Colts at Eagles: Studying the Tape

While the Indianapolis Colts put forth a horrible performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. Not that it really matters in the grand scheme of things. There was plenty of tape to watch, some good, and a lot bad.

The biggest thing that stands out after watching the tape is just how difficult it is to broadcast the Eagles offense. Not only is it tough to defend, but the fast paced play means that replays have a good chance of cutting into live action. There isn’t time for reaction shots, and apparently the local Fox affiliate didn’t get the memo. A number of plays are cut off or badly framed, making it hard to study the broadcast footage.

There is a lot more to take in from this return to the football field:

• Luck targeted Dorsett a lot. Three of Andrew Luck‘s first five passes (he only had six attempts) went to rookie Phillip Dorsett. This looks like it was by design as the coaches know what to expect from Andre Johnson and the tight ends. Dorsett made the most of his targets from Luck, but we never really got to see him take the top off the defense.
• Zurlon Tipton is decent with space. He probably had too many carries on Sunday, but when the blocking was decent Tipton did a good job with the ball in his hands. But he’s not anything special. Dan Herron is faster and Josh Robinson is more elusive (and can break all the tackles). We don’t know what Vick Ballard will offer yet, and it might be another week before he gets suited up for a real-ish game.
• Speaking of Robinson. The rookie was even more impressive after a second look. He had two great blitz pickups and while his technique needs work, he’s definitely a willing blocker (which he’ll have to be with Luck at QB). We knew Robinson could break tackles, but on his touchdown run he used his elusiveness and made three defenders miss. The first of which was the defensive tackle who should have blown up the third down run in the backfield.
• The offensive line is a mixed bag. On a positive note, the offensive line looked very good when it came to pass protection (and that is so much more important than anything else). But the run blocking needs a lot of work. Running backs will either need to be quick (Herron) or powerful (Robinson) or both (Frank Gore) to get yardage behind a spotty line.
• Bad angles and over pursuit was a killer for the defense. Henoc Muamba overran the Eagles second touchdown badly and it created a huge lane for Kenjon Barner (he simply didn’t stick with his assignment). Greg Toler defended the sideline on a five-yard curl instead of spearing the receiver.
• There is some depth on the defensive line. Earl Okine, Zach Kerr, Kelcy Quarles, David Parry, and Henry Anderson all made some impressive plays late in the game. The did a good job of either making the QB move, hitting him as he threw, or creating space for the linebackers to make a play. Yes, it was against third stringers, but they were struggling and constant winning at the point of attack.
• Tim Tebow is not good. Some people are building him up as having a great afternoon, but it was ugly to watch. He completed 4-of-5 passes on his first drive, but it would have been more surprising if he hadn’t completed them to wide open players. Tebow was also bailed out on a few passes by his receivers. And then there were the drop back scrambles. Tebow turned a short loss into a bigger loss when he could have thrown the ball away. Overall, it was a rough outing, but about what you’d expect from a bad player after two years away from the game.
• The penalties were perplexing. Both teams saw drives die due to untimely penalties that were complete legitimate. However, there were a number of calls that made no sense. This isn’t to complain about the officiating, just pointing out some curious calls. It’s preseason for everyone.
  • Matt Hasselbeck was hit with a false start, but his cadence drew a defender offsides (he didn’t flinch or move, not sure why it was called). Luck does this once per game, and did so on the second series using an offsides to take a deep shot to Dorsett.
  • Guard David Arkin was hit with an unnecessary roughness call after falling on a defender as the whistle blew. He was blocking and clearly lost his balance as the play ended.
  • Dewey McDonald was flagged for unnecessary roughness for hitting Tebow below the knees…which wouldn’t have happened if Tebow hadn’t jumped as the threw the pass.
  • Kerr was also tagged with unnecessary roughness for a late hit. Junior Sylvestre had sacked Tebow, but the QB was fighting to get free as he was being pushed back. Kerr came in to help, and launched as the whistle blew. No time to pull up but he just rolled across Tebow, and even Chuck Pagano was incredulous.