Bleacher Report - Articles by Trever Roby

Adam Vinatieri Honored

Trever Roby — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:51:42 -0500

As we all know, Adam Vinatieri is one of the best kickers in the NFL. We have not seen much of Vinatieri's abilities as we hit half of this season. Last Sunday, however, was different.

The Colts were entering the famous Colts vs. Patriots game, with a loosing record—first time in a long time it's been like this. This year, things were different for both teams for this rivalry game. Tom Brady now won't step on the field again this year, and the Colts were not doing as well as we all know they could do.

With 8:05 left in the game, Adam Vinatieri set up for the 52-yard field goal that would give the Colts the upper hand on this game. It was good! Colts later sealed the win when Patriots' Randy Moss fumbled on an attempted lateral in the final seconds of the game.

Vinatieri was awarded the Horse Trailer Player of the Game, and was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week.

Vinatieri has nine field goals of 50 yards or more in his 13-year career. However, he hasn't kicked one over 50 yards since the 2002 season.

Indianapolis Colts Fall Apart in Tennessee

Trever Roby — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:11:04 -0400

It was a sad Monday night for Colts' fans across the country. Once that clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, it all became really too real. The Colts had lost yet another game. They are now one game under .500.

Everything was looking good for the Colts believe it or not. I honestly thought they'd pull away from the Titans. The Titans, however, didn't agree with that. When the Titans scored to tie the game early in the second half, I was excited. It was the perfect situation for the Colts to show us what they were made of. But, they didn't. The Titans rolled past the Colts 31-21 late Monday night at LP Field.

As the Colts kick from the IND 30 to the TEN 2 yard line to start the game, the excitement of this match up hit me. About five minutes into the game, R. Bironas' 34 yard field goal will be the first score on the board for this game. That wasn't bad, not bad at all. The Colts defense held them to just three points.

Excitement filled the air.

After punts by both offenses, Peyton Manning, in the shotgun formation, throws to Dallas Clark for six points.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Tennessee kicks another field goal to make the score 7-6 Colts. After another Clark touchdown, the score would advance to 14-6 early in the second half of the game.

Everything was looking good.

Tennessee, however, scored to tie it. L. White rushes up the middle for a one yard touchdown, and then Collins threw to A. Hall for the conversion.

After two failed fourth down conversions, many incompletions, and two turnovers, the Colts found themselves in the last minutes of the game 10-points down. I couldn't help but just turn the TV off and go to bed.

After many years of watching the Colts go undefeated for the majority of the season, this year is undoubtedly, very disappointing.

Next week's match-up against the Patriots will be another long game if the Colts don't make some changes. More on this match-up to come.

Indianapolis Colts Finally Find a Grove

Trever Roby — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:46:33 -0400

I'm sure anyone that was watching the Colts-Ravens game today was surprised.

I sure was.

As a long-time Colts fan, I honestly didn't think the Colts would find a grove in that tough Raven defense.

The Colts defense, which was ranked 32nd in the NFL against the rush, only allowed the Raven offense 51 yards rushing and 260 yards total. Indianapolis also kept them out of the end-zone the entire game.

The final score was 31-3.

All week this Colt defense was being told they couldn't stop the run against the Ravens.

Well, they could and they did.

"We just came out and played Colts ball today," Colts' Raheem Brock said. "I’ve been saying it all year that if we could just get everything together—there are little things we need to work on, especially defensively—that we’ll start playing Colts ball and we did today"

Ravens' running back Le'Ron McClain entered the game with 63 carries worth 266 yards and four touchdowns. Today, he only rushed twice for negative two yards. Pro Bowl running back Willis McGahee entered the game with 170 yards on 50 carries. He's only accountable for eight carries for 18 yards.

Enough about the Ravens offensive struggles and the spectacular Colts defensive break through.

Lets move on to the Colts offense that finally found a grove.

Marvin Harrison was obviously Peyton Manning's favorite receiver tonight. Harrison found three passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns. The touchdowns included a spectacular 67-yarder and a five yarder. Manning also found Reggie Wayne eight times for 118 yards and one touchdown. Rookie star Anthony Gonzalez caught four passes for 33 yards total.

The only aspect of this offense that couldn't get moving was the rush attack.

Joseph Addai and Matt Hart both left today's game with injuries. Their conditions are still unknown. This put Dominic Rhodes back into the spotlight to show us what he's got. And it wasn't too bad. He left today's game with 73 yards and a touchdown with 25 carries.

The win today brought back the image of the Indianapolis Colts we all are used to seeing. It also got them their first win in the new Lucas Oil Stadium. The Raven's will still remain win-less in Indianapolis.

Peyton Manning's Struggles Are Cause for Concern in Indianapolis

Trever Roby — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:11:31 -0400

Ever since his rookie season in 1998, Peyton Manning has been an impact player for the Indianapolis Colts. Many believe that without him the Colts would be nothing. At the end of the NFL's second week, that statement appears to be true. With Manning hampered by injury, the Colts are suddenly in a lot of trouble.

Peyton Manning endured knee surgery late in the offseason and did not take one snap during preseason. It is not surprising that he was not fully ready for the start of the season, but his performance didn't get much better in Week Two, either.

The Colts just slipped past the Minnesota Vikings for a comeback win Sunday. However, we all know the Colts are better than that. Manning has already thrown two interceptions, and he has already been sacked four times. These numbers are very un-Peyton-like, if you ask me.

Those who have been watching the Colts for years know that Manning does not look nearly as comfortable in the pocket as he used to. His completion percentage in Week One was only 61.2. Week Two's 61.9 rate was hardly better.

So far, Manning's passer rating is 77.5. That doesn't seem that bad for only two games, right? Not for Peyton Manning. He topped that in college after only two games. The last time his passer rating was that low in the NFL was his rookie season, when he had a passer rating of 71.2. That was also the last time the Colts went 0-2.

For the Colts to win in the long run, Peyton Manning needs to find a groove and start playing like the Peyton we all know and love.

Colts-Vikings: Colts Squeak By for Week Two Win

Trever Roby — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:39:20 -0400

A dramatic win didn't come easy for the Colts Sunday.

Trailing by nine at the half, and by 15 points later in the third quarter, the Colts somehow pulled together for an 18-15 win early Sunday. The Colts clinched the victory with kicker Adam Vinatieri's 47-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Vinatieri missed a short 30-yard field goal earlier in the game.

In my opinion, Anthony Gonzalez and Reggie Wayne saved the day for Indy. They couldn't get anything moving on the ground with that tough Minnesota defensive line.

The first touchdown did, however, come from Joseph Addai on a one-yard run. But how the ball got to the one-yard line was the amazing part. Peyton Manning threw to Anthony Gonzalez on the left side, and with nowhere else to go, Gonzalez goes down and laterals the ball to Reggie Wayne, who broke some tackles and got to the one-yard line. It was initially ruled as a touchdown, but challenged by the Vikings and overturned.

Then, Manning threw 32 yards to Reggie Wayne, who caught the ball in the middle of the field, broke a tackle, and ran into the end zone. With a two-point conversion, the game was tied 15-15. On the next Indianapolis possession they punted, but then forced a Vikings punt and drove 21 yards for the game-winning field goal.

As bad as the Colts looked, the Vikings really did not do better. Adrian Peterson, last year's NFL rookie who set the single-game rushing record only rushed for 160 yards on 29 carries. The Vikings never scored a touchdown, just field goals.