Game 1 Analysis / Thoughts

[Scott Pennock]

1. The COLTS lost this game, not Geathers, not Doyle, not Wilson, not the offensive line, not the defensive line.....the COLTS as a team, collectively lost this game. Also remember, first time HC, OC, DC and ST's coordinators with the youngest (minus Vinny of course) roster in the NFL. Full stop.

 

2. All of the things that worried even the most casual fan came into play, the running game of the Bengals and thier stout defensive line. Thier lines controlled the game for the most part. Why act surprised when it actually happened?

 

3. Speaking of thier defensive line, we should be looking to them as the blueprint for what Ballard is trying to build, 8 deep that rotates in, stays fresh and crashes like a wave in the 4th quarter.

 

4. Stopping the running game is fixable, I saw a lot of gap assignments that were missed, including sealing the edge on the 26 yard scamper by Mixon that sustained a drive. The average age of this team is 25, the defense actually averages around 24 so they will run hot and cold as they gain experience. For example, great play by Turay EXCEPT for reaching too high and horse collaring the ball carrier. And again, Turay provided the pressure forcing that last FG by the Bengals. I will say this, Autry was virtually invisible the entire game and as I suspected should be used as a run stopping end and situational interior pass rusher.

 

5. Those of you poo pooing on Haeg when it was Webb and Braden Smith that gave up the back-to-back hits/sacks by Dunlap.....once Castonzo returns to LT and Haeg returns to RT the oline will be fine. Nelson held his own against a perennial pro bowler in Atkins and Kelly and Slauson played just fine.

 

6. Mack, Wilkins and Hines will make a nice trio of runners/receivers in this offense as the season wears on - I do think with those 3 Hewitt should be active on gameday as a lead blocker though. 

 

7. Ebron, Doyle and Swoope will be a good trio in the middle of the field.

 

8. Ryan Grant is as advertised, no frills, runs good routes and catches the ball. As does Rogers and Pascal. But, we need a true number one in the draft next year for sure. Those guys all need to be in the slot, not on the outside.

 

9. The young secondary will only get better with more time together. Wilson and Hairston on the outside and Moore in the slot with Hooker/Geathers/Farley will be just fine and make more plays as they gain experience and confidence. I think Milton isn't long for the 53 man though and Lenzy Pipkins will be called up from the PS soon. 

 

10. Those young linebackers are going to run to the ball and smack someone in the mouth.....and will also overrun a play a whiff. Today both Adams and Franklin layed the wood on special teams, Leonard was virtually everywhere and the combo of Moore/Walker were running and hitting as well. Moore did seem a little tentative at times like he was still diagnosing the play and was a step slow - that will improve with more game time.

 

11. The defensive line was equal parts frustrating and exciting today. For every good pressure or penetration they got they gave up a big run or lost contain. They will get better with coaching up on maintaining gap assignments just like the linebackers will. The interior of the line, more specifically the UT's (Autry) were invisible and allowed the red rocket to step up into a clean pocket under Sheard, Hunt (and his 2 sacks), Turay, Muhammad and Basham.

 

12. Special teams were just fine, even with the missed FG. Coverage units converged and hit the returners squarely.

 

13. My final point, A LOT of posters in the game thread were saying they see the same old bend but don't break defense. You're comparing a bunch of rookies and 1 year veterans playing thier first meaningful snaps against established veteran teams of the past. What I saw was a YOUNG team making YOUNG mistakes but one that looks to be more talented (collectively) than those teams of the past. 

[RollerColt]

It’s their. 

[NewEra]

7 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

It’s their. 

Excellent insight.....

[RollerColt]

Just now, NewEra said:

Excellent insight.....

Your sarcasm is noted, I’m pretty pathetic today to be honest. 

[aaron11]

i thought hooker and geathers were both disappointing.  hooker was late/bad angle on greens td

 

wilson shouldnt have played 

[Myles]

I thought they looked as should be expected.  They looked like an 8-8 team.   

I thought they looked as should be expected.  They looked like an 8-8 team.   

[Luck 4 president]

He’s the red rifle not the red rocket haha. A red rocket is a dog boner FYI. 

[ColtJ82]

3 minutes ago, Luck 4 president said:

He’s the red rifle not the red rocket haha. A red rocket is a dog boner FYI. 

