Okay,
I’m a total Andrew Luck believer now. Not that I was ever a doubter, I
just didn’t realize exactly how far along in his development he was. His
pocket presence is phenomenal, but what really stuck out was his
accuracy. Yeah, he went 10 for 16 (62.5 percent), but I saw three
obvious drops. His receivers are showing great potential, but aren’t at
his level yet.
You
could make the case that Luck’s first pass (a 63-yard score to Donald
Brown) was really just a five-yard dump that Brown stretched, but that’s
how football goes, and even if Brown were downed after he caught the
ball, Luck still would have had an incredibly encouraging debut.
And
don’t think Luck wasn’t being tested. While I realize the Ram’s
secondary is not that impressive, their pass rush can be fierce, and he
was having to be creative to keep from being sacked repeatedly.
Jerry
Hughes had two sacks, that’s twice as many as his career total. I’m not
entirely sold, obvious, after seeing his lack of instincts and maturity
in his first two seasons, but it is very encouraging. Heck, he even
looked like he knew what he was doing in coverage.
Yeah,
Delone Carter had a very nice leap for a one-yard touchdown run, but I
was much more impressed with Dominique Jones picking up a key first down
with a rumble from the fullback position. In truth the backs (aside
from Vick Ballard, and I’ll get to hm) didn’t show much when it came to
running the ball except that they could get a tough yard here or there
when they had to. Expect that to be a trend. Although the Colts would
love to establish the run to keep defenses from focusing on Luck, I
don’t think they have the horses in the backfield nor the big guys up
front to do so. Think about it, would you rather have the ball in the
hands of Reggie Wayne or Austin Collie or Brown?
Quan
Cosby had some catches today, but he’s a long shot to make the roster,
especially after that ugly drop. I think he is around as a low-upside,
high-downside insurance policy against the youngsters not working out.
But they appear to be working out. LaVon Brazill also had a drop, but
was particularly impressive overall, and is making a strong bid for the
third receiver spot.
Ballard,
long a ColtPlay favorite, showed a great deal more initial quickness
than I had expected from him. Yeah, it was against the Rams’ second
team, but he’s not expected to be any better than the Colts’ second
team. It will be interesting to see how his duel with Carter works out. I
think Darren Evans really put himself in jeopardy with that fumble.
It’s
clear the Rams were showing a great deal of disrespect for Justin King,
who played horribly for them last year. But I think he stood up fairly
well. He doesn’t look great, but adequate was better than I expected.
Jerrell Freeman stepped up and looked quite good inside. I’m not sure I’d depend on that all season, though.
Joe
Reitz started over Jeff Linkenbach. My guess is Link starts Game 2, but
if he doesn’t, the job is probably Reitz’s to lose. I also liked seeing
Reitz go out on a pattern, something ColtPlay suggested earlier this
week.
The
DNPs were Donnie Avery, Jarred Fayson, Justin Hickman, Scott Lutrus,
Tim Fugger, Josh Chapman, Justin Anderson, Griff Whalen and Cory
Redding. No surprises.
I
knew the depth chart was a lie; Moise Fokou played inside as expected.
But with injuries to Pat Angerer and Scott Lutrus (and, of course, with
AJ Edds out for the season), that could have been out of necessity.
I liked what I saw from Mario Addison and Fokou, but the other prospect linebackers were kind of invisible.
Drew
Stanton looked sharp throwing, but lacks a starter’s ability to sense
and escape the rush. Still, he represents a big upgrade over previous
Colts backup quarterbacks. Chandler Harnish looked even better, but the
Rams were so dispirited by then, the Colts were just playing catch.
Anyone
surprised by Pat McAfee kicking field goals shouldn’t be, he has
mentioned a few times that he fully expects to be the Colts’ kicker
after Adam Vinatieri retires.
Only three penalties. That’s a great sign.
So nice to see Chris Rucker get that pick. They’ve treated him fairly shabbily, so he deserves something.
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