Skai Moore & Leonard

[Scott Pennock]

I liked what I saw from the two of them. Neither played like a deer stuck in the headlights and neither looked overwhelmed by the speed and size of the game!

 

When Walker comes back I'd much rather see him as the SAM - those 3 on the field at the same time give me some optimism that though they are raw, thier athletic ability and speed will cover up a few warts.

 

As far as Skai is concerned, he didn't look overwhelmed physically to me, at least not any better or worse than your normal rookie taking on lineman that make it to the second level. He covered the middle of the field well and it was Green that gave up the TD to Vannett (the TE). Outside of that I don't recall him giving up much of anything......?

 

Dare I say it.....we may have our Derrick Brooks and Hardy Nickerson....both long and lean and flew around the ball. Perhaps these guys are watered down versions, but if thier 100% was equivalent to those two's 85% then we'll have a solid linebacker core!

[Fluke_33]

I liked them too.  Just a preseason game and they’re rookies and it probably won’t be until next year that we really see what we’ve got but I’m optimistic

 

hardy nickerson was a stud!

 

 

[stitches]

I liked both of them. Both have range and Skai Moore especially has tremendous instincts in coverage. He had 2 pass breakups and was close to snatching one of those.  I loved Leonard pursuit of RBs while sorting through trash to the sideline and containing some of their runs. There is still room for improvement of course but I'm very optimistic about this combination.  They didn't look out of place. 

[MikeCurtis]

At this point, "watered down" still needs to be achieved........

 

They looked better than much of what we saw last year.......

 

I we cant fix our CB play, we will be looking at down and out.....for LONG gains...... all year

[Stephen]

30 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

At this point, "watered down" still needs to be achieved........

 

They looked better than much of what we saw last year.......

 

I we cant fix our CB play, we will be looking at down and out.....for LONG gains...... all year

well if hooker comes back healthy those long passes should be ints

[ColtJ82]

2 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

I liked what I saw from the two of them. Neither played like a deer stuck in the headlights and neither looked overwhelmed by the speed and size of the game!

 

When Walker comes back I'd much rather see him as the SAM - those 3 on the field at the same time give me some optimism that though they are raw, thier athletic ability and speed will cover up a few warts.

 

As far as Skai is concerned, he didn't look overwhelmed physically to me, at least not any better or worse than your normal rookie taking on lineman that make it to the second level. He covered the middle of the field well and it was Green that gave up the TD to Vannett (the TE). Outside of that I don't recall him giving up much of anything......?

 

Dare I say it.....we may have our Derrick Brooks and Hardy Nickerson....both long and lean and flew around the ball. Perhaps these guys are watered down versions, but if thier 100% was equivalent to those two's 85% then we'll have a solid linebacker core!

 

That was a pathetic effort by TJ. He positioned himself behind the TE. How in the world do you defend a TE in the endzone from behind him?

[Scott Pennock]

2 minutes ago, ColtJ82 said:

 

That was a pathetic effort by TJ. He positioned himself behind the TE. How in the world do you defend a TE in the endzone from behind him?

You don't.....see Nate Hairston's INT as he undercut the WR to beat him to the ball. 

 

Having said that, it looks like Green had good leverage until the TE cut back and the QB scrambled.

[Scott Pennock]

1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

At this point, "watered down" still needs to be achieved........

 

They looked better than much of what we saw last year.......

 

I we cant fix our CB play, we will be looking at down and out.....for LONG gains...... all year

It looked like there were 7 yard cushions on virtually every play. Likely not wanting to show too much in the preseason.....

[ColtJ82]

3 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

You don't.....see Nate Hairston's INT as he undercut the WR to beat him to the ball. 

 

Having said that, it looks like Green had good leverage until the TE cut back and the QB scrambled.

He did.....then he took a horrible angle and ended up behind

[Pacergeek]

What was the pre-draft knock on Moore? I know he went un-drafted, but lead SEC in tackles? Something doesn't add up. I can already tell that Moore is a playmaker. 

