The prospect of falling to 1-3 after four games did not sit well with the Indianapolis Colts and they showed their resolve by handling the Tennessee Titans with relative ease, defeating their division rival by the score of 41-17.
This one was never really in question as Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck spread the ball over nine different receivers in route to 393 yards passing and four touchdowns. Afterwards he was more than complimentary regarding the options he has to throw to. “Great group top to bottom,” offered Luck in the post game press conference. “I think you can stack them against any team in the league, and I am confident our guys are very good.”
The Colts hopped on the Titans early and led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. The lead would swell to 17-0 by virtue of an Adam Vinatieri field goal, but the Titans would come to life a bit in the second quarter as they managed to put 10 points on the board, seven of those set up by a poor decision by Luck which led to an interception which gave Tennessee good field position. The Colts would counter with another field goal and took a 20-10 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The third quarter was a good one offensively for Indianapolis with Luck and company engineering two drives of 70 yards or more that produced touchdown passes to Reggie Wayne and Coby Fleener. The Titans would counter with an eight-play, eighty-yard march that led to a touchdown run to make it 34-17 after three.
The final stanza was a stellar one for the Colts defense as they allowed the Titans to possess the ball for just under two minutes total, suppressing any thoughts they had about mounting a comeback. Luck would toss his fourth touchdown pass to Ahmad Bradshaw allowing the Colts offense to post better than 40 points for the second week in a row.
Notes: Reggie Wayne continued to prove he is back from a serious injury with his assault on the NFL record books. Wayne grabbed seven passes for 119 yards and a touchdown which moved him to seventh on the all time NFL list with 1,024 receptions.
The Colts continued to run the ball relatively effectively with their rush by committee approach. Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Daniel Herron combined for 100 yards worth of rushing, giving Andrew Luck the balance he needs to be effective in the passing attack. Bradshaw continues to shine as he has quickly became a bargain, playing this year for less than $900,000.
Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano was quick to point out after the game his concern for the 11 penalties his team committed that led to 88 yards. He vowed to get that cleaned up moving forward. If the Colts are to make noise in the playoffs the mental mistakes must subside.
While the Colts dominated the time of possession and assembled great offensive statistics, there were some areas of concern beyond the aforementioned penalties. The Titans averaged 5.3 yards an attempt on the ground when they had the ball and there were a number of times when Tennessee receivers beat the Colts secondary to get wide open but did not get the ball delivered to them.
The Colts face a tough challenge when the Baltimore Ravens visit Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend. The Game kicks off at 1 p.m. and can be viewed on WISH-TV locally. You can also tune into Colts play-by-play announcer Bob Lamey’s radio broadcast on 107.5 FM.
Danny Bridges, who thinks the Colts secondary is the key to victory against Baltimore, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
