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The Colts have released 27-year old DE Antonio Dixon. Dixon played in 2 games for the Colts this year and he had 1 tackle. Dixon has now played in 37 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 51 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed. This isn’t much of a loss for the Colts moving forward.
The Colts have released 30-year old RB Mewelde Moore. Moore played in six games for the Colts this year and he carried the ball 9 times for 14 yards (1.6 ypc). Moore also caught 4 passes for 36 yards (9.0 avg) with a TD grab and he also returned 3 kickoffs for 50 yards (16.7 avg) this year for the Colts. With Donald Brown back and Vick Ballard stepping up, the Colts just couldn’t justify giving Moore a roster spot any longer. Moore should be able to hook on with a new team, but the Colts won’t miss him too much.
The Colts became the first team with the new O.T. rules in place to win the coin toss and score a TD on the opening possession to win the game! Andrew Luck took the Colts on a 9-play, 76 yard TD drive in O.T., which finished up with a 16-yard TD grab by RB Vick Ballard. Andrew Luck completed 26 of 38 passes for 297 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT. He also carried the ball 6 times for 28 yards (4.7 ypc) in this game. Donald Brown led the way on the ground for the Colts with 80 yards rushing on 14 carries (5.7 ypc). Vick Ballard pitched in with 12 carries for 55 yards (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 16 yards for the game winning TD. Delone Carter pitched in with 2 carries for 8 yards (4.0 ypc) with a TD run in this game. WR Reggie Wayne (7 rec, 91 yards), TE Dwayne Allen (4 rec, 56 yards), WR Donnie Avery (4 rec, 42 yards) and T.Y. Hilton (5 rec, 35 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Colts. The Colts finished up with 171 yards rushing on 34 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 38 passes (68.4%) for 286 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:56.
The defense played pretty decent for the Colts yesterday. LB Jerrell Freeman (14 tackles), CB Jerraud Powers (10 tackles) and safety Antoine Bethea (8 tackles) led the way for the Colts on D in this game. The Titans finished up with 112 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 29 passes (75.9%) for 227 yards. The Colts are now 4-3 on the year.
The Colts won a hard fought battle with the visiting Cleveland Browns last weekend, 17-13. But they hit the road this Sunday and things have not gone well for them away from home. The Colts are 0-2 on the road this year where they have been outscored 76-30! The Titans return home this weekend after beating the Bills 35-34 in Buffalo last Sunday. The Titans are 2-1 at home this year where they have been outscored 98-83! Here is a look at the matchups in this game:
When the Colts have the ball: The Colts are definitely going to come out throwing the ball against a Titans’ D that has given up 16 TD passes, an opposing QB Rating of 108.2 and 281.4 yards passing per game. The Titans don’t have much of a pass rush, so Andrew Luck should have plenty of time to throw the ball. Reggie Wayne could be in line for another huge game, but Luck will also want to keep Donnie Avery, T.Y. Hilton, Coby Fleener and Dwyane Allen involved in the passing game. Rookie RB Vick Ballard is going to draw another start for the Colts this week and he could be somewhat effective as the Titans are giving up 134.7 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.
When the Titans have the ball: The Titans are going to come out running the ball with Chris Johnson (286 yards rushing, 7.7 yards per carry the last two weeks) against a Colts’ D that is allowing 141.7 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry. If Johnson is revved up, it’s going to make veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck pretty deadly off of play action. He has solid receivers to throw to in Kendall Wright, Nate Washington, Jared Cook., Damian Williams and Kenny Britt. The Colts will have to find a way to get pressure on Hasselbeck, or they are going to give up a lot of points in this game.
PREDICTION: TITANS 31, COLTS 20
28-year old WR Donnie Avery only played in 8 games in 2010 and 2011 in which he caught 3 passes for 45 yards (15.0 avg) with 1 TD grab. That was because his knees were bugging him big time. Avery has now played in six games for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 25 passes for 304 yards (12.2 avg) with 1 TD grab. Andrew Luck has only completed 25 of 54 passes (46.3%) to Avery so far this year, but he is clearly the QBs second favorite receiver on the team behind Reggie Wayne. The Colts hope that Avery can stay healthy the rest of the way in 2012.
