Pockets of purple positivity

COLTS 12
VIKINGS 10

With the vibes of training camp and a 33-6 drubbing by Denver last week all casting a shadow of doom over this upcoming season, all I wanted from the home preseason finale was some positivity. Some good things to latch onto. And I got that. 

Zimmer still sat some starters (Hunter, Pat P, Hitman, Jefferson, Dalvin) but a lot played. Most of the first team defense got out there, and looked very good. The big beef in the middle (Pierce and Tomlinson) and Bashaud Breeland were the standouts. I am fully in on this defense being a force again. 

The defensive depth had some standouts. Troy Dye had a pick six and nearly picked another. Chazz Surrat, Blake Lynch and DJ Wonnum had splashy plays. Kris Boyd stood out again, and has seemingly supplanted the mysteriously plummeting Cam Dantzler. 

We got to see the first team OL in action. Rashod Hill got beat badly for 1 sack but excluding that one miscues the unit looked excellent.

The offense was again pure vanilla. It's clearly just what they are doing in these games. Whether it was Kirk, Jake Browning or Kellen Mond it was just very bland and basic. Aside from a couple two minute drill scenarios there was no effort to throw beyond 5 yards.

Kirk played into the 2nd quarter but didn't do much. Of course he didn't throw for 8 touchdowns so the vultures will be out.

Far more genuinely concerning were the guys behind him. In the postgame Zimmer hinted they may be looking to bring in a veteran backup, and I get it. Browning looked hideous, missing basic throws by 10 yards and looking terrified by any rush at all. Chad Beebe bailed him out on a drive that netted a field goal, but at this point the only thing saving Browning's job is that he is vaccinated (I'm sure they could stash him on the practice squad without any difficulty). 

Mond got the whole 2nd half. It started with a fumbled snap and didn't get much better. He failed to lead a scoring drive. He looked terrified in the pocket too. He ran a couple times but it didn't seem natural. Look, I want to give him a chance, but I was against the pick to begin with and the early returns ain't good. 

The special teams had a mostly good showing. Ihmir Smith-Marsette looked explosive on returns. Colquitt had good punts. We had good coverage. Greg Joseph hit a field goal...but also missed a 50+ yarder so that all the chicken littles will focus on.

It wasn't stirring theater, even by preseason standards, but we got the arrow pointing up. Sounds like Zimmer will still play some starters a big in KC, and then it's showtime.

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