FanPost

Colts O-Line Still Needs Work, But Don't Be Alarmed Folks. Bad Performance Part Of "The Plan."



Well that went about how I expected it to go. The Colts didn't particularly play well in what was supposed to be a "dress rehearsal" for the upcoming season. While some in Indyland may see this game as cause for alarm, one thing should be as obvious to you as it was to me as far as the offense was concerned: "Pep and company played things close to the vest." How you say? I'm so glad you asked. Just take a look at how the Colts played in their offensive approach against their 1st two opponents this preseason vs the one they took against the Saints. The Colts 1st unit ran almost exclusively out of the hurry up, yet took a more conventional approach when facing New Orleans. I know many of you had to be asking: "Why didn't the Colts run the same offense against the Saints that they did against the Jets?" With what may be potentially one of the biggest games of the season with possible playoff implications as far as seeding is concerned later on down the road against the Manning led Broncos two weeks away, OC Pep Hamilton isn't taking anything to chance in showing his hand too early and giving Denver as little as possible to work with in the film room for preparation. Even though it's only the 1st game of the season, it could end up deciding who plays where in the post season.

The Colts aren't gonna open things up until the bullets are live. That goes for the defensive side of the ball as well. I don't care how many balls you saw dropped, or how many missed tackles you counted either. The team you saw in the 1st two preseason games is a better indication of what you'll see this season than the lackadaisical performance you saw from the Colts against New Orleans on Saturday. It's no secret that a lot of teams (At least the smart ones) tend to keep their cards close to the vest until the season starts. How many times have you seen a team look absolutely dreadful in the preseason only to come out like gangbusters once the regular season starts? You shouldn’t be that far removed from this fact as many of you have experienced this far too often with the Colts during the Manning era. The Colts routinely had one of the worst preseason records year in and year out only to finish with more regular season wins in 11 seasons than any other team during that span. So why were the Colts so bad in the preseason yet so good in the regular? For the same reason they will continue to be during the Luck era: "Keeping things close to the vest until it’s time to let it fly."

The only thing I’m concerned about regarding this year’s team is the inconspicuous play of the o-line. I think the team is still one or two pieces away from being where it needs to be up front in order to see the kind of running game and protection for Luck and TRich everyone has come to hope for. Still, I think Luck could take a page or two from backup Saints QB Luke McCown when things get hot in the pocket. McCown made the Colts defense look downright silly and grasping at air at times by taking off out of the pocket when it collapsed. That’s exactly what Luck needs to do when (Olympus starts falling) around him. As athletic as he is, Luck is simply letting that aspect of his game go to waste. If he took off more often to punish defenses for neglecting that aspect of his game it would add another dimension to the Colts offense. I don’t want to hear "No! He shouldn’t because he might get hurt!" You stand just as much of a chance getting hurt (inside) the pocket as you do outside of it. If you don’t believe me ask Sam Bradford. Peyton Mannings’ neck injury came from inside the pocket. Ditto for Dan Marino and a host of other QBs as well, including Brady. Luck is bigger, stronger and more athletic than all of those QBs I mentioned. Couple that with the fact that he doesn’t have anything close to an "elite" wall of protectors to work with in front of him so it only makes sense that he helps those guys out by scrambling when opportunities are there instead of staying in the pocket trying to make a play when there’s no play to be made. If any part of Luck’s game worries me as far as him getting injured, I think it’s his knack for trying to pass the ball when he has defenders draped all over him, particularly around his legs. I literally cringe every time I see it. We’ve been lucky not to see him get hit by another defender while he’s engaged with one already. Luck can avoid those types of scenarios if he would simply use his legs more in situations like that to avoid the constant heat. We all know the Colts offensive line isn’t where we would like for it to be yet, and because of that Luck needs to compensate for their short comings, at least until help arrives.

All in all, the Colts are going to be fine once the season starts. They might not have all of the pieces in place, but they most certainly have enough of them to be considered among the league’s elite, and a loss to the Saints in a meaningless preseason game doesn’t change that reality.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.