2022 Colts at Bill (Pre Season) Post Game Thoughts

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 hours ago, stitches said:

Buffalo has SOOoooo much talent. It's kind of obscene. And they have it at all the right places too. They are what I wish the Colts looked like, team building-wise. 

 

Buffalo is my pick to win the SB. Having said that we can beat them and with me it is AFC Title Game or bust for us which is real high standards in itself. For us it is just time to man up and make a deep run. We have the QB and the roster to do so.

[Solid84]

9 hours ago, EastStreet said:

 

Expected more from the DL too.

 

Pass catchers were fine. Routes and play calls early were uber conservative, and highly scripted. 

 

If you rewatch, pay special attention to the routes we ran in the 1Q, and compare that to what Dorsey called all game for Buffalo. They were much more vertical and middle. 

That’s Reich for you. His playcalling isn’t an asset to this team. 

[CoachLite]

There are a lot of things going on in a first preseason game. Player evaluation, some simple play evaluation, coaching evaluations (yes, coaches are evaluated, too), and total game operation evaluations. Winning is always a part, too. If you focus too much on any one part (especially individual player evaluations), you may not be ready for the opening of the season.

 

If it were easy, anyone could do it.

[Two_pound]

It was more of the same. Bills receivers did't need to get "separation" the Colts let them go down field into wide open spots in very loose zone coverage. I love how for many years we continue to play 8 yards off the line on 3rd and 3 and 4th and 3. To the poster who said the steeler personnel department is good- I will never stop laughing. The steelers are so devoid of talent at so many positions it is comical. They were so statistically bad last year it's like teams had to roll over and let them win to get to 9 wins. Steeler fans here in western Pa. certainly don't agree with your assessment of that personnel department!

[FanOutOfTown]

Have lurked for a while, but finally decided to make an account because some of yalls knee jerk reactions are wild. It’s preseason. Game 1 at that. Coaches have specific things they are looking for and evaluating specific players in certain positions. Play calling was super conservative, but that’s to be expected. All we are really hoping for is no injuries at this point. Couldn’t care less about running the table so I can pound my chest being undefeated in the preseason. Lot of good that has done the Ravens having won 20 something straight. In that time they have won the division twice and have gone a fantastic 1-3 in the playoffs. So to reiterate it’s preseason. Everyone take a second and chill.

[Archer]

My old man always said, “Pre-season games mean exactly nothing.”  Probably more true now than ever before.  Y’know, if our OL with 40% new starters loses on a bunch of plays to Buffalo’s 2nd team DL (chock full of 2nd rounders looking to stand out on a talented D), while we do things like run Hines up the middle three straight plays…well, that doesn’t concern me at all in pre-season.  Comparing those two units under those circumstances is apples and oranges.   We did beat them last year by 26 points with Carson Wentz in the regular season…

[DattMavis]

8 hours ago, Moosejawcolt said:

George Pickens for the Steelers. Killing it. Oh I forgot, Ballard craves character. U know the kind of character that  wins at home against the Raiders and beats the Jags at their home park who eventually get the #1 pick with the Colts play offs on the line. Did I get that wrong lol?? Oh character the  of these players has served us so well. Pickens has red flags and injury history but oh well, he is killing it.  Maybe  instead of this  love for Wayne,  we should offer the Steelers wr scout lots of money??  U know they draft stud after stud and we get what year after year. Look at their wr talent. It's ridiculous and we cannot get one.

I really liked Pickens. It kinda feels like 2019 all over again, passing on like 5 elite WRs.

[teganslaw]

Sam Ehlinger was impressive. he could be a backup, but probably won't be. 

The defense was outstanding. I haven't heard about Isaiah Rodgers' injury. Update?  

The offense needs work. Matt Ryan wasn't great but had quick releases with the ball.  They have a month to work on it.

