Under Review: Colts fall to Bills, 44-20

Aug 11, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) celebrates scoring a touchdown against Buffalo Bills cornerback Ron Brooks (33) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Buffalo defeats Indianapolis 44-20. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts were badly beaten by the Buffalo Bills in the preseason opener Sunday afternoon. It was a laughable effort from the home team that resulted in a 44-20 loss.

Its a preseason game, so the final score doesn’t matter. What does matter is the quality of plays on the field. There were good and bad plays all over the field, but overall the team was simply flat. So flat that owner Jim Irsay apparently let the coaching staff hear it. There is no indication he did this to Tony Dungy or Jim Caldwell when the team lost preseason games in bunches.

But this is a new era for the team.

First, some post game notes.

Backup linebacker Justin Hickman injured his foot, and its bad. Coach Chuck Pagano said that it will require surgery and he will likely be done for the season. Its a tough break as Hickman played a good game and was likely going to make the roster as a backup.

Cornerback Cassius Vaughn appeared to hurt his wrist, but the x-rays and MRI came back negative. He is listed as day-to-day. Hopefully Darius Butler can use this time to prove he should be the third corner on the depth chart.

Running back Ahmad Bradshaw was taken off the PUP list and moved the active roster. He should see reps in practice this week, or at least be in walkthroughs and drills. It might still be a couple weeks before he gets carries in a preseason game.

The Good

• TY Hilton. Hilton keeps showing that he is going to be a special player. His diving catch for a TD at the end of the first quarter was a thing of beauty. He burned the hell out of the defender, and then put forth a great effort to fully extend for the catch (in a preseason game no less). He is going to have his number called often this season and will be devastating across the middle and up the seam. He is also a threat to take the ball to the end zone on every punt return.
• Coby Fleener. Despite the fumble, he had a pair of very nice catches. They were the sort of passes that he dropped last season. If Dwayne Allen is out for an extended amount of time, Fleener will need to pick up the slack a bit. As for the fumble, that’s an easy fix, just get two hands on the balls sooner or learn to take a dive ala Marvin Harrison.
• Pat McAfee. He can punt the hell out of the ball. The local announcers were gushing about him, even going so far as to call him last season’s MVP (*cough* Luck *cough*), but he did have a very good game. He averaged 51.4 yards per punt and put the special teams in great position to make a play (but they didn’t).
• Delano Howell. The safety looked very sharp yesterday. He was better against the run, but made some good plays in the passing game as well. He led the team with 12 tackles, but was also in the game for 91 plays. He made the most of his snaps yesterday and if this level of play continues he should make the final roster.

The Bad

• The middle of the offensive line. Every offensive line player had a solid game, except for center Samson Satele and right guard Mike McGlynn. These two were putrid yesterday. They gave up a ton of pressure up the middle on passing plays and failed to open up holes on run plays. The Colts used quicker throws to help Luck out, but he was still under duress more than you’d like in a preseason game. Both players could be replaced by rookies once they get healthy.
• Chandler Harnish. He simply wasn’t very good. He has a bad tendency to stare down his target and even then didn’t always throw a very accurate pass. His lob pass across his body that nearly resulted in an interception was a really dumb mistake (one that should be worked out in college…freshman year). His pick six (that wasn’t a pick six) was the result of a bad stare down and a late throw. Yesterday didn’t inspire confidence in Harnish.
• Pass Rush? Was there a pass rush? I certainly didn’t notice one. EJ Manuel looked good, against second stringers and with a clean pocket. The Colts played a very vanilla offense and rarely blitzed. None of the defensive units were able to generate pressure. Third string outside linebacker Caesar Rayford came away with the only sack of the day, and he managed to force a fumble. He might be an underdog to make the roster, but that one play stood out. DE Ricardo Matthews was the only player to have a positive grade as a pass rusher.
• Kerwynn Williams. The rookie running back looked solid carrying the ball and finished with four carries for 21 yards. But as a return man, he struggled. He needs to learn when to take the ball out of the end zone and when to take a knee. In fairness, his blockers did nothing to help out his cause.

The Atrocious

• Special Teams. Man, was the coverage on returns bad. On three kickoff returns, the Colts gave up 181 yards, granted one was a 106-yard touchdown return, but still. The effort was awful from everyone on special teams (save the kickers and punter). With so many injuries to starters and second stringers the return units take the biggest hit, but even still these guys failed hard. Special teams isn’t hard, stay in your lane and stop the guy with the ball. The Colts couldn’t even do that on Sunday. When McAfee is booming 50+ yard punts with an insane hang time, there is no reason to not get to the return man. 

The first preseason game of the season is always something horrible, but a little more effort would have been appreciated. Fans should expect to see improved results in the coming weeks. If the team is still this bad in Week 3 of the preseason, then it might be time to worry. But Luck and other key players stayed healthy, and that is a win in the preseason.