As the Colts go into their bye week they are now 3-5 and amazingly can still be a factor in the ASC South title class. With a week off they can see most of their starters in place in the lineup and the injured players become available again.
Against the Raiders last Sunday, Andrew Luck had the offensive machine clicking on all cylinders. Jack Doyle was back off the IR and was the top receiver for the Colts with 6 receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown. In fact all the active Colt tight ends scored touchdowns. Eric Ebron grabbed a touchdown on 3 receptions for 37 yards and Mo Alie-Cox had a spectacular one-handed 26 yard end zone grab for the game’s opening score. This is the first time in NFL history that 3 tight ends on the same team have scored touchdowns in a single game. The offensive line once again played top drawer football and kept Luck upright and opened holes for the running backs. For the second week in a row Marlon Mack ran for one hundred yards. He totaled 132 yards on 25 carries and 2 touchdowns. He had a 49 yard from scrimmage, the longest since Joseph Addai a decade ago. Andrew Luck had 22 completions on 31 attempts for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns. At the halfway point Luck has 23 touchdown passes.
The Horseshoe defense was not nearly as effective as it had been in previous weeks. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr played his best game of the season, throwing for three touchdowns and running for one. There was no pass rush to hinder him. The Colts recorded no sacks and only rookie Darius Leonard scored a quarterback hit. Leonard did make 8 tackles and is still the league’s leader in tackles. The secondary was off its usual game and gave up the three touchdowns. But a win is a win.
The biggest moment came, however, in the first quarter when Adam Vinatieri kicked a 26 yard field goal and became the NFL’s all time point leader. Mr. Vinatieri now has 2,550 points scored. He’s a Hall of Famer for certain.
So the Colts have a week off and then meet the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 11 at Lucas Oil Stadium. In the second half of the season the Colts play at home 5 times. Also in last week’s article I wrote that the Colts had played the Bills on the road in Buffalo. They played at Lucas Oil. I profoundly apologize for this unpardonable error.
The Tragedy of Robert Wickens
IndyCar Rookie of the Year Robert Wickens was critically injured in a horrifying crash during the ABC Supply 500 Mile Race at the Pocono Raceway on August 11. Wickens has confirmed that he is paralyzed from the chest down and will not race again. He further says with hard work his condition could improve to the point where he might be able to walk again. Let us hope that this is the case.
The Pocono track has been brutal to IndyCar drivers in the last several years. Justin Wilson killed by a piece of flying debris in August of 2015 when another car crashed in the outside retaining walk on the backstretch. Ironically Wickens car owner and team manager Sam Schmidt was left a paraplegic after crashing while testing a race car in 2000 at the Disney World Speedway in Florida.
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