<\/p>\n
Well, the moment we\u2019ve all been anticipating finally arrived.\u00a0 New coach, new philosophy, plenty of new players, and, of course, Andrew Luck.\u00a0 There had been times when all but the most hyper-positive (read: unrealistic) Colts fans wondered if we would ever see Luck take another snap.\u00a0 Beyond that, it was impossible not to wonder just how Luck would look in his first action since he celebrated a comeback against Jacksonville at the end of the 2016 season.<\/p>\n
Luck and the offense looked solid on their first drive.\u00a0 We saw some nice throws in the flat to Marlon Mack, a checkdown to Chester Rodgers, and a nice 3rd<\/sup> down conversion to T.Y. Hilton.\u00a0 Luck even took a hit on a scramble\u2026in a preseason game (nothing changes, apparently) and popped up looking pretty happy about getting through his first real NFL contact in quite a while.<\/p>\n The defense came out and showed us a little of their \u201cnew\u201d look.\u00a0 Well, new to them, anyway.\u00a0 It\u2019s a 4-3 with heavy doses of the Tampa 2 look.\u00a0 Skai Moore, a linebacker many of us have never heard of, had a nice pass breakup near midfield, but overall, the Seattle offense moved efficiently to their first score, taking a 7-3 lead.<\/p>\n After the Colts tacked on another field goal to make it 7-6, the Seahawks continued to move the ball easily before throwing a pick to Nate Hairston in the end zone.\u00a0 And that was the beginning of trade bait quarterback Jacoby Brissett\u2019s night (and the end of many fans\u2019 interest in the game – no slight to Brissett, who played as well as expected).<\/p>\n Before I recap the scoring by the backups and future CFL players, it\u2019s important that we recap what we saw from the starters.\u00a0 The defense didn\u2019t look like a very talented unit, but that was to be expected.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t look awful either, at least not enough to warrant a scathing hot take from me.\u00a0 I think this unit needs experience and talent, and they\u2019re going to get their experience.\u00a0 As far as the talent, they have some solid safeties, a CB with lots of potential in Quincy Wilson, and several young guys with something to prove.<\/p>\n The offense looked good for their two drives too.\u00a0 Luck took one sack but went 6\/9 for 64 yards, a 7.1 yard average, and an 87.3 rating.\u00a0 Not bad for the preseason, and excellent when you consider his long, grueling path back to the football field and all the uncertainty that surrounded it.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019ll see him missing receivers on the \u201cfilm\u201d later, but he looked like he was ready to play last night.\u00a0 He was alert and decisive and even celebrated taking his first hit, as only Andrew Luck would.<\/p>\n I hope we will see some more to be excited about out of Marlon Mack, since he\u2019s expected to be the starter \u2013 or someone, although Mack had a couple of nice receptions, and Robert Turbin had some nice carries.\u00a0 You want to see a running game that\u2019s strong enough to make the passing game more effective, and it\u2019s too early to make any judgments.<\/p>\n