The Big Mo
The Colts have some momentum as they prepare to play the Chiefs this Sunday. And with that momentum they will try to string together multiple wins in succession for the first time this season. That surge of momentum has come as part of the great play of Andrew Luck and his favorite target, T.Y. Hilton.
How is Andrew doing? Rob Chudzinski simply says “He is playing at a high level.” Luck is settling into yet another new offensive system but Chud believes he is handling it well. “I think he is comfortable with what we are doing. He is making good decisions; he is making quick decisions. I think there are a lot of good examples in that game of him making plays down the field, making good throws and then taking what the defense gives him at times as well and sometimes that is a scramble for five or six yards and sometimes it is a check-down for a couple of yards. Not turning the ball over, taking care of the football and making good decisions” Those good decisions have not been completely consistent this season but the trend is looking up for Luck.
Defensively the Chiefs are ranked in the middle of the pack. However they will prove to be a challenge for the Colts regardless of rank. The last time these two teams faced off was 2013. And I think a few things have been written about that time. That article, among many others, point to the fabled comeback in the playoffs so I won’t go into any more about that but it was a great night to be a Colts fan.
We might see some more of Luck’s weapons back on the field this Sunday as well. Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett are inching back to being able to play. Dorsett more so than Moncrief but Rob Chudzinski is happy to see them both recovering. “it is a good feeling. It is exciting to have those guys back. Particularly, we haven’t had Donte (Moncrief) for quite a while and it has hurt us. It will be good to have him back in the mix. He is still working through practice and trying to get some rust off so we will see as far as his status for the game and all those types of things and how much we will be able to use him and what not.” While Chester Rodgers filled in fairly well in their absence, he too has some injury troubles this week. Needless to say getting back the top receiving options will go along way against a good Chiefs secondary.
Thankfully this wide receiver corp has Hilton to lead the way. Chudzinski credits Hilton’s success to lot of little things, but one stands out. Route running. “a lot of that fluid motion is God given to start out with. I wouldn’t look as good running routes myself I can just say that. Obviously, it starts with the talent, but T.Y. has put an incredible amount of time and effort and diligence into improving his route running and I’ve noticed, particularly, especially having just taken over here for the last whatever it is, eight months, nine months, whatever, 12 months I don’t know, but you notice him really paying attention to it working together with Andrew. But the key is the timing.” That timing is something the Chiefs hope to disrupt sunday but if some of these other wide receivers are healthy it will be an excellent chance for them to step up. Or in some cases show that they were worth the first round pick. (I’m looking at you Dorsett) Running back Frank Gore knows it won’t be easy “we know Kansas City is a tough team, they are a good team. We just have to go out there and play together, take one play at a time and try to do our job.” Regardless, T.Y. Hilton is excited by the possibility to get his co-starting wideouts back “I won’t get as much coverage my way. It will be great to have them back, I know they can’t wait to be back”
The “A Lot Smaller Mo”
After stumbling a bit in the second half the Colts defense is trying to put together a complete game. To do so, Ted Monachino is hoping a larger role for Akeem Ayers will help even though he is not quite sure where Ayers fits. “Akeem is a very talented football player. He can do a lot of things well. From a dominant trait standpoint, we really haven’t put our finger on that yet but he does a lot of things really well. He can cover, he can run, he can rush. He can do a lot of things. We’re still trying to define what he does for us completely, but everything it seems like we ask him to do he does a pretty good job at it. We’re going to keep growing his role because those players are hard to find, guys that can do those things.” That goes with the mantra to get your best players on the field. Something they try to do with their safeties and as for the pass rush, well, they can use any and all the help they can get.
One of the other bright spots this past week was Patrick Robinson. After getting torched but seemingly everyone he attempted to cover, he gave a much better showing this past Sunday. Monachino thinks he was slowed by injuries but “He was full speed on Sunday against Tennessee and played like it.” He had a great interception that was negated by a not so great hit by Josh McNary. Monachino is just a Pagano mentee through and through. When asked what he told McNary after his dumb play “Josh is a little bit of a blind dog in a meat house at times and he knows that. That’s what he is. He’s going to hunt up whatever he can hunt up and that’s how he plays. That’s good at times and other times it gets in the way. I think that if he had great vision, if he saw the game through a barn door he’d know where the quarterback may be feeling that thing opening up” Just what we want to see on the field, a blind dog. At least we now have an accurate (and colorful) description of McNary’s play.
This is going to be a tough matchup. I think the Colts pull out another close game. As long as the defense shows up for at least one half of football and buys enough space for Andrew to get some points on the board. 24-21 Colts. Happy Blue Friday!
All quotes courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts PR department
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