[Matabix]

9 hours ago, TaylorStillTruckedYou said:

Lol I would only say that having Raimann and Pryor as both starting tackles would kill our QB and RBs.  I could handle one, and maybe seeing how Raimann is at RG but I wouldn’t want both as starters on the ends at the same time 

Remember how New England defended Mathis and Freeney? 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

21 minutes ago, teganslaw said:

Sam Ehlinger was impressive. he could be a backup, but probably won't be. 

The defense was outstanding. I haven't heard about Isaiah Rodgers' injury. Update?  

The offense needs work. Matt Ryan wasn't great but had quick releases with the ball.  They have a month to work on it.

Riggers was being evaluated for a concussion. He posted on Twitter he is fine. That INT he had was beautiful. He shouldn’t even been in the game when he got hurt. Treat him as a starter because we can’t lose him in preseason.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 hours ago, Solid84 said:

That’s Reich for you. His playcalling isn’t an asset to this team. 

 

45 minutes ago, DattMavis said:

I really liked Pickens. It kinda feels like 2019 all over again, passing on like 5 elite WRs.

What are you talking about. In thst steekers game they were making a real effort to get him involved. We didn’t do that with our Wr. Like Zach hicks said this looked like a game to practice mostly run blocking. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

 

[MikeCurtis]

9 hours ago, krunk said:

I like where Granson is at in his develelopment!  Liked the catch from Woods also 

Granson looked better than I have seen him before

[skerfalcon8710]

12 hours ago, fire cartier said:

you got too remember  matty ice never play with this team and need alot more time in preseason get exp with this OL and get timing down why the need too put them in 1st quarter , coen in second quarter , 3 quarter mattyice   ,  sam in the 4 quarter. it will   give each one alot exp and too see were their at.

You don’t put your starting QB in 3rd qtr of preseason behind 2/3rd string oline. wth are you even talking about 

[Nickster]

13 hours ago, John Hammonds said:

Taking Sam out of the game didn't cause the Bills to score 3 times in 8 minutes.

And it has nothing to do with whether or not Frank Reich wants to win it or not.

They put Coan in during mop-up time to give him a chance to play, and show what he could do.  It turned out, not very much.  In the meantime, our bottom-of-the-depth-chart defensive guys allowed them to leap down the field and score at will.

 

The best thing I saw in that whole terrible final minute:  Gus Bradley blitzing on the final two plays.  Eberflus wouldn't have done that.  You go, Bradley.  Best thing that happened to this team this offseason.

Bradley blitzes as rarely as anyone historically. 

[Nickster]

13 hours ago, EastStreet said:

Yup, Lindsay is the much better choice in those situations. Not sure why the need to over-use Hines in the running game. We already know what he's good at and brings. He's a lock, so why not see what the other guys bring.

 

Raimann will need time. Folks that expected him to start were silly from the get go. Needs a year of S and C....

 

Ehlinger did great. He got to play more backyard ball, which he is good at. Ryan and Foles seemed much more scripted. 

 

Love Dayo. Good day for him. He needs to pay off this year. 

I focused on LT play.  Pryor doesn’t look good enough.  The 56 guy was running circles around like Jaws.

 

Raimanns play deteriorated.  Early on he was doing fine on the speed rushes and getting knocked back when hit in the chest.  He was really good in the run game from what I saw.  Quickly getting hands in LBs.

 

toward the back third of his time he was getting abused.  He was probably setting inside because of issues with the bull/inside rush and later getting whipped around the end.

 

He’s a project but has the lateral movement and from what I saw was pretty darn good chasing LBs in the runs.  Do you know how he profiled as a run blocker?  I was impressed with that.

 

but IMO he’s not ready to play and Pryor is underwhelming to me at best.  I think that position could really hurt us.  Wonder if there’s a Voldheer out there?

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, FanOutOfTown said:

Have lurked for a while, but finally decided to make an account because some of yalls knee jerk reactions are wild. It’s preseason. Game 1 at that. Coaches have specific things they are looking for and evaluating specific players in certain positions. Play calling was super conservative, but that’s to be expected. All we are really hoping for is no injuries at this point. Couldn’t care less about running the table so I can pound my chest being undefeated in the preseason. Lot of good that has done the Ravens having won 20 something straight. In that time they have won the division twice and have gone a fantastic 1-3 in the playoffs. So to reiterate it’s preseason. Everyone take a second and chill.

