Reflection on week 1.

huevonkiller · Sep 8, 2008

It's been a while since I've felt like this after a Colts game. Come to think of it, I would have felt this way had I watched one of our 5 preseason games, because that is what last night felt like. Everyone was getting their bearings, trying things out, etc. Unfortunately for the Colts, and us, the Bears did all of this in their Preseason games, and they knocked us around. I guess this is the feeling almost every other team has felt sometime in the past 3 seasons.

I've read through most of the comments this morning from everyone, and I mostly agree with everything. The one thing I haven't seen is a good explanation of why the Bears moved the ball very effectively on offense, even without major weapons, and I think the answer is a simple one:

They took what our defense gave them, and did not get impatient one time in the game. They were very content to gain 4 yards on every play, and keep moving the chains. Very few teams (read: coaches) have the discipline to not go for more than what the Tampa 2 gives you. It will give you 4 yards a play, even when the defense is playing decent. The Tampa 2 takes advantage when an offense starts to take risks down the field, or they need more than 8+ yards on one play. The Bears, consistently, had 3rd and shorts, which is why they were 10-16 on 3rd downs. Having 16 3rd down plays also shows how they kept taking 4 yards and moving on.

Other than the one big run by Forte, I don't think the defense played bad. As BBS said below, taking that run out they only managed 3.4/carry. Unfortunately, 3.4 x 3 > 10 yards, so they kept making first downs. Plus they had some really good play-action calls and completions on 3rd downs as well.

As far as the offense goes, numerous things were going against us. One, the Bears, and Urlacher confirmed after the game, wanted to stop the run on every play. There were times they had 8 guys on the line of scrimmage, with 5 of them lined up over the middle of our line, which had a combined 12 starts (all by Johnson, at another position). While I think we should have tried to run a little more, they never stopped daring Manning to throw the ball. I liked the running of the slants, as they are quick passes that are great against a blitz. But where were the variation plays off of them? Why no slant-pump fake-go route, especially when there was no safety help? The corners obviously knew they were blitzing, so they started to jump the slants. Why not more screen passes, or draw plays? I'm wondering if the inexperienced middle of the line played a part in that.

Every season, the biggest improvement comes from Game 1 to Game 2, especially with a lot of young guys. It's still too early to start panicking about Peterson next week. He still hasn't played a down yet this season. I feel confident that the coaches know they've screwed up, and will right the ship. I just wish they would have done this in the preseason, rather than on National TV, opening up a brand new stadium.

While this game was a kick in the nuts, it's still a better feeling than what they must be feeling in New England. We all know how we'd feel if Manning was done for the year. I really hope Brady can come back from this injury, as the entire NFL will suffer without him playing this season. It really is the Bizarro NFL already, and we aren't even a week in.
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Source: Stampede Blue

huevonkiller · Sep 10, 2008

TIME TO RESPOND
By John Oehser - Colts.com

Manning Says Key for Colts is How They Respond to Season-Opening Loss
INDIANAPOLIS – Looking back, Peyton Manning said his return went about as expected.

He wasn’t quite 100 percent.

He didn’t quite play at his top level.

And as a result, the Colts’ offense wasn’t quite as efficient as usual in a regular season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears this past Sunday. Now, the Colts’ eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback said Wednesday, the challenges facing he and the offense Sunday are clear:

Score more. Don’t put the defense in difficult situations.

And find a way to even the record.

“I didn’t have much to compare Sunday’s game to,” Manning said Wednesday as the Colts (0-1) prepared to play the Minnesota Vikings (0-1) at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday at 1 p.m.

“I didn’t have a choice of whether I played in the preseason or not. It wasn’t one of these where I was, ‘I’m going to not play because I want to rest my legs.’ It was a pretty good accomplishment in itself the fact that I was able to get out there and play.”

Manning, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time National Football League Most Valuable Player, underwent knee surgery to remove an infected bursa sac 10 days before the July 24 start of training camp, then did not play throughout the preseason.

Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said Manning responded well physically following the game, as did defensive end Dwight Freeney who played in his first regular-season game since a season-ending foot injury last November.

“Peyton didn’t have too many problems and felt pretty good,” Dungy said. “I think the fact they both got through first big test and feel pretty good, that’s a plus.”

