Review/Preview

Review

Joseph Addai had a good game against the Titans. He ran for 79 yards and two scores on 21 carries. Many in the Coltosphere are celebrating like he ran for at least twice as many yards. At the risk of being labeled an Addai-hater (again), I have to ask myself that with the same game plan, same blocking and the omnipresent threat of Peyton Manning backing him up, did Addai do anything that could not have been done by any of the other starting halfbacks in the league? Okay, maybe the bottom ten couldn’t, but 3.76 yards a carry against a team that has been allowing 4.21 really doesn’t make me want to elevate Addai to any level better than pretty good starting halfback. He also caught all three of the passes thrown his way for 17 yards, 10 of them coming after the catch. Again, good, but not great.

With Donald Brown out, a few snaps went to the “other” halfbacks. Mike Hart didn’t really impress as a rusher (4-11-0) late in the game when everybody knew the Colts would be running, but had a couple of nice catches. He beat both of the Titans’ vaunted starting outside linebackers – Keith Bulluck and former Colt David Thornton – and added 16 yards after his catches for a total of 2-27-0. He did not make an impact on special teams, though. And that could really help him stick. Newly crowned fan favorite Chad Simpson had a rougher day on offense, not getting any carries and catching just two passes for a loss of one yard. He didn’t get any blocking on the six-yard loss Thornton threw him for, but the complaint I have always had with Simpson is his lack of creativity as a runner. In his defense, though, he made some nice YAC after his other catch, he did throw a nice block in blitz pickup and he put up good kick return numbers.

Pierre Garcon continues to impress. Really, really impress. Bill Polian was talking him up a lot in the offseason, and he is truly fulfilling his potential now. Against the Titans he showed me more courage, concentration and toughness than I had seen before, totally dominating former Colt CB Nick Harper. Reggie Wayne had a less than typical day for him on the other side, but faced lots of double coverage. Slot guy Austin Collie was his normal reliable self, and looked particularly deft on his short touchdown catch against William Fuller. If you look at how well that trio is playing, you wouldn’t think the Colts are actually missing a starter to injury. Things will get mighty interesting once Anthony Gonzalez returns.

Tight end Dallas Clark had a rough day, but I think it was one of those things as the Titans didn’t really cover him all that tightly. Gijon Robinson ran a few patterns, but Manning didn’t look his way.

Here are the receiving stats:

Garcon 6 of 9 for 136 yards and 0 touchdowns with 51 yards after the catch and 0 drops
Wayne 4 of 7 for 48 yards and 0 touchdowns with 30 yards after the catch and 0 drops
Hart 2 of 2 for 27 yards and 0 touchdowns with 16 yards after the catch and 0 drops
Clark 3 of 5 for 25 yards and 0 touchdowns with 11 yards after the catch and 2 drops
Collie 4 of 6 for 18 yards and 1 touchdown with 22 yards after the catch and 0 drops
Addai 3 of 3 for 17 yards and 0 touchdowns with 10 yards after the catch and 0 drops
Simpson 2 of 2 for -1 yard and 0 touchdowns with 11 yards after the catch and 0 drops

Another week, another great day for right guard Kyle DeVan. If you look at both of Addai’s touchdown runs (here), you’ll see that he gets good blocks from right tackle Ryan Diem and outstanding blocks by DeVan to free him. On the first, DeVan destroys Kevin Vickerson, and on the 1-yarder, DeVan smashes Jovan Haye.

I love watching this kid run block, but I cringe a little when I see him take a step back. He had another rough day in that regard, allowing 3 pressures in 30 drop-backs.

His partner in crime on the right side, Diem, had a great day in both run and pass blocking generally handling the four different players he faced, but let me down a little with three false start penalties.

Center Jeff Saturday did his normal great job, but left guard Ryan Lilja looked a little shaky in pass pro. Tony Ugoh started at left tackle in place of injured Charlie Johnson, and although he wasn’t horrible, he was close. Remember last week I said he still had some promise? I’m not so sure now.

A final note on offense: Two players made their only appearance on Addai’s one-yard touchdown run. The Colts went to a three tight-end, I-formation set. The tight end on the left was Jamey Richard, making his first play on offense all year at any position. And the other was Cody Glenn, who is listed on the roster as a linebacker and wears No. 52, but played fullback for the second time, and has yet to see a single play on defense. Ironically, they both blocked the same guy as Titans left end William Hayes beat Richard, and Glenn picked him up. It looks like Glenn is the Colts’ fullback now, although defensive tackle Eric Foster also played there late in the game, blocking for Mike Hart, who’d taken over for Addai late in the game.

The best things for the Colts defense were the mistakes by the Titans’ offense. They should have put the ball in the hands of their best weapon – halfback Chris Johnson (more on him later) – far more often, instead of expecting shaky, streaky quarterback Vince Young to carry the load, especially near the goal line.

The Colts blitzed a lot – 20 times, as opposed to the Titans’ two – and it generally worked out well. Although the Colts only got one sack (from defensive end Dwight Freeney), they mounted an okay pass-rush. The main guys were Freeney, as expected, and defensive tackle Antonio Johnson, who got the better of Titans’ left guard Eugene Amano a number of times.

