The triumph of optimism over experience.
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The Colts got a touchdown late in the second quarter to head to halftime down 21-10.
With how competitive the AFC is getting, one game will probably be the difference between making the playoffs or not.
The Detroit Lions won their season-opening game in dramatic fashion.
Healthy skepticism from outside the organization. The Detroit Lions meanwhile are going through a complete change in their culture and identity entering Jim Caldwell’s third season.
“Only time will tell”. The Colts were in position to win the game because of Luck’s performance and because Prater missed an extra point when the Lions scored with 4:04 left.
-LUCK JOINS ELITE COMPANY: With 385 passing yards against Detroit, Luck passes the 15,000-yard mark for his career and joins Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas and Bert Jones as the only quarterbacks in franchise history to pass for at least 15,000 yards.
“We wanted to get a few other guys, a different personnel group in there, whatever it was and chose to call a timeout there and regroup and get back to the line of scrimmage. You have to be clean in that regard to give yourself a chance to execute”, Luck said, noting the goal is always to score 50 or 60 points a game.
Here are three things we learned from this game. “There is no other way to put it”. Injuries. Injuries. The biggest issue here is the lack of depth in the secondary. The return of Vontae Davis and Henry Anderson will help, when it happens. Nonetheless, this is a promising sign for a player whose ADP was in the sixth round.
Yet it was somewhat surprising to see the Lions still have all three timeouts left, considering Indianapolis drove down the field moments earlier for a touchdown to take the lead. Robinson’s absence pressed Rashaan Melvin into service at right corner in his first week with the team, with fellow newcomer Darryl Morris in the slot. Its first three drives consisted of 15 plays and generated 31 yards. Those are correctable errors, but it is still a major concern for a new defensive coordinator. They just gave me another opportunity and I’ve got to come through. Stafford wasn’t flawless – he’ll be the first to insist that – but the moxie he has always shown in late-game situations with his team needing a score to win showed up again. “That’s what we do all the time”.
Everyone else who watched the game from the sideline, couldn’t quibble with what they saw from Luck, though. He doesn’t believe he needed any more preseason reps than he received, and he’s comfortable heading into his first full year in Rob Chudzinski’s offense.
Osweiler’s day started with a hiccup when he threw an interception on the first drive, but soon got going and looked comfortable after that. “Yeah, we can look back and say it would’ve been nice to bleed a lot more time off the clock”. Luck was sacked twice and flushed three times but generally had a clean pocket.
One could argue Caldwell made the wrong choice to save all his timeouts after Frank Gore broke a 9-yard run to set up the Colts, who trailed by six at the time, with a first-and-10 from the Detroit 12.
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However, the fantasy value for each of these running backs comes through the air.