Manning, who never had missed a regular-season game in his first 10 NFL seasons, not only didn’t
play during the preseason, he didn’t practice until the week of the preseason finale. Against Chicago, he completed 30 of 49 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.

“It’s disrespectful to the position and to the NFL for how difficult it is to think you can not only not play but not practice in the preseason and expect to be at your top level in Week 1,” Manning said. “It’s too hard of a game and it’s too hard of a job playing quarterback. Obviously, you don’t want to tell the Bears, ‘Hey, I’m probably only going to be this percent’ before the game, but I knew I probably wouldn’t be 100 percent for that game.

“Hopefully, I can just keep working each week and get more and more comfortable and just do my job.”

Manning said he began to feel comfortable in the Bears game at the start of the third quarter, leading the Colts on a seven-play, 52-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne and made it 15-13, Bears.

Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison then fumbled on the ensuing drive. Bears linebacker Lance Briggs returned it 21 yards for a touchdown, and on the ensuing drive, running back Dominic Rhodes was stopped for a 2-yard loss on 4th-and-1 from the 50.

“It really went somewhat like I thought it would,” Manning said. “I thought it would take me a quarter and a half or two quarters to kind of get hit, and get a little bit of a feel going. I felt like I did kind of after that first drive of the second half where we had a touchdown. The next thing you know, we had the fumble for a touchdown and the 4th-and-1.

“The game was somewhat out of reach at that point.”

Manning, who said on Wednesday the offense hurt the defense by allowing the fumble for a touchdown, a safety and by giving the Bears good field position by missing the fourth-quarter fourth-down conversion, said while the loss gave the Colts a rare losing record, “the key is how we handle it.”

“Sixteen teams are 0-1 right now,” Manning said. “Hopefully, we can be one of the ones that handle it the right way and has a good week of practice. The biggest goal is everybody needs to focus on doing their job better. Collectively, that should hopefully result in better overall team play.

“That’s the focus. We need to have a really good week of practice and preparation. We have a really tough challenge going on the road to Minnesota.”

The Colts have not been 0-1 since September of 2004, when they lost the season opener to defending and eventual Super Bowl champion New England in Foxboro, Mass., before winning their next four games. The Colts that season won 12 of 14 games after the opener to clinch a second consecutive AFC South title.

The 2004 season also was the last time the Colts were in second place in the AFC South. They trailed the Jacksonville Jaguars in October of that season before an eight-game winning streak in November and December clinched the division.

“We need to figure out where we are and what type of team we are,” Colts safety Bob Sanders said. “We know what we can do. We just have to go prove it. Sunday was a great test for us and we didn’t prove what we could do.

“The good thing is, the season is long and we still have time to get back to where we need to be.”

The Colts, in making the playoffs eight of the last nine seasons, have been a team known for quick starts. Seven of their eight playoff appearances since drafting Manning in 1998 have come after the team won its opener, with four of the five consecutive AFC South titles following starts of 5-0 or better – 5-0 in 2003, 13-0 in 2005, 9-0 in 2006 and 7-0 last season.

The only season in the last decade in which the Colts made the playoffs after an 0-1 start was 2004, when the team won 12 of its next 14 games en route to the AFC South title.

“I had to talk about that Monday, that one loss is tough no matter when it comes,” Dungy said. “There’s no good time to lose, but they’re all the same. Whether you lose opening day and don’t lose again or whether you lose Week 16 or any week in between they’re all one loss. You can’t make more of it than it is, but we don’t have one win yet and that’s probably the difference for a lot of these guys.

“Especially the young players, you can’t say, ‘The season’s over,’ or, ‘We can’t go to a bowl game now,’ or, ‘We can’t be in the BCS championship.’”

Middle linebacker Gary Brackett, the team’s defensive captain, said the focus this week isn’t on change or drastic speeches.

“It’s inches between wins and losses, first downs and interceptions,” Brackett said. “I think it (getting back to how they want to play) is not a difficult task. Obviously, we didn’t want to start the way we did, but for us to get back on the right track, it’s coming in, getting your workout in, watching film grading, and being very constructive of how you played and going out this week with the mindset of wanting to get better.”

Also on Wednesday, Manning said he has been in contact with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady by text and voice mail this week. Brady sustained a season-ending knee injury this past Sunday.

