Live Game Blog

PRE-GAME

• We’ll be checking back in later tonight with a live blog on the Atlanta game. For the time being, I’m going to endure Wonder Pets while waiting for the Argentina/Holland Soccer game. How did my life come to this?
• Yikes, what a game. I’m pretty sure Aguero was on the take. That pains me because he’s an alum of my club (C. A. Independiente) and couldn’t have played worse. Taking him off the field was the best remedy. That should have been a 4 goal win, but I’ll take a spot in the semis against Brazil on Tuesday. If there is anyone left who doesn’t think that Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, I’d love to talk to you. In other news, Ming Ming helped rescue a baby camel!
• I just got home in time for the game. I took the kids to see Clone Wars. It’s probably way to intense for their age, but my third word was Star Wars, and I’m intent on indoctrinating them early. For the record, I loved the ‘film’. It’s really just the first three episodes of the new TV show cobbled together. I know it got savaged, but critics don’t know crap about animated movies. They loved Cars which bored both me and my kids to death. If you like Episodes 2 and 3 (no one likes Phantom Menace, even me), or the Cartoon Network Clone Wars Micro-series, then you’ll like this. It’s basically heaven for 10-12 year old boys, or 31 year olds whose development has been permanently arrested.
• Demond just calls to let me know that Joe Addai Fatheads are 50% off at target. Tempting.
• Favre goes 5/6 for 48 with a score. Next week’s “How big are Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy’s brains?” post could be fun. I really need to abbreviate that name. HBTTMMB?

1st QUARTER

• Great coverage on the opening kickoff. The truth is that the Colts have had poor coverage because they’ve had so many injuries. When your best players are out, you have to fill in with special teams guys, and then sign guys off the street to break the wedge. When that happens, the wedge typically breaks them instead.
• The King of Small Sample Sizes ripped off a nice run. It’s not encouraging to see these LBs give up big runs. Last week was a group of no ones. This week is representative of what our team will actually look like.
• It’s nice to see that running wide on the Colts is still a bad idea.
• Great pressure up the middle on 3rd and 1 kills a Falcons drive and forces a field goal. That’s basically mid-season form for the blue and white. 3-0 ATL
• It’s funny to watch Sorgi. Even as he completes a pass to Marvin, you are aware of how fast Peyton gets rid of the ball. Sorgi holds it an extra beat.
• Nice play by Sorgi, diving head first for the sticks. He looked like a guy playing for his job.
• The play goes no where and is made worse by a penalty, but you can tell Sorgi has done a great job working on ball fakes.
• The refs are still warming as well as they miss an obvious pass interference call that kills Sorgi’s first drive. The run game isn’t working, and neither are the screens. This is primarily due to teams not respecting the deep pass. The reason Edge and Addai never broke long runs is because the safties play so deep against the Colts. With a weak armed QB in, teams can be way more aggressive against the run, and can play Addai.
• Turner breaks another big run as Brackett jumps inside leaving a huge lane open. M Jax does a pretty job breaking up a pass on the next play.
• Nothing to do with this game, but why would the Pack only play Favre for a quarter? I’d think you’d want to give as much time as possible with his new offense.
• Clint Session blows up a play on 3rd and short to force another figgie. Yup, that’s our Colts D.
• What I just said about Sorgi’s fakes…forget it. He just botches one. Kid Joe gets popped on the next play. Gotta hate seeing that.
• AG is going to catch a lot of 3rd downs this year. Sorgi really does hang onto the ball forever, but he gets the first down, and the team is off the goal line.
• I love the Clark end-around. We ran it twice last year. Worked once, was ugly once. Works tonight.
• Ugh. Sorgi had 88 open and missed him by 5 yards. Almost no matter what, this is a good drive for him. The odds of scoring when you start inside the 10 are slim. He looks calm, and that’s to his credit.
• Wow, no one blocks at all up front and Addai is stoned on 3rd and 1. Surely we’ll go for it after the quarter break. Demond will take over for Q2

