Thoughts on today's game

[Voir Dire]

My shallow thought for the day:

We're going to need new warmup shirts since now we won't be #32 in the power rankings.

More seriously, Luck was impressive, the coaches seemed to have had everyone ready to play, and I liked seeing us be able to convert short yardage on the ground,

[1959Colts]

Early on I thought Jerry Hughes and Kavell Conner looked good.

#97 Mario Addison had a great game pass rushing.

In the 4th quarter I was impressed with the D-line.

Good push from #78 NT Chigbo Anunoby and #65 Jason Shirley.

[1959Colts]

Early on I thought Jerry Hughes and Kavell Conner looked good.

#97 Mario Addison had a great game pass rushing.

In the 4th quarter I was impressed with the D-line.

Good push from #78 NT Chigbo Anunoby and #65 Jason Shirley.

Good read on Addison:

http://heraldbulletin.com/colts/x1759191803/Running-down-a-dream

[Coltsman1788]

My thoughts?

Luck simply blew me away. I mean...seriously?! He comes in to replace a legend and does exactly what that legend did on his very first pass in a Colts uniform. Then on the next drive, I was afraid he would get killed behind our offensive line. However, he adjusted and started stepping up in the pocket and rolling out of the pocket to complete passes or scrambling to pick up a few yards. On the next drive he hits Collie with a beautiful pass for a TD placing the ball perfectly where only Collie could get it. He then follows up with a deep ball over the middle to Quan Cosby that was almost his third touchdown pass. Awesome start to his Colts career.

Offensive line scares the bejeebies out of me right now. Gotta get that solidified before Luck gets killed.

Defense is definitely tackling better and showing a bit more aggressiveness. Pass coverage is still kind of slack though. Saw more cushions than I would like but it is hard to read too much into the defense right now because they are playing vanilla schemes.

Jerry Hughes had a nice game with 2 sacks. Looked good in the new scheme. Hopefully this is a precursor of things to come with him.

Boy do we have some receivers who can take short passes and run with the ball. Hilton and Brazill looked impressive. This is going to be fun.

Tight ends were underwhelming. Fleener was just okay and I didn't notice Dwight Allen at all. Did he even play?

We have a stable of capable running backs. Wanted to see more of Ballard as he intrigues me the most. Just have to find the right mix.

[WSO]

I was extremely impressed with the pass to Collie. The ball was absolutely perfect. Oh and that throw to Quan Cosby? Right on the money. Can't wait for next week.

[BrentMc11]

Allen played well if you watched the screen play for DB you see him level the defender springing DB the announcer had it wrong please go back and watch the highlight or the game again. I liked how our TE's looked to day all are young and versatile.

My like was for Allen's blocking. Fleener was very unspectacular. He will be fine.

My impression is that all three phases of the game had great plays. Offense: Andrew Luck, Stanton, and now Mr. Relevant Harnish all played well. Brown, Ballard, Brazill, Hilton, Carter and Mewelde Moore impressed. Dominique Jones outplayed both Andre Smith and Kyle Miller at 3rd TE.

Defense was aggressive. I cannot remember the last time there was that much 'gang tackling.' Freeman and Addison did well as backups, and as mentioned above Hughes was a star on defense. Also McKinney commanded the double team while Mookie Johnson did not (although he did not play poorly) The team for the most part 'wrapped up' in their tackling. D J Johnson did not, but recovered to make a tackle. Jerry Hughes did not wrap on a sack....but got it done.

Special Teams: My pet peeve for years and years looked great. Pagano was 'practicing' special teams today. Pat McAfee was not trying to kick the ball through the end zone.....Pagano wanted to see who was willing to lay it on the line and make play. Addison, Harvey and once again Dominique Jones did not disappoint. He was down first on at least 3 occasions. Pat Mc was also practicing directional punting...this will get him to the pro Bowl this year!

Lastly...the coaches have done a superb job teaching the new scheme on defense and installing the offense. There was a good reason Pagano likes this group in pads....they have non-stop motors, and the hitting was fantastic. Once again preseason, but the team exceeded all expectations!! Go Colts!!!!!!

[chad72]

Lavon Brazil might end up being the steal of the draft. He generates separation and can high point the ball real well. As a wideout, I think he will be a steal when it is all said and done.

Collie again showed us he can play outside wideout well enough. If he puts in another performance like this vs. Steelers, he may supplant Avery on the outside, his game speed is faster than timed speed due to his smooth route running and intelligence gives him an edge over burners that are just that, burners with limited usage.