“I’m sick about Tom Brady,” Manning said. “I haven’t really watched many of the highlight shows or whatever. The couple of times I’ve had the television on and they were about to show it, I don’t look at it. I’m disappointed about it, because I know how hard he has worked.

“I hate for any quarterback to get hurt and to have a knee injury and miss the entire season. It’s a shame.”
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Source: Colts.com

huevonkiller · Sep 13, 2008

There are some roster notes at the end as well.

Colts Team Report

Yahoo! Sports 1 hour, 35 minutes ago

Inside Slant

Peyton Manning is often his own worst critic.

He’s a perfectionist. And he can’t abide mistakes, whether they’re his own or anybody else on the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive unit.

So it doesn’t come as any surprise that Manning took a long, hard look at the game tape from last week’s 29-13 loss to Chicago as he began preparations for Sunday’s road trip to Minnesota. And he understands that there’s plenty of room for improvement.

“I think that anytime you lose a game, everybody needs to step up their level of play. Offensively, we have to find a way to score some more points. Thirteen points is certainly not enough and I really feel like (the offense) spotted Chicago 16 (points),” Manning said this week.

“We gave them a fumble for a touchdown, gave them a safety and then that fourth-and-one, getting stopped put our defense on the short field. Really, our defense, the way I look at it, held (the Bears) to 13 (points). So we have to find a way to score more points than that. That’s one thing we can improve on.”

As for his own performance against Chicago, there’s more work to do there as well.

“I didn’t have much to compare Sunday’s game to. It’s not like I had a choice of whether I played in the preseason or not. It wasn’t one of these, ‘I’m not going to play because I want to rest my legs.’ It was a pretty good accomplishment in itself the fact that I was able to get out there and play,” Manning began.

“It went somewhat like I thought it would. I thought it would take me a quarter-and-a-half to two quarters to get out there and play. It went somewhat like I thought it would. I thought it would take me a quarter-and-a-half to two quarters to get hit and get a little bit of feel (for the game) going. I felt like I did (get a feel for the game) after that first drive of the second half where we had a touchdown. And then the next thing you know, we had the fumble for the touchdown and the fourth-and-one and the game was somewhat out of reach by that point.”

Now that the Bears game is behind them, it’s on to Minneapolis.

“The key is just how we respond to (the Chicago loss). Sixteen teams are 0-1 right now. Hopefully, we can be one of the ones that handle it the right way and has a good week of practice. There are obviously some things we need to improve on,” Manning said.

“I think our biggest goal is everybody’s focused on doing their job better. That collectively should hopefully result in better overall team play. So that’s the focus. We need to have a really good week of practice and preparation. We have a real tough challenge going on the road to Minnesota.”

The Colts will certainly have their work cut out for them on Sunday.

“They really have good (defensive) players. They have excellent players. They’re really solid up front and they’re tough to run the ball against. The linebackers are all physical and the secondary is active. They’re fast. You just don’t see any weaknesses,” the Indianapolis quarterback said.

“They’re well coached. (Former Colts defensive assistant and current Vikings defensive coordinator) Leslie Frazier is an excellent football coach. They are sound in what they do. If they don’t give up that punt return (for a touchdown against the Packers Monday night), they probably have a chance to beat Green Bay. They’ll be disappointed going 0-1. We’re disappointed. I think you’ll see two somewhat angry teams on Sunday. It’ll be a physical game.”

Series History: 22nd meeting. Colts lead series, 13-7-1. The Colts also won the only postseason meeting between the two franchises, taking a 24-14 decision in the NFL Western Conference championship game on Dec. 22, 1968. Indianapolis has won the last two meetings, 31-28 on Nov. 8, 2004 as former Colts PK Mike Vanderjagt booted a 35-yard field goal with 0:02 remaining in the game; and 31-10 on Dec. 24, 2000. Prior to that, though, the Colts had lost five straight meetings to Minnesota from 1969 to 1988. The Colts and Vikings used to meet annually from 1961 to 1966 and once a year from 1967 to 1969. The two franchises have met only six times since the 1970 NFL merger (1971, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2000, and 2004). The Colts are 10-0 against Minnesota in home games and are 4-7-1, including postseason, on the road against the Vikings. The last regular-season game between Indianapolis and Minnesota at the Metrodome was on Dec. 21, 1997 with the Vikings producing a 39-28 victory. The home team has won the last seven meetings between the two franchises.

