Initial Reaction: Colts Dismantle Jaguars

Ah, the Jacksonville Jaguars. The cure for all of your team’s football woes. The Indianapolis Colts throttling of the Jags is just what this team needed to get back on track.

There isn’t much to learn from Sunday’s game. The Jags are still bad at football, and the Colts have a really good quarterback. Everything that happened, make sure you take with a big grain of salt (and keep that salt out for next week too).

Here’s what stood out from Sunday:

• This is exactly what Andrew Luck needed. He’s been a bit shaky with his accuracy the past two weeks, but he completed nearly 80-percent of his passes yesterday. Nine players caught two or more passes as well, which makes Colts receivers a black hole for fantasy.
• Can Ahmad Bradshaw start now? It is so painfully clear that he is the better running back and there are few reasons Trent Richardson should ever see the field. He’s a situation back at best and Bradshaw is infinitely better.
• Coby Fleener, where are your hands? Two bad drops Sunday, and the one in the end zone was baffling. I don’t remember drops being on his scouting report from college.
• I don’t care how bad a team is, hold your opponent to 55 total yards in a half is impressive. A number of three-and-outs coupled with a forced fumble in the first is unreal. So bad, the Jaguars had to move on to the rookie who was infinitely better.
• Despite scoring on every drive in the first half, the Colts offense left some points on the table. They could have easily turned the field goal drives into touchdowns but at times approached the game as if it were the preseason.
• Dwayne Allen needs to be used more effectively. He is more reliable than Fleener and way more dynamic than Jack Doyle. Case in point, Allen’s touchdown was the same route that Doyle scored on last week.
• The Colts still need to push the vertical attack. That means getting Donte Moncrief and Da’Rick Rogers on the field more (or at all). Allen and Doyle are better blockers than Mario Harvey. Maybe cut the fullback (Stanley Havili too) and activate Rogers for a game.
• The pass rush is still a mess. Yes, the Colts got pressure but there was no reason not to. The offensive line for the Jags is a mess and Chad Henne holds the ball too long.
• Some how, D’Qwell Jackson managed to cover a tight end. I still need to watch the tape to make sure that actually happened.
• No shutout means to game balls for the defense. The two touchdowns they gave up were incredibly weak and featured bad coverage, worse awareness, and horrid tackling. There are still big problems on that side of the ball.
• The CBS broadcast was horrible. The announcers were flat out bad and the production was even worse. The Colts were flagged for illegal contact twice on one drive, but we never saw a replay.
• Speaking of the illegal contact, I don’t know how you can get past the five-yard contact zone before Bjoern Werner is knocking the ball out of Blake Bortles hands and the Colts are getting a safety.

Expect the happy feelings about the Colts to continue for another week as they host the almost as horrible Tennessee Titans in Week Four. As bad as the Colts might be this season, the AFC South is worse.