[Creekside]

Colts may be deeper at the WR position than I ever remember them being. Also, as well as the 2nd and 3rd string guys played it makes me think maybe there are some future starters unknown to us now.

[waka waka]

Lastly...the coaches have done a superb job teaching the new scheme on defense and installing the offense. There was a good reason Pagano likes this group in pads....they have non-stop motors, and the hitting was fantastic. Once again preseason, but the team exceeded all expectations!! Go Colts!!!!!!

Couldn't agree more the players seem'd to have fun flying around out there today...Pagano was literally dialed into the game confronting players after big plays and talking with personnel. I'd like to add that our Oline play seem'd to get better at the day rolled along maybe that nerves and signs of dept being on the team. I though it improved early on when Reitz came into the game and Link took an exit. I though the tackles played well against a pretty talented front the Rams have. One thing i really did enjoy was seeing all of the formations and packages this offense has...this is going to be a fun offense to watch.

[Balzer40]

Couldn't agree more the players seem'd to have fun flying around out there today...Pagano was literally dialed into the game confronting players after big plays and talking with personnel. I'd like to add that our Oline play seem'd to get better at the day rolled along maybe that nerves and signs of dept being on the team. I though it improved early on when Reitz came into the game and Link took an exit. I though the tackles played well against a pretty talented front the Rams have. One thing i really did enjoy was seeing all of the formations and packages this offense has...this is going to be a fun offense to watch.

Im glad somebody besides me and the announcers picked up on that too. If ya listened to most on this board, you'd think the O-line gave up 15 sacks and had -75 yds. rushing.

[The Peytonator]

Some people are giving Hughes props, and others are saying 'well it was against 2nd stringers.' He turned their 2009, #2 overall pick, RT Jason Smith into a human turnstyle on one of those sacks. Smith isn't some scrub backup, and Hughes destroyed him on that play.

Not sure if this was mentioned but you gotta give credit where it's due.

[oldunclemark]

It's just the end of the 3rd quarter. I realize that's it's still preseason but here are some of my thoughts on today's game already:

Luck: I'm still kind of in awe how good his command over the offense really is. He was throwing excellent passes all day. That one series where we had 3 balls in a row dropped that were right in the receivers hands weren't his fault. He looked great. Plus his first NFL pass a TD? Hmmm.

Ballard: Wow. I like this guy........A LOT. Even caught one out of the backfield for a nice gain. He really has some wheels.

Fleener: Is he scared to get hit? Why does he keep dropping balls?

McGlynn: Why is he in a Colts or even a NFL jersey? He got pushed backwards and thrown around. Olsen stepped in and made him look even worse than when he was out there.

Stanton: Looks like a stellar QB. I am more than pleased with this pickup. And a QB Draw.....WHOA!!! WooohoooO!

Hughes: I know it's probably Rams 2nd and 3rd string guys, but he looked great today. Hope he can play at that level all the time.

Nevis and McKinney are beasts!

Thos are just randoms off the top of my head. Thoughts??

alll agreed....the only negative was the O-line...watching the game a second time....the O-line was not good...

but defensively, after a slow start where soem of us didnt know exactly what we wer doing...we came on strong...

...and Andrew Luck obviously handled his first test very well...

[oldunclemark]

Some people are giving Hughes props, and others are saying 'well it was against 2nd stringers.' He turned their 2009, #2 overall pick, RT Jason Smith into a human turnstyle on one of those sacks. Smith isn't some scrub backup, and Hughes destroyed him on that play.

Not sure if this was mentioned but you gotta give credit where it's due.

''Sure Jerry dominated 2nd straingers..but he's a second stringer...

Our 1s beat their 1s and our 2s beat their 2s

[The Peytonator]

Also Reitz was the starting LG. McGlynn was playing like crap and Olsen came in at RG. That's when I felt the line picked it up a little. Look for Olsen to be getting more reps with the 1's.

[The Peytonator]

''Sure Jerry dominated 2nd straingers..but he's a second stringer...

Our 1s beat their 1s and our 2s beat their 2s

Again...Jason Smith is not a 2nd stringer. He's their starter. Hughes beat their starting RT.

[BrentMc11]

Couldn't agree more the players seem'd to have fun flying around out there today...Pagano was literally dialed into the game confronting players after big plays and talking with personnel. I'd like to add that our Oline play seem'd to get better at the day rolled along maybe that nerves and signs of dept being on the team. I though it improved early on when Reitz came into the game and Link took an exit. I though the tackles played well against a pretty talented front the Rams have. One thing i really did enjoy was seeing all of the formations and packages this offense has...this is going to be a fun offense to watch.