Notes, Quotes

• Indianapolis’ long-time offensive line coach, Howard Mudd, has undergone knee surgery to correct what was described as “an ongoing and worsening condition.”

Mudd had an eight-year NFL playing career as an offensive guard with the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears (1964-71). He was a three-time selection to the Pro Bowl and was named to the league’s All-Decade team for the 1960s.

“He’s fine. Came through (the operation). He’ll be off the field for a couple of weeks. He’s in contact and helping to conduct the (offensive line) meetings by teleconference and working on (video) tape and game plans, etc,” team president Bill Polian said.

“His presence will be missed for the next two weeks or so. But everything’s fine, both with the surgery and we were prepared to work the difficulties of not having him in the building.”

Offensive quality control coach/assistant offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars will take over Mudd’s on-field coaching duties during his absence. Metzelaars was a three-time Pro Bowl alternate as a starting tight end for the Buffalo Bills.

• Dating back to Sept. 26, 2004, the Colts have won four of their past five meetings against the NFC North.

• Indianapolis’ 24-10 record in September is the best in the NFL since 1998.

• The Colts have win 12 of their past 13 games in September, the only loss coming last week to the Chicago Bears (29-13) at Lucas Oil Stadium.

• Indianapolis has won 21 of its last 22 games in September and October, dating back to the 2004 season.

• QB Peyton Manning has a 2-0 record against the Vikings and has completed 48 of 65 passes for 551 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception. Manning has completed 73.8 percent of his passes, career-wise, and has a quarterback efficiency rating of 132.1 against Minnesota.

By The Numbers: 7—The Colts are 7-1 against NFC competition dating back to the 2004 season.

Quote To Note: “I don’t think it’s an advantage for us. But it’s certainly a disadvantage for (Minnesota) having to travel, play late, get back early Tuesday morning. They have a day less preparation than us. I think we have our normal (practice) routine. I guess if you looked at it being a disadvantage for them, I guess that’s an advantage for us. I don’t know.”—Colts coach Tony Dungy, on the Minnesota Vikings coming off a late Monday night game with the Green Bay Packers.

Strategy And Personnel

It didn’t take long for the Indianapolis Colts to react to the news that defensive tackle Ed Johnson had been arrested on charges of speeding and possession of marijuana.

Just a few hours after he initially made public the details of Johnson’s arrest, team president Bill Polian announced that the second-year defensive lineman would be waived.

“We will, effective (Thursday), waive defensive tackle Ed Johnson. We consider every violation of a team rule or NFL policy on an individual case-by-case basis. If club discipline is appropriate, we consider the past record of the individual involved and the extent to which team rules were violated when imposing penalties,” Polian said in a written statement.

“In this particular case, Ed was well aware that his past history required him to be in complete compliance with Club rules. He was repeatedly told this during the offseason. Along with his teammates, he was reminded as recently as yesterday of Coach (Tony) Dungy’s rules of behavior. Unfortunately, he chose to violate those rules. Given the circumstances surrounding Ed’s original employment with the Colts, we feel in this case that we have no choice but to take this action.”

Johnson was cited for speeding and arrested for marijuana possession as he drove west on I-465 in Hamilton County. He was later released from the Hamilton County Jail after posting bond.

The 6-foot-2, 296-pound Detroit native, who had three previous brushes with the law while a student-athlete at Penn State, was an undrafted free agent who was added to the Colts roster on May 5, 2007. He started at right defensive tackle in all 16 of the team’s regular-season games last season, replacing injured starter Anthony “Booger” McFarland, and led all defensive linemen with 63 total tackles.

While in college, Johnson had been suspended for the 2005 season, reportedly for alleged sexual misconduct and confinement of another student against that person’s will. No charges were filed from that incident. Johnson also was suspended for Penn State’s 2006 Outback Bowl game for violating unspecified team rules.

Keyunta Dawson and rookie free agent Eric Foster will start at defensive tackle for Indianapolis Sunday in Minnesota. The Colts, meanwhile, signed former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey on Thursday to fill Johnson’s spot on the roster.

PLAYER NOTES

• C Jeff Saturday (knee) practiced again on Thursday but no decision on his availability for Sunday’s game has been announced. Saturday said that he felt fine after Wednesday’s workout and had a little soreness in his knee, but that was to be expected.

