Stampede Blue
Some fans are already downplaying what the pass-defense managed to do yesterday, which is baffling to me. Mike McDaniel is a good offensive head-coach, Tua is at the very least an average quarterback, and Tyreek Hill / Jaylen Waddle form one of the most dangerous wide receiver duos in the NFL. Completely shutting down an offense like this deserves credit, especially after such a rough year for the unit last season, where it seemed like every opposing quarterback had a career game against us. Impeccable debut for Lou Anarumo as the defensive coordinator, and he will get a chance to follow up against a talented Broncos’ offense.
Bradley’s tenure in Indianapolis as a defensive coordinator can be summarized by a lack of creativity in a world where defensive coordinators were getting more and more sophisticated. No exotic blitzes, no surprises, nothing out of the ordinary. On new coordinator’s Lou Anarumo debut, I saw things I never saw from a Colts’ defensive unit. Nick Cross got a free-rush at Tua and got the sack, Kenny Moore forced a fumble on a strip sack, and edge rusher Laiatu Latu got an interception dropping into coverage.
I have said it before that this offense is much better built for a “game-manager” style of quarterback, and that in the past two seasons it’s best moments came with Gardner Minshew as the signal caller. Yesterday Daniel Jones completed over 75% of his passes, Richardson’s best number last year was 66.7% against the New York Jets. One game does not make a season, and Colts’ fans are understandbly cautious after being hurt so much over the last decade, but what we saw from DJ was encouraging, and something we have not seen from a quarterback in quite some time.
The last time a Colts’ tight end caught >= 7 passes was in 2022 when a then rookie Jelani Woods caught 8 balls for 96 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his pro debut, Warren looked like a ten-year veteran, constantly finding the soft spot in zone coverages, being a willing blocker, and beat an elite safety like Minkah Fitzpatrick in the red-zone on a play that should have drawn a DPI flag. Warren is just clearly on a different level, perhaps even two levels, above every other Colts’ tight end in recent history.
Field goal – Touchdown – Touchdown – Field goal – Field goal – Touchdown – Field goal. Rigoberto Sanchez saw the field just once, drawing a running into the kicker penalty that gave the Colts a free first down. It is the first time in this millenium that a team scores points on every single drive, which is a bit of cherry-picking because if you...
