That’s it for the Indianapolis Colts!
The preseason has come and gone after their 27-10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night time.
Indianapolis was capable of escape the exhibition comparatively wholesome and might now flip their deal with their opening day matchup with the Houston Texans.
There wasn’t a lot to learn into from the Colts final look in August however listed below are 5 takeaways from the ultimate preseason recreation:
1
Beginning offense begins sluggish however ends robust
AP Photograph/AJ Mast
Matt Ryan and the beginning unit had a rocky begin in opposition to the Tampa beginning protection. The offensive line minus Ryan Kelly (Danny Pinter at middle, Will Fries at proper guard) had their struggles. They didn’t generate any push on rush performs and cross safety was subpar. Quenton Nelson and Danny Pinter had what appeared like miscommunication, resulting in a failed pickup on a delayed blitz by Lavonte David. David ended up sacking Ryan on a second down play that led to a stalled second drive.
The offense appeared significantly better on their closing drive of the night time that got here in opposition to the Bucs’ backups. It was kicked off with a 26-yard reception on a screenplay by Deon Jackson. Jackson did get the snaps with those over Phillip Lindsay.
One thing that we’ll typically see from the Colts this season is the Matt Ryan to Michael Pittman Jr. connection. The pair attached on a 17-yard catch to place them contained in the five-yard line which led to Jackson’s one-yard landing run.
Nearly all of the play calling from Frank Reich was very vanilla so there shouldn’t be quite a bit to be involved about. The query is what is going to this offense actually appear like when Indianapolis opens up the season in Houston?
2
Beginning protection bends however does not break
It was a fast night time for the Colts’ beginning protection. Tom Brady and the Tampa beginning offense got here out in hurry-up mode of their solely sequence. Brady was capable of do what he does, fast correct passes, and was capable of march down the sphere to get his group in scoring place. It did assist when Stephon Gilmore bought hit with cross interference on the second play of the drive. It appeared like he made an awesome play on the ball however bought just a little sensitive with Mike Evans earlier than the ball arrived.
If that penalty doesn’t occur then the Bucs would’ve been in a third-and-10 scenario. That led to a steady drive for Tampa they usually have been capable of get the ball inside the 20-yard line. It got here to an finish when Kenny Moore II took down Cameron Brate on a display play to assist maintain the Buccaneers to a area objective.
Their night time got here to an finish on the next drive when Grover Stewart utterly dominated the inside of the Bucs’ offensive line and blew up three straight run performs to power the three-and-out.
General it was an in-and-out night time for the Indianapolis beginning defensive unit. They bought out wholesome and that’s all that issues. One factor to notice although, with Kwity Paye being out, that did result in Ben Banogu getting some snaps with those. I consider that could be a signal that he can be making the ultimate 53-man roster.
3
Feeling comfy with the security depth
One of many detriments to the group final 12 months was the depth within the security room. Whereas George Odum was a serviceable backup, Andrew Sendejo harm the group at instances together with his play they usually even needed to lean on Jahleel Addae at instances. Regardless of the shocking retirement of Khari Willis, the Colts nonetheless are in a good spot with the security room due to the work Chris Ballard did on it this offseason.
Sadly, the Colts did lose security Armani Watts to a season-ending ankle damage on the opening kickoff of the sport, nevertheless it nonetheless remained to be seen how a lot defensive work Watts would have had.
The emergence of Nick Cross appears to be like like a Day 2 steal at this level and can be making a bigger influence than anticipated when he was chosen. It does appear like he’s the official beginning robust security reverse of Julian Blackmon. He bought the nod over Rodney McLeod. McLeod was on the sphere when the backups took over.
The veteran security offers Gus Bradley some reassurance if something occurs together with his younger safeties. Plus, he will help additional their improvement. However, what actually has me comfy with the group is the play from Rodney Thomas II over the past couple of weeks.
The rookie security flashed his athleticism and was flying everywhere in the area to assist make performs for his group. He’s confirmed off some positive tackling expertise together with his means to blow up up the sphere to make contact. Thomas II completed with 4 solo tackles however his most spectacular play got here in a third-down scenario.
The receiver dropped the ball but when he would’ve caught it then Thomas II was in an ideal place to blow him up and sort out him forward of the sticks. For the Colts’ sake, they hope they don’t should lean on the depth within the security room but when they should then they need to really feel significantly better than they did on the finish of the 2021 season.
4
What do the Colts do with Sam Ehlinger?
Chris Ballard has lots of calculations to do over the subsequent couple of days as he appears to be like to fine-tune his roster right down to 53 gamers. One of many selections that can be stored an eye fixed on can be if he chooses to have two or three quarterbacks on the roster. Whereas there’s optimism amongst Colts followers that Sam Ehlinger might push to be the backup, that definitely isn’t the case inside the Indianapolis group.
So, what does Ballard determine to do with the quarterback that they have been pleased to draft on Day 3 of the 2021 NFL draft? Ehlinger went 5-of-7 for 65 yards in his closing preseason efficiency however his most electrical play got here when he took off for a 45-yard landing run.
Ehlinger’s preseason numbers ended with going 24-of-29 for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns. He additionally had six rushes for 71 yards and a landing. It doesn’t make lots of sense to have three quarterbacks on the ultimate roster however Ehlinger has finished every thing in his energy to earn his spot in Indianapolis.
5
Feeling proud of the brand new punter
Because of the Buffalo Payments prematurely releasing Matt Haack, the Colts could have discovered their reply at punter after Rigoberto Sanchez tore his Achilles in follow. Haack had 5 punts in opposition to Tampa. He averaged 50.6 yards per punt and had 4 of them land contained in the 20-yard line. His longest punt of the night time was 57 yards.
Whereas he does want to point out he can proceed this degree of play through the common season, Haack did give a sigh of aid that he can play at the usual that Indianapolis expects out of the place. Particular groups can lose video games with poor play so there must be some degree of happiness after the frustration following the Sanchez damage.