[Pacergeek]

4 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

It looked like there were 7 yard cushions on virtually every play. Likely not wanting to show too much in the preseason.....

If we are only rushing 4 on a 3rd and long, during the regular season, Eberflus needs to be fired ASAP. Russell Wilson easily completed a 3rd and 16 pass against this soft scheme. If you do not generate pressure, NFL QB's will shred you

[LockeDown]

Green needs to become the next Steve Tasker if wants to stay in the league.  Which would be fine if he did that.

[braveheartcolt]

11 minutes ago, Pacergeek said:

If we are only rushing 4 on a 3rd and long, during the regular season, Eberflus needs to be fired ASAP. Russell Wilson easily completed a 3rd and 16 pass against this soft scheme. If you do not generate pressure, NFL QB's will shred you

Your consistent positivity leaves me tingling....

[Calmack]

Matthew Adams also had a nice almost-interception late in the game. Besides that one play, how did he do? I didn't catch the whole game. 

[Pacergeek]

22 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

Green needs to become the next Steve Tasker if wants to stay in the league.  Which would be fine if he did that.

I actually don't mind Green. He has shown he isn't afraid to hit someone. Has a chip on his shoulder from his days playing WR. Probably thinks WR's and RB's are divas, and deserve to get KO'd. If he can ever put things together, he will be productive. 

[LockeDown]

1 minute ago, Pacergeek said:

I actually don't mind Green. He has shown he isn't afraid to hit someone. Has a chip on his shoulder from his days playing WR. Probably thinks WR's and RB's are divas, and deserve to get KO'd. If he can ever put things together, he will be productive. 

I hope, but you have to some kind of a football IQ out there and he doesn't show it often.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

As far as Moore's potential, I think only the Sky is the limit.

[Lucky1]

42 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

As far as Moore's potential, I think only the Sky is the limit.

Skai is the limit

[ColtsBlueFL]

2 hours ago, ColtJ82 said:

 

That was a pathetic effort by TJ. He positioned himself behind the TE. How in the world do you defend a TE in the endzone from behind him?

 

When receivers are covered and a play breaks down, the QB must be taken down.  If he breaks contain and runs loose, then most receivers can break away from their defenders quite easily.

 

2 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

You don't.....see Nate Hairston's INT as he undercut the WR to beat him to the ball. 

 

Having said that, it looks like Green had good leverage until the TE cut back and the QB scrambled.

 

Many a great play has been accomplished by a good QB 'extending the play' with his feet, then finding the open guy.

 

2 hours ago, Pacergeek said:

If we are only rushing 4 on a 3rd and long, during the regular season, Eberflus needs to be fired ASAP. Russell Wilson easily completed a 3rd and 16 pass against this soft scheme. If you do not generate pressure, NFL QB's will shred you

 

The idea is to get pressure with 4, as the rest have responsibilities.  If you blitz one of them, he (or someone else rushing) better get home to the QB and pressure an early or bad throw, or get a sack. Otherwise the guy the blitzer was to cover is wide open, and the QB will very often find him for a big gain.  With 7 defenders back and supposedly keeping things in front of them, an offensive receiver is never suppose to get > 16 yards on a play, especially 3rd down.

[masters1]

Skai was expected to be drafted in a later round. He weighed only 216 at South Carolina and suffered a neck injury in 2016 which scared away some teams. He showed up to Colts camp at 230 and it appears that Ballard might have found a gem. 

[MikeCurtis]

3 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

It looked like there were 7 yard cushions on virtually every play. Likely not wanting to show too much in the preseason.....

I dont know......

 

I guess I will respectfully disagree

 

I dont think the the team is hiding good coverage in a Tampa2 type defense in preseason.

 

Offense being vanilla.... yup

 

The defense just sucking at coverage in preseason....... On purpose.......... 

I truly dont think so

 

They should be closer, and break to the ball.

