Indianapolis Colts Week 7 Stock Report

Both good and bad came out of the Indianapolis Colts' 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday night. 

Sure, the Colts lost to their most hated rival for the seventh consecutive time. But they lost by a single score in a game many predicted they'd lose by 20 or more points. The last four games against New England have all featured 20-point blowouts. 

On the other hand, the Colts' improvements against the Patriots were overshadowed by the worst punt fake in history, a play that has made the Colts a laughingstock over the last few days. 

But the Colts must move on, this time to a date with the inconsistent New Orleans Saints. The Colts desperately need a win here, facing a trio of the league's top teams in their next three matchups. Who projects to be a key part of that stretch, and who must rebound? Find out in this week's stock watch. 

Andrew Luck: Stock Cautiously Up

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

For the first time all season, we saw Andrew Luck look like Andrew Luck for an entire half. 

Luck wasn't perfect in the first half of the Colts' loss to New England, but he was pretty darn good. Completing 17 of 22 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns, Luck even added a little bit of improvisational magic in his second touchdown pass near the end of the second quarter. 

Moving deftly around the pocket, Luck manipulated linebacker Jamie Collins out of his zone coverage spot and found T.Y. Hilton for a touchdown in the middle of the end zone. It was the kind of play that Luck hadn't yet been able to pull off this season. 

Of course, Luck also had his flaws. His inaccuracy put a huge damper on the Colts' offensive production at times, especially in the second half. He also continued to ineffectively point out the blitz before the snap, resulting in sacks at key moments. 

Overall, however, it was an encouraging return to live action for Luck. He'll get New Orleans' poor defense next week, and he'll be expected to be the Andrew Luck of old. 

Andre Johnson: Stock Down

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In Week 5, Andre Johnson posted his revenge game with two touchdowns and 77 yards in Houston, a much-needed performance for the veteran. 

But a closer look at the film revealed that Johnson was still failing to get separation in most situations. While he was able to get some production, he wasn't doing it by dominating the competition, merely taking advantage of a bad defense in a few advantageous situations. 

Against the Patriots, Johnson was all but useless, rarely getting separation and losing at the catch point several times. 

Luck wasn't perfect by any means, but Johnson didn't help the fourth-year quarterback by failing to make tough catches with contested defenders nearby or snag anything that was relatively high at all. 

Johnson may grab a few more touchdowns before the year is over, but his limitations, especially on vertical routes, are killing the offense against teams with well-coached man-coverage schemes. Phillip Dorsett needs to get more time in this role sooner rather than later. 

Jack Mewhort: Stock Up

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

While the Colts offensive line struggled the first two weeks of the season, Jack Mewhort attempted to play right tackle. 

Despite it being Mewhort's position in college, the former Ohio State Buckeye struggled outside. But the Colts switched things up in Week 3, moving Mewhort back to left guard and playing Joe Reitz at right tackle. That move, along with moving Hugh Thornton to right guard to replace veteran Todd Herremans, has revitalized the offensive line. 

The most notable change has been Mewhort, who went from a pseudo-liability as a right tackle to an incredible asset at guard. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Mewhort has been a top-10-level guard in the league this season, just the second top-level offensive lineman the Colts have had in the last five years (the first being Anthony Castonzo last season). 

Is Mewhort actually a top-10 guard? Pro Football Focus' grading always must be taken with a grain of salt. But Mewhort has certainly been much more effective back in the interior, and it's been a big boost to both the team's pass protection and run blocking. 

Run Defense: Stock Up

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After averaging over 190 yards and nearly four touchdowns on the ground over the last four matchups, the Patriots weren't able to see anywhere near that kind of success on the ground this time around. 

The Patriots did end up with 116 yards rushing, but 38 of those came from a lone, blown play in the first half. Without that touchdown run by LeGarrette Blount, the Patriots averaged less than four yards per carry on 20 handoffs.

This is a big reason why this game never got out of hand. When the Patriots tried to run the ball in the second half to grind the game down, the Colts consistently stopped them, giving the offense chances to get back into the game. 

Make no mistake, the defense isn't good (we'll get into why next), but the run defense is much improved, largely because newcomers Henry Anderson, David Parry and Billy Winn have totally transformed the defensive line. The linebackers are still in desperate need of improvement, but that's old news by now. 

Pass Defense: Stock Down

Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately for Indianapolis' defense, passing is king in today's NFL. 

The Colts may have improved their run defense from a year ago, but the pass defense is just as bad, or perhaps even worse. 

The team's lone "strength" on the defense prior to this season was the group of cornerbacks. Vontae Davis was a shutdown corner, and Greg Toler and Darius Butler were effective enough in a press-man scheme to keep things under control. 

But this season, all three have dealt with nagging injuries, and it's affected their play. Throw in a group of linebackers that good quarterbacks can eat alive with underneath passes, and you have a coverage unit that's extremely susceptible. 

This is especially compounded when you factor in the Colts pass rush, which is virtually nonexistent. Tied for the league's third-lowest amount of sacks on the season, the Colts have to find some way to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. If they can't, any team with a competent quarterback is going to take advantage.