It’s time to fix it.
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National Football League games often develop their own personality and if you were watching the Indianapolis Colts and the Detroit Lions battle on Kickoff Weekend, you certainly got the feeling that the last team with the ball was going to win it. For the game, he had 385 yards and four touchdowns, but for the Colts to compete, they need that running game early and often. Can the Lions get off to a hot start? “Guys have taken it upon themselves to make sure we are ready to go in practice, and we have to translate it into the game”. But, it was running back Theo Riddick who was the most impactful of the Detroit RBs. “Let’s see how good we are”.
Luck was only part of the problem, though. He threw 10 passes to Abdullah and Riddick and they caught all 10 passes and gained 120 yards and scored two touchdowns.
THEY SAID IT: Stafford on his confidence in Prater: “No sweat”.
That was nothing compared to the Lions’ plight.
But oh, those bad starts.
Stafford’s fiery demeanor was a welcomed sight for those clamoring for more passionate leadership from the quarterback position, but coach Jim Caldwell has never questioned Stafford’s ability to lead. The next step is getting an opening-day win on the road.
Undaunted, Abdullah strapped on his helmet and followed Matthew Stafford onto the field. That’s a far cry from how he played last season, when he was 2-7 as a starter and missed seven games with injuries.
Stafford and Luck have plenty in common.
What they got was a glimpse of the quarterback who made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons.
“The stuff you can control – the penalties, the sins as you call it, the don’t dos”. Don’t run before you catch the ball, and don’t worry about the clock until you score.
What this really tells us is that Andrew Luck will be good this season, he will put some impressive numbers, but his team is no longer the best team in their division.
At least two of the Colts’ defenders accepted the blame for the setback, despite the defense lacking some starters, including cornerback Vontae Davis. 2nd and 10 from the 12 means the Colts could have run seven more plays in the final 1:15. Pagano remains hopeful defensive end Kendall Langford (knee surgery) will extend his streak of consecutive games to 129. Green and Robinson did not, and Green is scheduled to undergo more evaluation Monday. The full unveiling comes Sunday. The Lions had to use their final timeout, which severely limited their option on the next play. His intensity was on high during the fourth quarter and you could tell he was heated.
CALDWELL’S RETURN: Since Caldwell was sacked by the Colts in January 2012, he has visited Indy several times for the NFL’s annual scouting combine.
They watched some precious extra time drain off the clock because of it, and didn’t get the ball back until 37 seconds remained.
“We have a system in place”, Caldwell said. “It is going to be fun”.
“We don’t want it to set a tone for the season”, Luck said. They travel to defending Super Bowl champion Denver on September 18. Don’t look for Ezekiel Ansah to be enough of a difference to slow down the hyped-up Colts offense.
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Officials stopped the clock temporarily for a replay review after the Colts picked up 6 yards on second down. At halftime, the Colts will celebrate IN athletes who competed IN the Rio Olympics.