Eloquent explanation, lol

[PeterBowman]

It's a young team and mistakes will happen.....they're going to give up some plays but they're also going to make some plays....that's exactly what we saw today. I really think there's a lot of potential but it's going to take time.

[a06cc]

I need an update on Luck. Where are the postgame videos?

[ricker182]

I thought they looked good overall minus the dumb penalties and inexcusable turnovers.  

  

Lots of positives from this game.  

  

But you can't have turnovers like that and commit bad penalties and expect to win. 

[krunk]

I didn't come away from that game thinking the Bengals were the better team. I thought we were the better team for the great majority of the game until we started turning the ball over and getting penalties. I didn't think the Bengals D line was special. I think Mack would have made plays. I didn't expect a whole lot from Wilkins. He's more of the tough run type of back. Not real explosive or shifty.

[chrisfarley]

10 minutes ago, a06cc said:

I need an update on Luck. Where are the postgame videos?

he seems upbeat, not sullen.  even cracking on Mike Chapell there at the end. (post-game presser)

[krunk]

I'm still trying to understand why Ridgeway didn't play?

[Btown_Colt]

Just now, krunk said:

I'm still trying to understand why Ridgeway didn't play?

Wasn’t even active. Mind numbing 

[krunk]

The short passes drove me crazy for a while. I kept wanting more deep shots. I got used to it after a while though. Still got the old offense in my system.

[a06cc]

5 minutes ago, chrisfarley said:

he seems upbeat, not sullen.  even cracking on Mike Chapell there at the end. (post-game presser)

Thank you! Just watched Reich’s post presser. 

[jameszeigler834]

12 minutes ago, ricker182 said:

I thought they looked good overall minus the dumb penalties and inexcusable turnovers.  

  

Lots of positives from this game.  

  

But you can't have turnovers like that and commit bad penalties and expect to win. 

I saw the PI call on Wilson that call was bull crap some of those penalties were crap call not the only reason colts didn't win but they didn't help either. The Luck int while it was a bad play colts recovered from it but the fumble put the nails in the coffin terrible play by Doyle should have thrown it to Ebron or Swoope atleast so far they know how to hang onto the ball.lol.

[Boiler_Colt]

39 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

i thought hooker and geathers were both disappointing.  hooker was late/bad angle on greens td

 

wilson shouldnt have played 

I agree about Geathers and Hooker. It looked like Hooker doesn't have his top end speed back yet.

[Colttodd18]

I thought we would get blown out today. We were going up against a good, physical, experienced team while fielding a very young team. 

To my surprise we looked organized and fast. The play calling was very good but we just made too many mistakes to win the game. This team will get better each week they play together. Anything more than 6 wins will be a good season for this team. I’m looking forward to an exciting season watching this young team. 

[Scott Pennock]

52 minutes ago, Luck 4 president said:

He’s the red rifle not the red rocket haha. A red rocket is a dog boner FYI. 

I was being sarcastic! Lol

[compuls1v3]

1 hour ago, Scott Pennock said:

1. The COLTS lost this game, not Geathers, not Doyle, not Wilson, not the offensive line, not the defensive line.....the COLTS as a team, collectively lost this game. Also remember, first time HC, OC, DC and ST's coordinators with the youngest (minus Vinny of course) roster in the NFL. Full stop.

 

2. All of the things that worried even the most casual fan came into play, the running game of the Bengals and thier stout defensive line. Thier lines controlled the game for the most part. Why act surprised when it actually happened?

 

3. Speaking of thier defensive line, we should be looking to them as the blueprint for what Ballard is trying to build, 8 deep that rotates in, stays fresh and crashes like a wave in the 4th quarter.

 

4. Stopping the running game is fixable, I saw a lot of gap assignments that were missed, including sealing the edge on the 26 yard scamper by Mixon that sustained a drive. The average age of this team is 25, the defense actually averages around 24 so they will run hot and cold as they gain experience. For example, great play by Turay EXCEPT for reaching too high and horse collaring the ball carrier. And again, Turay provided the pressure forcing that last FG by the Bengals. I will say this, Autry was virtually invisible the entire game and as I suspected should be used as a run stopping end and situational interior pass rusher.

