Preseason #2 Review-U is for Ugh

As always, I’m not going to waste too much time dwelling on last night’s “action”.  Here are the few observations I have:

• I’m no Ugoh apologist, but I have always suspected he might be a player.  Though the Colts did have one nice run by Brown to his side, frankly three false starts are unacceptable.  18to88 reader Cass put it like this last night, “When I said I wanted him to be more like Tarik Glenn, that’s not what I meant!”.  Ugoh has been given every opportunity to win the left tackle job and just refuses to take it.  I couldn’t be more disappointed about what seems to be a lack of preparation mentally.
• Last night I thought the line looked bad in the first quarter, but the Colts STILL put up two touchdowns.  I’m telling you, O line play is overrated in the new NFL.
• Brody Eldrige is going to be a fan favorite for a long time.
• Moore did a nice job returning kicks, but don’t get too excited about preseason returns.  There’s always lots of auditioning going on on both sides of the ball.
• Brown showed some life in his step.
• Fisher and Lambert played well in coverage. In don’t think corner depth is really an issue. I’ve never been too worried about it.
• I’m glad Painter played well if only to quell what is a boring and pointless debate.  Backup QB doesn’t matter, so I’d just as soon have everyone feel ok and move on.
• The run D was weird all night, but Session didn’t play with the starters.  That’s a big guy to have out.
• Westside Rob wrote me concerned with Jerry Hughes:

I’m not expecting sacks at this point. But I’m not even seeing flashes of potential. Chick is far outshining him. He was supposed to be ultra quick. Non stop motor. Great penetrator. I’m not seeing any of that. In fact he consistently has the slower reaction to the snap. Never once saw him shed a block. Was easily locked up at the line by 3rd and 4th string opponents. I know it may take time for him to develop but I remember how Freeney and M looked as rookies in their first camps and preseason games. They stood out. They seemed lightning quick. Everyone noticed them even if they didn’t dominate their competition.

I’m not worried about it yet, because at this stage rookies are trying to ‘think’ too much and aren’t able to play instinctively.  I don’t expect Hughes to play much early in the season (like Freeney in his rookie year).  I expect very modest contributions from him overall.  Still, it bears watching.

Overall, it was another week and another loss.  Next week’s game in Green Bay will be an excellent test of where this team is really at.