I am with you and Balzer. I do think McGlynn was horrible. He almost got Luck killed two plays in a row before he limped off. I was amazed Seth Olsen played much better than I had seen him. A Q Shipley backed up Satele and blew some major holes for Ballard. George Foster played well at left tackle. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think we gave up only one sack....that sack was a missed block by Andre Smith....

Loved the feitiness of the coach.....loved it. The team thrived and had great enthusiasm.....the 12th man did not hurt either...a sellout crowd for preseason....love it!!

[chad72]

If I am right, the starting line up had No.76 Joe Reitz in it and the TV network showed Linkenbach at No.72, big mistake No.1. So Reitz never came in for Linkenbach, it was the other way, Reitz started that first play with his block that was replayed several times for that opening TD play. He flat out started and held his ground real well.

Also, Linkenbach, when he came in, did he play LT or LG?

Of course, the announcers did not get it right when Darren Evans fumbled, they said it was Ballard.

[Coltswarriors]

-Luck is as advertised, REALLY, REALLY impressed me for first start.

-O-line is shaky at best, thankfully Luck can escape those, but the OL still needs work.

-Hughes looked good in the 3-4, maybe this'll be his year?

-Hilton was very impressive, great catch on the sideline.

-Ballard showed great speed and versatility.

-Brazill was good & then bad & the good again. I want to see more from him.

-Our starting defense wasn't good against a great RB in Jackson. Still needs work.

-King impressed me, some misses, but was impressive IMO.

Looks like this ship is sailed in the right direction. Can't wait until next week!

[chad72]

Also Reitz was the starting LG. McGlynn was playing like crap and Olsen came in at RG. That's when I felt the line picked it up a little. Look for Olsen to be getting more reps with the 1's.

Agree, Olsen does need reps with the 1s.

I am hoping the left side stays the same but the right side is shuffled a bit more.

[oldunclemark]

Again...Jason Smith is not a 2nd stringer. He's their starter. Hughes beat their starting RT.

Overall our 1s beat their 1s and our 2s beat their 2s....

That's what i said

[HtownColt]

All 3 tight ends faired well for the first game. Dwayne Allen was mostly the motion guy and blocking on the edges. Fleener blocked well from what I remember had that dropped pass( but so did collie and brazil) and Dominique Jones looked pretty good as well active blocker and had a few plays out the backfield.I think our tight ends had to stay in and block because the offensive line was suspect to start the game but got a little better as the game progressed still needs some more work together. But in all Jarell Freeman surprised me the most today

[BrentMc11]

Again...Jason Smith is not a 2nd stringer. He's their starter. Hughes beat their starting RT.

I made the same point in another thread....Hughes made Smith look silly.....he is no slouch. Will Wolford made some great comments on radio.

[The Peytonator]

Overall our 1s beat their 1s and our 2s beat their 2s....

That's what i said

My mistake. Misunderstanding.

But I would argue that some of our 2s beat some of their 1s as well.

[BrentMc11]

If I am right, the starting line up had No.76 Joe Reitz in it and the TV network showed Linkenbach at No.72, big mistake No.1. So Reitz never came in for Linkenbach, it was the other way, Reitz started that first play with his block that was replayed several times for that opening TD play. He flat out started and held his ground real well.

Also, Linkenbach, when he came in, did he play LT or LG?

Of course, the announcers did not get it right when Darren Evans fumbled, they said it was Ballard.

Link played right tackle behind Justice. He actually only looked bad on 2 or three plays. McGlynn was horrible at right guard and Seth Olsen looked good....Tepper was even at guard and looked decent....I was shocked.

[oldunclemark]

I am with you and Balzer. I do think McGlynn was horrible. He almost got Luck killed two plays in a row before he limped off. I was amazed Seth Olsen played much better than I had seen him. A Q Shipley backed up Satele and blew some major holes for Ballard. George Foster played well at left tackle. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think we gave up only one sack....that sack was a missed block by Andre Smith....

Loved the feitiness of the coach.....loved it. The team thrived and had great enthusiasm.....the 12th man did not hurt either...a sellout crowd for preseason....love it!!

we only gaveup one sack but our O-line got beat some and the new QB saved it..

..i didnt think we ran the ball that well until the reserves were in....

who does our play calling now...?

[oldunclemark]

My mistake. Misunderstanding.

But I would argue that some of our 2s beat some of their 1s as well.

It was a great day....much better than I expected.......dont mean to be a downer

I'm just trying not to get too excited about jacking up the Rams.

