Colts-Steelers Recap

[Andy]

**For the next couple of weeks, I'll be on the forum less... coaching is starting up again. I'll be here for the games and on some other occasions.

The Colts had great fight in a tough game in Pittsburgh, but it wasn't enough at the end of the night.

Let's start with Andrew Luck. Luck had a shaky start against one of the best defenses in the league. He made some bad decisions, with the worst being a pick 6 to Ike Taylor on a terrible pass. Then, to his credit, he turned everything around. He started making great throws to Reggie Wayne, Coby Fleener and TY Hilton. His feet were great. He created time, and always found the open receiver. He definitely got more comfortable, which is a great sign. He has amnesia when it comes to bad plays, as he forgets all of them. All in all, he finished up strong and had a pretty solid game against one of the top defenses in the league.

As for the running backs. Donald Brown had another pretty good game. He had some nice runs and had a touchdown on the day. He was consistent. Vick Ballard had some great flashes. He had some really nice runs and personally, I think he was the better of the two. Everytime I talk about him, I always mention how much potential he has and how he will be the starter very soon. He's proving that now. Delone Carter and Mewelde Moore both sat out with rib injuries, so Darren Evans and Deji Karim got some time. They weren't horrible, but they weren't impressive. Karim got barely any time on the field. Not bad, but I find that the preseason doesn't really determine how good a running back really is.

Then the wide receivers. Almost everyone was impressive. Almost everyone. Let's start with the good guys. Reggie Wayne had a great game. He played for a much longer time compared to last week, and had a big impact. He had 75 yards with 6 catches. He was really solid. Griff Whalen was very impressive. He had some great catches and had a tough touchdown catch. Trust me, as a former receiver, I can tell you that was a tough catch to make. Then, there was TY Hilton. TY Hilton dropped and bobbled a potential touchdown pass that ended up being an interception. Then, he came back and made a nice 29 yard catch. He's too inconsistent. That scares me. The potential is there, so that's encouraging. There is some bad news, Austin Collie suffered a hit to the head, and left the game. He didn't return and was tested for a concussion. If he has a concussion, it would be his third in 3 years, which is extremely dangerous, and could spell retirement. It's a sad truth.

As for the tight ends. Coby Fleener had a really good game. Not only was he solid in the receiving part, but his blocking was very good too. Dwayne Allen was used as a blocker, and 2 catches on the night.

The offensivel ine wasn't stellar, but isn't bad. They did well against this defense. They only allowed 1 sack with a few pressures. Everyone looked good, even Linkenbach. The run blocking was bad at times, but in general it was good. Someone that impressed me was backup center AQ Shipley. The guy is strong and was impressive. I think he'll make the roster considering the lack of depth and bodies at the center and guard spot. There were a lot of impressive performances, with very few bad ones (Anthony Castonzo wasn't great). Good job!

Then the D-line.

Drake Nevis had the best game of them all. He pressued the QB most of the time, and is transitioning well in this new system. Cory Redding was injured early on and it didn't look good. Nothing special from any of the nose tackles. None of them did anything special. The D-line was all Drake Nevis.

The linebackers had a solid game. Jerry Hughes is continuing his hot streak, getting another sack. The only problem with him was that his tackling form was very bad. He almost always tried hitting with the shoulder. Just form tackle and he'll be perfect. Freeeney and Mathis didn't play much. Jerrell Freeman had a quiet night, but notched up 3 tackles and Conner had 5 tackles. The linebackers were pretty good. Mario Addison impressed me a quite a bit. Two more solid performances and we could be seeing more of Addison. Greg Lloyd also stood out. He was pretty solid.

The secondary was pretty solid. Jerraud Powers had a nice game, and Antoine Bethea had an extremely good game. His tackling was very good, and even had a nice right-place-right-time interception. Cassius Vaughn had a very good game also, increasing his chances of starting. He's becoming a valued member of this secondary. I've noticed the Colts are assembling one of the better tackling secondaries in the league. All the cornerbacks are above-average tackles with our 2 safeties being very good also. Matt Merletti stood out a bit. He had 4 tackles and he showed off his speed. Good work!

As for special teams. It was very encouraging and very disapointing. Adam Vinatieri still has his leg. He kicked a 53 yard field goal that could have been good for 60 yards. Then, the punt team, well, Jeremy Ross actually, was weak and blocked terribly, and that ended in the Steelers blocking it. The punt team has to be sharper.

All in all, the team in general was pretty solid, especially since they went in Pittsburgh and played the Steelers hard to the last hook-and-ladder second. Now, here's my problem:

There were too many sloppy plays. That 57 yard Antonio Brown touchdown was one of the worst plays I've seen from the Colts defense in recent memory. That was horrible, the Colts missed at least 4 tackles. The tackling in the latter part of the game was poor also. They lacked energy and consistency, which are so important. The catching from TY Hilton was off, and Luck was off early on. They weren't 100% ready for this game; that's at least what it looks like.

Like I said, it was good in general, but they need to cut down on the sloppy plays.

[HungarianColtsFan]

Thank You for the recap. Seems like the Team keeps getting better, however there is lot to do on both side of ball, but perhaps O-line is more ahead in rebuilding than D.

I hope both Collie and Mathis can return for the regular season!

Go Colts!

[P-Money]

How can you call Ty Hilton inconsistent only after two games? Give the man a chance. Surely your not making that call on last nights bobbled pass.