Naptown's Finest » Anthony Castonzo

Horseshoe Hero: Avery, Hilton Bolster Ailing Colts in Washington

Catie Staszak — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 16:49:33 +0000

Colts 17 – Redskins 30

The main storyline of Sunday’s preseason contest between the Colts and the Redskins was the much-anticipated quarterback duel between Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the first and second over all selections in this year’s NFL draft. But the more obvious storyline as Sunday’s game in Washington unfolded was far more concerning: The Colts lack depth. Injuries on both offense and defense revealed the true, sky-high value of the Colts’ starting lineup as some back-up offensive linemen crumbled under pressure and the defense failed to stop the run. Without some major assets, the Colts will need to do some scrambling before settling on their final 53-man roster. The fact that they have first priority on the wavier wire helps. But in a veteran’s absence, two fresh faces did provide glimmers of hope at a key position: wide receiver.

Yes, this week there are two Horseshoe Heroes: Donnie Avery and T.Y. Hilton. Both are entering their first seasons with the Colts, one his first season ever in the NFL. With Austin Collie day-to-day after suffering his third (at least) concussion in the past 22 months, the Colts needed their backup wideouts to step up. These two seemed glad to do so.

Donnie Avery had 6 receptions, making him the second-most targeted WR from either team, for a total of 38 yards. Avery’s early presence was especially notable, because the game was his first outing of the preseason (He had previously been nursing a thigh injury sustained during training camp). Avery has become notorious for being injury-prone throughout his 5-year career. In fact, he missed the entire 2010 season after tearing his ACL. However, he is talented, and he was the first wide receiver taken in the 2008 draft. If he can stay healthy, Avery could prove to be a great option for Luck. It was nice to see an immediate chemistry and comfort-level between the two.

Rookie T.Y. Hilton was also impressive in Collie’s absence, pulling in 4 receptions for 54 yards, including a beautiful 31-yard touchdown pass from Luck. Hilton caught my eye on several plays, particularly on a first and 10 play at the Washington-45 in which Luck’s short pass right was tipped. The play easily could have gone the other way, but Hilton got his hands on the ball and turned the almost-turnover into an 8-yard gain down the sideline. Hardly rookie-like. Hilton was the team’s third pick in this year’s draft (3rd round, 92nd overall). He’s proving to be deserving of that selection.

Note: Griff Whalen, another rookie WR and former teammate of Andrew Luck, caught a game-high 8 passes for 66 yards. While he didn’t play with the first team, he showed he belongs in Indianapolis and probably secured himself a spot on the team, at least on the practice squad. An undrafted free agent, Whalen is one to watch in the future.

While the new wide receivers were the heroes of the game, the offensive linemen were not. The run game was practically non-existent, and Andrew Luck had to scramble on several occasions to avoid being clobbered by the Washington defense. In his final series, Luck took an especially brutal hit by linebacker London Fletcher that was downright scary to watch. While both the Colts and the Redskins executed 27 rushing plays, the Redskins almost tripled Indianapolis’ rushing yardage, 147-53. Sophomore left tackle Anthony Castonzo seemed to be the only strength of the line, while right guard Seth Olsen gave up two sacks in the same series. The injured Ben Ijalana and Mike McGlynn are sorely missed.

The Colts’ final preseason game will take place at home against Cincinnati on Thursday (8/30) at 7:00p.m. It’s likely the starters will not play much, if at all, for the final preseason contest is commonly used to evaluate players who may be on the bubble of making the team. A hero will still arise, though, and he will be revealed the following day right here on Naptown’s Finest. Be sure to check back to find out who it is, but until then, you can follow me on Twitter at @catierae08 for more frequent Colts updates and commentary. Don’t forget: According to Jim Irsay, there are still some pretty fierce trade winds blowing! A blockbuster could be thrust upon Colts Nation at any moment.

The 2012 Indianapolis Colts: perennial winners or perennial losers?

George Aust — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:32:54 +0000

Aug 19, 2012; Pittsburgh , PA, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) is congratulated by running back Vick Ballard (33) after scoring a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of the game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-US PRESSWIRE

Many predictions have been made about how good the Colts will be in 2012. Numerous analysts have come out and said that they believe the Colts will be a bad football team this season, possibly even worse than in 2011. The main question that arises from that is: The Colts went 2-14 in 2011 and posted the worst record in the NFL, how can the Colts be worse than that? Most believe that Indianapolis would have challenged Houston for the AFC south title crown had it not been for Peyton Manning’s season ending injury, yet although this more than likely was true, the Colts had begun to show signs of decline prior to the 2011 season.

2010 was not a particularly successful season despite winning the AFC south the Colts struggled mightily for consistency, and finished with a meagre 10-6 season, off the back of a trip to the Superbowl. It might be harsh to say that the 2010 season wasn’t successful for the Colts; the team faced huge adversity, with many players on IR, yet still though the eventual Superbowl champs Green Bay, had the most players on IR come the end of the season. The Colts bowed out to the Jets at home 17-16 in the wildcard round.

Coming back to the 2011 season, expectations were high and when Indianapolis fell from the top of the NFL to the bottom without their star quarterback, many were quick to point the finger at long time GM Bill Polian, and if I’m honest, I believe it was completely justified. The Colts roster had become somewhat stagnant, with a number of failed draft choices and overpaid veterans the Colts roster was that of a 2-14 team in 2011; albeit without Peyton Manning. With him I still believe the Colts were a playoff team, quarterbacks like Peyton Manning don’t come around all too often… well they do for the Indianapolis Colts.