23-year old QB Andrew Luck is proving that he is a winner lately. The Colts are 2-1 in October and Luck has had a lot to do with it. Luck has played in 3 games so far in October and he has completed 69 of 128 (.53.9%) for 828 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs. He also has carried the ball 10 times for 35 yards (3.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this month. Luck has now played in all six games for the Colts so far this year and he has completed 134 of 250 passes (53.6%) for 1,674 yards with 7 TD passes and 7 INTs (72.3 QB Rating). Luck has also carried the ball 20 times for 115 yards (5.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this year. The most impressive thing about Luck’s performance to me is that he doesn’t have much of a running game to help him. The Colts are only averaging 96.5 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.
The Colts were kind of lucky that the WRs of the Browns couldn’t catch some perfect passes that hit both of their hands late in the 4th quarter. Andrew Luck wasn’t too sharp today as he completed 16 of 29 passes for 186 yards without a TD pass or INT. He also carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs, but he also lost a fumble. Vick Ballard led the way on the ground for the Colts in this game with 84 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.2 ypc). He also caught 1 pass for 19 yards in this game. Delonte Carter pitched in with 11 carries for 41 yards (3.7 ypc) in this game. WRs Reggie Wayne (6 rec, 73 yards) and Donnie Avery (4 rec, 46 yards) led the way for the Colts in the passing game. The Colts finished up with 148 yards rushing on 37 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 29 passes (55.2%) for 173 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:21.
The defense was solid against the run, but not so good against the pass today. Safety Antoine Bethea (6 tackles), LB Jerrell Freeman (6 tackles) and CB Jerraud Powers (5 tackles and 2 passes defensed) led the way for the Colts on D in this game. The Browns finished up with 55 yards rushing on 17 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 41 passes (61%) for 264 yards in this game. The Colts are now 3-3 on the year.
The Colts got crushed 35-9 in New Jersey against the Jets last weekend. But they are returning home this Sunday, where they are 2-1 on the year. The Browns broke the seal in Cleveland last weekend, beating the Bengals 34-24. The Browns are 0-3 on the road so far this season. Here is a look at the matchups in this game:
When the Colts have the ball: The Colts are a passing team, pure and simple. Andrew Luck is going to have to get rid of the football quickly and accurately as the Browns already have 15 sacks and 10 interceptions so far this year. Luck has to be cafeful not to force the ball to WR Reggie Wayne in this game as the Browns are likely going to put CB Joe Haden on him. This could be the game where Luck really uses his TEs a lot as the Browns don’t have a lot of talent at safety. WRs Donnie Avery and T.Y. Hilton are also likely to be open quite a bit on Sunday. RB Vick Ballard could have his best game of the year this Sunday against the Browns, as they are giving up 131.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.
When the Browns have the ball: The Colts’ D is going to have to tighten up the chinstraps this weekend, as the Browns are a physical offensive unit. Look for them to come out running the ball with Trent Richardson and Montario Hardesty against a Colts’ D that is giving up 159.0 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry so far this year. If the Colts don’t get a good pass rush on Brandon Weeden, he’s going to have a good day throwing the ball against them. The Colts must give safety help to whichever CB is responsible for covering rookie WR Josh Gordon.
PREDICTION: COLTS 21, BROWNS 20
24-year old Coby Fleener and 22-year old Dwayne Allen have given the Colts pretty solid work so far this year. Fleener has played in 5 games so far this year for the Colts and he has caught 17 passes for 181 yards (10.6 avg). Allen has played in five games for the Colts and he has caught 12 passes for 109 yards (9.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year. Andrew Luck has completed 29 of 47 passes (61.7%) thrown to his rookie TEs so far this year. The Colts are expecting even more out of their TEs as this season goes on.
The Colts have claimed 23-year old TE Weslye Saunders off waivers from the Steelers. Saunders played in all 16 games for the Steelers last year and he caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg) with 1 TD grab. He also has 2 tackles last year for the Steelers. He will help them out on running plays as he is a solid blocker, but not much of a receiver. The Colts waived 24-year old rookie QB Chandler Harnish to make room on the roster for Saunders.