quick thoughts on the bengals

[omahacolt]

1) there will be many more thoughts to come this week. i was a bit excited to watch luck back and didn't really get into the details.

2) this is what coaching looks like. this is the exact offense luck needs to run. smart and quick passes. using the rbs in the pass game as an extention of the run game. very efficient with a high completion percentage. putting the team in 3rd and manageable positions.

3) holy fuck did we see a slant pass? multiple slant passes? holy shit we have a real coach. night and day different than what the shit we saw with pagano and company. pagano was by far the worst coach that has ever coached the colts. fuck dam and anyone that argues otherwise. you could just see it today. oh wait we didn't just kneel on the ball at half? we got points? shocking that we can do that

4) this defense is trash. everyone needs to realize this. no matter what pff says (shrek) sheard sucks. he isn't good. al woods is our best dlineman and he is just ok. i find it hilarious people wanted him cut during preseason. probably morons that read pff. pff is so fucking wrong so fucking much and people just ignore that. this defense has no talent.

5) desir is better than wilson. especially wilson with a club. fix this

6) nelson is a guard. his impact is very minimal. he is also a lg. which makes his impact even more minimal. good player. bad value at 6 overall. i watched him and kelly a lot and they struggled early and settled down from what i gathered with a first watch. will follow up with more detail.

7) webb and haeg held their own to a degree. they werent great but no team can look good with 2 ot's down. this is about as good as you can expect. i credit them for the effort. no matter how bad they sucked.

8) moore sucks but the dude isn't scared to stick his face in there. i like his toughness. that said, how the fuck did he not score a td on that pick? what the fuck was he doing?

9) i was very surprised to see grant play such a huge role. the dude is a terrible #2 but he played the role today. for the most part. that back shoulder throw should have never happened

10) i liked the rookie rbs. not game breakers but contributors. i will take that.

11) turay has some good get off but we have no rush. this will only look worse.

12) the defense had some stupid penalties. some ridiculous penalties that the refs called but that happens. main point is ballard put together a shit defense.

13) that said it is fun to watch the young guys fly around. i thought leonard was picked too early and i still think he was but he looks to be awesome. looks to be a great pick. smith not so much. lewis looks like a shit pick. turay has a good get off but didn't do much

14) would have liked to have seen more crossing routes to hilton but that is nit picking.

15) the arrow is up with this coaching staff. not sure defensively but this offense is in good hands. the 2 minute drill before half was great. we actually looked like an nfl team.

16) there will be more to come. i want to watch the game a few more times and will be adding comments here

[Flexo]

we actually looked like an nfl team.



That's the biggest takeaway from me. Last year was so depressing it's nice to see coaching that has a clue. The defense is extremely shit like you said but hopefully we all knew that. When you take a look again I'm curious to know your take on the safeties. Felt like they were invisible and Hooker didn't do anything. But it's hard to tell. Thanks for the write up.

[Puck]

Surprised you didn’t give Hunt some props

[YDFL Commish]

Anybody know why Smith was playing LT? I only saw him there for one play, but Dunlap handled him

[Indiana V2]

Though the first half wasn't perfect, I felt good about how we played, the second half was a totally different team. Whether it was the play calling, or just the Bengals stepped up, and we didn't, I am so sick of these poorly played second halves.

Luck looked good though, and will continue to get better as the season goes, but again he took way to many hits.

[Hoopsdoc]

Though the first half wasn't perfect, I felt good about how we played, the second half was a totally different team. Whether it was the play calling, or just the Bengals stepped up, and we didn't, I am so sick of these poorly played second halves.

Luck looked good though, and will continue to get better as the season goes, but again he took way to many hits.

I’m starting to think Luck has a little RGIII or Trent Green in him. He’s just one of those guys who’s going to take big hits.

[JAFF]

This team can't have dumb mistakes/dumb penalties. They don't have enough talent to over come giving the other team a break.

The D coordinator needs to accept the truth that this team doesn't have a Freeney who can whip what ever is in front of him. They will need to run some "games" in order to generate a pass rush. It's sucks, but it's true. If they continue to do what they did today, nothing will change. That is the definition of insanity.

[Voosh]

I agree about the offense. Loved the short game we played and thought Reich did good overall with no Pagano wtf calls. Looking forward to see the offense develop as the season goes on. The D looked bad. Turay and Hunt had some good moments, but the whole unit needs a lot of work. I thought the offensive pass interference calls were bs, but the defensive penalties toward the end killed us. Luck looked good imo, he and Ebron could make some noise. Looking forward to hear the opinions of you guys that rewatch the games and evaluate the lines, etc.

[njcoltfan]

#8- maybe his wife stabbed him in the leg last night!!!

[daedge]

TY Hilton: "At the end of the day we should’ve won ... my drop was key. So blame me. I should’ve made more plays. They couldn’t guard me, but just couldn't get in the groove."

Quincy Wilson wasn't happy with the pass interference call on him late in the 2nd quarter. "Ticky-tacky," he called it. "(Ref) said I grabbed his arm ... I just played his hands."

