The Colts looked very different without Peyton Manning under center. The team went through highs and lows with backup quarterback Curtis Painter, but the biggest low for Indianapolis came on defense, where Aaron Rodgers was able to passe all-over them with ease. Due to the Colts’ lack of pass defense, the Packers elected to pass on five of every six plays when their first team offense was in.
.
Here are some quick thoughts from the game:
.
.
.
.
Indianapolis Colts– Three Things of Note
…
● If you were to look at his passing line, the game didn’t seem to go that badly for Curtis Painter. While a few of his passes were too low for his receivers to catch, Painter was mostly accurate. However, with that being said, Painter had a knack for holding on to the ball for too long, which led to a sack, some throw aways, and some poor decisions making. In the two minute drill, he looked calm and poised, although it was against only half of the Packers' starting defense. While his play wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the rookies we've seen, it may not be enough to get the start if Peyton Manning isn’t ready to go in Week 1.
.
● Indianapolis drafted Anthony Castonzo to be their left tackle of the future and not only did Castonzo receive all of the snaps with the first team, but he looked surprisingly good. He didn't allow any pressures and was able to open up a few holes in the run game against the defending Super Bowl champions. The only area where Castonzo did not excel was when he got out into space on run blocking plays. There were three times where he was asked to block at the second level, and the defender was able to get away from him almost instantly.
.
● The Colts' secondary wasn’t exactly one of their strengths in 2010, and there were no signs of improvement in this game. Of the 23 times they were thrown against in the first half, they allowed 19 catches and a few of the incompletions were dropped by Green Bay receivers. It looked as if the Colts were playing to prevent the big play, but they gave up a lot of shorter passes that turned into significant gains as a lot of yards were accumulated after the catch. The Packers opted to spread the ball around rather than target any particular defender, making this a team effort of poor pass defense with no individual really standing out. Unless something can be fixed quickly, expect Colts to struggle against strong passing offenses, including division rival Houston.
.
Green Bay Packers – Three Things of Note
.
● This past week, it was rumored that Ryan Grant might not make the Green Bay roster. While those rumors died down once it was revealed that he took a pay cut, he looked to be expendable in this game. The Packers had Grant in on their first, third and fourth drives; but only as a two-down back. On the other series with the starters, as well as on all of the third downs, James Starks got the call. Nowhere to be found was John Kuhn, who I thought would have been in on at least some of those third down snaps. It’s unclear if the Packers intend to use Starks over proven pass blockers Kuhn on third downs in the future or if they just wanted to test him out more in that position.
.
● This week, T.J. Lang was officially named the Packer`s starting left guard. Instead of him rotating in and out with the first team like he has been doing over the past two weeks, he took all of the first team snaps. The Colts did not blitz all that much during this match, as they generally brought their four defensive linemen to rush the quarterback on pass plays. Typically, Lang was without a man to block, which forced him into helping Wells and Clifton on passing plays. This made it very difficult to evaluate Lang, as by my count there were only five pass plays where he was one on one in a block, and he allowed a pressure on just one of those plays.
.
● With Frank Zombo injured, it looks like the right outside linebacker job belongs to Erik Walden. Walden saw the full load of first-team plays until the middle of the second quarter, where he sat out a drive as Brad Jones replaced him. My main criticism with Walden, was that he was kept away from too many running plays where he could have made an impact had he been better able to shed his blocker. It wasn’t really an impressive game by Walden, but the Packers look like they are committed to him, at least until Zombo is back.
.
If the third preseason game is supposed to be the most telling, then this game told me the Colts will be in trouble if they don’t have Manning, and that their secondary isn’t very good. It also told me that the Packers pass game is back, and that they lack the kind of elite pass rush you would expect from a team primed for another deep run.
.
.
Follow Nathan on Twitter: @PFF_NateJahnke and check out our main Twitter feed too: @ProFootbalFocus
.
.
.
.
.
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.