The much anticipated return of Andrew Luck finally game last night, as did the debut of Frank Reich, a brand-new coaching staff, and the Colts’ rookie class. Here are some first impressions from last night’s win in Seattle:
Luck looks sharp
After 585 days away, you knew that Luck would be a little rusty, but he appeared to hit the ground running quickly. His first pass was a short completion to Marlon Mack and he even took his first hit (gasp!) since January 1st of 2017. Luck finished 6-9 for 64 yards in leading two field goal drives.
Where are the wideouts?
Something I was looking forward to last night was seeing some of the members of a hotly contested wide receiver depth chart battle. Instead, Luck mostly targeted TY Hilton (for times) and no one else really did anything.
Defense remains a concern
Russell Wilson dunked on them during a way-too-easy opening touchdown drive, and backup Austin Davis was about to do the same before an ill-advised endzone toss that resulted in an interception. There’s not much reason to believe this unit is going to be anything other than a mediocre to poor group.
Ridgeway and Simon stand out
Many feel that Hassan Ridgeway, part of Ryan Grigson’s final Draft class, could be on the outside looking in when it came to making the 53-man roster. John Simon, a poor schematic fit for a 4-3, may have been on the chopping block, too. Last night may not completely change things for those two, but it certainly can’t hurt. The duo accounted for 3 1/2 sacks combined and looked to be very comfortable in Matt Eberflus’s new defense.