[daedge]

This goes well with Omaha's eighth point.



"I made a good play but I could’ve made it great. That’s not good enough at all. That was a quarterback. Man ... I gotta outrun him."

[omahacolt]

Surprised you didn’t give Hunt some props

that will probably come after rewatch notes.

he did make some plays for sure

[omahacolt]

That's the biggest takeaway from me. Last year was so depressing it's nice to see coaching that has a clue. The defense is extremely shit like you said but hopefully we all knew that. When you take a look again I'm curious to know your take on the safeties. Felt like they were invisible and Hooker didn't do anything. But it's hard to tell. Thanks for the write up.

i actually got the gamepass with all 22 this year. i want to watch the secondary and study what they do on average. i thought i saw a lot of cover 3 today but will wait until i can watch the coaches film.

honestly have no idea with what i will do with it but the secondary is what i want to watch on defense.

[omahacolt]

Anybody know why Smith was playing LT? I only saw him there for one play, but Dunlap handled him

haeg had to shit? i have no idea.

[Hoopsdoc]

Also, Castonzo looks like buff Justin Bieber.

[omahacolt]

also something we have to take into account is the offense and defense will have some film on them. expect tendencies to start coming into focus in october. reich will need to account for this. which is harder than it sounds.

also luck was amazing when you factor in the rust he should have. i can't stress that enough.

also this defense has no talent. can't stress that enough as well.

[YDFL Commish]

Cincy has a great D-Line. Colts did a good job of slowing them down in the 1st half. But were just over matched in the 2nd half. Nelson had his hands full with Atkins and Dunlap pretty much owned whoever was blocking him.

Cincy also has a terrible O-Line our average D-Line owned them early. Al Woods was killing Price and Booby Hart sucks. Would of liked to see more of Turay and Basham on passing downs with Sheard moved inside.

This will be an even better offense with Turbin and Castonzo back.

Luck looked like Luck...more good than bad...sometimes great but still just a little bit off, still taking unnecessary risks with his body and the ball.

Where the fuck was Hooker? Hopefully he's just shaking the rust off.

Happy as shit about the play calling and game planning. Slants, screens, of all varieties. Nothing like Chud's bullshit offense. Only caveat, is that Reich got a little too pass happy.

This was a winnable game. Colts just mad too many mistakes. But, I at least have confidence in this coaching staff to improve the play as the season goes on.

[Voosh]

Where the fuck was Hooker? Hopefully he's just shaking the rust off.

This. I was distracted for some of the game but never noticed him making a play.

[indycolts2]

This. I was distracted for some of the game but never noticed him making a play.

Meh......he was easy to notice on the one play where he was that's for sure.

[Dam8610]

So Omaha judges head coaches solely on their offensive gameplans. That explains a lot.

[omahacolt]

So Omaha judges head coaches solely on their offensive gameplans. That explains a lot.

no

i judge coaches on how they handle in game situations. how the team operates as a whole. and this was a real coach.

pagano was not. keep defending pagano dude. everyone can see it but you. we always could.

this team was missing their starting tackles and compensated with a gameplan. that is coaching. pagano would have never let that happen.

you are wrong as always

[apballin]

Looked a lot like last year to me, get an early lead only to fold in the 2nd half

7 points vs their JV defense? just terrible

I knew the defense was going to suck but WTF No Burfict, Williams ejected, and Brown leaves with an injury

Fuck you Ballard with this youth movement BS this team has no fucking talent and Ballard is sitting on 60mil for what???

Just say it Ballard you fuckin pussy we're tanking because I need another top 10 pick to make this team good again

So glad you spent money on Howard , Webb, Michael, Autry, and cut any vet worth a fuck because of your fuckin ego

Get ready for another shitty season and Lucas Oil full of opposing teams fans cant wait

[YDFL Commish]

So Omaha judges head coaches solely on their offensive gameplans. That explains a lot.

You don't judge them at all, because you say they don't matter.

Guess what? COACHES MATTER!

[YDFL Commish]

Looked a lot like last year to me, get an early lead only to fold in the 2nd half

7 points vs their JV defense? just terrible

I knew the defense was going to suck but WTF No Burfict, Williams ejected, and Brown leaves with an injury

Fuck you Ballard with this youth movement BS this team has no fucking talent and Ballard is sitting on 60mil for what???

Just say it Ballard you fuckin pussy we're tanking because I need another top 10 pick to make this team good again

So glad you spent money on Howard , Webb, Michael, Autry, and cut any vet worth a fuck because of your fuckin ego

Get ready for another shitty season and Lucas Oil full of opposing teams fans cant wait

You do realize that Cincy has as good a front 4 as anybody in the league? Not to mention they go 8 deep with quality players on the DL.

[GoBigBlue88]

So Omaha judges head coaches solely on their offensive gameplans. That explains a lot.

You're fucking delusional if you couldn't see the night and day difference between Pagano's staff and Reich's staff in this one game alone.

[YDFL Commish]

You're fucking delusional if you couldn't see the night and day difference between Pagano's staff and Reich's staff in this one game alone.

