Colts vs. 49ers Recap: Colts inspire some hope

The Colts played their third preseason game against the 49ers. It was the dress rehearsal for the regular season, so how did the team look?

The Colts played their dress rehearsal tonight against San Fransisco. The starters more than likely played their last preseason game. There were some things that I was anxious to see, and I was impressed with some of the things I saw.

Andrew Luck looked really good. The quarterback needed to show that he could play well for a few series, and he did. He threw a nice touchdown pass to Eric Ebron in the second quarter, and went 8-10 for 80 yards. He was very efficient and did have a deep throw, which was something we needed to see.

The offensive line continues to concern when it comes to the tackle position. Anthony Castonzo is still out, but the right tackle position is a debacle. They are still looking for a starter and it doesn’t look like anyone wants it. Austin Howard started today and looked horrible.

Luck needs better protection from those tackles, otherwise he isn’t going to be as effective as he can be. If he gets enough time, he can pick apart any defense he sees. But so far, he hasn’t been given that protection.

The defense actually played better. They still have some issues stopping the run and give up some big plays, but the starting unit held the 49ers to only 6 points. Malik Hooker had a good debut and the Colts are really glad to have him back. They have a bend but don’t break mentality, and it worked today.

Another interesting thing was that Nyheim Hines did not return a single punt. The Colts had Chestert Rogers and Zach Pascal back there for those duties. It seems Reich is tired of having Hines fumble the ball and decided to make a change.

There are still some areas of concern, but the team will definitely be improved from last season. They have shown that they are going to fight in every game this season, and they will win more games than they did last year.