 

5. Those of you poo pooing on Haeg when it was Webb and Braden Smith that gave up the back-to-back hits/sacks by Dunlap.....once Castonzo returns to LT and Haeg returns to RT the oline will be fine. Nelson held his own against a perennial pro bowler in Atkins and Kelly and Slauson played just fine.

 

6. Mack, Wilkins and Hines will make a nice trio of runners/receivers in this offense as the season wears on - I do think with those 3 Hewitt should be active on gameday as a lead blocker though. 

 

7. Ebron, Doyle and Swoope will be a good trio in the middle of the field.

 

8. Ryan Grant is as advertised, no frills, runs good routes and catches the ball. As does Rogers and Pascal. But, we need a true number one in the draft next year for sure. Those guys all need to be in the slot, not on the outside.

 

9. The young secondary will only get better with more time together. Wilson and Hairston on the outside and Moore in the slot with Hooker/Geathers/Farley will be just fine and make more plays as they gain experience and confidence. I think Milton isn't long for the 53 man though and Lenzy Pipkins will be called up from the PS soon. 

 

10. Those young linebackers are going to run to the ball and smack someone in the mouth.....and will also overrun a play a whiff. Today both Adams and Franklin layed the wood on special teams, Leonard was virtually everywhere and the combo of Moore/Walker were running and hitting as well. Moore did seem a little tentative at times like he was still diagnosing the play and was a step slow - that will improve with more game time.

 

11. The defensive line was equal parts frustrating and exciting today. For every good pressure or penetration they got they gave up a big run or lost contain. They will get better with coaching up on maintaining gap assignments just like the linebackers will. The interior of the line, more specifically the UT's (Autry) were invisible and allowed the red rocket to step up into a clean pocket under Sheard, Hunt (and his 2 sacks), Turay, Muhammad and Basham.

 

12. Special teams were just fine, even with the missed FG. Coverage units converged and hit the returners squarely.

 

13. My final point, A LOT of posters in the game thread were saying they see the same old bend but don't break defense. You're comparing a bunch of rookies and 1 year veterans playing thier first meaningful snaps against established veteran teams of the past. What I saw was a YOUNG team making YOUNG mistakes but one that looks to be more talented (collectively) than those teams of the past. 

Good analysis from what I saw.  I also agree Doyle did not lose that game. That was one heckuva play by that safety.  Gotta clean up the penalties though. I'm excited for the next game!

[Scott Pennock]

28 minutes ago, krunk said:

I'm still trying to understand why Ridgeway didn't play?

Agreed...maybe he got dinged up in the last practice?

[krunk]

2 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

Agreed...maybe he got dinged up in the last practice?

Injury better be the reason.

[krunk]

24 minutes ago, jameszeigler834 said:

I saw the PI call on Wilson that call was bull crap some of those penalties were crap call not the only reason colts didn't win but they didn't help either. The Luck int while it was a bad play colts recovered from it but the fumble put the nails in the coffin terrible play by Doyle should have thrown it to Ebron or Swoope atleast so far they know how to hang onto the ball.lol.

NO Hunt love my friend! LOL

[Btown_Colt]

5 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

Agreed...maybe he got dinged up in the last practice?

Wouldn’t he have to be on the injury report then?

[krunk]

I'm getting tired of Doyle fumbling. Used to be Mr. Automatic.

[Scott Pennock]

2 minutes ago, Btown_Colt said:

Wouldn’t he have to be on the injury report then?

Yeah by the letter of the law he would have to be, unless it happened in pregame warmups perhaps? Can't really thinkof any other situation to have him as an inactive.....?

[krunk]

I thought the O line gave luck plenty of time. Especially with who we had at the Tackles.

[ProblChld32]

They need to keep Geathers off the field on clear passing downs he is a liability in coverage. 

[jameszeigler834]

16 minutes ago, krunk said:

NO Hunt love my friend! LOL

where did he get that speed any other time he looks slow. Well see if he can keep that up all year long.

[ColtsBlitz]

1 hour ago, aaron11 said:

i thought hooker and geathers were both disappointing.  hooker was late/bad angle on greens td

 

wilson shouldnt have played 

One nice thing about them playing bad is that they all have the talent to improve. Hooker most of all so. Wilson also had to play with one hand and Geathers hasn’t played in awhile. They’ll get better. 