Delusional is an understatement. I hope that he has someone that can get him the proper psychiatric care he needs.

[omahacolt]

You're fucking delusional if you couldn't see the night and day difference between Pagano's staff and Reich's staff in this one game alone.

dam is a lost cause.


not only is he fucking stupid, but he has such a tiny dick that he can't admit when he is wrong. deep down as a person he is trash. he has zero integrity and people with zero integrity shouldn't be allowed to breed

[DrSpaceman]

I don't blame this on the coaches.

Luck and Doyle, they lost the game with stupid turnovers, first and last possession.

You can complain about the D, but they give you a turnover on the second play of the game and ball inside the 10 with a chance to go up 7-0 and all the momentum early. Luck killed that, HORRIBLE decision. Doyle had two guys on him. He wasn't catching that ball even if it wasn't intercepted.

Last possession, Doyle freakin' fumbles, awful play. Hold onto the damn ball. Cost them the game. Should have still won even down in the 4th quarter, they were going to score with 4 downs to work with.

Coaching decisions to criticize? Sure. Is the D great? No, we knew that. But they played well enough to win the game and gave Luck the ball with a chance to win. And that's his job. And Reich was calling great plays on the last drive.

Doyle and Luck blew it.

[DrSpaceman]

And also.....

Quincy Wilson sucks. Just get him off the field. With two good hands he can't play corner. He is the new TJ Green

Pagano was actually right about him, not playing him last year. Even a broken clock is wrong once in awhile

[kitekrazy]

Looked a lot like last year to me, get an early lead only to fold in the 2nd half



I'm not able to watch Colts games but without looking at anything it reminds me of last years Colts my looking at stats. Rushing show Colts still can't run the football. Glad Omaha sees a silver lining.

[GoBigBlue88]

My quick follow, though Omaha hit a lot of points already.

1. I'm mostly encouraged heading out of this. Not for this season, necessarily. This looks like a 5-win team. But there are finally men on the sideline who appear to know what the fuck they are doing. Colts are not getting a Frank Gore Wildcat offense. Colts are getting pre-snap motion. Colts are spreading defenses out and stressing linebacker depth. Colts are creating mismatches and exploiting them. It's no longer just running into the teeth of crowded boxes and hoping Jack Doyle can run a stick route past the line. There is consideration to tempo, route levels, spacing, etc. It's honestly stunning to see.

2. And I get what the defensive design is. It's not where it needs to be. We knew that would be the case. It's a bend-don't-break defense that broke a few times. To be fair, one of those was on a bullshit DPI call, and the other was because Clayton Geather is a moron. I can easily see this as a defense that adds/develops the right DL talent, though, and starts holding opponents to under 20ppg. Under 20ppg should win most games with Luck under center.

3. If I was discouraged by anything, it was that Margus Hunt and Al Woods were by far the most effective defensive linemen. Good for Hunt and Woods, but there's no way that should be the case, and it doesn't inspire a ton of confidence in the rest of the DL going forward for me. I thought Turay had a few flashes, but nothing I could quantify into tangible evidence he's a player. I though Sheard SUCKED. Like, get off this team sucked. Basham was invisible, which is status quo for him.

4. It was great to see Hines confident, involved and honestly looking like a big part of this offense. I'm fine with this RB contingent once Mack gets back. I can see the roles. I still wouldn't complain if Le'Veon Bell was added as a 2019 free agent...

5. I know it pissed off people in the game thread, but I stand firmly against ever taking an offensive guard #6 overall. Nelson won some, lost some today. But at the end of the day: Colts still couldn't run the ball (especially up the middle) and Luck still got hit a lot. You can say "yeah well that's because ____ was playing" and you're not wrong, but it just shows my larger point: one offensive guard's impact on an OL is minimal. Luck had more of a pocket to step into, so not saying this line is as bad as last year at all ... clearly it's better. Still, is it #6 overall pick impact better? I don't think so.

[Puck]

So Omaha judges head coaches solely on their offensive gameplans. That explains a lot.

Where did you get that?

[Racehorse]

Where did you get that?

out of his ass

[bertjones]

Kind of a bittersweet game. The most important thing is that Luck is back,
really back which will at least give them a chance in every game they play.
And they now seem to have an intelligent offensive gameplan.
But they lost, a game they definitely could have won. And in many
respects in the same way they have in the past- bonehead mistakes by
the defense and either failure to make plays(Hiltons drop) or critical
turnovers(Doyles fumble and Lucks pick). It all adds up to culture of
Wouda couda shouda that fermented under Pagano and still hasn't
been shed. I feel better about the team than I thought I would going
in but it's going to be a long steep climb.

