Game 1 Analysis / Thoughts

[DougDew]

1 hour ago, krunk said:

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

I read where one of the Star beat writers said that Ballard meddled with the lineup because he wanted one of his guys, Autry, to play.

[Btown_Colt]

3 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I read where one of the Star beat writers said that Ballard meddled with the lineup because he wanted one of his guys, Autry, to play.

G T F O

[Fisticuffs111]

9 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I read where one of the Star beat writers said that Ballard meddled with the lineup because he wanted one of his guys, Autry, to play.

 

Link?

[Scott Pennock]

46 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I read where one of the Star beat writers said that Ballard meddled with the lineup because he wanted one of his guys, Autry, to play.

I hope not as Autry was a non-factor all day.....

[OLD FAN MAN]

3 hours ago, aaron11 said:

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

 

wilson shouldnt have played 

all three look like below average talent

[LJpalmbeacher2]

56 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I read where one of the Star beat writers said that Ballard meddled with the lineup because he wanted one of his guys, Autry, to play.

 

So ballard is dictating lineups to coach?

[OLD FAN MAN]

2 hours ago, ProblChld32 said:

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

he is a below average talent we need an upgrade there

 

[Btown_Colt]

8 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

 

So ballard is dictating lineups to coach?

Don’t feed the troll. He made it up because it was reported that Grigson did and he doesn’t want to believe it’s true. 

[markabrown96]

Leonard played great. Did anybody pay attention to Walker or Moore?

[Lawrence Owen]

Wilson played his butt off for only having one hand.  I wouldn't have played him for that reason only. 

Geathers was positively awful today.  He was the worst player on the field. Single handedly gave the Bengals 52 yard on 3 bad plays, And those were the ones I noticed from 239-11.  I really hope it is just because he's rusty. Because he made bad decisions...poor angles, and tackled receivers while the ball was in mid air.

We need A.C. back.  Good as well if he can stay healthy. That will put more beed in for the running game.

Receivers played well. A couple drops..but that's normal.

Defensively..front 7 wise.  I knew this is what we'd look like.  Big plays followed by big mistakes. over and over.  This trend should start to lean towards more big plays and less mistakes though as the season goes on and they learn.

BTW..Luck is fine..  Better than fine.  When was the last game we saw him  throw that many times on quick outs?  This offensive playbook is good for him.

Loved the coaching today.  Wish there was a few trick plays in there like Wilkins passing to Luck tho...lol (sorry, saw the Eagles game and well, you know...lol)

 

 

 

[jet1968]

I thought they played well. Glad to see the defense flying around.

SLIDE ANDREW SLIDE!!!!!!!!

[threeflight]

I though the Colts looked good.  A few plays, and ref calls, that go the other way and the Colts win pretty easily.  I thought they looked better today than at anytime last year.  The coaching was head and tails above what we have seen the past how many years.

 

That being said, I still have issues with Nelson.  Not that he is a bad player.  He isn't.  He will be a very good player.  But a guard, a left guard, is just not that valuable to the overall team.  A middling average talent would have about as much effect on a game as someone who is way above average.  Why?  Because the position is not that crucial.

 

So far we have had Hooker and Nelson as our 2 first round picks.  Both are really good talents, but as far as position and importance to the team?  I don't see it.

 

 

I think we blew it and will look back at those 2 picks as the ones 'that got away'. I will say it again, Ballard is not impressing me.  At all. From his FA signings (or lack thereof) to this drafts.....I'm not seeing it.

[Bravo]

Good:

 

-Play calling besides the screen seemed to be good.

-Rookie linebackers didn’t play terrible.

-Hines contributed positively.

-Andrew Luck

 

Bad:

 

-Offensive line struggled.

-Quincy Wilson, Hooker/Geather mistake on Green TD.

-Some bad penalties.

-Screen plays

-Doyle Fumble

 

Team will be around 6-8 wins.

Im going with 6-10 3rd in AFC South.

 

1.) Jax

2.) Hou

3.) IND

4.) Ten

 

 

[Maniac]

1 hour ago, threeflight said:

I though the Colts looked good.  A few plays, and ref calls, that go the other way and the Colts win pretty easily.  I thought they looked better today than at anytime last year.  The coaching was head and tails above what we have seen the past how many years.

 

That being said, I still have issues with Nelson.  Not that he is a bad player.  He isn't.  He will be a very good player.  But a guard, a left guard, is just not that valuable to the overall team.  A middling average talent would have about as much effect on a game as someone who is way above average.  Why?  Because the position is not that crucial.

