Kasey Klipsch checks in with his weekly piece.
I got to go to the San Diego game and was really looking forward to blasting the non-call on that PI. I also had a juicy little mini-rant ready about how spoiled Colts fans are (I literally heard someone say the sentence “Thank God for college basketball” while sitting in the brand new club seats at the Luke). Unfortunately, my DVR did not co-operate.
So instead I went back to the Patriots game and picked out an offensive drive that seemed to epitomize all that has gone wrong with the Colts in the last couple of weeks. Of course, this drive started on a special teams penalty, so the Colts were already at a disadvantage. It didn’t get any better.
1-10-IND-13
Play: 1 step drop, pass to Garcon, too far in front of him, knocked into the air and almost an INT.
NE Formation: 3-4 (both OLB standing at LOS showing blitz)
Ind Formation: 2 WR/2 TE
– Tamme chips the LOLB and goes into the flat.
– CJ doesn’t block anyone (his man is the LOLB and the pass is out fast).
– Devan gets manhandled by the LDE. Brown saves him with a chip.
– Saturday has good block on NT.
– Linkenbach gets destroyed and almost knocked into Manning.
– Diem hanles ROLB.
– Eldridge goes into a route and is covered by the 2 IILB.
– Garcon is covered really well by the CB with S help over the top.
– Manning has to throw over Linkenbach who is shoved into him.
2-10-IND-13
Play: Play action pass to the right to Garcon for 15 yards.
NE Formation: 3-4 (both OLB standing at LOS showing blitz)
Ind Formation: 2 WR (both left) / 2 TE
– Eldrige absolutely mauls the LOLB.
– CJ gets pushed back into the pocket by the LDE.
– Devan/Saturday double the NT well.
– Linkenbach is pushed back and run past by the RDE.
– Tamme chips the ROLB then goes into a route. The ROLB then runs around Diem.
– Brown runs a route and pulls a LB into coverage.
– Garcon either gets a step on his man or finds a hole in the zone that Tamme had just cleared.
1-10-IND-28
Play: 1 yard run by Donald Brown. Meant to be an off-tackle run, no hole so Brown cuts back inside to get the yard.
NE Formation: 3-4 (ROLB on LOS showing blitz, LOLB in coverage on White)
Ind Formation: 2 WR (1 right, 1 left)/2 TE (Tamme in slot left, Eldridge on LOS right)
– No one blocks the LDE who makes the tackle.
– CJ blocks no one.
– DeVan attempts to cut the NT and fails.
– Saturday blocks the NT 2 yards off the LOS. Brown cuts back behind this block.
– Linkenbach/Diem double the RDE and he holds the point of attack.
– Eldridge mauls the ROLB.
2-9-IND-29
Play: Manning in shotgun. Gets good protection. Incomplete pass to Garcon. Garcon breaks inside, Manning assumes he is going to break outside. Looks to my untrained eye like Garcon did the correct thing. Almost intercepted.
NE Formation: Nickle
Ind Formation: 3 WR (2 in trips right, 1 left)/1 TE (Eldridge in the trips formation)
– Eldridge chips LDE.
– CJ blocks LDE well.
– LDT stunts outside to the right and is picked up by Diem.
– DeVan blocks the RDT.
– Linkenbach blocks the RDE (who comes inside).
– Saturday helps on both of those blocks.
3-9-IND-29
Play: Manning in shotgun. 3 seconds of protection. Manning dumps off to Brown who gets 7 yards, but not enough for a first down.
NE Formation: Nickle (3 down linemen, LDE lined up in coverage on Wayne who is in the slot) .
Ind Formation: 3 WR (all left)/1 TE split right
– LDE blitzes and is picked up well by CJ.
– DeVan/Saturday double the LDT
– Linkenbach gets destroyed by the RDT (which causes Manning to dump off)
– Diem knocks the RDE to the ground.
Colts punt.
Impressions:
This drive was a perfect example of the things that have gone wrong the last couple of weeks for the Colts. The line play was atrocious and Manning is making bad decisions because of it. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know much about the offensive line, but on a team that seems terrible Linkenbach is showing up as the worst. His replacement of Pollak on the starting squad seems to make less and less sense. If there was anything to be happy about it was the blocking of Eldridge. He absolutely man handled his guys when asked to block. Unfortunately, that was not enough to make up for the ugliness of the rest of his peers on the O Line. Most concerning was Manning. He had 4 pass plays on this drive. 2 completions and 2 near INT. Of the 2 INT one might have been because of a weird throwing action, but the other was clearly a miscommunication of some sort (and I think it was on Manning). As a Colts fan, that is terrifying.
About The Author:
Kasey Klipsch ([email protected]) has no football experience above the grade school level. He grew up in Indianapolis rooting for the Colts and is a season ticket holder. He comments around the Colts blogosphere as kasey_junk. He also writes a weekly picks column for The Fantasy Ninjas (www.thefantasyninjas.com) under the nickname “The Real KC”.
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