Sunday, August 12, 2012

Colts beat Rams 38-3

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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