 

Will our starting safeties help?...... absolutely.... but..... someone has to play

CB for this defense to work

 

Hopefully the team works on the CBs this week........  I also dont really like a 5' 9" corner in this type of defense.......... usually they are a  bit bigger

 

He looked outmatched by the taller WRs

 

I think we very much need to bring in another starter

 

1-800- Breeland...... Pay the man

 

Quincy being benched by TWO coaching staffs........  think about that

 

Hopefully the young man grows up and gets serious about his craft.

 

 

I was pleased to see some decent LB play from the rookies....... lets hope that area keeps improving

 

 

[Boiler_Colt]

1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

 

Quincy being benched by TWO coaching staffs........  think about that

 

 

 

Well, except he wasn't. He got the start over Desir. Desir was playing well into the second half.

[Douzer]

6 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

Having said that, it looks like Green had good leverage until the TE cut back and the QB scrambled.

Yeah, the coverage was good, but the lack of discipline to keep a running QB in the pocket and the lack of recognition by the LB's to close on the scrambling QB and cut off his throwing angles were the big picture issues on that play.

[CR91]

9 minutes ago, Douzer said:

Yeah, the coverage was good, but the lack of discipline to keep a running QB in the pocket and the lack of recognition by the LB's to close on the scrambling QB and cut off his throwing angles were the big picture issues on that play.

 

You realize there is basically no game plan in preseason right

[Douzer]

6 hours ago, Calmack said:

Matthew Adams also had a nice almost-interception late in the game. Besides that one play, how did he do? I didn't catch the whole game. 

Adams didn't stand out besides that play. It was a good play though.

Zaire Franklin made a number of very solid plays. Skai Moore looked very good out there and although I liked what I saw from Leonard, he had a number of gap assignment errors and bad angle misses in that game. Tyrell Adams and Jeremiah George also showed up on my review.

[Douzer]

Just now, CR91 said:

 

You realize there is basically no game plan in preseason right

You realize those are fundamentals right?

[Shive]

7 hours ago, Pacergeek said:

What was the pre-draft knock on Moore? I know he went un-drafted, but lead SEC in tackles? Something doesn't add up. I can already tell that Moore is a playmaker. 

He fell further than most expected, but here's his scouting profile:

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/skai-moore?id=32462018-0002-5600-087b-25ff1584a982

 

Mainly he's too thin, not really athletic, and had a neck injury in 2015 that worried teams.

 

PFF loved him though. Ranked him as their #5 MLB in this year's draft and said he rated just below Roquan Smith in coverage last year:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-ranking-the-lb-prospects-for-the-2018-nfl-draft

[MikeCurtis]

3 hours ago, Boiler_Colt said:

 

Well, except he wasn't. He got the start over Desir. Desir was playing well into the second half.

I was looking at the depth chart before the game, and didnt know he started

 

I stand corrected

[CR91]

1 hour ago, Douzer said:

You realize those are fundamentals right?

 

not when it comes to someone like Wilson. you're not game planning for the team your facing til game 3. Right now its just working within the scheme and knowing your assignments

[Surge89]

3 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

not when it comes to someone like Wilson. you're not game planning for the team your facing til game 3. Right now its just working within the scheme and knowing your assignments

 

Game planning has nothing to do with being able to run a basic scramble drill.  

 

He's a scripted player and has no instincts.  The minute it's out of whatever has been taught to him he is useless. 

[CR91]

Just now, Surge89 said:

 

Game planning has nothing to do with being able to run a basic scramble drill.  

 

He's a scripted player and has no instincts.  The minute it's out of whatever has been taught to him he is useless. 

 

you play coverage until you see the QB starting to run, that is what you're taught. if there was a game plan, there would have had skai or Leonard spying

[GoColtsWin]

23 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

I liked what I saw from the two of them. Neither played like a deer stuck in the headlights and neither looked overwhelmed by the speed and size of the game!

 

When Walker comes back I'd much rather see him as the SAM - those 3 on the field at the same time give me some optimism that though they are raw, thier athletic ability and speed will cover up a few warts.

 

As far as Skai is concerned, he didn't look overwhelmed physically to me, at least not any better or worse than your normal rookie taking on lineman that make it to the second level. He covered the middle of the field well and it was Green that gave up the TD to Vannett (the TE). Outside of that I don't recall him giving up much of anything......?

