. IMO he's posted every RB down the depth chart or off the team. Might have been the steal of the draft.

Phillip Dorsett might be ready to start. I'd play him over Moncrief in a 3 WR set. He looks like a veteran out there. And his speed is a real problem for trans in more than one way. He also was a winner in my book.

Herrera continues to flash and has a very good shot at making the 53. I'm sure next year we'll lose either Jackson or Freeman. I'd so Herrera could be in line to start next season. He and Irving might be a good tandem.

[mattceinicram]

If we cut Carter, do you guys believe he will clear waivers? I definitely want to keep him around on the PS

[1959Colts]

JJ Watt vs Mewhort is going to be a bad time.

 

...and Reitz looked terrible too.

[Coltswarriors]

TY dropped the easy one tonight, not AJ (I don't recall a drop from him at all). And, who questioned whether TY was our #1?

 

TY and Andre both dropped one. Andre's was deep over the middle (IIRC, it was right after his screen to him).

[ColtsLegacy]

TY and Andre both dropped one. Andre's was deep over the middle (IIRC, it was right after his screen to him).

 

On the "drop" from Andre he had a defender right on his back. It's one Andre would usually make but it was a good play by the defender. Hardly a statistical drop. Unless I am missing something.

[Old Colt]

Robinson continues to impress..... I would put him in behind Gore right now,,, give him a shot with the 1's next week. Have never been a fan of Boom, too many fumbles on too few carries, That said... I didn't see Boom fumble, but was unimpressive and clearly outshined by Robinson. Hasselback... very disappointing... and special teams coverage was pathetic...

Overall the team looked poorly prepared, sluggish, with poor tackling and blocking. it is preseason, but after,

game 2, little gain and a long way to go.... mainly depth looks not so good....

[Coltswarriors]

On the "drop" from Andre he had a defender right on his back. It's one Andre would usually make but it was a good play by the defender. Hardly a statistical drop. Unless I am missing something.

 

I think we're thinking of 2 different plays. The play I'm thinking of Andre was relatively open IIRC.

[twfish]

, you even spelled "spell" wrong. Also, to, not too .

I had 3 hours of sleep in the last 2 days may I have a break? Hahaha

[aaron11]

 

 

I doubt "carter" makes the 53 man roster. 

ive been trying to take bets on that but no one will take me up on it.  he'll make the roster

[BOTT]

Well honestly that pass luck was hurried and the ball was higher than anticipated I mean for Johnson it can be caught but at the same time it still wasn't on target to begin with

It's a ball he should catch.....especially when the QB takes a hit to get it there

[aaron11]

If we cut Carter, do you guys believe he will clear waivers?

doubtful, there were other teams wanting to sign him

[Narcosys]

I thought whalen played well. Had some good blocks for Robinson and then breaking up that possible int on the bad Hasselbeck throw.

[TigerColt]

To me MH was mailing it in.  Poor reads and throws all around.

 

Joseph 

Edited August 23, 2015 by 21isSuperman

[DougDew]

I have always been a fan of Pendleton. He seems to get more penetration and make more plays than other DTs, yet he's been a backup and now looks to be fighting for a roster spot. He's the AQ Shipley of the DL, IMO.

I thought Werner did well. Not seeing what others saw. On one run play, he set the edge forcing the RB to the middle, then came off his man and made the tackle. On the same series on 3rd and 9 near the endzone, a passing play, he engaged the OT and held his ground to cut off any scramble to the QBs right, then as the QB set up, pushed the OT almost into the QB forcing the QB to dump it off short to the RB. Going full-out for a sack at that point on the field on 3rd and 9 does nothing, since a sack would have resulted in a FG attempt, which is what the bears got anyway. Setting up at first and cutting off the rollout was the smart play.

I think Werner is the type of player you have to make a point to watch in order to determine if he plays well. He's not going to stand out on his own, nor does the position of SAM call for that as much ...at least as much as others.

[will426]

It's a ball he should catch.....especially when the QB takes a hit to get it there

Should no could yes and I doubt it's his fault the ball was delivered higher than it should've been due to luck being hit?

[DougDew]

Robinson continues to impress..... I would put him in behind Gore right now,,, give him a shot with the 1's next week. Have never been a fan of Boom, too many fumbles on too few carries, That said... I didn't see Boom fumble, but was unimpressive and clearly outshined by Robinson. Hasselback... very disappointing... and special teams coverage was pathetic...

I think JRob is the direct backup to Gore. Both are power runners, whereas Boom is more of the quick sslasher change of pace RB. Think TRich and DBrown. I think the main rotation and PT will be Gore/Boom with JRob filling in for Gore as a breather or injury

[Valpo2004]

Run game looked good and so did first team D-line.

 

Mewhort looked bad at RT.  Makes me start to think that it was a mistake to let go of Cherilus.  He wasn't worth what he was being paid but he was better then that aweful display.

 

This has to be Hasselbeck's last year, we've held onto him too long.  He just doesn't have the arm strength anymore.  The accuracy is there and he's mentally sharp, but the ball just takes too long to get there.  Next year we need to sign a backup or draft one.  I no longer have any confidence that Hasselbeck could lead us to victory against any team.

 

On the other hand Bennett has the arm strength but no accuracy and I don't think he's got a lot of football intelligence either.

 

Josh Robinson and David Parry severely need to see some first team reps.  In my mind it should be an open competition between Robinson and Boom for the #2 back.  And there should be a open competition between Parry and Chapman for the starting NT. 

 

Pleased with Henry Anderson right now and I think he will be a good player for the future, but the competition for the starting DE spots is pretty stiff.  Jones and Langford have looked good, plus Kerr is in the mix too. 

[chad72]

I thought Montori Hughes played well, didn't he?

 

Mewhort, I will give him a pass. He settled down after the first series, IMO, though he did get some help with TE/RB chipping. If it starts hurting us, it may be time to put back our playoff O-line unit back with Reitz at RT.