No one wants to lose eight games in a row. If you're going to lose eight games in a row, the best way to do it is in the preseason where wins and losses don't matter. In fact, preseason wins and losses don't even indicate how good a team might be. The prove this point better than any NFL team. Since 4 Brett Favre Purple jersey
their eight-game losing skid began in 2004, they've gone 12-4 and 14-2 in the regular season following those losses. No matter how much Peyton Manning tells Andrea Kremer that he hopes the team can come back and get a win, it's obvious that the Colts don't care about exhibition victories. The Colts care about getting the team ready for the regular season. In the Sunday Night game versus the Seahawks, the Colts took the first quarter to do just that. There were plenty of highs and lows to analyze, take back to the film room and improve upon for the regular season. Bright SpotsThe first drive - The first-team offense looked to be in regular-season form. Coordinator Tom Moore and QB Peyton Manning decided to establish the run early by handing the ball to Dominic Rhodes four straight times to open the game. Rhodes looked good hitting the holes on the stretch when his blocking didn't break down in front of him. This set up a beautiful play-action screen to TE Dallas Clark. After a couple costly penalties, Manning then converted a third-and-22 to Reggie Wayne and made it look easy in the process. He then followed that up a few plays later with a touchdown strike to Wayne. The tight ends - With the exception of the extremely costly fumble by Ben Utecht, both he and Clark looked solid and hard to bring down. Neither of these guys went down after the first hit and if Manning hadn't overthrown Clark on a long ball over the middle, he would have scored a touchdown. The inexperienced linebackers - Gilbert Gardner managed a sack against the first team, though it was mostly due to the fact that he was completely unblocked. He was also flying around the field and making plenty of hits. Tyjaun Hagler recorded six tackles and was all over the field as well. Weak SpotsRun blocking - There were too many times when Rhodes and rookie runner Joseph Addai had to avoid defenders in the backfield. A rushing total of 93 yards (25 of those on a fake punt) reflects that. Run defense - The Seahawks could pretty much run at will. Unless the Colts can stop the run, teams will be able to grind the clock and keep their offense off the field. Montae Reagor was missing due to injury, which certainly hindered Indy's ability to stop Shaun Alexander and company. Pass defense - Granted, the Colts were missing Bob Sanders and Mike Doss, but the corners looked confused and Matt Hasselbeck was able to pick them apart. John Madden referenced a conversation with the Colts' coaches in which they spoke of using Sanders differently this season - as more of a playmaker. Hopefully for the Colts, this new plan will shore up the coverage. Special teams - The return coverage was miserable as no one could shed a block or make a tackle. With the exception of one long return, Dan Shelton looked hesitant and the blocking was not good. Of course, there were plenty of single digit numbers on the field during special teams, so my36 Bettis Black Jersey
guess is we won't be seeing most of those guys once the season starts. On the whole, it looked like a preseason game should look for the . The offense looked solid and the defense is still working out some kinks. The final two exhibition games should allow the Colts to fine tune their issues and get their starters healthy for an AFC South title run and another shot at the Super Bowl. (1)
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