This picture pretty much sums up how I'm feeling today. Don't I look pretty? I stayed awake late to watch the season opener of the Colts versus the Giants.
What I saw of the Colts was a pretty good team. Pretty good doesn't go to the Superbowl, though. The offense had no running game; I saw plenty of short carries where Edgerrin James would have pirouetted and gained five more yards. The quarterback protection was pretty good but with zero running game the team will not make it as far as they could.
My brother commented that the Colts were lucky that it took the Giants three quarters to realize we had no running game. Of course, every other team this season can just watch the tape. Harrison will continue to make beautiful catches of beautiful passes, Clark will be pretty good, but that's about it for the offense.
Defensively, Freeney was a nonfactor. Because I am not the sports nut my brother is, I didn't realize how many key defenders we lost in the off season. Freeney may draw double coverage still, but there is no one to pick up the slack and make a run for the quarterback. Eli Manning only really had to hurry on one play.
Side note: my "insights" during the game led my brother to call me Leslie Visser. Eep! I'm terrible!
So anyway, I'm groggy and crabby and my favorite team won the season opener, but I'm not happy about it.
Losing Edgerrin was terrible, and will cost the Colts dearly. Dominic, bless his heart, simply does NOT cut it. Addai might… But with Edge, there was NO QUESTION.
On a bright note, we played a guaranteed playoff team, ON THE ROAD, with megapressure (bro vs. bro), against one of the most potent scoring offenses in the NFL… And we WON. Most games will not be so sore a test.
Also, we have one of the truly great people on the planet gracing us every week at quarterback… Peyton Manning. What a stand up guy.
See you next time!
I’m not a football expert (though in college I created “football rules” for D&D), but, like everyone else is saying, if we don’t get a running game, we are hosed. Also, some more protection for Peyton would help… he was frequently pressured and forced out of the pocket, while Eli practically had time to check his voicemail.
But the thing I enjoyed most about the game was watching it with my friends. š