Recap: Hall of Fame Game, Colts 16-Redskins 30

You'll find that much of this recap borrows from bamock's excellent recap diary. Despite losing the game because the 3rd and 4th string defense made Colt Brennan look like Joe Montana, I actually turned off the tube feeling very, very good about the roster so far. Many things MasterRWayne and I saw at camp were implemented in this game, such as the onside kick to start. Like all pre-season games, you must take things with a grain of salt because, in the end, the games don't mean anything. What you can learn is how much do certain players want to succeed, and how deep is the talent pool. For the Colts, it seems this is a much deeper team than last year's squad, and there are some solid rookies who might unseat some established vets on this team. Here's what we saw:

• Let's get this out of the way: Jared Lorenzen sucked at camp and he sucked in the game. His "shot put" throwing motion causes the ball to come out late. He also seemed to deliberately trying to showcase himself rather than manage the game. Tom Moore was all over him after several throws. However, on the flipside...
  
• Quinn Gray looked impressive; more so than Jim Sorgi who went 7-10 on the opening drive. The difference between Sorgi and Gray is Gray can get the ball down the field and buy time with his feet. Sorgi's arm strength just isn't there, and while he was more accurate than I saw him in camp, he's not trying to drive the ball downfield. Most of his throws were dump offs or sideline throws. He did have one impressive 15-yarder to TE Gijon Robinson, who impressed.
• Most of you saw what I saw regarding the o-line. Remember year's past when back-up QBs would get hammered because the reserve o-linemen sucked hard. Last night, reserve linemen like Mike Pollak, Jamey Richard, Steve Justice, Michael Toudouze, and Dan Federkeil proved the Colts have a lot of excellent depth along the o-line. Polian wanted to boost up this area in the draft, and boy did he ever! Colts QBs had all day to throw, and the RBs can multiple holes to pick their way through.
• Mike Hart impressed me the most of any player. The kid ran like a man on fire. He lived up to his billing fighting for extra yardage AFTER someone ripped his helmet off. He displayed skill picking up the blitz, but what impressed the most was his burst. Hart took the hand-off, found his lane, and shot through like a bullet. He doesn't have breakaway speed, but he has a good burst through the line. He reminded me of Edgerrin James, especially since he is wearing #32. Hart is living up to his Michigan billing, and I can see why Dungy loves him.

It's still cool to watch Dom Rhodes run, even in pre-season

Photo: AP Photo, Mark Duncan

• Depth at WR is sick! Samuel Giguere didn't even play, yet I found myself worrying over who they will keep. Roy Hall, Devin Aromashodu, Onrea Jones, and Pierre Garcon all impressed. Garcon and Hall in particular made some excellent grabs.
  
• Though Washington QBs threw all over them, the defense in general played solid. Guys like starting MLB Victor Worsley won't make the practice squad. So, don't freak out by the gawdy Redskins QB numbers.
  
• Marcus Howard is a keeper. Dude is scary quick off the line with Freeney-like spin moves and a nose for the QB. He has 1.5 sacks in limited play. Same holds true for Curtis Johnson. Both are fast, fast, FAST speed rushers, and they are making me feel better about Indy's pass rushing depth.
• Special teams coverages looked solid all night. Other than the botched onside kick, I was pleased. Garcon's return looked good, especially since he looked so bad in camp this week.
• It was so cool to see Dom Rhodes out there. He spin move for extra yardage is still fun to watch.
• Jacob Tamme did some nice things, especially considering The Pillsbury Throwboy was launching the ball at him. Gijon Robinson has good hands, but is struggling to block. Dallas Clark is Dallas Clark: Arguably the best TE in football, along with Jason Witten.

I got the sense, reading comments from the open thread, that many of you had similar feelings about the game. This game, and much of what I've seen at camp, has helped me formulate answers to many of the questions you have about certain players (Is Roy Hall improved? Is Eric Foster legit? Do the Colts have depth at DE? Can they rush the passer? Etc.). I'm thinking that the answers to these and other questions are rounding out into good answers. This team seems very talented, and very deep. Offensively, it might get scary when Peyton gets back with the weapons they have. They might have given the best QB in football the best (and deepest) WR corps in football. Add to this the o-line depth and the emerging play of the RBs, and this offense looks primed to do some special things. With the injuries to the LBers on defense, it's hard to tell how that unit is rounding out. They key for them is still the health of Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney. But, all in all, the defense looks deeper and faster than last year.

I'll blog more about this game later today and this week. As always, for fun Redskins banter, check out Hogs Haven for their recap. Colts still have a ton of work to do, but they seem to be on their way to forming a very formidable roster.