Well said, I think you and I are going to get along just fine. You get it! Over my 7 years here I have learned to maintain my composure for the most part, something you will learn that is tough to do at times in here. You will have people criticizing Frank for really very little reason, after a loss - look out for that Matt haters as well. When we would lose a game in the past even with Luck, a few in here would steamroll him  .

 

For the most part most people in here are very knowledgeable and good posters and it is a good site but you have your 10-15 posters every year that love to push people's buttons, or Troll a little. Wait until you see how this place is after a regular season loss 

[2006Coltsbestever]

I still say this and will stick by it. We need to bring TY Hilton back for insurance and to have a good Vet on the team. I think Matt Ryan and TY would click because both are older Vets and just know how to play the game. My 6 WR's to make the 53 would be:

 

Pittman

Pierce

Campbell

Dulin

Patmon

TY Hilton

-Hines will also help out as far as receiving goes as well.

 

I would keep 4 TE's:

Mo

Ogletree

Granson

Woods

 

I would give Lindsay around 6-8 carries a game regarding RB's. We have a hell of a RB room with Taylor, Hines, and Lindsay.

[luv_pony_express]

1 hour ago, teganslaw said:

Sam Ehlinger was impressive. he could be a backup, but probably won't be. 

The defense was outstanding. I haven't heard about Isaiah Rodgers' injury. Update?  

The offense needs work. Matt Ryan wasn't great but had quick releases with the ball.  They have a month to work on it.

Rodgers tweeted after the game that he was good.

 

https://twitter.com/rodgers_isaiah/status/1558627923699138562?s=20&t=KL3973UnIYm-ERnT7VcwGw

[LiveAndLetAddai]

  Not having your main weapon available makes it tough to judge the offense.

[TaylorStillTruckedYou]

2 hours ago, Matabix said:

Remember how New England defended Mathis and Freeney? 

If I remember correctly, I think their gameplan was to allow both Mathis and Freeney to take themselves out of the play was it not?  Around that time I think their tendency was to spin inside a lot, which New England took advantage of

[GoColts8818]

2 hours ago, TaylorTheStudMuffin said:

 

This is why it’s best not to over react to pre-season games.  You never know exactly what teams are looking at.  Sometimes they will just call the same play and formation over and over to see how guys look in it regardless of what the other team is doing.  It’s glorified scrimmages.  
 

Can you take away things to be concerned or excited about and feel the need to watch going forward?  Sure.  Can you draw solid conclusions about anything?  Not really.  

[shasta519]

8 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

 

I agree with Pat. But there has been a lot of hype this TC, so it’s not surprising that some fans have the same energy for a PS game.

[shasta519]

1 hour ago, Nickster said:

I focused on LT play.  Pryor doesn’t look good enough.  The 56 guy was running circles around like Jaws.

 

Raimanns play deteriorated.  Early on he was doing fine on the speed rushes and getting knocked back when hit in the chest.  He was really good in the run game from what I saw.  Quickly getting hands in LBs.

 

toward the back third of his time he was getting abused.  He was probably setting inside because of issues with the bull/inside rush and later getting whipped around the end.

 

He’s a project but has the lateral movement and from what I saw was pretty darn good chasing LBs in the runs.  Do you know how he profiled as a run blocker?  I was impressed with that.

 

but IMO he’s not ready to play and Pryor is underwhelming to me at best.  I think that position could really hurt us.  Wonder if there’s a Voldheer out there?

When I watched some of Raimann’s tape from college, I noticed the issues with bull rushes then as well. 
 

Now he’s playing against NFL ERs who are the same age, stronger and more talented. He is going to have to catch up, which will take time. 
 

Just a classic case of Ballard draftee hype from some fans though. I still think his future is on the interior OL, but he really needs to get stronger. 

