Injury Update: Jack Doyle

Tight end Jack Doyle has been placed on the injured reserve with a season ending kidney injury. This is a tough loss for the Colts. After missing extended time with a hip injury earlier in the season, Doyle had come back to be an effective part of the Colts offense during their 5 game winning streak. Since returning against the Oakland Raiders on October 28th, Doyle had compiled 17 receptions for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. While Doyle has been known to be an effective pass catcher, his true value is as a pass blocker. Pro Football Focus rated Doyle as the #1 pass blocking tight end in the NFL this season. Doyle finishes the year with 26 receptions, 245 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Luckily for Indianapolis, they have good depth at the tight end position. Eric Ebron is having a career best year, as he’s racked up 11 receiving touchdowns (tied for first in NFL). Eric Swoope and Mo Alie-Cox have also been good in limited action. Alie-Cox has collected 6 receptions for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns on the year, while Swoope has come off the practice squad several times this season to grab 7 catches for 83 yards and 3 scores. Both Alie-Cox and Swoope were injured during last week’s game against Miami, but head coach Frank Reich is hopeful that at least one of the two returns this Sunday when the Colts face the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Photo Credit: Indianapolis Star

Inactive list for the Colts grows to 9

Both cornerback Nate Hairston and standout rookie linebacker Darius Leonard have been listed as OUT for Thursday Night Football. This leaves Indianapolis extremely vulnerable. Already missing other stars, such as wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle, Indianapolis has become a shell of what they were just a few days ago. The Colts are only able to dress 44 players tonight due to the barrage of injuries (46 are allowed).

Good news however, left tackle Anthony Castonzo will make is season debut, after missing the first four weeks with a hamstring issue. The Colts will need all the help they can get, as they go into Foxboro as 10.5 point underdogs.

Colts hobble into Thursday as 7 players declared out

With fans still trying to cope with the questionable call that led to an Indianapolis loss on Sunday, another game has quickly arrived. Tomorrow evening, the Colts will face the New England Patriots. Well…most of the Colts. With a lengthy list of injuries, Indianapolis’ biggest obstacle on Thursday will be keeping their players healthy. Multiple positions have been spread thin due to injuries, not to mention the unfortunate loss of tackle Denzelle Good, who will miss an undisclosed amount of time while coping with the death of his brother.

Those missing time with injury are as follows:

T.Y. Hilton (chest/hamstring)- Hilton is Indianapolis’ leading receiver with 294 yards. Normally a picture of health, this will be only the third game Hilton has missed in his 7 year career. Wide receivers Ryan Grant and Chester Rogers are expected to split Hilton’s would be snaps. Running back Nyhiem Hines may find more time in the slot, to give more receiving options to Andrew Luck. He’ll look to build on Sunday’s team leading 9 reception, 2 touchdown performance.

Marlon Mack (hamstring)-Mack has only played in one game this season, but it was a good one. Playing in the Colts’ lone victory against the Redskins, Mack tallied 10 carries for 34 yards and a single reception for 2 yards. While the numbers aren’t impressive, his big play ability from last year has been, and will be missed.

Jack Doyle (hip)- Indianapolis’ leader in receptions from a year ago has had a rough start to 2018. After fumbling away the ball on a potential game winning drive in week one, Doyle had a very average outing against Washington where his injury occurred. Putting up just 9 receptions for 80 yards this year, Doyle’s production has been severely missed.

Quincy Wilson (concussion)-The injury bug has plagued this young cornerback his whole career. In just his second season, nagging injuries have limited Wilson to just 9 games (out of a possible 21). In two games played this season, he has tallied just one tackle.

Kenny Moore II (concussion)-Moore has logged an interception, 1 pass deflection and 14 tackles this season. Starting all 4 games for the Colts this year, Moore will be missed in a group of inexperienced group of corners that will try to slow down the likes of Patriots receivers Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman (who makes his return from a four week suspension this week).