[Puck]

I was impressed with Hines. He had a nice game. He is going to be a weapon in the passing game

[omahacolt]

Kind of a bittersweet game. The most important thing is that Luck is back,
really back which will at least give them a chance in every game they play.
And they now seem to have an intelligent offensive gameplan.
But they lost, a game they definitely could have won. And in many
respects in the same way they have in the past- bonehead mistakes by
the defense and either failure to make plays(Hiltons drop) or critical
turnovers(Doyles fumble and Lucks pick). It all adds up to culture of
Wouda couda shouda that fermented under Pagano and still hasn't
been shed. I feel better about the team than I thought I would going
in but it's going to be a long steep climb.
Good post bert

[GoBigBlue88]

Kind of a bittersweet game. The most important thing is that Luck is back,
really back which will at least give them a chance in every game they play.
And they now seem to have an intelligent offensive gameplan.
But they lost, a game they definitely could have won. And in many
respects in the same way they have in the past- bonehead mistakes by
the defense and either failure to make plays(Hiltons drop) or critical
turnovers(Doyles fumble and Lucks pick). It all adds up to culture of
Wouda couda shouda that fermented under Pagano and still hasn't
been shed. I feel better about the team than I thought I would going
in but it's going to be a long steep climb.

Yeah, there's definitely a losing culture that still needs to be shed.

[YDFL Commish]

3. If I was discouraged by anything, it was that Margus Hunt and Al Woods were by far the most effective defensive linemen. Good for Hunt and Woods, but there's no way that should be the case, and it doesn't inspire a ton of confidence in the rest of the DL going forward for me. I thought Turay had a few flashes, but nothing I could quantify into tangible evidence he's a player. I though Sheard SUCKED. Like, get off this team sucked. Basham was invisible, which is status quo for him.

This was probably the most depressing for me as well. Sheard isn't going to get any better. So play the young guys on the edges on pass downs and see if they can develop.

[Dam8610]

no

i judge coaches on how they handle in game situations. how the team operates as a whole. and this was a real coach.

pagano was not. keep defending pagano dude. everyone can see it but you. we always could.

this team was missing their starting tackles and compensated with a gameplan. that is coaching. pagano would have never let that happen.

you are wrong as always

Like I said, you judge them on offensive gameplan. Nothing you mentioned isn't about offense. Pagano was awful at offensive gameplan, as I mentioned several times throughout his tenure, and Reich was obviously very good at that today. Even compensating for missing OTs is, you guessed it, offensive gameplan.

You're fucking delusional if you couldn't see the night and day difference between Pagano's staff and Reich's staff in this one game alone.

I did. It's called offensive gameplan.

Where did you get that?

His original point #3 and follow up post.

5. I know it pissed off people in the game thread, but I stand firmly against ever taking an offensive guard #6 overall. Nelson won some, lost some today. But at the end of the day: Colts still couldn't run the ball (especially up the middle) and Luck still got hit a lot. You can say "yeah well that's because ____ was playing" and you're not wrong, but it just shows my larger point: one offensive guard's impact on an OL is minimal. Luck had more of a pocket to step into, so not saying this line is as bad as last year at all ... clearly it's better. Still, is it #6 overall pick impact better? I don't think so.

What I've been saying all along. It would take a lot to convince me that Nelson will have a bigger impact over the course of his career than whoever the Colts would've picked with 12 and 22, and today did nothing to help that case.

[Puck]

Like I said, you judge them on offensive gameplan. Nothing you mentioned isn't about offense. Pagano was awful at offensive gameplan, as I mentioned several times throughout his tenure, and Reich was obviously very good at that today. Even compensating for missing OTs is, you guessed it, offensive gameplan.



I did. It's called offensive gameplan.



His original point #3 and follow up post.



What I've been saying all along. It would take a lot to convince me that Nelson will have a bigger impact over the course of his career than whoever the Colts would've picked with 12 and 22, and today did nothing to help that case.

So you are admitting that Pagano hired the wrong OC's and tried to make them run an archaic offense?


Have you noticed that Reich (offensive minded coach) hasn't tried to make the DC which he did not hire.... run a different de
Game decisions didn't make you scratch your head like in the pigshit era. Did you see how the half ended while we has the lead? We didn't sit on the lead and go into the locker room like pigshit would havefense than what he is used to?




TBH if Pags wasn't such an idiot and hired the right people and stayed out of their way he MAY have still had a job. But he meddled in areas he had no strengths in.

[GoBigBlue88]

I was impressed with Hines. He had a nice game. He is going to be a weapon in the passing game

Especially when he can be in a dual backfield with Mack or Turbin, IMO, then split out when directed. You saw the impact in freeing up Ebron to get a flag route on a safety today when Hines held the corner just standing as smoke screen eligible basically.

[Colt Classic]

Whatever happened with Ebron? Was he not in at the end?

[Dam8610]

So you are admitting that Pagano hired the wrong OC's and tried to make them run an archaic offense?


Have you noticed that Reich (offensive minded coach) hasn't tried to make the DC which he did not hire.... run a different de
Game decisions didn't make you scratch your head like in the pigshit era. Did you see how the half ended while we has the lead? We didn't sit on the lead and go into the locker room like pigshit would havefense than what he is used to?




TBH if Pags wasn't such an idiot and hired the right people and stayed out of their way he MAY have still had a job. But he meddled in areas he had no strengths in.

