Finally! The long preseason is over. Very soon we will see who gets cut and who makes the roster. If anyone watched the embarrassment of this game, they know how hard it is to try and find something good from this game. Obviously it needs to be said that almost all of the players that played today are in no way expected to contribute this season, but it was still ugly. It gave us a grim glimpse of life without Manning (and Addai, Brown, Wayne, Saturday, Freeney, Mathis, etc...). Now we know how Lions fans feel in the regular season. Here is a position-by-position rundown of today's "game".
QBs
~I thought both of them played well. Sorgi played the first half and Painter played the second. Both showed good accuracy and didn't make any big mistakes passing. A Sorgi interception got called back but that was mostly Tamme's fault for dropping the pass. Sorgi did lose a fumble. This game didn't show us anything knew. Sorgi is the second best QB on the roster and Painter is the future Sorgi.
RBs
~Simpson and Ball both played well to be honest for their situations. The guards didn't play very well today, but Ball was able to get 3.4 yards per carry (which would have been average on the team last year) and Simpson had 16 yards on 4 carries. Walter Mendenhall had one big run but did nothing to show he deserves to be close to a roster spot. This will be one of the most highly anticipated cuts. Will Hart or Ball make it? Will both of them be on the 53 man roster? I would guess when cut day comes that will be headline here at Stampede Blue.
WRs/TEs
~Taj Smith was pretty awesome today. His touchdown catch was a thing of beauty when he got the ball in tight coverage. He had 5 catches for 59 yards and was targeted an amazing 11 times. Jacob Tamme also got a lot of looks and did decent. His dropped pass which resulted in an interception was ugly though. John Matthews still sucks.
OL
~Kyle DeVan and Tony Ugoh were good. Jaimie Thomas and Jamey Richard were bad. Ugoh was playing great at left tackle and had to compensate for the surprisingly awful performance by Richard. Richard looked like he didn't care and was very slow. Another reason why preseason is too damn long. DeVan should have clinched a roster spot tonight but Steve Justice could somehow keep a roster spot.
DL
~The way they handle the D-line shows that the Colts couldn't care less about the preseason. Honestly, the only way they could show how little they cared to an even further extent would be to not show up at all. They play 4 DTs and no defensive ends because the defensive end position is locked up. Adrian Grady proved to be a complete monster and I don't think he will get cut. I have a gut feeling that Daniel Muir could be on his way out. It depends on how the team would feel about cutting someone who was looking like he could be starting in Week One.
LB
~This is the most confusing unit on the team. One week Mike Tauiliili looks like a star and the next he is a non-factor. Jordan Senn didn't play all that well tonight and Freddy Keiaho showed his uselessness with missing easy tackles. I think that Ramon Humber has to make the roster. I mean, there is no way they can keep someone like Keiaho over him, can they?
DB
~For the corners, Jacob Lacey played well except on the first drive. He is practice squad bound, but he looks like a future Colt. He's great in man coverage.
~Jamie Silva played great. He led the team in tackles and had a sack. He was a stud today and I think he locked up a roster spot.
Special Teams
~Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal and Pat McAfee had a punt blocked and may or may not have been injured. Someone would need to clarify that for me. From a kicking standpoint, it was an ugly game.
~Jamie Silva is not a punt returner unless 5 yards a return sounds acceptable to you. Simpson wasn't as bad as usual at returning kicks, but he isn't making the roster because of it. That's for sure.
Roster prediction after the jump.
QB
Peyton Manning
Jim Sorgi
Curtis Painter
RB
Joseph Addai
Donald Brown
Mike Hart
Lance Ball
H-B
Gijon Robinson
Tom Santi
WR
Reggie Wayne
Anthony Gonzalez
Austin Collie
Pierre Garcon
TE
Dallas Clark
Jacob Tamme
LT
Charlie Johnson
Tony Ugoh
LG
Ryan Lilja
Jamey Richard
C
Jeff Saturday
Kyle DeVan
RG
Mike Pollak
Dan Federkeil
RT
Ryan Diem
LE
Robert Mathis
Keyunta Dawson
Marcus Howard
UT
Ed Johnson
Fili Moala
Eric Foster
NT
Antonio Johnson
Terrance Taylor
Adrian Grady
RE
Dwight Freeney
Raheem Brock
WILL
Clint Session
Ramon Humber
MIKE
Gary Brackett
Jordan Senn
SAM
Philip Wheeler
Tyjuan Hagler
CB
Kelvin Hayden
Marlin Jackson
Jerraud Powers
TJ Rushing
FS
Antoine Bethea
Matt Giordano
Jamie Silva
SS
Bob Sanders
Melvin Bullitt
K
Adam Vinatieri
P
Pat McAfee
LS
Justin Snow
Practice Squad
RB Walter Mendenhall
WR Taj Smith
OL Jaimie Thomas
OL Tom Pestock
DL John Gill
LB Mike Tauiliili
DB Jacob Lacey
I like this roster and I really don't have very many problems with it. Usually I will be apprehensive about publishing a roster prediction because I just don't agree with all of it, but I like this one. Muir being booted is obviously the most controversial along with Jennings leaving, but if this team wants the 53 best players, this is probably the way to go.