Interestingly, though, on the key 3rd-and-goal from the Colts’ 2-yard line when Young badly overthrew Nate Washington, he was under no real pressure.

But the defensive line as a unit did not play well. Raheem Brock had yet another poor performance, and none of the linemen seemed to be able to find Chris Johnson on running plays.

Fili Moala showed up. I mean he actually showed up. Playing a minor role at both defensive tackle positions, he had his best performance of the season. He actually recorded a pressure! I’m so happy about that, I’m going to forgive and not even mention the missed tackle.

Another young lineman, Ervin Baldwin, made his NFL debut at end, and did a whole lot of nothing.

While some of the Colts’ linebackers looked good against the Titans, others did not. Outside starters Phillip Wheeler and Clint Session had pretty solid games tracking down Chris Johnson after the defensive line had allowed him to spring loose. Session piled up the tackles (12), while Wheeler’s were closer to the line of scrimmage. And both actually looked pretty solid in coverage, which is a relief for all those who were afraid Wheeler would never succeed there. Session also had some success blitzing, while Wheeler (oddly) was not asked to.

On the other hand, middle man Gary Brackett looked slow and out of step in both run defense and coverage. For him to be effective in run defense, he needs his line to help him, and they did not against the Titans. As far as coverage, which is normally a strong suit for him, he probably just had an off day like Clark’s. I’m not sure it was an anomly for Ramon Humber, though, who looked absolutely tragic in coverage. But keep two things in mind: a) He was playing mostly outside and is much more comfortable inside, and b) Covering Chris Johnson is nobody’s idea of fun. Interestingly, Freddy Keiaho didn’t see a down on defense, but did play (and play well) on specials. Look to see if Keiaho is phased out for Humber as the season progresses.

The Colts’ starting corners – rookies Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey – looked decent in coverage, although Powers would have looked a lot worse if Washington hadn’t dropped a perfectly placed bomb, and Lacey should give half the credit for his interception to Freeney. It was troubling to see how easily Titans’ wide receiver Kenny Britt outmuscled Lacey, though. It’s becoming something of a trend to see him get run over by big wideouts. And I wasn’t happy about that penalty either.
The Colts learned from their mistake earlier this year when they rushed Kelvin Hayden back from injury. This time, they eased him in and he was really, really good, blanking all the Titans who wandered into his midst. Less impressive was fourth corner Tim Jennings, but even he wasn’t bad. None of them did anything particularly good or bad against the run.

At safety, it was pretty much a typical week – which is to say, good and bad. Antoine Bethea was very good in all phases of the game (coverage, run support and blitzing), while Melvin Bullitt was alarming in coverage, allowing a couple of long completions and a touchdown to tight end Bo Scaife. My fondness for Bullitt as a starter is severely waning. He is looking a lot more like a third safety than a starter. Jamie Silva played a couple of downs at safety, and made a decent tackle in run support, but was easily erased on his blitz attempt.

As is becoming usual, nobody impressed me on special teams aside from punter/kickoff man Pat McAfee. If only his coverage teams were better, this guy would get the recognition he deserves.

Preview

Despite having Kyle Orton at quarterback, the Broncos have had a very potent passing game this year. The Colts’ defensive backs will be challenged by yet another jumbo receiver in Brandon Marshall. And slick tight end Tony Scheffler is likely to give Bullitt fits. Starting halfback Knowshon Moreno isn’t straight-line fast, but is elusive and explosive. In order to nullify him, the Colts will have to take advantage of right guard Chris Kuper and right tackle Ryan Harris, who are not good run blockers. If the Colts can get some rush up the middle, they may be able to frustrate Orton, who is prone to make mistakes under pressure. I’d like to see Foster get a lot of reps.

Most of the Broncos pass rush comes from the right side where outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil and end Vonnie Holliday roam. Look for whoever plays left tackle to have his hands full and to get some help from two-tight end sets with Robinson lending a hand. The Colts could find great success running right behind DeVan and Diem, who’ll be facing ex-Colt Darrell Reid at outside linebacker and end Kenny Peterson, both of whom are no better than atrocious against the run. For years, teams have been avoiding Broncos corner Champ Bailey, and they have been wise to do so. On the other side, though, Andre Goodman hasn’t been able to cover a paint can with a tarp and third corner/slot guy/first-round draft pick Alphonso Smith has been marginally better. If the Broncos match Bailey up against Wayne, look for Manning to target Garcon and Collie relentlessly.

News

The Colts put quarterback Jim Sorgi (butt splinters) on injured reserve and signed tackle Michael Toudouze. They also dropped quarterback Shane Boyd from the practice squad, replacing him with quarterback Drew Willy.

That Toudouze was signed indicates that they don’t expect Johnson back anytime soon. That means the Colts will suffer through having Ugoh at left tackle for at least another week. Slow-footed Toudouze is unlikely to see any action unless Ugoh gets hurt or is so awful that he needs to be replaced, and Diem has to shift over to the left side. If that happens, things could get really ugly.

Boyd was, as I said last week, signed to pretend to be Vince Young in practice. With the Titans out of the way, the Colts have replaced him with a much better quarterback prospect in Willy. Personally, I really like Willy, who has intangibles out the ears, and think he could be a long-term NFL backup.