 

Dare I say it.....we may have our Derrick Brooks and Hardy Nickerson....both long and lean and flew around the ball. Perhaps these guys are watered down versions, but if thier 100% was equivalent to those two's 85% then we'll have a solid linebacker core!

Or Mike Peterson/Marcus Washington? They were a nice tandem for us back in the day. Hardy’s one of my all-time favorites. 

[chad72]

I need to see what the starting DL does in pre-season games 2 and 3. Skai and Darius are going to need to be protected to an extent by the DL in run D. A lot of LBs can be drag down tacklers (cough Pat Angerer), folks that show up near the ball after most of the yardage is gained, but there are few that read the play fast enough to shoot gaps before the OL has had a chance to release from the DL or stop the RB as soon as he hits the gap. Since that can only come with time, the DL protecting the LBs has to happen to afford that luxury of time with this young D. 

 

Taking right gaps most of the time (no Clint Session or Gilbert Gardner memories, please), not easily sucked into play action by maintaining a level of depth and making the occasional shoot-the-gap play is what I will be looking forward to. It all starts with our big DL uglies in the front, and the LBs will benefit with the ripple effect. 

 

I am not ready to crown or disparage anyone yet.

[Douzer]

1 hour ago, chad72 said:

I need to see what the starting DL does in pre-season games 2 and 3. Skai and Darius are going to need to be protected to an extent by the DL in run D. A lot of LBs can be drag down tacklers (cough Pat Angerer), folks that show up near the ball after most of the yardage is gained, but there are few that read the play fast enough to shoot gaps before the OL has had a chance to release from the DL. Since that can only come with time, the DL protecting the LBs has to happen to afford that luxury of time with this young D. 

 

Taking right gaps most of the time (no Clint Session or Gilbert Gardner memories, please), not easily sucked into play action by maintaining a level of depth and making the occasional shoot-the-gap play is what I will be looking forward to. It all starts with our big DL uglies in the front, and the LBs will benefit with the ripple effect. 

 

I am not ready to crown or disparage anyone yet.

Well said.

I'd add that the infinitely described "Speed Of The Game" effect was present. The game will naturally slow down for new players once they've had enough game reps. Thursday was their first real taste of how fast things can move at this level. I could see our new speed, strength and effort, it was visible, but the information processing was predictably a tick or two behind.

Go Colts!

[ColtsBlueFL]

9 hours ago, GoColtsWin said:

Or Mike Peterson/Marcus Washington? They were a nice tandem for us back in the day. Hardy’s one of my all-time favorites. 

 

As much as we liked those guys, it was David Thornton who Bill Polian truly regretted letting get away.  And now, Thornton is back (full circle) with the Colts as Director of Player Engagement.

 

I'm not ready to compare Leonard and Brooks yet, but hope one day I can.

[Dark Superman]

I still gotta watch the game, but heard some good things about both guys!

[GoColtsWin]

On 8/12/2018 at 9:19 PM, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

As much as we liked those guys, it was David Thornton who Bill Polian truly regretted letting get away.  And now, Thornton is back (full circle) with the Colts as Director of Player Engagement.

 

I'm not ready to compare Leonard and Brooks yet, but hope one day I can.

Thornton was a great backer for sure. Hated losing him and Jake Scott to the Titans. 

[Coffeedrinker]

I have a different opinion of Skai Moore than most.  His coverage was really good.  But his support in the run game was horrible.  He got absolutely planted a couple of times by a lineman.  And even if he wasn't engaged he was hesitant to fill the hole with any force.

 

Leonard took a bit too long to diagnose the play several times (to be expected from a rookie playing in his first game but definitely something that needs to improve).  Showed good range and speed but he found out quickly that NFL players are a lot faster than college when he was juked and whiffed on a tackle attempt.

 

Green, that TD was him getting outmaneuvered.  No two ways around it.  You don't want it to happen but it happens to every player... the guys on the other team get paid as well.