Overall, the game was somewhat hard to watch. The Colts lacked playmakers on offense and the defense was getting beat up by the run. Keep in mind not all the starters played and most were out just after the first series. This is classic Cotls football though in the preseason. It usually means there are good things to come in the regular season. Keep in mind not all the starters played and most were out just after the first series.
The first series started out awfully. Curtis Painter was unimpressive and out of sync. He missed Addai on a simple swing route and ended the drive, if you could call it that, with an interception. The Rams were given great field position and they quickly turned that into a touchdown. Painter was a disappointment after haring good reports coming out of camp about him. They need to play him for a couple more series next game. This set the tone for the rest of the game.
I'll keep it short and sweet here as I'm saying a good amount for my deeper analysis of the game. Offensively, big plays were few and far between...very few and far. No quarterback seemed to take control of the offense. The run game was a small bright spot. Though it didn't wow anyone, Donald Brown and rookies Delone Carter and Darren Evans made some solid plays from time to time. If the Colts can successfully utilize their depth at running back, the burden off of Manning and the passing game will be enormous in the regular season.
Defensively, you did not see the improvement in the running game you wanted to but that's largely due to the fact you either barely or never saw some of the big names on the defensive line like Mathis, Harris, Anderson, Freeney, etc. The pass rush was also non-existent. I kept looking or Jerry Hughes to get involved but he never got rolling. The secondary was the strongest part of the unit and played some tight coverage. There may be some depth there that people didnt realize.
There were encouraging signs but there is more work to be done. Obviously, you're not going to get the best players out on the field for a very long time but I expected those guys fighting for a roster spot to try and make some plays and give me some excitement. One fact I found interesting was the Colts only gave up one penalty and that as with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. At least there was some smart execution in that sense. I will not get my hopes up for Indy to change their ways and put up some real competition in preseason. What I will look for is those rookies to shake off those first game jitters and come out and compete more in the next game. Come back soon for a more in depth analysis of the game, including on who I liked, and what gives me hope even after a heavy loss.
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