Braden Smith

[joeb]

This man deserves some love for the job he did on JJ Watt.  Watt is one of the best in the game and Smith did a hell of a job on him. yea he got a sack but that's about it.  Watt can be a game wrecker. We all love Nelson but Braden Smith is quietly becoming a really good tackle.

[MikeCurtis]

He did ok....... He had help on most plays

 

OK is better than the last few weeks.... I will TAKE IT!

[1959Colts]

Braden did outstanding!

[VaAllDay757]

He did alright he got beat bad on that first sack we gave up tho

[hoosierhawk]

When you hold both Watt and Clouney to 2 tackles and 1 sack apiece someone did a great job. Even if Smith and Castanzo had some help they did very well. I'll take it.

[#12.]

For a rookie with less than 10 NFL starts?  You couldn't ask for much more.  

 

After the sackless streak, I think people's expectations got a little out of whack.

 

 

[krunk]

The quick game and play action helped the tackles out a lot

[compuls1v3]

24 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

He did ok....... He had help on most plays

 

OK is better than the last few weeks.... I will TAKE IT!

Most teams game plan around Watt. Smith did a very fine job today!

[GoColts8818]

27 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

He did ok....... He had help on most plays

 

OK is better than the last few weeks.... I will TAKE IT!

Pretty much shutting down one of the best ends in football as a rookie even with help is better than ok.

[Scott Pennock]

Braden Smith is learning RT on the fly, in the NFL, in one of the best divisions of great edge rushers and more than holding his own......

 

He is like Ryan Diem - minus the false starts!

[jvan1973]

Smith is a great surprise.   Nice pick by Ballard.   We still need depth on the o line,  but Ballard has done a great job protecting the franchise

[IinD]

1 minute ago, jvan1973 said:

Smith is a great surprise.   Nice pick by Ballard.   We still need depth on the o line,  but Ballard has done a great job protecting the franchise

I honestly can't wait to see how good it looks next year with 1/2 more solid draft picks along with another 1/2 cheap finds (slauson/glow) for versatility/depth.

[cbear]

I'm not sure why people seem to fixate so much on tackles getting help.  It's sop in every game and against jj watt?  Ogden in his prime would be getting help. 

 

Smith is doing great for his current level of experience.  

[shasta519]

He definitely got some help this game...but the OL gameplan and execution was great overall.

[Dark Superman]

Braden's body structure has RT written all over it. I don't think people realize how strong this guy really is. I can't believe he's only a rookie and playing out of the position he was drafted for. We struck gold with him and Nelson. As well as Glowinski.

[Legend of Luck]

3 hours ago, #12. said:

For a rookie with less than 10 NFL starts?  You couldn't ask for much more.  

 

After the sackless streak, I think people's expectations got a little out of whack.

 

 

Not to mention he's playing out of position as well.

[LockeDown]

I was very impressed with Lucks protection.  I will take that on every game we play going forward this year.  Now the run game is a little different but I think that gets fixed this offseason. 

[Colts_Fan12]

I just cant help but wonder how he would be at his natural position if he is playing this good at tackle!! Really love the pick!!

[coltfaninnewyork]

Braden smith a guard playing tackle ,and more than holding his own ,The arrow pointing up for him as well.What a job by Ballard ,wow .

[ColtStrong2013]

I think we can stop calling Smith a guard now. He is this team's right tackle. Period. 

 

Who gives a damn if he had help... You know what happens when you don't help against JJ Watt? 11.5 sacks in 12 games. I'm glad we finally have a competent coaching staff that values pass protection and the nuances that goes into scheme and the preparation to take on defensive lineman like Watt and Clowney. 

[Valpo2004]

Smith did a good job.  Every RT in the league is probably getting some help with JJ Watt.  At the very least a chip from the TE.  Watt still often wreaks an offense though.

 

Yesterday though, Smith held him to a sack, I think a QB hit, and a couple of pressures.

 

Good job by Smith and good job game planning against Watt and Clowney.

[Coffeedrinker]

10 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

Smith is a great surprise.   Nice pick by Ballard.   We still need depth on the o line,  but Ballard has done a great job protecting the franchise

The Colts need depth at the tackle spots I agree, but interior depth seems good at the moment, Boehm and Andrews have come in the last couple of weeks and played ok.  Upgrades would be nice, but it's not urgent.  Tackle is a different matter.  Personally, I would not mind seeing the Colts spend a 3rd or 4th round pick on a backup LT/RT or a swing tackle.

[superrep1967]

3 hours ago, coltfaninnewyork said:

Braden smith a guard playing tackle ,and more than holding his own ,The arrow pointing up for him as well.What a job by Ballard ,wow .

Ballard has done an awesome job and his draft was phenomenal 

[DougDew]

It looks like he's doing well and praise is certainly warranted.  I'm not that surprised he's playing well given his college career and body type.  Starter quality OLs taken at 37 should be able to do well beginning the second half of their rookie year.  Its not like he was a 4th round pick or something.

 

I hope he becomes all pro, and that would be quite the surprise for me.

[Creekside]

13 hours ago, krunk said:

The quick game and play action helped the tackles out a lot

 

There were also many times when Luck had a lot of time to throw. The second sack was a coverage sack, where Luck had all kinds of time but saw no one open.

[Coffeedrinker]

In the first game with Good at RT and Clark at LT  The Colts gave up 4 sacks for 27 yards (2 of which were strip sacks),  8 TFL and 10 QB hurries.  In this game with AC and Smith the Colts gave up 2 sacks for 13 yards, 3 TFL and 5 QB hurries.

 

There was a difference of 62 pass attempts (1st game) vs 41 (2nd game) but that is not a bad stat line.

 

Actually looking at it closer, only Nelson played in both games.  Game 1. Clark, Nelson, Kelly, Slauson, Good.  Game 2: AC, Nelson, Boehm, Glowinski, Smith.

[Jackie Daytona]

6 hours ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

I think we can stop calling Smith a guard now. He is this team's right tackle. Period. 

 

Who gives a damn if he had help... You know what happens when you don't help against JJ Watt? 11.5 sacks in 12 games. I'm glad we finally have a competent coaching staff that values pass protection and the nuances that goes into scheme and the preparation to take on defensive lineman like Watt and Clowney. 

There had actually been plenty of Tackle help with TE's and RB chips over the course of those 12 games..... so it's more accurate to say, help or not, Watt had 11.5 sacks in 12 games....  just makes Smith's performance that much more impressive.

[jameszeigler834]

15 hours ago, hoosierhawk said:

When you hold both Watt and Clouney to 2 tackles and 1 sack apiece someone did a great job. Even if Smith and Castanzo had some help they did very well. I'll take it.

Clowney didn't get a sack one of their backups got the 2nd sack Clowney other than gift rapping the game at the end didn't really do squat in the game.

[krunk]

I thought the young man played well, but I also thought it was a combination of everything.  Great scheming to take the pressure off our tackles along with solid execution for what they were asked to do.  There is such a great difference in the way we are game planning and executing these deals versus the Pagano years.

[hoosierhawk]

2 hours ago, jameszeigler834 said:

Clowney didn't get a sack one of their backups got the 2nd sack Clowney other than gift rapping the game at the end didn't really do squat in the game.

you are right. Bleacher report had credited him with a sack yesterday but Covington had the second sack.

[RockThatBlue]

He really may end up the steal of the draft. I think everyone knew Nelson would be very good, but I don't think anyone really expected this from Smith. 

[dodsworth]

And the best part about Q and Smith

is.....they are both rookies and it takes a few seasons for linemen to

hit their stride. 

 

The best is yet to come.