 

So far we have had Hooker and Nelson as our 2 first round picks.  Both are really good talents, but as far as position and importance to the team?  I don't see it.

 

 

I think we blew it and will look back at those 2 picks as the ones 'that got away'. I will say it again, Ballard is not impressing me.  At all. From his FA signings (or lack thereof) to this drafts.....I'm not seeing it.

 

Malik Hooker will be an elite player in this league and will be beloved by Colts fans for years.

 

He's a super talent.

[NewEra]

13 hours ago, RollerColt said:

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

Do tell....

[RollerColt]

2 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Do tell....

I mean, I could write a book... But mostly my phone blew up from the Bengals fam after that fumble. That got frustrating quickly, but I understand their excitement to finally beat us in our house. 

 

That and I was grading when I first saw this thread and the "their" misspelling was glaring at me, lol...  

[aaron11]

i'll say 6-10 for the year now.  probably beat some bottom feeders and a surprise win or two against decent teams

 

we need a running game and we cant give up deep passes playing a cover 2.  run defense was also bad, a good coach would have given mixon more than 17 carries 

 

 

[Pacergeek]

Colts need to do something about the WR/RB positions. It got to the point where running the ball was a wasted play, so Luck had to through 53 times. Maybe Mack comes back, and we can run the ball effectively. Maybe Mack is only effective in space, and we will still struggle to run. 

 

For the WR's, I like both Grant and Rodgers as WR3. With all of the good WR's available during FA (Robinson, Brown, Crabtree, etc), it's borderline inexcusable that Ballard did not sign a proven WR2. I'm sure Ballard could sell me on why he did not sign a WR2, but I don't get it

[lollygagger8]

It's absolutely fantastic that Luck actually has more than TY and Doyle as weapons! 

 

Ryan Grant, Ebron, Swoope, Himes, Wilkins, Doyle, TY and even Pascal all played well on offense.

 

Colts should've had TE's and RB's chipping to help Haeg, but he did better than expected for leaving him out on an island at RT. Getting the ball out quickly was a welcome sight. 

 

Reich called a great game for the majority of it. He'll take notes of what didn't work (screen passes) and figure it out. 

 

Even if the defense is the middle of the road (which would be a huge improvement over last year) this team is going to do well. Al Woods is the man. Even Hunt was tearing it up. I did think Autry and Sheard would've caused more ruckus than they did, but we'll see moving forward. Darius Leonard is the real deal. I remember scratching my head at that pick, but Ballard nailed that one. 

[NewEra]

12 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

I mean, I could write a book... But mostly my phone blew up from the Bengals fam after that fumble. That got frustrating quickly, but I understand their excitement to finally beat us in our house. 

 

That and I was grading when I first saw this thread and the "their" misspelling was glaring at me, lol...  

Lol I would have had to put my phone on do not disturb. 

 

The loss sucked. No doubt. Especially with how good we were looking. We are definitely going to go through some growing pains with how young this team is. But the loss was not on the youth. It was on stupid mistakes that cost us down the stretch. Was still awesome to see Luck out there and that alone gives me hope. 

[CR91]

I thought we did a lot of good things especially on offense. The line did give Luck time to survey the field, we were able to move the ball especially on third down, Luck looked sharp and efficient. Defense was fast and hitting hard, but as is when it comes to playing a cover 2 defense, our dline is too small to control the line which opens up running lanes, and when there is no pass rush, there are open gaps in the coverage.

[Myles]

11 hours ago, threeflight said:

 

 

That being said, I still have issues with Nelson.  Not that he is a bad player.  He isn't.  He will be a very good player.  But a guard, a left guard, is just not that valuable to the overall team.  A middling average talent would have about as much effect on a game as someone who is way above average.  Why?  Because the position is not that crucial.

 

 

I feel just the opposite.   Their benefit is not as noticeable because relevant stats are not reported much.   But improving pass protection and improving the running game is huge.   Having Nelson as an anchor for years to come is great.  

I bet Luck disagrees that it is not crucial.   

[K-148]

2 hours ago, Myles said:

I feel just the opposite.   Their benefit is not as noticeable because relevant stats are not reported much.   But improving pass protection and improving the running game is huge.   Having Nelson as an anchor for years to come is great.  

I bet Luck disagrees that it is not crucial.   

Watching the game right now. Nelson's awareness for stunts are just amazing. Atkins' sack wasn't Nelson's fault: there was a stunt by #58, Nelson left double block on Atkins to took that stunt and Haeg can't keep Atkins away from Andrew. At 26 dropbacks there were only 2 hurries and 4 knock downs (late hits)! Colts OL! Even without Castonzo!

