The Colts took it on the chin from the Steelers this week in a real heartbreaker. Jacoby Brissett heaved two touchdown passes of 60 yards to give the home team a 17-3 advantage in the third quarter — one to Donte Moncrief in the first quarter and one to Chester Rogers in the third. Brissett has four touchdown passes on his nine total that are for 60 yards or longer. That’s the most in the league for this season right now. It’s also the most in a season for any Horseshoe quarterback since Johnny Unitas! Unfortunately for Brissett, he was smacked in a head-to-head sack in the third quarter and was pulled because of concussion protocol. And therein lies the rub. An obviously stunned Brissett was placed back into the lineup late in the fourth as Pittsburgh mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter. It didn’t prevent the Steelers from kicking the go-ahead field goal with just a few seconds to go. The Colts, however, have been accused of violating the league’s concussion protocol rule and there will be an inquiry. I think the team did break the rule then and they made a stupid and dangerous decision and should be punished for it.
Bye-Week
The Colts enter their bye-week this coming weekend. They don’t have a game scheduled and have a chance to get a bit healthier and work some more productive strategy into their final six games. On the good side, wideout Chester Rogers finally had that breakout game the Colts have been waiting for. The second year free agent caught 6 passes for 104 yards including that 61 yard touchdown against a tough Steeler secondary. The Horseshoe defense played its best game of the season but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. The bad: The offensive line was awful as usual. They just are not playing on even a minimal pro level. They can neither pass, block nor open holes for the run. A complete overhaul is needed for next season. Way too many stupid penalties. This shows a lack of discipline. An unnecessary roughness penalty against rookie cornerback Quincy Wilson for piling on after the play was dead — the Colts had stopped the Steelers on 3rd down giving them the momentum to drive for their game winning field goal. This has just happened way too much!
This and That
Henry Anderson, the team’s most productive and talented defensive lineman, once again has been put on the injured reserve. This is the third year the man out of Stanford has not been able to play a full season since joining the Colts. Andrew Luck is in Europe trying to find a specialist who can repair his arm to its former glory and heal the pain he experiences when he throws the ball Some “experts” are claiming that Luck has played his last game of football and will never take another snap. Cornerback Vontae Davis has been released from the team. Once a Pro-Bowler and the team’s best defensive player, Davis has seen his game performance tumble as injuries have slowed him the last several seasons. He was in his contact year and the Colts apparently didn’t want to resign him. The team has to pay out the rest of his current contract and cover any medical expenses he may have incurred this season
Wideout TY Hilton is the Colts nominee for the 2017 “Art Rooney Sportsman of the Year” presented to the player who most exhibits the most respect for the game and his fellow players and personifies the ideals of fair play and competitiveness. Frank Gore was the 2016 winner.