(by Ross Jacobs)
The Colts actually played some of their starters here, mostly on the defensive side, for a handful of snaps, but it was mostly backups once again. However, unlike most of the games we’ve covered this week, this one actually had a lot of notable names and notes.
Player Notes...
-- The Colts actually played some of their starters here, mostly on the defensive side, for a handful of snaps, but it was mostly backups once again. However, unlike most of the games we’ve covered this week, this one actually had a lot of notable names and notes.
This makes two weeks now that I’ve watched the Colts backup defense, and yet again they looked absolutely putrid, the single worst unit I’ve seen from any team this preseason. It’s unfair to assume the starting unit will be as bad as the second team, but if they are, or if injuries start to pile up, it’s going to be a very long season in Indianapolis.
And once again every area of the second team looked bad, but the linebackers are just horrid, particularly rookie CJ Allen. I know I pointed him out last time, but it bears repeating, he is nowhere close to a future starter and if he is the defense is in trouble. As of now most outlets have him listed as a starter, and if that is accurate I will be heavily targeting any RB facing this defense (Derrick Henry Week 1…). Not only does Allen look incredibly stiff and slow, but he also seems to have no idea where he is going or who he is supposed to cover.
-- Keenan Allen started and played a few snaps, I assume to help him knock some rust off, and he looked like Keenan Allen. If Pierce and Downs are still banged up Week 1, Allen is going to be a useful start at least early in the season.
-- If there were any doubts remaining that Seth McGowan is firmly ahead of DJ Giddens for the backup RB spot behind Jonathan Taylor, that can be put to rest. McGowan played ahead of Giddens here and looked solid, very athletic and smooth for a 220+lb back, and he ran decisively. If Taylor went down I believe they would give him the full workload and he would do well with it. He won’t break off many big runs, but he can absolutely grind out 20 carries effectively and he’s a good receiver to boot. If you have JT, you absolutely must have McGowan.
-- Indy rookie center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger was touted as undervalued and a sleeper in the draft, but boy he struggled here, not only blocking but snapping the ball. It looked like every single one of his shotgun snaps was either very high or off the mark. Not a great first look.
-- Anthony Richardson got a lot of time here and looked a little better and more consistent than he has recently. Part of his problem is that Steichen insists on running this traditional offense, which he’s obviously not good at, instead of tailoring the scheme to take advantage of the things he does well. If you put Richardson into shotgun all the time and let him run a spread scheme the way Cam Newton did, I believe he could still be fairly effective. Things must be really bad with him behind the scenes if no teams are willing to part with a late round pick to see what they can develop with him.
-- I have fewer notes on the Lions because they were playing all the soon-to-be-cut guys, whereas Indy needed a look at their regular backups (because the roster is very weak overall).
RC and I already discussed the alleged #2 RB for Detroit, Jacob Saylors, in a Youtube video, but to recap, we don’t believe there’s any way they would simply turn the backfield over to him if Gibbs got hurt. He’s just not that good. Saylors is more of a #3, barely hanging onto the roster type than a legit second teamer. He ran for 100 yards here, and as we all know that instantly makes you a god in the eyes of most casual fans. I will just underline the real cause for that once again…the Indy defense is bad.
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