SECOND QUARTER

• Gutsy run by Addai on 4th and one at midfield. Loses his helmet, but is able to power forward for the conversion. Sorgi looks very comfortable on a deep lob to Reggie for a gain of 30. Sorgi has been better, but still not making decisions quickly enough. Field goal makes it Falcons 6, Colts 3.
• More solid kickoff coverage. Matt Ryan the rookie from Boston College is in at quarterback. Dawson just misses Ryan, but Marcus Howard finishes it with a Big Time Sack. Punt.
• Here comes Quinn Gray and Mike Hart. Hart right up the middle for six yards. A holding call on Hart negates a huge gain on the ground by Gray. Follows it with a HUGE third down conversion of 7 yards to Pierre Garcon. Good blitz pickup by Hart. Frenchie follows this with a crack back penalty. On first and 24 Rhodes gets half of it back with a well blocked run. Punt.
• THE GUZZZZZZZZ. Runs the muff back for a score. By rule he can’t advance the muffed punt, but it is still a huge recovery at the fifteen yard line. Tough 4 yards for Hart. There seems to be a legitimate battle brewing between Rhodes and Hart for the backup running back spot. Strange formation with Hart split out wide on the left side. Very strange. Fourth down and one. Incomplete in the endzone. Run the ball!
• Quickly third down for the Falcons. They get just enough. Next play sees some great pressure by Dawson. Nice rollout by Ryan, finds Roddy White for 15 yards. Not bad at all. Oooh. Dante Hughes fell down. Sure pick if he’s standing. Some good hitting tonight by the DBs. Hayden and Jennings especially. Time is running out. HAYDEN TO THE HOUSE. He nabbed that like it was Rex Grossman. Good looking effort. Just stepped out in front of the long pass to the sidelines. Colts 10 – Falcons 6.

HALFTIME ANALYSIS:
It’s pretty clear that we miss the Zombie on run D, and Sorgi certainly looked ready to fend of Quinn Gray for the #2 slot. Mike Hart blocked very well (despite a holding call downfield) and has to be considered a lock to make the team. Dungy continues to show disdain for winning these games, as the Colts evidently didn’t want to show what they’d really do on 4th and short (Hart up the middle, anyone?). The secondary continues to seriously lay the wood. There was some QB pressure by the D line, but it dropped off as the half went along. All in all, not a bad first half considering there are still two more pre-season games left.
Polian just called Mike Hart “the star of training camp” with a cat who ate the canary grin. I’d say big Mike’s chances of making this team are about 99%.
THIRD QUARTER:

• Someone needs to tell Chad Simpson that you don’t make NFL rosters by letting kickoffs bounce.
• Mike Hart starts off with two great runs (the second was called back). I think we all want to see him get 10 carries this half. The NFL game log gave him no gain on a carry, but it was really a bat down of a Gray pass.
• Tamme makes a sweet move to try and pick up the first, but the drive stalls under a flood of O-line penalties.
• The D-line keeps jumping offsides. Guys are playing for a job and are too quick off the line.
• Matty Ice gets his pass busted up on 3rd down. This Falcons team doesn’t look very good, does it?
• Quinn Gray gets sacked to end a drive. He has the “I’m going to do something crazy” look about him. Everyone will rest a lot easier in the Sorgi household tonight.
• Foster does a great job sniffing out a screen on pass on 2nd and 9. Great pressure forces a quick throw and a punt on 3rd down.
• During the break, I flip over to the Olympics and ask my wife if there is anything more boring to watch than the Women’s Marathon. She claims the men’s marathon is just as boring. I disagree. It’s shorter. There’s less of it to bore me.
• Quinn Gray is averaging 2.2 YPA Yikes. He looks like he has no idea what he’s doing. Bring on the Hefty Lefty. There is no way Gray makes this team.
• Dara Torres has man shoulders. I’m sorry, but I’m not buying it. Not even a little.
• Tamme will make this team and will make plays this year. Wow. He just ran a Clarkesque route for 47 yards on 3rd down.
• No sooner do I pronounce the death of Gray than he drives the team down inside the 20. Gray throws wildly on 3rd and 1. I smell another “Go for it! moment”
• Never mind, they let the rookie kick a real live NFL field go. Ok, so it’s not that real, but it was live. It was a nice moment for the young man.
• Curtis Johnson makes a nice play in the backfield on a first down run.
• Redman throws a dangerous ball on the line for a nice first down pass. It had some zip on it, or it would have been 6 the other way.
• Johnson blows up another run, and the boys blow up a draw play.
• Another offsides on 3rd down is rendered irrelevant by a crazy juggling catch by Loren Robinson of the Falcons. Seriously guys, just watch the ball.
• Good Lord. They are STILL running over on NBC. Maybe if the ran in water it would be more interesting. Or they could just roll Michael Phelps by on a cart. Or anything really. If you can’t be more interesting than the third quarter of a preseason NFL game, you are in serious trouble.
• Curtis Johnson is in the backfield on every play

