Going Dark

This will probably be your last 18to88 entry until Monday. Demond's wife had a death in the family, and I have a conference for work and will be unplugged for a couple of days. I've seen bits and pieces of the game last night, and will briefly share my thoughts:

1. Addai and Brown looked great (no surprise)

2. I watched the first series on D. I'm pleased with what I saw. They forced two fourth downs without the starting secondary, so that's a plus.

3. Whatever that was starting at RT will not be making the final cut. Yikes. It was hard to get a gauge on Ugoh because the RT was failing so miserably.

4. I hate preseason football.

So other than posting a few wrap ups in the links, I'll leave you all with this letter from Brett D:

I'm a big-time Colts fan down here in Dolphin territory - south Florida. I appreciate all the great Colts-bloggers such as yourself, IndyFootballReport, StampedeBlue, etc. I'm also an all-around football fan and I'm constantly listening to various sports radio shows and NFL blogs from around the country.

Monday I was listening to the Dan LeBetard show and he was interviewing former NFL great Bill Romanowski. I can call him "great" now because he's no longer playing. I always hated Romo as a player. In his linebacking days I thought he was a dirty player and a bully. But now that he's retired I can get past those feelings and appreciate the skill that he had and even appreciate him as a colorful interview. Much the same way I feel about as Bill Laimbeer and John McEnroe.

Dan LeBetard and his co-hosts were arguing all day about whether NFL players could actually still learn from their coaches once they've established themselves as league-leaders. This all started when someone recently spotted Miami Dolphin President Bill Parcells coaching up future Hall of Famer Jason Tayler in training camp. Parcells apparently hopped out of his golf cart and ambled over to J.T. and was correcting him on his hand techniques.

When LeBetard interviewed Romo later in his broadcast he asked him if there was anything a coach could tell a Pro Bowl player and to give him an example if that has ever happened to him.

He gave the example that when he was in Denver there was a linebackers coach there named Larry Coyer who found weaknesses in his game and set out to strengthen them.

Coyer noticed that Romanowski was a good blocker when blocking players with his right shoulder but had problems when having to use his left shoulder. He recommended that he work with Romo every day in practice with the blocking dummy using only his left shoulder. At this point Romanowski had already been to two Pro Bowls and was about 35-years-old. He said that a player is "never good enough - no matter who you are" and "you're never too good to be coached."

Bill Romanowski had some nice things to say about Larry Coyer in his book Living on the Edge. He wrote about Coyer:

"He was so smart, it was almost as if he learned the game at the shoulder of Vince Lombardi. By the time Coach Coyer had given out each week's game plan to his linebackers, we knew exactly how the opposing offenses were going to attack us. Coach Coyer could break down the other team's offensive strength, weaknesses, and tendencies and predict how they would correlate into Sunday's game."

Romo finished first and second on the team in tackles in the two years under Coyer as LB coach.

Those are some glowing words about our new Defensive Coordinator. I always liked Ron Meeks but always felt we needed a change. I'm excited about the '09 season I think if healthy, our defense will be turning some heads - and hopefully knocking of few of them off.

Thanks for that Brett. Be back on Monday, folks.

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good thing
written by Schultz950, August 15, 2009

they ditched the stretch play, eh?

Addai looked pretty good in his cameo, and Brown showed the same burst that made him a 2,000+ yard runner at UConn.

I don't know if the nerves were getting to Garcon, but I'm starting to think if Reggie/Gonzo/Dallas go down with injury, then the Colts are really screwed at that slot receiver spot.

...
written by Guy, August 15, 2009

That was Corey Hilliard at RT. And yes, he sucked. Tremendously. We still need to find somebody that can return kicks. McAfee is a cutup and will be a Colt for a long time.

That's about all I can say definitively after watching this game. I don't think Garcon had enough chances (that drop was disappointing, but forgivable).

Biggest concern? The offensive line. No question.

Ach
written by Bob M, August 15, 2009

So sorry to hear about a death in the fammily. It's usually painful and stressful (two very different things) if the decedent is less than about 75. The one plus is family tends to gather and share stories and hopefully celebrate the life that was lived.

I hope my fellow readers were watching ESPN just now, with my homeys (well, my kids'homeys) making it to Williamsport in the LLWS. The pitcher threw 11 Ks in 5 innings and allowed three runs in the 1st without allowing a hit (ugly fielding). The kid is a monster. 4 years ago we did not have a little league traveling team. Two of those kids' younger brothers have played ball with my 8 year-old and one of their dads taught him to pitch. Life in a small town....

Off to bake a birthday cake for the winning pitcher.

Despite being a Yankee fan, I am a realist about how scummy they can be; and the Pirates flat out suck. This is the first baseball game I truly enjoyed (my kids' aside) in at least five years. Go Islanders!