I've said all along that Pagano's biggest weakness was offensive playcalling and gameplan. That this is a revelation to you shows how little you paid attention to what I've been saying.

[GoBigBlue88]

I've said all along that Pagano's biggest weakness was offensive playcalling and gameplan. That this is a revelation to you shows how little you paid attention to what I've been saying.

Was the defensive design and playcalling also sucking just a fun bonus?

[Puck]

I've said all along that Pagano's biggest weakness was offensive playcalling and gameplan. That this is a revelation to you shows how little you paid attention to what I've been saying.

now you’re catching on

[rm1369]

Yeah, there's definitely a losing culture that still needs to be shed.

I wouldn’t read to much into the culture yet. It was the first game of the season and a very young team. Some sloppy play and mistakes should be expected. It’s easy to blame the loss on a few critical plays like Luck’s pick and Geathers PI penalty. But to me the game was lost in the consistently poor plays. Letting what was the 2nd worst rushing offense in the league last year average over 5 yds a carry. Letting Andy freaking Dalton complete 75% of his passes for - 109.7 rating. They weren’t killed by chunk plays or big plays, Or even the boneheaded plays. It was consistently poor play defensively. How many 6-7 yd runs did they allow on first down? That’s not unexpected considering what the coaching staff was given to work with. I’ll judge the culture after a few games and see if they cut down on the boneheaded plays, but I doubt the overall poor play changes. Coaching matters, but it’s still trumped by talent. And defensively the Colts are severely lacking.

[ChoppedWood]

Like I said, you judge them on offensive gameplan. Nothing you mentioned isn't about offense. Pagano was awful at offensive gameplan, as I mentioned several times throughout his tenure, and Reich was obviously very good at that today. Even compensating for missing OTs is, you guessed it, offensive gameplan.



I did. It's called offensive gameplan.



His original point #3 and follow up post.



What I've been saying all along. It would take a lot to convince me that Nelson will have a bigger impact over the course of his career than whoever the Colts would've picked with 12 and 22, and today did nothing to help that case.
For the sake of humanity would you please just shut the fuck up. Where the dial says "On/Off"- fucking turn it to OFF and leave it there!

FUCK!

[Colt Classic]

Mack & Roquan Smith going crazy for the Bears. I'd prefer a slow rebuild and start with pieces that don't have such a visible impact.

[Chromeburn]

Like many games last year, this was winnable. Unlike last year, the arrow is pointing up. As I watch Mack rip apart the Packers I wonder what could have been if we traded for him.

This defense has no pass rush, I hope it changes but I don't think it will. If you don't have a pass rush, your defense will suck. We need a 3-tech in the middle to make this D work. People keep looking at The old Tampa 2 we ran and think we need a Freeney and Mathis. It would be nice but we should look at the Bear and Tampa builds for the design. There should be a lot of good DTs available next draft. Unfortunately, no help is coming this year. I have my doubts about the Tampa 2 system, I think the league has moved on from it. But at least get the right personnel to make it work.

Leonard looks like a keeper and a bright spot, but all the LBs are raw. They will be better at the end of the year. Hooker looks a step slow to me. I think it takes two years to recover from knee injuries. And don't forget, experience wise, he is still essentially a rookie.

The offense looks competent and should get better with more time running it and more experience. The rookies need more game time. It is fairly encouraging that they did so well on their first outing. Too bad Deon Cain tore his knee, I think he would do well in this system.

When it comes down to it, this is not a playoff team. The front office doesn't think so, we shouldn't either. We have 60 million in cap space. It's a rebuilding year. I expect them to address the defense next year, but this year, expect a long season when it comes to the D. It will be the Achilles of this team this year.

[Oldcolt]

Off the subject of Pagano (could we ban bringing him up for say a month) but I liked this defense a lot better than last years. They gave up way to many big plays, were way to inconsistent and didn’t play as a unit all the time. On top of that we lack talent at several positions. But we are on a rebuild like it or not. I saw speed and most importantly something I haven’t seen a colts defense do in a long time-create turnovers. I know only one game but that is a mindset we have been missing. Looking forward to seeing improvement I, along with a lot of you freaks, have hope for the future. Nothing is more fun than watching your team go from shit to winning. We got the shit part down pretty good Now let’s hope we learn how to win

[Brylok]

All I know is that I had zero joy watching Colts football last year regardless of leads they held or games they could have won. I'm seeing positive change this season, and I enjoyed today's game even in defeat. It's probably going to be rough, but as others have said the arrow is pointing up.

[IndyNorm]

My .02:

- Was great to see a competent game plan and play calling. It's just 1 game, but Reich and his staff look head and shoulders better than Clappy and his clowns.

- I think if we play the Bungles again in week ~8 or so we win without too much trouble after we're (hopefully) healthier, have the rust knocked off, and everyone is comfortable with the new schemes, etc. With that being said we still probably should have won today. You just can't come away with no points off the Moore pick and Doyle's fumble is absolutely turrible.

- The officiating was terrible, and that DPI call that gifted the Bungles 7 at the end of the half was a god awful call. If Wilson's name was something like Ramsey the refs don't even think about throwing that flag.