[shasta519]

3 hours ago, DattMavis said:

I really liked Pickens. It kinda feels like 2019 all over again, passing on like 5 elite WRs.

Skyy Moore will be the one to watch. Passing on Moore to take Pierce is a really good litmus test for the Colts WR evaluation process and what they value. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

Skyy Moore will be the one to watch. Passing on Moore to take Pierce is a really good litmus test for the Colts WR evaluation process and what they value. 

I love Matt Ryan but Moore has Mahomes throwing him the ball so I am not sure Moore is a great example to use. Mahomes is the best QB in the league. Give me an example of a WR that at least got drafted after Pierce that has a top 10ish - 15 QB throwing him the ball, then your litmus test would be better. IMO, Matt is top 10ish -15. 

[Solid84]

56 minutes ago, LiveAndLetAddai said:

  Not having your main weapon available makes it tough to judge the offense.

It also shows a glimps of what it would look like if he does down *knock on wood*.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Solid84 said:

It also shows a glimps of what it would look like if he does down *knock on wood*.

If he goes down we are screwed. We can't lose Matt Ryan, JT,  Hines, or Pittman. All 4 have to be healthy for us to accomplish big goals. 

[NFLfan]

3 hours ago, FanOutOfTown said:

Have lurked for a while, but finally decided to make an account because some of yalls knee jerk reactions are wild. It’s preseason. Game 1 at that. Coaches have specific things they are looking for and evaluating specific players in certain positions. Play calling was super conservative, but that’s to be expected. All we are really hoping for is no injuries at this point. Couldn’t care less about running the table so I can pound my chest being undefeated in the preseason. Lot of good that has done the Ravens having won 20 something straight. In that time they have won the division twice and have gone a fantastic 1-3 in the playoffs. So to reiterate it’s preseason. Everyone take a second and chill.

 

Well said. Welcome to the Forum. Don't be shy about posting. 

[Solid84]

11 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I love Matt Ryan but Moore has Mahomes throwing him the ball so I am not sure Moore is a great example to use. Mahomes is the best QB in the league. Give me an example of a WR that at least got drafted after Pierce that has a top 10ish - 15 QB throwing him the ball, then your litmus test would be better. IMO, Matt is top 10ish -15. 

I guess these are guys to watch:

 

George Pickens, Steelers

Calvin Austin, Steelers

Skyy Moore, Chiefs

Khalilk Shakir, Bills

Wan'Dale Robinson, Giants

John Metchie, Texans

Velus Jones, Titans

Kyle Philips, Titans

Jalen Tolbert, Patriots

David Bell, Browns

 

Maybe not Skyy Moore because of Mahomes, but I think it's a stretch to eliminate him because of that. Shakir also has Allen, but we saw what he did to us with their backup QB.

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Solid84 said:

I guess

 

George Pickens, Steelers

Calvin Austin, Steelers

Skyy Moore, Chiefs

Khalilk Shakir, Bills

Wan'Dale Robinson, Giants

John Metchie, Texans

Velus Jones, Titans

Kyle Philips, Titans

Jalen Tolbert, Patriots

David Bell, Browns

 

Maybe not Skyy Moore because of Mahomes, but I think it's a stretch to eliminate him because of that. Shakir also has Allen, but we saw what he did to us with their backup QB.

 

I can buy all the one's you listed except Moore and Shakir because Moore has Mahomes and Shakir has Allen. Matt Ryan is better than the other QB's of the WR's you named, so if Pierce has a better year than Pickens, Robinson, Austin, Metchie, Jones, Phillips, Tolbert, and Bell, than Pierce was a good pick, JMO. 

[DougDew]

As far as the Hines up the gut thing, the problem is a personnel issue, IMO.  Hines has always been the primary backup to our starter.  Before JT, he was the backup to Mack.  Both Mack and JT are straight ahead runners...that's our running game.  And if you are a team that's going to spend $100M on a LG, then running up the gut is going to be the tendency.