Hassan Ridgeway (calf)-A preseason stud who hasn’t stayed healthy, Ridgeway just hasn’t been lucky so far this season. After tallying 4 sacks in the first two weeks of the preseason, Ridgeway’s only regular season action came during substitution work in a week 2 win over the Washington Redskins. Ridgeway hasn’t logged anything on the stat sheet yet this season, but when healthy, he can be a valuable rotational player on the defensive line (3 sacks in 2017).

Colts sit at 1-3 as they prepare to face Patriots on Thursday night

This past Sunday, head coach Frank Reich may have made the best, bad decision in the history of Colts football. Facing a 4th and 4 on their own 43 yard line in OT, Frank Reich chose to gamble. He chose to put the game in his best player’s hands, but unfortunately Luck (and Chester Rogers) couldn’t deliver. Three plays later, the Houston Texans would take the victory on a Ka’imi Fairbairn 37 yard field goal.

Sometimes though, it’s what you learn in losses that make you a better, more resilient team. By taking that shot, and putting his confidence in the offense to go make a play, Frank Reich now has everyone on the same page. This head coach doesn’t want to dwell on the what if’s, he wants it black and white. Win or lose, no grey areas. He wants his team to be aggressive. He wants his team to have, “an obsession to finish”.

With the Colts now at 1-3, it’s left many fans disgruntled. Critical turnovers, some key injuries, and costly penalties have shown that missing a couple of the little things are what can turn a spotless record into one that’s sub par. In week one, it was a Jack Doyle fumble, in week 3 it was penalties and poor execution in the red zone, and week 4 it was 14 points given up off of turnovers.

Now the Colts will go to Foxboro, and kick off week 5 action Thursday against the New England Patriots. This will be their toughest test so far. It won’t be tough for the obvious reasons of New England playing at home, or because Tom Brady is under center for the Pats. The game will be tough because there’s an urgency to win, and a stigma that says the Colts can’t/won’t win this game. The media says they won’t, the fans say they won’t, the casinos say they won’t, and history says they won’t. The Colts haven’t beaten the Patriots this decade, as New England has gone 7-0 in their matchups since 2010. Andrew Luck, who entered the league in 2012, is 0-5 in those matchups.

Maybe it’s time for a Colts win. At 2-2, New England isn’t exactly playing their best football. They still have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but something seems a bit off. Aside from their week 4 win over the Miami Dolphins, they look out of sync. Taking losses to Detroit and Jacksonville, they’ve shown that they have weaknesses, and that they aren’t the super heroes they have been in the past.

If Indianapolis can play its best game of the season, they just might have a shot at taking out the Patriots and beginning a string of victories. After Thursday, they’ll have two games against rookie quarterbacks (Sam Darnold-Jets and Josh Allen-Bills), and then head to Oakland to play a Raiders team that seems to lack an identity since trading away Khalil Mack. Those 3 teams only have 3 wins collectively (3-9 overall). This could put Indianapolis in a more reasonable spot when they hit the bye in week 9.

Before the “easy” games though, the Colts have an opportunity to stick it to Josh McDaniels who left them at the alter during the off-season coaching search. Who better to help them, than the former Eagles offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, who beat them in the Super Bowl in February? They also have the opportunity to make this a rivalry again, because let’s be honest…there has been nothing resembling competitiveness in this series for almost a decade.

This week, I’m predicting more of the same in this series. Indianapolis came out of the Texans game really banged up. On Monday, they had 8 players who didn’t practice, and several more on a limited practice. That may seem natural for a Monday any other week, but knowing that they play Thursday night is cause for concern. It’s not rotational players getting injured either, it’s the starters. Notable injuries on the Did Not Practice list are as follows:

Wide Receiver-T.Y. Hilton (chest/hamstring)

Tight End-Jack Doyle (hip)

Linebacker-Darius Leonard (ankle)

Center-Ryan Kelly (hand)

Cornerback-Nate Hairston (ankle)

Defensive Tackle-Hassan Ridgeway (calf)

Cornerback-Quincy Wilson (concussion)

Cornerback-Kenny Moore (concussion)

With these big names here, and several others, such as left tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring) practicing on a limited basis, the Colts are in trouble if they can’t find a magic healing elixir by Thursday.