- Ebron looked great today and if he keeps it up will be a steal and Ballard's best FA signing.

- The D definitely lacks talent, but Hunt looked like a beast today. Not sure if that's him finally turning the corner or the Bungles OL sucking, but if I was a Bungles fan I'd be pretty nervous about that.

[1965southpaw]

16) there will be more to come. i want to watch the game a few more times and will be adding comments here[/QUOTE]

Chester Rodgers needs to learn the Fair catch signal if he's going to continue to field punts.......

[1965southpaw]

They are who we thought they are.....a team in full rebuild. Still, with Luck and competent coaching we will win more than last year but probably not make the playoffs. Still, I enjoyed watching this team a hell of a lot more than last years team. Also I think AC is the second most important talent on this team behind Luck. He needs to get his ass out there and play the next 15 games or Andrew will get broken again, even with this new scheme. Andrews best and worst skill is never giving up on the play. Go Colts!

[bertjones]

Mack & Roquan Smith going crazy for the Bears. I'd prefer a slow rebuild and start with pieces that don't have such a visible impact.

As someone who witnessed the Willis Reed moment it was nice to see it happen again. Plus I live up here in Wisconsin.

[Dam8610]

For the sake of humanity would you please just shut the fuck up. Where the dial says "On/Off"- fucking turn it to OFF and leave it there!

FUCK!

Blame Omaha, he's the one obsessed with bringing up Pagano and talking shit about me for no good reason.

[southside asshole]

Blame Omaha, he's the one obsessed with bringing up Pagano and talking shit about me for no good reason.

He's not quoting you in his sig.

[JAFF]

Anybody know why Smith was playing LT? I only saw him there for one play, but Dunlap handled him

They ran a heavy formation with Smith as a TE

[YDFL Commish]

They ran a heavy formation with Smith as a TE

I saw that when he was on the right side. Are you sure that's the case when he was on the left side?

[sherck]

Most of the high points hit. My 2 cents:

- Lots of missed plays could/would have swung the outcome of the game:

--- Luck's INT with zero points off the turnover right off the bat
--- Adam V's missed FG. Had CIN only been up by 1 instead of 4 at the end of the game, then play calling could have been different in order to only get in FG range instead of needing a TD. Sure, 55 yards is a long way but it was darn makable for him.
--- Terrible DPI call on Wilson
--- Doyle's fumble
--- At least once but I believe twice, Colts in 3rd down with 2 to go and Luck heave hoes the ball at least 20 yards downfield for incompletions. GET THE FIRST DOWN!
--- Multiple defensive penalities on one of CIN scoring drives gifting the TD in the 2nd half.

Any one of those situations become a Colts positive instead of a Colts negative and that ball game gets won.

- I love that Luck completed 3 or more passes to 7 different receivers. I was concerned that early on his return, he would force the ball to his safety blankets of Hilton and Doyle only.

- 3 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.0 sacks. That answers the question of why Marqus Hunt made the roster at DE.

- I wonder if a fully ready Walker at MLB makes any difference over Moore. Our middle was weak yesterday.

Walk Worthy,

[Hoopsdoc]

Leonard’s a keeper but he’s literally the only one on defense, outside of Geathers and Hooker. At least, so far. Turay showed nothing. Basham shouldn’t be on the roster.

I guess Al Woods is ok. Him absolutely abusing Price on the int was my favorite play of the game.

[DrSpaceman]

Most of the high points hit. My 2 cents:

- Lots of missed plays could/would have swung the outcome of the game:

--- Luck's INT with zero points off the turnover right off the bat
--- Adam V's missed FG. Had CIN only been up by 1 instead of 4 at the end of the game, then play calling could have been different in order to only get in FG range instead of needing a TD. Sure, 55 yards is a long way but it was darn makable for him.
--- Terrible DPI call on Wilson
--- Doyle's fumble
--- At least once but I believe twice, Colts in 3rd down with 2 to go and Luck heave hoes the ball at least 20 yards downfield for incompletions. GET THE FIRST DOWN!
--- Multiple defensive penalities on one of CIN scoring drives gifting the TD in the 2nd half.

Any one of those situations become a Colts positive instead of a Colts negative and that ball game gets won.

- I love that Luck completed 3 or more passes to 7 different receivers. I was concerned that early on his return, he would force the ball to his safety blankets of Hilton and Doyle only.

- 3 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.0 sacks. That answers the question of why Marqus Hunt made the roster at DE.

- I wonder if a fully ready Walker at MLB makes any difference over Moore. Our middle was weak yesterday.

Walk Worthy,

That was a bad and uncharacteristic kick by AV, but it was 55 yards. That's a questionable coaching decision. May have been better going for it on 4th down. With a team with a poor D and a better, at least, O, I think we are going to have to take some gambles like that on 4th down to win games.

The first and last turnovers were the killers though. You can't get the ball in the red zone and not score. Happened twice, difference in the game and you can't blame the defense for that. Especially when you have a QB that is supposed to be one of the best in the league and a TE you just paid huge money to keep a year ago.