 

The problem is that Hines has always been, or should have been, an APB.  He's should be the "emergency" backup to JT, not the primary backup to JT.

 

The primary backup to JT should be a RB that's big and powerful.  He's not going to be as fast as JT, or else the guy would not be a backup.  There are plenty of biggish powerful RBs in the NFL and college that would be better at that running than Hines.  Not to mention maybe being the primary RB in short yardage situation.

 

I fail to understand why the regime has not seen this, and why they continue to get smallish guys to be the backup RBs when our Oline salary is going to want to run the ball up the gut.  A huge blind spot in personnel strategy, IMO

 

So when I see Hines run up the gut, I don't question the play call...that's what we do.   I question the lack of personnel that can make that run other than JT.

[LiveAndLetAddai]

30 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

It also shows a glimps of what it would look like if he does down *knock on wood*.

Excellent point!  Btw, will they figure out that running Hines up the gut doesn't work, geez!

[Nickster]

43 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

When I watched some of Raimann’s tape from college, I noticed the issues with bull rushes then as well. 
 

Now he’s playing against NFL ERs who are the same age, stronger and more talented. He is going to have to catch up, which will take time. 
 

Just a classic case of Ballard draftee hype from some fans though. I still think his future is on the interior OL, but he really needs to get stronger. 

I was thinking with his run blocking last night he might be able to play a reasonable RT already.

[Solid84]

15 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I can buy all the one's you listed except Moore and Shakir because Moore has Mahomes and Shakir has Allen. Matt Ryan is better than the other QB's of the WR's you named, so if Pierce has a better year than Pickens, Robinson, Austin, Metchie, Jones, Phillips, Tolbert, and Bell, than Pierce was a good pick, JMO. 

Pierce was also picked 53 and Shakir 148 which should mean a big difference in talent.

[Nickster]

34 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I love Matt Ryan but Moore has Mahomes throwing him the ball so I am not sure Moore is a great example to use. Mahomes is the best QB in the league. Give me an example of a WR that at least got drafted after Pierce that has a top 10ish - 15 QB throwing him the ball, then your litmus test would be better. IMO, Matt is top 10ish -15. 

There’s more to evaluate than statistics.  We should be able to evaluate Pierce v Moore over the next couple seasons.

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, Nickster said:

There’s more to evaluate than statistics.  We should be able to evaluate Pierce v Moore over the next couple seasons.

It is going to be interesting. I wonder how often Matt will target Pierce? Matt loves his RB's and TE's + Pittman is a nice target to have on short routes. I can see Hines having 60 catches which he had with Luck in 2018 and Rivers in 2020.

[dw49]

14 hours ago, JediXMan said:

This is good news though I don’t like seeing him return punts/kicks in the preseason.

 

That was a really dirty hit. Rodgers received a helmet to helmet about 5 yards out of bounds. It was around the 4th step he had taken OB to boot. No penalty ... what a joke !

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

Pierce was also picked 53 and Shakir 148 which should mean a big difference in talent.

Sometimes you wonder, does the QB make the WR, or does the WR make the QB? I often think the QB makes the WR but there are some WR's that just stand out like Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, and Marvin did with unreal catches. Did Watson make Hopkins in Houston or was it the other way around? Browns will find out soon.

[Two_pound]

Just watched the first 3 qtrs again. The soft zones the Colts play are ridiculous and it's been going on for years. On a brighter note. One, the Bills could not block Dayo. Two, Domann and Weatherford both played very well. Three, there were instances of Colt receivers wide open but the qb's chose to throw to someone tightly covered. Four, here's one I'm extremely excited about, the refs were in mid season form. Five, Cross played very well. Six, overall the pressure from the d line was pretty good. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this defense has way to much SPEED and TALENT to constantly play *ic soft zone defense. Buffaloes first possession of the 3rd qtr. was a walk through the park for their receivers, no resistance at all from the Colt secondary. Good pressure from Dayo on 3rd down forced the errant throw and the Bills had to settle for the 48 yard field goal. Another thing, Brooks played good.