Stampede Blue
Pierce was by far the biggest winner from Sunday’s game. There used to be a debate about whether the Colts should pay him, and what his value was. This was because Pierce could be fairly labeled as a one-trick pony in this offense, and if Mitchell was ready to get more playing time then there were no targets for Pierce. With Mitchell’s horrendous showing, Pierce’s value to this team is undeniable at this point.
Latu is now 3rd in the NFL in pass-rush win rate according to PFF.com. Those are elite numbers for a pass rusher, and his impact on games cannot be understated. Against the Rams he finished with a league-leading 7 total pressures, and forced Stafford into uncomfortable throws. The Rams’ quarterback gets the ball out extremely fast, so watch out for Latu next week against Geno Smith, who has the 5th highest time to throw in the NFL.
The Colts would be wise to treat Kenny Moore’s calf/Achilles issue with extreme caution, and even more so after how well Hilton played against the Rams. His familiarity with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo also helped ease the transition to playing once again, and he would be a valuable depth piece when (or if) Kenny returns to the playing field this season.
Pittman Jr. continues establishing himself as one of Jones’ favourite players to target, and so far this has been a top heavy passing game with MPJ and Warren getting close to 50% of the target share. The veteran wide receiver is clearly much better suited to play with a quarterback like Jones, and he scored once again against the Rams, his third touchdown of the season.
Adetomiwa Adebawore (Ade Ade from now on), continued his breakout season with a monster game against the Rams, despite playing just 29% of the total snaps. He finished with a fumble recovery, half a sack, a holding penalty drawn, and four total pressures. He is firmly established as a rotational defensive lineman on the team and should be featured more on the defense the following weeks if he keeps showing out like this.
Perfect day for Shrader, who finally managed to knock one over 50+ yards. After struggling with Matt Gay the past season, the Colts seem to have found their kicker. It also helps just how reliable he is from short range, considering the offense deficiencies getting the ball into the end zone.
Fumble at the goal-line while celebrating, key holding penalty negating a long touchdown run by JT, I don’t think I ever witnessed a worse game by a Colts’ wide receiver. So far Mitchell’s career has been a massive disappointment, and after a mistake as bad as that one, I doubt he will see the field much in the upcoming weeks.
Unlike Mitchell, I don’t think Howard sticks...