[Myles]

6 minutes ago, K-148 said:

Watching the game right now. Nelson's awareness for stunts are just amazing. Atkins' sack wasn't Nelson's fault: there was a stunt by #58, Nelson left double block on Atkins to took that stunt and Haeg can't keep Atkins away from Andrew. At 26 dropbacks there were only 2 hurries and 4 knock downs (late hits)! Colts OL! Even without Castonzo!

Good stuff, thanks for the numbers.   I tried watching Nelson quite a bit and he held is own and even dominated a 6-time pro bowler.   I've seen good offensive lines make poor QB's look good.   Make OK RB's look great.  

[Coffeedrinker]

8 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

It's absolutely fantastic that Luck actually has more than TY and Doyle as weapons! 

 

Ryan Grant, Ebron, Swoope, Himes, Wilkins, Doyle, TY and even Pascal all played well on offense.

 

Colts should've had TE's and RB's chipping to help Haeg, but he did better than expected for leaving him out on an island at RT. Getting the ball out quickly was a welcome sight. 

 

Reich called a great game for the majority of it. He'll take notes of what didn't work (screen passes) and figure it out. 

 

Even if the defense is the middle of the road (which would be a huge improvement over last year) this team is going to do well. Al Woods is the man. Even Hunt was tearing it up. I did think Autry and Sheard would've caused more ruckus than they did, but we'll see moving forward. Darius Leonard is the real deal. I remember scratching my head at that pick, but Ballard nailed that one. 

Haeg played LT, Webb played RT

[Colt Overseas]

My take:

 

Positives:

1. Luck

2. Grant and Hines really stepping up for the first time for us

3. Leonard

4. Offensive play calling

5. Pass protection by oline (helped by the 4th point)

6. Defensive turnovers

 

Negatives:

1. Offensive run game (Overall this was collective between the oline and RB's)

2. Defensive run game (Moore, Walker and Goode need to contribute more in this area, seemed like Leonard was doing all the work. DE's need to focus on not losing contain)

3. Penalties/concentration lapses 

 

With regards to the negatives, Costanzo, Mack and possibly Good will help with improving the run game some bit, but still we won't have a juggernaut run game, but hopefully more serviceable. I think on defense, we look like we are going to find stopping the run very difficult going forward. I like Moore and Goode's athleticism but they are not imposing themselves strong enough, particulry Najee Goode, I don't think he had a single tackle which isn't good enough for a SAM linebacker.

 

But overall definitely more positives than negatives. I think things like Turay getting alot of time at right d-end, he looked a real handful. All receivers and Hines played well, although I'd love if we could find a big bodied wide out to give Luck another option. I think we are actually not far off having a proper elite offense. Get a good RT, hard running RB and big bodied WR and we'd be in serious business. Defense has some way to go obviously but we are young and have potential.

[richard pallo]

18 hours ago, Lawrence Owen said:

Wilson played his butt off for only having one hand.  I wouldn't have played him for that reason only. 

Geathers was positively awful today.  He was the worst player on the field. Single handedly gave the Bengals 52 yard on 3 bad plays, And those were the ones I noticed from 239-11.  I really hope it is just because he's rusty. Because he made bad decisions...poor angles, and tackled receivers while the ball was in mid air.

We need A.C. back.  Good as well if he can stay healthy. That will put more beed in for the running game.

Receivers played well. A couple drops..but that's normal.

Defensively..front 7 wise.  I knew this is what we'd look like.  Big plays followed by big mistakes. over and over.  This trend should start to lean towards more big plays and less mistakes though as the season goes on and they learn.

BTW..Luck is fine..  Better than fine.  When was the last game we saw him  throw that many times on quick outs?  This offensive playbook is good for him.

Loved the coaching today.  Wish there was a few trick plays in there like Wilkins passing to Luck tho...lol (sorry, saw the Eagles game and well, you know...lol)

 

 

 

Desir should have been out there splitting time with Wilson.  He didn't play a down.  That's crazy. 

[krunk]

To me it was crazy not to have either Desir or Ridgeway playing yesterday.  Don't think that was good.

[krunk]

I think Turay is going to be a real good one when he puts it all together.  I ain't saying he's Mathis but he's got that Mathis type of quickness.

[krunk]

9 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

It's absolutely fantastic that Luck actually has more than TY and Doyle as weapons! 