IND: 20 NE: 38

Photo credit: USA Today Sports

Castonzo, Autry, and Mack get updates on status for Sunday @ Redskins

After starting the week with high hopes and a confident demeanor, Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo suffered an unfortunate setback late Wednesday. He was listed as a non participant on Thursday, and was downgraded to OUT on Friday afternoon. Dealing with a nagging hamstring injury for much of the preseason and week one, the Colts starter will miss his second game in a row, after starting every game over the past two seasons. Week one was the first time Andrew Luck had been without his star tackle in Luck’s 71 game career. This puts Indianapolis in a precarious spot at offensive line. Injuries to tackle/guard Denzelle Good (knee/wrist), J’Marcus Webb (hamstring), and now Castonzo (hamstring), have limited the offensive line depth rather significantly. Joe Haeg may get his second career start at left tackle against the Redskins, although 3rd year man Le’Raven Clark is listed on the depth chart directly behind Anthony Castonzo. Clark has started just 8 games out of a possible 24 in his career. He did not see the field in week one against the Cincinnati Bengals.

One of the Colts’ offseason acquisitions was injured Wednesday. Defensive tackle/end, Denico Autry aggravated his ankle during practice. Last Sunday, Autry played as a rotational defensive end, as he tallied one tackle and two quarterback hurries. His status has been downgraded to OUT for the week two matchup. With Autry not playing, look for Hassan Ridgeway and Grover Stewart to fill in during his absence.

Saving the good news for last, Colts running back Marlon Mack took part in his first full practice of the 2018 regular season on Friday. After working his way back from a hamstring injury suffered in the Colt’s first preseason game, he will likely see his first game action in week two. Even if Mack does see the field this weekend, he’ll likely be splitting playing time with Jordan Wilkins (14 carries/3 receptions week one), and rookie Nyheim Hines (5 carries/7 receptions week one). The running back by committee approach should help Mack ease back into a larger workload, which will be especially relevant, given the potential of rainy field conditions at FedEx Field on Sunday.

Colts lineman returns

Indianapolis left tackle Anthony Castonzo cheered up a lot of fans and teammates yesterday afternoon. While talking to the media Wednesday, Castonzo was quoted saying there is, “no question” that he’ll be playing this weekend against the Washington Redskins. With the loss of right tackle J’Marcus Webb (hamstring) on Monday, and the early season absence of guard/tackle Denzelle Good (knee/wrist), the Colts were hurting for quality at the tackle position. Last week, right tackle Joe Haeg started in place of Castonzo, in what was his first career start at the left tackle position. However, Haeg did have experience at left tackle while in college at North Dakota State. He started 31 straight games, and protected the blindside of current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. Now that Anthony Castonzo has returned to the starting lineup, Haeg is expected to return to the right tackle position where he has started 29 games in his NFL career. Now healthy, the Colts offensive line will have to battle the likes of Pro Bowl defensive end/linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, second year defensive end Jonathan Allen, and rookie nose tackle Da’Ron Payne.

Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Lineman injuries piling up

According to Indianapolis Head Coach Frank Reich, Tackle J’Marcus Webb sustained a hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter of the Colts week one matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. This was Webb’s first regular season action since 2016, where he appeared in nine games (three starts) for the Seattle Seahawks. There is no word yet on when Webb is expected to return.

Indianapolis went without starting Left Tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring) and starting Right Tackle Denzelle Good (knee and wrist) during week one. J’Marcus Webb would be the third Colts lineman injured to start the young season. Castonzo, who participated in pregame workouts in the week one matchup, has been trending upward to return against the Washington Redskins in week two.

Week 1 Injuries

There is only one game injury to report this week. Cornerback Chris Milton exited the Bengals contest with a concussion and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Milton, who was signed to the Colts 53 man roster for depth at the cornerback position, was attempting to make a tackle on a special teams play when the injury occurred. There is no word yet on if Milton will be available for the Colts next game against the Washington Redskins.

*Notable inactives Anthony Costonzo (Left Tackle) and Marlon Mack ( Running Back), will hope to see their first game action of the new season in week two.