[HoosierinFL]

That was a bad and uncharacteristic kick by AV, but it was 55 yards. That's a questionable coaching decision. May have been better going for it on 4th down. With a team with a poor D and a better, at least, O, I think we are going to have to take some gambles like that on 4th down to win games.

The first and last turnovers were the killers though. You can't get the ball in the red zone and not score. Happened twice, difference in the game and you can't blame the defense for that. Especially when you have a QB that is supposed to be one of the best in the league and a TE you just paid huge money to keep a year ago.

it was 4th and long, so that was unlikely. But they called a high risk high reward play there on the WR screen on 3rd down which went for 0 yards. A 5 yard gain up the middle would have been better. Wouldn't have got the first but would have been the difference in the miss.
It's asking a bit much to ask a 45 year old kicker to hit from 55. He hit all the others.

[DrSpaceman]

it was 4th and long, so that was unlikely. But they called a high risk high reward play there on the WR screen on 3rd down which went for 0 yards. A 5 yard gain up the middle would have been better. Wouldn't have got the first but would have been the difference in the miss.
It's asking a bit much to ask a 45 year old kicker to hit from 55. He hit all the others.

I thought it was 4th and medium, like 4 or 5, not long.

[rcubed]

I liked seeing a competent game plan from a competent staff. I think Luck will thrive in this system. That said, I think we need to get used to seeing some bonehead decisions from Luck, its just in his nature to be aggressive and gets caught up in the moment on certain plays.

Hines could become a really nice weapon.

Defense is going to be an issue this year.

[rm1369]

I thought it was 4th and medium, like 4 or 5, not long.

Play by play says it was 4th & 14. Hines ran for 4 yds on 1st, then Luck was sacked for an 8 yd loss on 2nd.

Seems they need to figure out what the tell is on some of the screens. IIRC there was another play earlier in the game where they dumped the RB (Hines I think) for a loss on a screen. For some reason Cincy was all over those two plays. Could have been lucky reads but they were blown up as well as you ever see screens blown up. Makes me think they weren’t exactly surprised. Anyone remember the other play I’m thinking of or am I mistaken?

[DrSpaceman]

Play by play says it was 4th & 14. Hines ran for 4 yds on 1st, then Luck was sacked for an 8 yd loss on 2nd.

Seems they need to figure out what the tell is on some of the screens. IIRC there was another play earlier in the game where they dumped the RB (Hines I think) for a loss on a screen. For some reason Cincy was all over those two plays. Could have been lucky reads but they were blown up as well as you ever see screens blown up. Makes me think they weren’t exactly surprised. Anyone remember the other play I’m thinking of or am I mistaken?

Yes there were two at least, one early and one late, that were both like five yard losses. Both times the defender was all over the RB even before he caught it.

One of them at least I thought Luck should have just not even thrown it, just throw it away, he should have seen it wasn't going to work.

[GoBigBlue88]

Yes there were two at least, one early and one late, that were both like five yard losses. Both times the defender was all over the RB even before he caught it.

One of them at least I thought Luck should have just not even thrown it, just throw it away, he should have seen it wasn't going to work.

Spot on. Luck needs to kill screens if they're not there. That's something Brady, Rodgers etc. do but Luck doesn't seem to understand in terms of living to play another down.

Reminds me that Colts screens were largely disastrous yesterday, largely because OL was a tell every time. Hopefully coaching staff sees something that obvious. You gotta engage off the bat and THEN release or the defense is gonna read it every time.

[omahacolt]

ok so i watched again. a couple times this morning and had some more observations.

1) i originally hated the webb signing. i just thought he was useless and we needed to let one of the young guys play. well with good and ac hurt we were lucky to have him. i still think Clark would be the better play there but we got by with Webb and i will take it.

2) autry was terrible. that dude couldnt get by anyone. he should not be a starter. hunt played the role i thought autry would have and did it better. de early and moved inside some on passing downs. made himself known. although that rt was not very good.

3) oline interior was good. i had no issue with kelly. nelson had some issues at times but that is ok. it is to be expected. slauson was a needed get. i really like that we are letting smith sit. the veteran presence is much needed.

4) ebrons td celebration was dumb. i have a feeling he will annoy me when he makes plays. and i expect him to make plenty this year. i wonder if he was getting punished for the 2 penalties. he didnt seem to be in nearly as much later in the game.

5) hines releasing late or running routes on a lber is going to be fun to watch. big play in the 2nd half for a 1st down where he beat the lber over the middle and turned upfield. easy pass getting chunk yards after catch.

6) 3rd and 1 and we give the edge for a huge run by mixon. this happened a few times but this was just unforgiveable. keep having the de go inside the tackle with nobody containing the edge. this happened right before the huge dpi call on wilson. we have to be able to get this cleaned up.

7) stunts dont work. we just run around and create a huge pocket for the qb. looked very familiar.

8) grant needs to keep being that guy. a safety blanket for luck other than doyle for 1st downs or just short positive yards.