2012 signals a new era for the Colts and with Andrew Luck at the helm the Colts look set to surprise many. To answer the question, whether or not the 2012 Colts will be worse than the 2011 Colts, is a tough one. An immediate difference maker of course is the quarterback position, for this we are taking Peyton Manning out the equation, I’m not going to make any Manning/Luck comparisons here. The 2011 Colts were led by Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky at quarterback. Yes this one goes to Luck, Stanton and Harnish, 7-0, 2012 Colts.

This seasons Colts offensive line appears to be stronger, with Winston Justice at right tackle, and also with a further experienced and healthy Anthony Castonzo, the tackle positions certainly emerge stronger. Despite the losses of veterans Jeff Saturday and Ryan Diem (not much of a loss in my opinion, or was it just me that saw Diem false start all of the time!) the 2012 Colts offensive line figures to be superior to the 2011 one, however the Guard spots do look to still be up for grabs, and also occupied by mediocre players at best. Maybe we will call this one evens, specially based on the starting O-line’s performance in the Rams game. Still 7-0, 2012 Colts.

Moving on to the backs and receivers, I would say the 2012 Colts have a group of emerging young receivers along with a strong veteran presence in Reggie Wayne and Donnie Avery. I would include Austin Collie in that too, yet off the back of another concussion it is hard not to fear for his career, however he is a very talented player and if he stays healthy will explode for the Colts in 2012 with Andrew Luck at the helm, just like he did in 2010 with Peyton Manning, prior to the season-ending concussions. In comparison to 2011, I’m giving the receivers of 2012 the nod. Young stars of camp such as Lavon Brazill and T.Y. Hilton, along with high pick tight ends in Fleener and Allen, give this group the edge over last season’s squad with declining players such as Dallas Clark. The Colts may have lost speedy receiver Pierre Garcon, but to me the Colts have enough young talent to replace him. 14-0, 2012 Colts.

When looking at the running backs I would argue that the group has not changed significantly, with Joseph Addai being the only notable name out, and rookie Vick Ballard the only one in. I’d probably edge towards the 2012 Colts here, nevertheless we will call this one evens.

The defense has seen an extensive makeover from 2012. With a change in the Colts base scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4, it’s difficult to compare the two units of personnel. Despite this, I’m splitting the defense into the front seven and DB’s. First and foremost the Colts front seven last season, struggled tremendously at stopping the run; a feature of the Polian Colts for many years. My hunch is that with bigger bodies up front the Colts will be better at stopping the run in 2012 than in previous years. The biggest problem the Colts front seven in 2012 faces is the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker for star defensive players Mathis and Freeney. Both have been reported to have made the switch relatively well, still both are set to struggle in pass coverage but both pose a large threat in the pass rush department, and former first round pick Jerry Hughes appears to be an important contributor for the Colts defense in 2012, of which he has struggled to do so in his Colts career thus far. Taking all this into account I expect the 2012 Colts front seven to be more successful than in 2011, this may be because I favour the 3-4 alignment, mainly as it allows you to bring a plethora of different blitzes and coverage’s of which a 4-3 just doesn’t present in my opinion. So I’m not going to base this decision on the personnel as such, but the scheme in place of which I feel the Colts are adequately poised to succeed with in 2012. Clearly I choose the 2012 Colts over the 2011 Colts. 21-0, 2012 Colts.

Finally looking at the Colts defensive backs of the past season, and the coming season, I feel we can compare the talent of the past two seasons, and its one area, along with the offensive line, that I have the most concerns over in 2012, more in terms of depth as I feel the Colts do possess three great starters in Powers, Bethea and Zbikowski. Not much has changed from 2011 to 2012 at defensive back the same problems are still evident, the Colts do not have an adequate starting corner opposite Jerraud Powers, I’m yet to believe Justin King is the answer, although he still has time to prove himself. I think most of the defensive backs are pretty even with last year’s group, if not mildly improved with the acquisitions of Josh Gordy and Cassius Vaughn through trades, essentially it comes down to who I believe is a better starter out of Bullitt (who played minimally in 2011) and Zbikowski. For me, I think Zbikowski brings more fire and explosiveness to the team than Bullitt, leading to me choosing the 2012 DB’s over the 2011 ones, narrowly mind. Maybe just a field goal this time. 24-0, 2012 Colts.

I really don’t see the 2012 Colts being worse than the 2011 Colts. To me the 2012 Colts are a rejuvenated bunch, full of enthusiasm and a willingness to prove their doubters wrong. Many players from the old regime look fired up to prove they can play. The 2012 Colts are not going to blow people away with their play, but they are certainly going to turn a lot of heads, courtesy of Andrew Luck, and head coach Chuck Pagano. Ryan Grigson, I think has done a great job this offseason, and although he is likely to be judged on wins, he mustn’t be. Regardless however, this Colts ballclub is tonnes better than last season, yes the Colts lost a considerable number of key veterans of the past, but the time was right and the Colts are only on the way up from here. It might be premature to assume the Colts can make the playoffs, yet I feel there is an air of confidence around the team, and I for one think they are in contention for a wildcard spot. For the 2011 Colts It may have been a disastrous 2-14, but for the 2012 Colts, I figure for it to be more in the region of 9-7. So let’s say this season the Colts are poised to be winners more than losers, maybe the perennial winners tag is one for the future.

#HorseBytes: It’s Official

Catie Staszak — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:44:52 +0000

It felt like we’d been waiting for months. Maybe that’s because we had been. But when Draft Day 2012 arrived, the first round of the 2012 NFL draft came and went in the blink of an eye, and everything that we had been anticipating would happen was put into fruition.

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