Colts

[TriCitySam]

ESPN may need to rethink their projections.....

We've been so used to the Hawk's games being nail biters, no time to relax, painful to watch. I can't recall the last time we won a meaningful game so easy. Granted, the Colts aren't the Rams or the Packers, but we were in control the whole game and played well on both sides. Russell was outstanding!

[obiken]

I agree TS how long has it been since we had a big lead at the half. That 60 yard bomb was a back breaker.

[jshawaii22]

Jamaal Adams has been taking Cam Chancellor lessons on how to anticipate and jump. He must of scared the crap out of the Center on that 4th down snap fumble as he timed that leap perfect. Of course he also did it earlier on a blitz and just missed by a 10th of the second, and it cost us. I love it.

We now know a couple of things going forward -- (at least as much as one game can show)
I have to say that we now have a clue that Russell to Tyler and DK has not lost a step and having two good TE's is never a problem.
Carson looked healthy and ran hard, but not much push at the LOS slowed him down.
Russell, Brown and the others who had contract issues or other negative off-season news did not carry it over into the season... at all.
Our two young LB's looked really good today and therefore the answer to why we let KJ go. The potential is there.
We have a decent pass rush without Adams having to blitz his way.
Seemed that the protection with the OLine was OK, but Russell still spent a lot of time on his back. ( we have 4 games against Chandler and that dude from the Rams!)

38-3 Saints over GB. Love in at QB... and if Russell wasn't Russell, we could be them, too. Nice to watch the stadiums with crowds today.

[Aseahawkfan]

Nice to get a solid opening day win.

[trents]

Remember, Russ was being looked at for MVP the first half of last season and then faded big time. Will we see the Russ we saw today for the whole season?

[Aseahawkfan]

I'm going to worry about Russ fading the last half of the season after game 1? I don't think so. Russ threw 40 TDs last year. We went 12-4. I'll take that every year.

I'm more happy to see the defense start well. I was happy to see zero sacks from Jamal Adams and 3 sacks from our D-line from 3 different players. Pressure coming from all over is how a defense operates best.

Jamal Adams back in coverage managing the secondary is what I prefer we paid for. If Jamal Adams has zero sacks, but our pass defense is top 10 again then I'm happy with his contract.

[TriCitySam]

Agree with comment about TE’s. We historically under used them. Appears that may be no longer.

[NorthHawk]

We saw some really welcomed changes to the Offense yesterday beginning with better tempo and by that I mean the whole attitude of getting out of the huddle
quicker and with a sense of urgency. Many of us have been asking for that since Pete arrived. As well we saw a little of multiple plays from the same formation
and taking what the opposing Defense was giving us. On Defense we had a pass rush without sending LB's or DB's and Taylor flashed some promise. As well
Green had a good day on the Defensive Line. I was pleasantly surprised at the push up the middle, and if we can keep that up it will take a lot of pressure off
of our DB's. To me, Taylor stood out at rushing the passer and we saw what Pete and John liked from him when they selected him.

In all it was a good Offensive game plan and well executed. At times it looked like the Colts didn't know what play was coming at them and that's a refreshing
change. We will see if it's because there wasn't any video on our new Offense or if the play calling and system is just better than we are used to.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

It’s only Week 1, I sure do hope this a sign of things to come. Pleased the tempo and the play calling. Nice to see tight ends being thrown to and schemed to get YAC. Lockett and Metcalf abused them bad; The big plays came to them instead of being forced. Run game was solid.

The Dline played well, and that D Taylor sack was fun too watch. Adams wasn’t needed for pass rush at all and was employed on the blitz sparingly. Glad the O had to account for him in pass coverage as well as a potential blitzer.

I sincerely hope Waldron keeps it up and basically forces Pete to not worry about the O play calling. Having Waldron as the decisive hand in critical play calls should hopefully avoid delay of game penalties like the one in the WC last year.

[Hawktawk]

Very solid performance overall. DK had his latest stupid moment and i hope he gets that out of his system but loved the offense, other than our Prosise 2.0 Penney is done again with a calf injury. I hope Haskins is OK because that dude is sudden like Percy Harvin sudden. Carson looked like Beast 2.0 on the other hand slipping tackles in the hole and bulldozing defenders. The D looked good. I have a lot of respect for Frank Reich above all else with that colts team and they were a very solid playoff team last year. We played at ten in their house. Thats a hell of a win IMO. Very nice

[Aseahawkfan]

For such a big guy, Penny is brittle. I don't think he has the durability to make it in the NFL. He's done after this year if he doesn't get going.

[obiken]

For such a big guy, Penny is brittle. I don't think he has the durability to make it in the NFL. He's done after this year if he doesn't get going.

I agree!! Is it time to call him a bust?

[Aseahawkfan]

I agree!! Is it time to call him a bust?

He'll probably get a few more chances. I think if he doesn't get back in and start producing this year, he's done at the end of the year, maybe sooner if he goes on IR then gets an injury settlement. Another failed first round pick to add to the bunch.

[obiken]

Cowherd was big on Everett coming to the Hawks, I wasnt but you can't argue with his production Sunday, having him and Will is another weapon.

[NorthHawk]

We also saw some pre-snap motion more than in the past. It's got to help Russ know the best option at WR or if he should check out of a play.
I like the direction the new Offense is heading after this last game.

[jshawaii22]

I liked the "college" offense, where we go straight to the line of scrimmage, for us, this is all new. It's not really a 'hurry-up' but It gives Russ the opportunity to look at the defense and can call a play and go or Russ backs off, looks to the sidelines, reset with a new play and goes on. It's very college. Probably a little confusing and harder for the defense to change players or calls after each play.

[RiverDog]

I was at the game in person and we had pretty decent seats, high up but with a good angle across the field, which allowed us to see the game from an angle you commonly don't get at home on TV. As usual, the 12's were well represented.

We played well in all 3 aspects of the game. Russ did miss a couple of throws but when he did, he usually missed long in situations where there was very little risk of an interception. He did take a few sacks but none that I'd classify as avoidable and generally made good decisions and was the difference in the game. The first TD pass to Lockett was one in which had he thrown the ball where it was supposed to go, he likely would have had it picked, but he threw it slightly back shoulder and made Lockett adjust to it. He didn't even target Metcalf in the first half even though there were situations that might have called for it when he was matched up in a one-on-one.

Chris Carson looked as if he's in midseason form, running the ball with authority. Hopefully the one fumble, about the only flaw in the ointment during the game, was just an anomaly. I'm not sure why we didn't see any of Alex Collins. I still feel he's a better option, in both running and passing situations, than Penny, who is rapidly approaching the bust designation.

I was expecting the Colts to be more successful running the ball, but our defense did surprisingly well against the run, allowing just 113 yards rushing on 30 attempts. I was having nightmares about Flowers playing on an island, but he played well, particularly against the run as he made some nice open field plays. Both lines were dominant.

All in all, I was very pleased with all aspects of our game, but we do have to keep it in perspective. All 3 of our division opponents won last Sunday, two of which were blow out wins against playoff participants from the previous season. With a 17 game regular season and the playoffs not starting until the middle of January, it's going to be a long season.