39 minutes ago, Boiler_Colt said:

I agree about Geathers and Hooker. It looked like Hooker doesn't have his top end speed back yet.

I thought he did look slow. He’s gonna get better I’m sure. 

 

[krunk]

4 minutes ago, jameszeigler834 said:

where did he get that speed any other time he looks slow. Well see if he can keep that up all year long.

I still think he's better on the interior, but he did it from everywhere today. Inside and out. If we could play Hunt and Woods on the interior on run downs the inside run would be shut down. I say play maybe Sheard and Muhammad on the edges during run periods. Muhammad held the edge pretty good on one outside run that got stuffed.

[Matabix]

Thought Geathers was fine, looks like Leonard got to the spot first. Hooker angles surprised me like he already lost a step. Thought Haeg and Webb did fine, and Nelson kept Atkins in check. Bengals prolly has the 2nd best line we will face all year and we did it with 3 starters out. I'm encouraged by what I saw today. Himes better than I thought. Turay looked good and bad. Hunt surprised me. 

[Scott Pennock]

2 minutes ago, krunk said:

I still think he's better on the interior, but he did it from everywhere today. Inside and out.

He did have INSANE combine numbers....so the strength and speed were always there, the football IQ/Experience wasn't there yet....

 

He reminds me of the defensive version of Christian Okoye - insane talent, started late in life and didn't know fully how to use his abilities.

[Defjamz26]

Running game isn’t going to cut it. They completely abandoned the run in the 2nd half. Not that I blame them. I’m not sure Mack is going to be a huge fix for that though.

[throwing BBZ]

38 minutes ago, krunk said:

I still think he's better on the interior, but he did it from everywhere today. Inside and out. If we could play Hunt and Woods on the interior on run downs the inside run would be shut down. I say play maybe Sheard and Muhammad on the edges during run periods. Muhammad held the edge pretty good on one outside run that got stuffed.

 

Funny, because Hunt was terrible playing inside against the run last season.
 

[throwing BBZ]

29 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

Running game isn’t going to cut it. They completely abandoned the run in the 2nd half. Not that I blame them. I’m not sure Mack is going to be a huge fix for that though.

 

But then again, in his 2nd season, with AC playing, and when/if he gets in shape and some reps, he could very well do what Mixon did today. Not that i can be Sure.

Edited September 10, 2018 by throwing BBZ

[krunk]

3 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

Funny, because Hunt was terrible playing inside against the run last season.
 

Only in the eyes of you

[Surge89]

Good analysis!

 

I'll give my take instead of creating a new thread. 

 

Overall I'm super excited about this team now no question.  I'll gladly concede that Ballard knew better than I in regards to Hunt.  Hunt plays like that all season this defense could be much better than expected. 

 

On defense the linebackers are night and day from last year.  We actually have talent there now. It's refreshing to finally say Indy has a linebacker Corp.  The safeties we're disappointing but that could be just lack of reps due to injury.  Farley was great again and should be starting until Hooker gets up to speed.  What's with Ridgeway????  I really thought our run defense would be complete trash instead they are below average and honestly that's good enough if we dominate in the pass game. Turay needs a solid year or 2 in an NFL weight room. He's undersized badly and it shows.  The good news is he still makes plays even though he's handicapped by size.  Very heartwarming.  They are young made some mistakes that sort of cost the game but anyone who isn't even a little happy with how much resources went into them is never going to be pleased. 

 

For offense it's a little bit of a different story.  I think the receivers are still going to be an issue despite the Grant and Pascal performance. TY looked off but probably more of an issue that he needs reps with Luck.  I still think Fountain should be on this team instead of Johnson (oh well under the bridge now).  The runningback situation is promising with Wilkins and Hines.  Hines redeemed himself greatly and being used properly as a scat.  That's a welcome sight to see coaches putting players in a place to succeed instead of what we've been given the past 3 years.  The oline looked like it was missing it's tackles... Because they were lol.  And the TEs look absolutely deadly. Luck needs reps that's all I have to say on him. 

 

Can't wait to see the growth of this group of linebackers and runningbacks.  That's going to be the biggest takeaway from this season.