I apologize for getting this up a little late, but I wanted to make sure I re-watched the game, and not have any knee jerk reactions.
Yes, we Lost.
Yes, we looked bad in places.
Yes, a rookie WR on a reverse was our leading rusher.
Yes, Chad Pennington was our 2nd leading rusher. No, the end is not near. The preseason end is near.
News Flash!
It's still preseason folks. These games still don't mean anything. Lets settle down, and stop with all the Jekyll & Hyde fandamonium uprising. I think fans get so caught up in the fact that Henne, Marshall, and Ronnie are on their big screen TV's actually playing football that they forget that these first 4 games mean absolutely nothing. The players know it, the coaches know it, the fan's somehow.....didn't get the message.
I don't know if you are aware of this, but the Colts lost 59-24 in their third preseason game on Thursday, and they lost 34-21 TO THE BILLS in week 2. In week one the Colts lost 37-17 to the Niners.... As a matter of fact, the Colts have only won 6 TOTAL preseason games since 2004. That is a preseason record of 6-27.
Yet, every single one of those years, they won over 12 games in the regular season. What does it mean? It means step off the ledge, take some anxiety medication, and relax a little. Last week everyone was raving about how well the Dolphins played, this week the sky is falling (again). Get control of your bipolar fandom.... it's going to be okay.
First Downs
Welcome back Brian Hartline, we've missed you. Hartline managed to finally come up with a few catches, totaling 3 catches for 32 yards, and he flashed his Yards after catch potential yet again. This kid is going to shine when the REAL lights come on in Week 1.
Vontae Davis must have been tired of hearing me talk about how often he gets burned, as he played lights out last night. Davis had 7 tackles, a forced fumble and maintained great coverage throughout the game. He really didn't falter, and it was nice to see he didn't give up a big play.
Misi played pretty well last night as well. He had great sideline to sideline agility, he flashed at times, but he also didn't set the edge as well as you'd like. He's a rookie, so that will develop.
Brandon Marshall once again came up big. He had 2 completions from Henne for over 20+ yards in the closing minute of the first half, and of course he added a drop or 2 in there. Don't get me wrong, Marshall isn't Ginn, and he isn't even Terrell Owens....but he's going to have some drops so get used to it.
Let me take a moment once again to reiterate just how lucky we are to have Chad Pennington on the roster as a back up. Chad is efficient, and controls the flow of the game so well every single time he steps on the field. There is no quarterback controversy, and Pennington should and will remain the back up, but just knowing he's there in case of emergency is something that can't be forgotten. I bet teams like Arizona and Buffalo would love to have Pennington as their starter.... and we have him as a back up. Think about it.
Dan Carpenter, 2 for 2, long of 53 yards and it would've been good from Cuba. He's money.
Fumbles
Can I just put the entire offensive line here? They played well in the passing game, but I'm not sure they could have created a running lane against the Ravenscroft Beauty School for Girls.
There has been a whole lot of adjustments to the offensive line this offseason, and whether it's a case of them just not "gelling" yet, or what....I'm not sure. Jake Grove practiced with the one's all week-long, and come game time, I have to say they took a step backward. This whole Berger/Grove thing has to get figured out, and get figured out soon.
Ronnie Brown - 8 rushes for 9 yards
Ricky Williams - 4 rushes for 5 yards
Lousaka Polite - 1 rush for 0 yards (have you ever seen the Monster NOT convert a 3rd & 1 or 4th & 1?)
The running game that was ranked fourth in the league last year has absolutely GOT to step up. The running game feeds our offense, when its working, everything is working. If anyone sees Sean Smith this week, will you please pass the following note to him:
Hi Sean, in the NFL wide receivers have double and even triple moves. That means you don't have to go all in on their first move. I understand this is only your second year in the league, and you and Vontae are both still developing... but please, for the love of God, stop biting on the first move. Thank you.
Needing Further Review
I'm putting the Team as a whole here, the offense isn't running with any type of game plan, and Mike Nolan hasn't shown us anything at all of his exotic defense during the preseason. He's keeping his cards close to his chest, and I for one am very happy for it.
I started this article off by saying that we need to relax when it comes to these preseason games, and I meant it. Preseason games are great because it means real football is being played once again, but there isn't a whole lot of your real team that you are going to see out there. It's easy to cheer when a big play is made, and talk up the player... but you also have to keep in mind that the teams you are facing aren't playing their normal defense either.
Its kinda like watching teams play with one hand tied behind their back.... take the bad and the good with a grain of salt. Just enjoy watching the games.
Other notes from the game:
- Nolan Carroll had a couple of nice returns once again, but he also got torched on a couple of passing plays. He's a rookie and that's to be expected
- Marlon Moore, welcome to the team. He ran with the one's on a few plays. He'll benefit most from Camarillo being gone it seems.
- Jake Grove gets banged up again. The team was struggling today with him at Center... maybe Berger solidifies the position? They better figure it out soon though.
- Chad Henne forced that throw that resulted in a pick in the end zone. Gotta learn to look off especially when the Beast has one-on-one coverage on the outside... Despite the fact he forced it, it was tipped at the line, before being intercepted.
- Joey Haynos gets carted off the field with a foot injury.... I've seen some people say it could be an Achilles tear. David Martin's chances of remaining on the team get better and better....
- Chad Henne is going to have his ups and his downs. He's still developing. People are too quick to forget that this is his first full season as the starter. Let him make his mistakes in preseason, and learn from them. He'll be inconsistent at times this year, just hope it's not too often.
- Pat White completed 4 for 4 for 27 yards, and a 100% completion rate. Come again? lol
- Interesting to note, Sparano said that his 4th quarterback would NOT play this week.....and Thigpen sat. I'm confused to say the least.
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