liny195
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Perhaps the greatest disadvantage from the Colts
« on: August 28th, 2019, 3:52pm »
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getting flexed to Sunday Night Football is the potential it creates for a short week to prepare for Wild Card weekend. The NFL often displays its infinite wisdom and awareness during the season so it was no surprise that it flexed the Colts and Titans to Sunday night and rewarded the winner by scheduling them to participate first playoff game of the weekend at 4:35 PM ET on Saturday.The late Sunday game meant that not only did the Colts not practice on Monday Jacoby Brissett Jersey , understandably, but they only completed a walk through on Tuesday. Look on the bright side, Houston and Indianapolis should be plenty familiar with one another so game-planning should be relatively straight forward. Resting players and having them physically ready for Saturday will be the challenge.Here is the initial Colts injury report from the walk through, which is more of a projected expectation if the team had actually held a full practice.The good news is that Ryan Kelly and Anthony Walker would both be listed as participating. If Kelly is able to return healthy on Saturday, it will go a long way to helping the offensive line continue to dominate in the trenches. The unit has done a relatively solid job of keeping J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney at bay this season but adding Kelly inside could allow the running game to grind things out and slow down the edge rush even more.Walker had the smallest statistical output of his season against the Titans after returning from a shoulder injury. One has to wonder just how much that nagging injury impacted his ability to make a difference in the game. It is encouraging to see that he would have practiced on Tuesday and it hopefully is an indication that he is continuing to improve.The biggest concerns for those who would have sat out from the practice are T.Y. Hilton, Tyquan Lewis and Clayton Geathers. All three players play important roles for Indianapolis and can make key plays to allow the Colts to advance against the Texans. As a precaution, Chris Ballard chose to waive cornerback Jalen Collins this week to make room for veteran defensive end Geneo Grissom. If Lewis is unable to play, donĄŻt be surprised if Grissom gets pushed into early action. The biggest question-mark for the week will be how Hilton progresses from his ankle injury. There is little doubt that he will play but he was clearly affected by the ankle all Sunday evening against the Titans. The more mobility he has and the less pain he experiences on Saturday, the more likely it is that the Colts passing offense can get rolling.While Clayton Geathers is likely one of the more underappreciated defensive players on the team this season, he fills a hybrid safety/linebacker role that no other player on the roster is particularly suited to play. This is important for Matt Eberflus and the nickel defense as he can rotate Geathers and rookie George Odum based upon down Reggie Wayne Color Rush Jersey , distance and game situation. Without him, Odum is asked to do a lot more and Houston will gain a bit of an advantage.Keep an eye out for the first official injury report after practice this afternoon. OverviewOn November 25, 2018 the Indianapolis Colts will host the Miami Dolphins In this week twelve match-up I sought to understand our opponent and get a better idea of how they may look to attack our surging Colts.The last five matchups between these two teams have resulted in a 4-1 record for the Colts. The last coming in 2015 when Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst led us to an 18-12 victory. This Thanksgiving we should all feel very thankful that we will never see Hasselbeck and Whitehurst in a Colts uniform again, but hopefully the result this Sunday is the same as it was in 2015. LetĄŻs figure out what we can expect in week twelve.Special TeamsKicker: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsJason Sanders was taken with the 229th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. Sanders played his college ball at New Mexico and despite the fact that most places named Ą°NewĄ± anything tend to be no better than the original, Sanders has had a good start to his NFL career. Sanders is 20 of 21 on extra point tries and 15 of 16 on field goal attempts. The only thing we have yet to see from Sanders is how deep he can go. His career long is 50 yards and his lone miss was from 50+. ItĄŻs crazy that Adam Vinatieri was playing in the league on the day Sanders was born (fun fact, Sanders and I share a birthday several years apart). Despite that fact I would absolutely take Vini over Sanders if I needed a game winner from 55 yards. Punter:Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY SportsMatt Haack punts a lot. His 51 punts are the fourth most of any punter in the league. Haack, to go along with his tremendous volume, is sporting a 16th ranked yards per punt at 45.2. Our own Rigoberto Sanchez has the sixth fewest attempts (33) with the twelfth best average of 46.1 yards per attempt. Haack is no Sanchez but itĄŻs hard to say how two extra punts per game would impact Sanchez's average. Haack isnĄŻt a bad punter but I don't expect him to consistently flip the field or pin Indy deep.Returner:Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY SportsThese Dolphins are something else. Jakeem Grant started the season as a phenomenal returner of both punts and kicks. However in week 10 he injured his Achilles and has been placed on injured reserve, along with the other half of their receiving corps. The only other players to log a return this season are Danny Amendola and Senorise Perry so one would assume that these are the players who are tasked with replacing GrantĄŻs production. Though, Amendola is nursing a hamstring injury while also being 33 years old and is officially questionable for Sunday. If IĄŻm Adam Gase IĄŻm not letting Amendola anywhere near special teams https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Rigoberto-Sanchez-Jersey , especially with how banged up these Dolphins are. I look for Perry to get the bulk of the return attempts this week and while anything could happen, I don't expect the Dolphins returners to heavily impact the game.Final Thoughts for The Week:The Colts, if they play at the level we now know theyĄŻre capable of playing at, will walk away with another big win. If for some reason the defense has an emotional letdown of sorts, the Dolphins just donĄŻt have the firepower to keep up with the Colts offense. The Dolphins defense just isnĄŻt good enough to stop the Colts offensive unit, with that said theyĄŻre in good company, the offense is firing on all cylinders. I am wary of my prediction, however. The last time I was this sure on the outcome of a game was against the Oakland Raiders and even though the good guys came out on top, it didnĄŻt look good for most of that game. PredictionDolphins 17Colts 31Draft WatchAs of right now the Indianapolis Colts are tied with 7 other teams with a 5-5 record. Tankathon currently lists the Colts as having the 15th overall selection of the 2019 NFL draft, but all of that could change drastically this weekend. If the following teams win their games the Colts draft position could drop all the way in to a six-way tie for the 18-24th overall pick in the first round.Teams That Need To Win:ColtsDallasHoustonSeahawksRavensBrownsNow I realize some people might look at this and think that having a lower draft position is a bad thing. It isnĄŻt. Even if the team isnĄŻt ready to contend for a Super Bowl title this year Marlon Mack Jersey , winning games in the back half of the season is a great sign for the season to come. Further we get to see what Chris Ballard does when his team finds a little bit of success. Does he continue to build with great drafting or will he struggle to find talent later in the first round of the draft? Time will tell but even if this team isnĄŻt on the same level as the Rams or Chiefs as of right now, that doesnĄŻt mean a worse draft position (aka wins), should be viewed poorly.Happy ThanksgivingI hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving, no matter what you're doing or where you are or who you're with today, no matter what else you do or don't have to be thankful for in your life, just remember that Thanksgiving is one of the best days of the year for professional football and we can all be thankful for that.
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