• TE Dallas Clark did not practice Wednesday, but his availability for Sunday’s game at Minnesota won’t be determined until later in the week. Clark suffered an injured right knee in the first half of last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears. He underwent an MRI Monday but the tests were negative. If Clark is unable to play against the Vikings, rookie TE Jacob Tamme would most likely make his first NFL start. Tamme had a strong preseason and has been dubbed “Dallas Jr.” by some pundits who compare his playing style to that of Clark’s.

• Another rookie TE, Tom Santi, is expected to be available for the Minnesota game. Santi missed most of training camp as he recovered from pre-training camp surgery for an infected bursa sac in his knee. Santi has practiced the last couple of weeks but was inactive for the Chicago game.

• DE Raheem Brock, who played inside as a defensive tackle for the last two seasons, may make the move back again. With the recent arrest of starter Ed Johnson, Brock—who started opposite Dwight Freeney against the Bears last week—may go back to tackle with DE Robert Mathis moving back into the starting lineup.

Game Plan: Just settle in and play. After sloppy performances on both sides of the football in last week’s season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears, the Colts have to show more consistency in their performances.

Offensively, Indianapolis failed to take advantage of its red-zone scoring opportunities and did not run the football well. That has to get better, especially against a tough Minnesota defensive front. The Colts also have to control the tempo of the game.

Defensively, stop the run. The Vikings have one of the best running backs in the league, so it won’t be easy. But slowing down Minnesota’s running game is first and foremost on the Colts’ defensive agenda. Also keep Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson in the pocket and don’t let him have any breakouts with scrambles. But, above all, get back to playing the defense the way that it was designed.

Matchups To Watch: Colts LT Tony Ugoh vs. Vikings DE Jared Allen. Ugoh is in his second season as a starter for Indianapolis. He did not play due to injury when Allen was starting for the Chiefs last year. Allen, meanwhile, led the league in sacks during the 2007 season with 15.5. He had a big game against the Colts a year ago with six tackles and four passes batted down.

Vikings RB Adrian Peterson vs. Colts S Bob Sanders. Tony Dungy says that Peterson’s running style reminds him of former Chicago Bears great Walter Payton and ranks him as one of the league’s two best running backs (along with LaDainian Tomlinson from San Diego). Sanders was the NFL’s 2007 Defensive Player of the Year and he loves to play the run. Something’s gotta give.

Colts QB Peyton Manning vs. Vikings S Darren Sharper. Manning should be better, timing-wise, with his receivers with an additional week of practice after missing training camp and most of the team’s preseason practices. Sharper is a veteran NFL safety who won’t be too surprised by anything that the Colts try to do offensively.

Injury Impact:

• DE Dwight Freeney practiced Thursday after sitting out Wednesday’s workout to rest old injuries. He will start Sunday against the Vikings.

• WR Roy Hall (knee) has not practiced the last two days. Hall, though, is still expected to play this week at Minnesota.

• CB Kelvin Hayden (hamstring) sat out Thursday’s workout after seeing limited practice time on Wednesday. Hayden is still expected to start against the Vikings on Sunday.

• CB Tim Jennings was allowed to sit out Thursday’s practice in order to rest old injuries. Jennings should be able to play against Minnesota on Sunday.

• DT Daniel Muir (knee) did not practice on Thursday after seeing limited work on Wednesday. Muir hopes to be available for Sunday’s game with the Vikings.

• OG Mike Pollak (knee) has not practiced this week and probably won’t be able to play this week at Minnesota.

• S Bob Sanders was given Thursday off in order to rest old injuries. Sanders will be in the starting lineup against the Vikings on Sunday.

• TE Jacob Tamme (ankle) did not practice Thursday after seeing limited work on Wednesday. It’s hoped that Tamme will be available for the Minnesota game on Sunday.

• The Colts waived WR/KR Courtney Roby on Thursday. Roby had made the team’s regular-season roster after an impressive showing as a kick returner during training camp.

• Indianapolis claimed RB Justin Forsett on waivers from the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday.

• The Colts added TE Isaac Smolko to the team’s practice squad on Thursday. Smolko played with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.
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Source: Yahoo! Sports

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Reflection on week 1.

huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

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Reflection on week 1.

huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

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huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

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