9) smart football keeping us in 3rd and short or intermediate. how many years did we constantly face 3rd and 10 or 3rd and 8. this was refreshing and smart offensive football.

10) on the long td to green i am not sure where the coverage was. looked like cover 4 but i couldn't really tell from the tv coverage. he was right down the middle between the safeties so i think i am right. regardless it was terrible coverage. hooker stood there flat footed while green just came storming by him.

11) on the dunlap sack. we bring smith in as a te and put him right by haeg. haeg then helps with nelsons guy for no reason while dunlap just burns right by smith on the edge. there is zero excuse to for smith to let that happen. it was disturbing how poorly executed that play was.

12) screens, no gap integrity, and just plainly getting dominated up front. just like old times.

13) i changed my mind on the 3rd and 2 to grant down the sideline. not bad to get that on tape. to show that we will go down the field on 3rd and short. plus it was there. just didn't execute.

14) lots of mistakes. it will be fun watching this defense and watching if they get more fundamentally sound. but they suck. especially that dline.

[omahacolt]

Spot on. Luck needs to kill screens if they're not there. That's something Brady, Rodgers etc. do but Luck doesn't seem to understand in terms of living to play another down.

Reminds me that Colts screens were largely disastrous yesterday, largely because OL was a tell every time. Hopefully coaching staff sees something that obvious. You gotta engage off the bat and THEN release or the defense is gonna read it every time.
our defense wouldn't read it

[JAFF]

I saw that when he was on the right side. Are you sure that's the case when he was on the left side?

That's what the play by play guy said. The kid signaled to the ref he was elgible.

[apballin]

Just wanted to add it would've been nice to see one of our lineman pull a Kyle Turley on that MF that gave Luck a shot to the back of his head

[FatDT]

Just wanted to add it would've been nice to see one of our lineman pull a Kyle Turley on that MF that gave Luck a shot to the back of his head

Agree. Our OL should’ve gone after him.

[Colt Classic]

At least the Colts aren't getting beaten down and already giving up like the Lions are in their own house against the Jets. Crikey.

[JAFF]

Agree. Our OL should’ve gone after him.

That's about dumb. They are short of linemen, how does getting thrown out of the game help protect luck?

[omahacolt]

That's about dumb. They are short of linemen, how does getting thrown out of the game help protect luck?

it makes a statement.

i would be all for it.

[JAFF]

it makes a statement.

i would be all for it.

Makes a statement that you are stupid. They are already short on offensive lineman. You get kicked out, you may be looking at a one game suspension. You drill that guy on a play later on when he's not expecting it. And you nail his ass all game long.

[omahacolt]

Makes a statement that you are stupid. They are already short on offensive lineman. You get kicked out, you may be looking at a one game suspension. You drill that guy on a play later on when he's not expecting it. And you nail his ass all game long.

No you drill that guy right then and there. You don’t let dudes take shots at your qb

[ChoppedWood]

No you drill that guy right then and there. You don’t let dudes take shots at your qb

Nelson could have used it to establish himself as the unquestioned leader of this line / team - Luck less than 1/2 of a game into his career- go flying down there, pick the dude up and body slam him and put his hand to his ear and wave the other for noise as he left the field... defining moment.

[Colt Classic]

Nelson could have used it to establish himself as the unquestioned leader of this line / team - Luck less than 1/2 of a game into his career- go flying down there, pick the dude up and body slam him and put his hand to his ear and wave the other for noise as he left the field... defining moment.

Too many guys on their first contract--no one can afford to pay the fines yet. If Castonzo's out there? The young guys are all saying, "go get 'em, money bags".

[FatDT]

Slauson and either 1st round pick could afford it. And fines might not have happened. See Lewan getting in Sherman’s face last year. No violence to fine but he made his point. You dorks want tough choir boys, they don’t exist.

[omahacolt]

Nelson could have used it to establish himself as the unquestioned leader of this line / team - Luck less than 1/2 of a game into his career- go flying down there, pick the dude up and body slam him and put his hand to his ear and wave the other for noise as he left the field... defining moment.

I would have loved it

I remember diem getting a personal foul when he didn’t like a late hit to manning. I fucking loved it. You make that shit known that that won’t happen

[njcoltfan]

Too many guys on their first contract--no one can afford to pay the fines yet. If Castonzo's out there? The young guys are all saying, "go get 'em, money bags".

I’d be willing to bet the team would pay that particular fine!

[Chromeburn]

That was a bad and uncharacteristic kick by AV, but it was 55 yards. That's a questionable coaching decision. May have been better going for it on 4th down. With a team with a poor D and a better, at least, O, I think we are going to have to take some gambles like that on 4th down to win games.

The first and last turnovers were the killers though. You can't get the ball in the red zone and not score. Happened twice, difference in the game and you can't blame the defense for that. Especially when you have a QB that is supposed to be one of the best in the league and a TE you just paid huge money to keep a year ago.

All true.

NFL games are close. You can’t sleep on a lead. Just look at all the comebacks the last couple years. Turnovers will kill you, and the offense had one at a critical time. That isn’t the defenses fault.