Colts vs. Packers Analysis

            The Colts played the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers last Friday night in their third preseason game. Although the Colts ended up losing at the last minute, 24-21, there was plenty to be optimistic about. The play of the Curtis Painter in the first half was actually pretty impressive. The Colts starting defense was great too as they held Aaron Rogers and company to just 10 points in the first half.

3 Things I liked:

Curtis Painter- I have proudly stated that Painter need to be cut from the team ever since he was picked up by the Colts. He was never that good at Purdue, so why would he be good in the NFL? He has looked absolutely dismal in every start he’s had and in every game he's ever played in. He changed that perception Friday night though. In fact, Painter looked solid. He stood in the pocket every time he went back to pass and kept his composure until he found an open receiver. There were times when he didn’t pick up blitzes, but that falls on the offensive line as well.

            With 1:55 in the second quarter, Painter led the Colts down the field in a perfect 2-minute offense. He finished the drive with a perfect toss in the back corner of the end zone to wide receiver Chris Brooks. After the play there was a clip showing Peyton Manning  smiling on the sidelines. To me, Peyton was thinking “I knew you could do it” or “That was a heck of a throw”, either way it was a cool moment.

            Painter was done after the first half, but during the time he played he threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns. I never thought there could be such a widely publicized battle for a backup job, esp. when the leading contenders are Painter and Kerry Collins. If you would have told me even a month ago that I would type this next sentence I would have laughed in your face and probably punched you. Curtis Painter needs to be the backup to Peyton Manning.

Colts defensive front: The four defensive linemen for the Colts were monsters for two straight quarters. People want to hype up what the Detroit Lions have, but I think our lineup is pretty impressive; Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on the edge, then Tommie Harris and Jamal Anderson inside. These guys had three sacks, knocked down a pass, and pressured Aaron Rogers continuously. Rookie Drake Nevis made one of those sacks and should get some time on the field this season.

Dwight Freeney (#93) and Robert Mathis (#98)

Tackling: The Colts have been called out past seasons and in this year’s preseason about how poor their tackling is. I didn’t see but one or two broken tackles, if that, in the first half. The speed of our defense didn’t allow the Packers players to break tackles because our guys were swarming their ball carriers.

3 things I didn’t like:

Phil Simms: God this guys is annoying!!! I hate this announcer more than any other of any sport or any network. He NEVER has anything good to say about the Colts. Never. It was even more annoying when he started a sentence “In this building…” (referring to Lucas Oil Stadium) three times in two quarters. Newsflash Simms, L.O.S. isn’t that loud, and doesn’t even begin to compare with the cacophony inside the old RCA Dome.

Phil Simms

Offensive line: These guys were definitely the weak link in the game. I swear it must be somewhere in Ryan Diem’s contract that he HAS to be the cause of at least one penalty a game. How can you have a “false start” when you’re playing at your own stadium, in the preseason? It’s not like you can’t hear the quarterback! They also let Packers corner back, Charles Woodson, get to Painter about three times and sack him twice. They opened up no holes at all for the running game,thus never giving Joseph Addai or Donald Brown a decent chance of getting a big run.

Phil Simms again?: There wasn’t a lot to dislike about how the Colts played in the first half. The real problem came in the second half when the backups went in. The even bigger problem came in the final minute of the 4^th quarter. The Packers scored a touchdown then a 2-point conversion, recovered the ensuing onside kick, and then kicked the game winning field goal. Yeah, all that in the final minute. Fortunately, several of the players involved in that meltdown were cut from the team.

            The Colts play their final game of the preseason Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. The regular season starts against the Houston Texans on Sept. 11^th.

            Indianapolis also announced that Peyton Manning is off the “Players unable to play” or “PUP” list and was able to practice today. It seems like somebody was right about Manning being ready to play in the first regular season game.