 

Ryan Grant, Ebron, Swoope, Himes, Wilkins, Doyle, TY and even Pascal all played well on offense.

 

Colts should've had TE's and RB's chipping to help Haeg, but he did better than expected for leaving him out on an island at RT. Getting the ball out quickly was a welcome sight. 

 

Reich called a great game for the majority of it. He'll take notes of what didn't work (screen passes) and figure it out. 

 

Even if the defense is the middle of the road (which would be a huge improvement over last year) this team is going to do well. Al Woods is the man. Even Hunt was tearing it up. I did think Autry and Sheard would've caused more ruckus than they did, but we'll see moving forward. Darius Leonard is the real deal. I remember scratching my head at that pick, but Ballard nailed that one. 

Al Woods was Rag Dolling the Bengals Center and Guard up there.  That man is country strong.

[richard pallo]

I know I'm a broken record but now that Webb has a hamstring issue Ballard better hurry up and sign Pasztor before the Texans, Vikings or Giants do.  

[OLD FAN MAN]

1 hour ago, richard pallo said:

Desir should have been out there splitting time with Wilson.  He didn't play a down.  That's crazy. 

i concur

[lollygagger8]

16 hours ago, Coffeedrinker said:

Haeg played LT, Webb played RT

 

Yes you are correct, typo on my end 

[Coffeedrinker]

3 minutes ago, lollygagger8 said:

 

Yes you are correct, typo on my end 

That is what I figured.

 

And I meant to type that I agreed with your post.  But I had work to do and when I came back to the forum I just hit "submit reply"

[jvan1973]

On 9/9/2018 at 8:25 PM, DougDew said:

I read where one of the Star beat writers said that Ballard meddled with the lineup because he wanted one of his guys, Autry, to play.

Yeah,   I can't find anything to support this.    Surely you can find the link

[Jdubu]

17 hours ago, krunk said:

I think Turay is going to be a real good one when he puts it all together.  I ain't saying he's Mathis but he's got that Mathis type of quickness.

That was what I noticed as well, that quickness. He is around the corner in a hurry and has that elite looking bend. Mathis looked a lot like this too in his first season and he had Freeney to help take pressure off him. Who is going to step up and rush from the other side? I liked, no loved, what I seen out of Turay. 

[krunk]

1 hour ago, Jdubu said:

That was what I noticed as well, that quickness. He is around the corner in a hurry and has that elite looking bend. Mathis looked a lot like this too in his first season and he had Freeney to help take pressure off him. Who is going to step up and rush from the other side? I liked, no loved, what I seen out of Turay. 

All I will say is keep watching Muhammad.  He didn't get that many rush attempts but he moves really well too.  And he's got some power and toughness along with a great spin move.

[akcolt]

18 hours ago, krunk said:

To me it was crazy not to have either Desir or Ridgeway playing yesterday.  Don't think that was good.

I'd like to hear the reasoning on Ridgeway being inactive. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. After his preseason you'd think they'd have been dying to see it for real.  Maybe team rule or something we don't know about.  

 

Desir just didn't see the field on D. I'm pretty sure I saw him on ST's. He wasn't on the inactive list. Those guys were Johnson Hewitt Mack Clark Good Castonzo and Ridgeway. 

[chad72]

On 9/9/2018 at 5:48 PM, Scott Pennock said:

 

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.

 

 

About Haeg - does anyone think LT is his natural position because he protected the blind side of Carson Wentz at college for several years? I remember @Coffeedrinker saying that it is not an easy transition to go from the left to the right as we think it is. I thought Haeg played better at LT than we have seen him at RT for the Colts, just some food for thought. But then, he did switch from RT to LT in college.  

 

https://www.stampedeblue.com/2018/6/28/17512412/countdown-to-colts-offensive-tackle-joe-haeg

 

[Scott Pennock]

41 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

About Haeg - does anyone think LT is his natural position because he protected the blind side of Carson Wentz at college for several years? I remember @Coffeedrinker saying that it is not an easy transition to go from the left to the right as we think it is. I thought Haeg played better at LT than we have seen him at RT for the Colts, just some food for thought. But then, he did switch from RT to LT in college.  

 

https://www.stampedeblue.com/2018/6/28/17512412/countdown-to-colts-offensive-tackle-joe-haeg

 

Well Haegs true weakness is game strength and as a LT you typically deal with more speed rushers while on the right side they are more power rushers/edge setters.....

 

So yes, I do think he probably would be more comfortable there.

 

Having said that, he does seem to be playing with more confidence this year and think he'll do just fine at RT when Castonzo returns.