Thoughts On The Colts' Week 1 Victory

First off, how did the Colts win? I'm still a bit shocked. I'm not sure if the Colts are so good that they can play that badly and still win (if that makes sense) or if they just got lucky. The Colts gave up 196 yards on the ground on just 27 rush attempts from the Giants running game. That's right, 7.3 yards a carry. On the other hand, the Colts had 55 total rushing yards on 23 carries. Thats right, 2.4 yards a carry. That's pathetic.

To be fair, Joseph Addai looked solid on his seven carries. He averaged 3.7 yards a carry. He also had three receptions for 22 yards. He defiantly has potential. He is very quick to get to the outside. On the other hand, Dominic Rhodes looked awful.

So what needs to change?

• The Colts need Corey Simon back. I'm not sure if he is that important to the defensive line's run-stopping ability or if they are just that bad. If he is that important to it, why haven't the Colts been drafting run-stopping defensive linemen instead of our 10th 5'8"' defensive back?
• The offensive line collapsed on Peyton Manning more than I think most Colts fans would like to see. Manning did a great job of picking it up and stepping up in the pocket, but this needs to be fixed. This also killed the run game. John Madden used the word "penetration" 100 times, and he was right.
• The run game (see above)

And what looked positive?

• 3rd down conversions. On the first drive alone the Colts were 5-for-6 and finished 11-for-16.
• I ripped Terrence Wilkins and I apologize. He was great, averaging nearly 30 yards a return. Although his one punt return was for only 1 yard.
• The kick coverage was great also. A rarity in Indy.
  
• Manning was Manning. Marvin Harrison was Marvin Harrison. Reggie Wayne was Reggie Wayne.
• Adam Vinatieri gave me confidence that I've never felt in a Colts kicker. He nailed 4 out of 4 with no doubt.

The game was definitely full of week 1 mistakes, but a win is a win. At least the Colts play the Texans next. I think we'll see a much better Colts team this week.