Sunday was FAR MORE than I expected

[The Peytonator]

we only gaveup one sack but our O-line got beat some and the new QB saved it..

..i didnt think we ran the ball that well until the reserves were in....

who does our play calling now...?

Luck has some awesome pocket presence and mobility. He straight up bailed out Justice and McGlynn when they got beat.

Funny how the right side of the line, the one with the veteran additions, sucked in comparison to a couple sophomores. Justice wasn't that bad, but McGlynn......

[Orlando Fan]

Luck looked good and poised, but next week will be a much bigger test.

Saturday is missed on the O-line.

Jerry Hughes got lucky on his sacks...one he came in untouched and the second he was borderline off-sides and got a jump on the blocker. I am hoping he's turned a corner, but I need to see more next week to be convinced.

I thought I would've heard Fleeners name called a bit more.

Costanzo seemed solid.

Drew Stanton was impressive.

[Fyasko]

Anyone know why they wore the "away" full whites?

[Hans Moleman]

The Rams actually do have a very talented defensive line, so I'm not surprised they gave us trouble early. Fortunately, we were able to settle down and get better O-line play as the game wore on. They field a better front 4 than the majority of teams on our schedule. From the 1's on the O-line, I did see some good things from Castonzo. Glad to see him developing. I'd also like to see more of Olsen with the starters.

Our defense played very well given the new blood on the field and on the staff. Still progress to be made (like getting off the field on 3rd down), but we're well ahead of where I thought we'd be as far as fundamentals and execution go. Guys weren't out of position, we didn't miss tackles, and we didn't give up anything big (thought the PI call was iffy at best). Even forced a couple turnovers along with getting pressure all day. The way we were getting pressure makes it easy to forget many thought we weren't built for Pagano's scheme yet. Chuck's showing real skill at adapting his system to our talent though, and that's the mark of a great coach.

All in all, there's a lot of positives to take from this game. I know "its only preseason", but we outplayed a team that was our equal last year (and who is also starting fresh from a coaching standpoint) on every level, and on every layer of the depth chart. We're right to feel excited seeing that kind of progress vs a team that in some ways is our parallel. Minnesota in week 2 will be another great chance to measure ourselves against a rebuilding team that was bad in 2011.

[BrentMc11]

we only gaveup one sack but our O-line got beat some and the new QB saved it..

..i didnt think we ran the ball that well until the reserves were in....

who does our play calling now...?

Play calling Arians.....Luck checked off quite a bit. You are spot on on they were saved by Luck. I personally thought A Q Shipley blocked extremely well in the running game with Olsen...as you say 2 on 2's. Loved how hard the backs were running. I am liking the Mewelde Moore pickup....3rd down option to go with talented young receivers....and Collie and an old guy named Reggie. Edited August 12, 2012 by BrentMc11

[BrentMc11]

Luck has some awesome pocket presence and mobility. He straight up bailed out Justice and McGlynn when they got beat.

Funny how the right side of the line, the one with the veteran additions, sucked in comparison to a couple sophomores. Justice wasn't that bad, but McGlynn......

I said in another thread...when McGlynn limped off....all that was hurt was his pride....he got beat repeatedly. As you and Mark say, pocket presence and mobility saved a couple of drives. Also so good audibles.

[DoomOf21]

Anyone know why they wore the "away" full whites?

Home team has the right to choose whatever color jersey they will wear (some caveats). It was hot so, white over dark blue is an advantage they'll take any day. The Cowboys like home whites too I recall.

[GoColts8818]

''Sure Jerry dominated 2nd straingers..but he's a second stringer...

Our 1s beat their 1s and our 2s beat their 2s

and our 3s beat their 3s and our 4s beat their 4s hence the 38-3 beat down. We were clearly the better team today across the board and you know what it's been a long time since we've been able to say that. With that said I am not so sure last years Colts team couldn't have beat last years Rams team. They might have very well been the worst team in the NFL last year.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Ehhh was thrown off by the home white...

...Luck looked great. The Oline looked awful. The starting defense was "different".

All in all....1st preseason game. Not too much stock put into any of it.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

I was extremely impressed with the pass to Collie. The ball was absolutely perfect.

That thing came out w/power & touch. And immediately ended my commiserating over the jettisoning of Manning.

"Shot heard'round the NFL"

[lollygagger8]

Cosby - what a excellent turn around to catch the ball where only he could get it. Luck put that thing right on the money!

Allen - was the one who threw a stellar block that opened up that Luck to Brown TD. I'll admit Brown did show some wheels on that play since his legs were fresh.

