For the first time in over a quarter of a century and in the new millennium, the “Old Oaken Bucket “ will reside in the Indiana trophy case at Bloomington. The Hoosiers and the Boilers engaged in an exciting slugfest at Memorial Stadium, which went into overtime. After the smoke cleared, Coach Tom Allen and the Homeboys had carved out a 44-41 victory over arch rival Purdue and finished 4-4 in Big Ten play. Congratulations to Coach Allen and his Hoosier football squad on a hard fought, well deserved 8-4 season and best of luck in whatever bowl game you are selected to play in. Congratulations to running back Stevie Scott, wide receiver Nick Westbrook, offensive lineman Coy Cronk, safety Marcellino Bell, and place kicker Logan Justice for being named to the All-Big Ten team. You made the Indiana State proud. Oh, BTW — the Colts might want to take a long look at Logan Justice in the off season.
Another Horseshoe Kicking Disaster
While Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans can’t totally be blamed on the Colts kicking game, it was a major factor in the loss. No. 4 who shall remain nameless missed on three of four field goal attempts and a yet another extra point attempt. Two of the three field goal muffs were blocked and one of those blocks was returned for touchdown.
As to the offense and defense, during the first half, the Horseshoe defense had Titan quarterback Ryan Tannehill on the run, sacking him five times and hitting him five more times. The Colts offense was going through the air and Jacoby Brissett, capitalizing on a Titan fumble, found tight end Jack Doyle for a 21 yard touchdown. Doyle has become the team’s most consistent player as a receiver and a blocker. At the half the Colts held a 10-7 lead.
The second half was a different story. After taking the kickoff, the Colts marched down the field and fished the drive with a 1 yard touchdown run by Nyheim Hines. After that the Titans took control. Tannehill shook monster running back Derrick Henry lose and Henry proceed to shred the Colts defense. Henry is having an All Pro season and the Colts had no answer for him. Tannehill has found his groove with the Titans and has become the leader they have been looking for. The Colts fell apart and with the special teams disaster the Colts simply got whipped. The Horseshoe is now 6-6 on the season and 3-2 in the AFC South.
What we know about the Colts at this point is, first, the kicking game is a total disaster. We are sadly embarrassed for #4 as everyone has realized he played one year too long. Even his Hall of Fame standing may be affected Second, the receiving corp is not on a standard NFL level. TY Hilton is in his 8th NFL season; age plus injuries are starting to affect his play. The rest of the receivers would probably not make the roster of most NFL teams. Third, the defense is in need of help in the interior defensive line and at cornerback. The Colts defense can stop the run. Fourth, Jacoby Brissett is not the long range answer at quarterback. He is done as well as can be expected but he is not a franchise quarterback by any stretch of the imagination. Drafting a franchise quarterback is job one for GM Greg Ballard.
The next game is this Sunday against the surging Tampa Bay Bucs in FLA. The Colts are a three point underdog. After that they meet the Saints in New Orleans, so it just gets tougher. On the bright side, there are some good quarterbacks available in the 2020 draft.
snicewanger@yahoo.com