Preseason Overreactions from the Colts Loss to the Saints

The Indianapolis Colts lost to the New Orleans Saints on Saturday by the score of 23-17.  For much of the time the Colts' starters were in, the team did not look very good.  Because of that, it's easy to overreact to a preseason game.  While this is more of a humorous post, it's still all rooted in truth.  Let's take a look at some possible preseason overreactions from the loss to the Saints...

Chuck Pagano should be on the Hot Seat

For a preseason game?  For an 0-3 record in the preseason?  For a few questionable calls in a preseason game?  For his team failing to look good in a preseason game?  Look, Chuck Pagano hasn't been the best head coach, and we've discussed that plenty on this site.  But I actually had people tweeting me all throughout the game that he should be fired and stuff along those lines.  During a preseason game.  I know it sounds ridiculous, and it is.  I'm not going to pretend that Chuck Pagano is a great head coach yet, but he's done a good job overall and to come to any conclusions about his coaching from a preseason game or even more to say that he should be on the hot seat during a preseason game is a bit ridiculous.  Ok, not even a bit - it's just plain ridiculous.

Andrew Luck's Struggles are a Bad Sign

Yes, Andrew Luck struggled on Saturday night.  Nobody who's honest is going to say any differently.  But to suggest that it is a troubling sign moving forward or that it's going to be indicative is a huge overreaction.  Firstly, Luck looked very good in the first two preseason games, so two out of three shouldn't be a cause for major panic.  Secondly, while we'd love to have every game be a great one for Luck, there are going to be off days.  Saturday was just one of those.  Thirdly, if there's one thing you need to remember about Andrew Luck, it's that he's insanely good at digging his team out of holes - even holes he helped to create.  In Saturday's game, he wasn't given the ability.  It's nothing foreign to see Luck start slower in the first half only to turn it on in the second half.  Considering Luck didn't play at all in the fourth quarter and not much in the third quarter, let's not judge him based on an incomplete game.  Lastly, he's Andrew Luck.  He's been tremendous in his first two seasons and had two good games to start the preseason.  He's incredibly talented and has a lot of weapons.  Anyone saying that his struggles on Saturday were anything more than just an off game are overreacting in a major way.

The Pass Rush is in A Lot of Trouble without Robert Mathis

No, wait, this concern is very legitimate.  Never mind.

This Colts team will Struggle to Beat Good Teams

Yes, the Colts are 0-3.  Since 2005, the Colts have won 9 preseason games - total.  They've won less games than that in a single regular season only once in that span.  Since 2005, they have a .243 winning percentage in the preseason and a .688 winning percentage in the regular season.  The Colts have historically not won games in the preseason, then won a lot of them in the regular season.  The win/loss record in the preseason doesn't mean anything.  "But the Colts didn't look good against the Saints!" some might argue, and they'd be correct. But there's something to be said about the starters playing all four quarters, about being able to stay in there and work through the mistakes.  I mean, just think about how many games the Colts would have lost last year if Andrew Luck hadn't played the fourth quarter.  Once everything gets rolling for real and once the starters play all four quarters, this Colts team should be a tough one to beat and should be one that can beat other good teams, too.

In case you couldn't tell (and skipped my intro), this post is a more humorous one, but there are facts and truths spread throughout.  The bottom line is that there's nothing really to freak out or overreact about - sure, there are some concerns, but don't overreact.  The Colts will be fine - as long as Andrew Luck plays four quarters every game.