Olsen - played about 1,234,567 times better than McGlynn.

Brazil - The guy's got some great hands!!!

I'm impressed with our depth at Wide Receiver!

Satele - he was impressive, yet blends right in as you don't notice him. No wonder he's flown under the radar for this long. I like the head butt he gave Luck on the TD as well. They are getting some chemistry going

Freeney - when he dropped back in coverage (maybe twice the whole day) the one time he almost looked lost lol. But he's still adapting.

[BrentMc11]

Cosby - what a excellent turn around to catch the ball where only he could get it. Luck put that thing right on the money!

Allen - was the one who threw a stellar block that opened up that Luck to Brown TD. I'll admit Brown did show some wheels on that play since his legs were fresh.

Olsen - played about 1,234,567 times better than McGlynn.

Brazil - The guy's got some great hands!!!

I'm impressed with our depth at Wide Receiver!

Satele - he was impressive, yet blends right in as you don't notice him. No wonder he's flown under the radar for this long. I like the head butt he gave Luck on the TD as well. They are getting some chemistry going

Freeney - when he dropped back in coverage (maybe twice the whole day) the one time he almost looked lost lol. But he's still adapting.

Liked the thread Lolly....I was on the game day thread during the game and missed this one.

Cosby: Had great focus on that catch! Great throw and great concentration.....was one of the first ones down on special teams each time....one drop....Not going to 'smack' him for that....you drop a few: a great day for him.

Olsen: Olsen and Tepper played better than McGlynn...I will add Hayworth Hicks...but he was playing number 3's. Olsen was better than McGlynn against the ones...and Tepper is in shape...not coming in flabby off of the 'casting couch." He literally 'threw Ballard 3 more yards on one play.

Freeney: Only one series for he and 98.....save the big dogs! Really enjoyed Addison and Hughes...throw in a slice of Mario Harvey as well and a dash of Freeman.

Satele: Showed great enthusiasm. I thought he was jumping for someone to catch him.....he almost fell down. Nobody wants to catch 305 pound centers. A Q Shipley missed 1 block...opened huge holes for Ballard straight up the middle with Olsen. We will call him the "man of Satele."

Wide Receivers= Dangerous!!! Kris Adams has been a star in camp and we did not see anything...TEs= Toughest position to learn in the Arians offense. Allen and Fleener will be good if not great in time. Dom Jones amazed me for an AFL player from Shepherd College.....all he did was block, catch and hustle his tail off on Special teams.....this team may have 3 on the roster and one on the practice squad. He helped himself big time.

We could mention others all day long because this team played hard! Do not tell Pagano the Colts are not waiting 'playing to win.' Again....preseason....but oh so sweet.

[MIColtsFan]

unfortunately not on in my location.. but replays look exciting.. not sure I like our QB using a wrist cheat sheet, that will take some getting used to, hopefully Luck will put more to memory and get away from using that.. not sure why, I just hate those things.

[Jay Kirk]

My like was for Allen's blocking. Fleener was very unspectacular. He will be fine.

My impression is that all three phases of the game had great plays. Offense: Andrew Luck, Stanton, and now Mr. Relevant Harnish all played well. Brown, Ballard, Brazill, Hilton, Carter and Mewelde Moore impressed. Dominique Jones outplayed both Andre Smith and Kyle Miller at 3rd TE.

Defense was aggressive. I cannot remember the last time there was that much 'gang tackling.' Freeman and Addison did well as backups, and as mentioned above Hughes was a star on defense. Also McKinney commanded the double team while Mookie Johnson did not (although he did not play poorly) The team for the most part 'wrapped up' in their tackling. D J Johnson did not, but recovered to make a tackle. Jerry Hughes did not wrap on a sack....but got it done.

Special Teams: My pet peeve for years and years looked great. Pagano was 'practicing' special teams today. Pat McAfee was not trying to kick the ball through the end zone.....Pagano wanted to see who was willing to lay it on the line and make play. Addison, Harvey and once again Dominique Jones did not disappoint. He was down first on at least 3 occasions. Pat Mc was also practicing directional punting...this will get him to the pro Bowl this year!

Lastly...the coaches have done a superb job teaching the new scheme on defense and installing the offense. There was a good reason Pagano likes this group in pads....they have non-stop motors, and the hitting was fantastic. Once again preseason, but the team exceeded all expectations!! Go Colts!!!!!!

Brent right on,one thing you pointed out was the gang tackling,missing thank goodness was the missed tackling that we seen all the time last year