September 2009 Archive
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 Lots of teams don't even have guys that could legitimately be placed in that argument, and I am glad my team does. Long story short, though, with Brady still a bit shaky and Brees not being tested by anyone other than a Philly team with Kolb and a gimpy Westbrook it is hard to say that anyone is really doing the things at the QB position that Manning is. In addition, I don't see a player at any other position really molding the game like Manning is. Peterson is really something, and I think the Colts' own Dwight Freeney is really special in terms of just how much attention he requires to keep him from taking over a game completely. Still, when taken holistically, only Brees can compare to Manning right now and he hasn't played a furious Miami team or the highpowered offense of the reigning NFC Champs. (Oh, and he builds children's hospitals with his bare hands.)
I saw a lot of good things
I saw Fitzgerald taken out of two third down plays by being aggressively jammed by Powers at the LOS. Combining it with a blitz made for two failed third down attempts.
I saw the Cardinals get jobbed on the goal line when Bethea held Boldin. I am not getting too worked up over it though because Freeney and Mathis were held all night and that one play may not have changed much. Bethea played a Helluva good game voerall, though.
I saw a fresh and aggressive Colts D despite playing for three consecutive days last week.
Pierre Garcon is not just fast (he beat one of the fastest corners in the league on the 53 yarder), he is physical. When he was drafted The GM was all over him and he was right. P-Gar is fo-real
The safety tandem of Melvin Bullitt and Antoine Bethea are playing pretty well despite Sanders being out. It brings up the question of whether or not Sanders is overpaid, again. We will have to revisit it if Sanders does not play well. I think he is going to come in and saw people in half, though.
I think these things
I think we DID overpay Kelvin Hayden. We have a rookie playing as well as he usually does right now in Powers.
I think we will struggle long term if Brackett can't get healthy.
I think the Offensive Line is playing much better than we expected at the end of the preseason. Charlie Johnson is playing well.
I think the problem with Joe Addai is that he just lacks top end speed. They ran a stretch yesterday when Johnson got outside on his block and really carried it upfield. Addai just could not get there to take advantage of the block. Not getting there gave the defense an opportunity to get back into the play.
I think the Colts young receivers block downfield well, and it opens things up. That is something they should remember as veterans often don't like to get involved that way.
I think Freeney is the most accounted for defensive player in the game. Every play he has two or three guys looking for him. I would like to see numbers on how often he wins his battle 1 on 1, 2 on 1, 3 on 1 and whatnot.
I think the Cardinals can shake that one off. They had some tough matchups to deal with. Gandy needs to have HB help to handle Freeney but Warner needed Hightower in the game and in the pattern to keep the linebackers up. The effectiveness of the Colts ends requires attention from tight ends and tailbacks and that means fewer guys in the pattern. With only three guys in the pattern the Colts can double Boldin and Fitz and make the other guy beat them. Tough matchups. They ran into a team patterned and proportioned to beat them.
Donald Brown has quick feet, low center of gravity, and surprising speed. The equation looks like S+Q-g=NFL(HB)
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Quick update from the Brigade. The Colts season has kicked off well, not great, but well. Lets face it, that Miami team played the best game they had played in years against the Colts. They executed a flawless gameplan. ...
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I'm getting married in exactly a week and let me tell you, it's been quite a ride since our engagement. Some things have been fun, some things have been boring and some things have just been down right annoying. Since I'm...
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With the NFL opening up I want to get back to blogging a bit. I appreciate Jack filling in the gap as I have been out of the game for a bit with my schoolwork and softball schedule really...
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I'll be honest with you, I never thought that wedding planning would keep me so busy that I wouldn't have time to continue the 'How to Hit' series. Alas, that is where we are at right now. I don't want...
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