FOURTH QUARTER

• Yeah, I’m still here. I’m either incredibly dedicated, or just like the sound of my own typing.
• A tipped pick keeps the Falcons off the board. I can’t believe it, but this team might actually win this game. I’ll be you a million dollars Dungy doesn’t attempt a FG unless there is no other choice. This is a 4 point game, and Tony doesn’t want another OT.
• Meanwhile the marathon misery is almost over. Man Shoulders swims soon. I know she’s wearing red, white and blue, but I feel creepy about rooting for her.
• The Pillsbury Throwboy, Jared Lorenzen is in and completes a deep ball to Frenchie. Sort of underthrown, but he got it there.
• Holy crap, he is flat chucking it. Another deep ball is completed, but the lack of a shove out rule costs the Colts a first and goal. Lorenzen is going DEEP. It’s good to see. We haven’t thrown those routes all day.
• I love watching Lorenzen run. It could be a reality show. Hey! Maybe that would fix the marathon! Women running from Jared Lorenzen. I’d watch that.
• The Colts jump offsides again, but this time I think the official missed a false start. It brings up a 3rd and short. An off target pass means a punt, but once again there is heavy hitting from the secondary.
• Another early penalty backs up the offense. It’s hard to get a read on these QBs when they constantly face unnatural down and distances.
• Brandon Condren picks off another tipped ball and runs it back inside the 20. Two picks makes for a nice night.
• Lorenzen throws late on first down. Sorgi continues to dodge bullets as Lorenzen GUNS a pass into coverage that hits off the WR and gets picked at the goal line.
• Nice penetration by Ferrell almost nets a saftey. More good pressure in the endzone makes for an incomplete pass.
• We have our first Colt down. Eric Foster, who is becoming an underground favorite among fans, limps off the field under his own power. He’s jogging off now.
• The Falcons throw short on third down and will punt. One good drive and this bad boy is O-V-R
• I thought Keith was hurt, but apparently he’s just been shoved to the bottom of the depth chart.
• KENTON KEITH CAUGHT A PASS! Then he picks up a first down. Let’s run out the clock and go home.
• No sooner does he do something good than he causes a stoppage of play, grabbing his hand. Maybe getting hurt and going on IR would the best thing for him. It beats being unemployed.
• Keith is running savagely. He desperately wants to keep his job, but something appears wrong with him.
• If the Colts don’t get a first down, we’ll test my theory on Dungy kicking a FG. I think he goes for it on fourth down. Why risk OT?
• Lorenzen throws it way OB. So here we go…and it’s a FG attempt. I’m shocked. Crossett bangs it home for a 16-9 lead. The offense ends the day with no TDs. Not a great sign.
• ATL trots out down 7 with no timeouts and the ball at the 34. Let’s hope for a quick pick.
• Instead it’s the sack/strip by Darrell Reid. The Colts come up with it and will run the play that has the all-time highest correlation with winning.

SUMMARY: Meh. I hate preseason. Sorgi played better than his counterparts. Mike Hart looked good. The D really needs Bob Sanders. We’ve finally endured three preseason games, and at least next week we’ll be rewarded with the first game at the Luke. We’ll be there, so there will be no game blog. We will dust off the 18 Plays Podcast after that one. Thanks for enduring with us to the end tonight. Unless you read this tomorrow. In which case, where were you? It’s not like it was a Saturday night or anything. Oh it was? Crap.