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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL at NE | BUF at MIA | CIN at CLE | DAL at DEN | DET at CHI | GB at MIN | NYG at KC | NYJ at NO |
| OAK at HOU | SD at PIT | SEA at IND | STL at SF | TB at WAS | TEN at JAX | ||
Week 4 Game Recap: Seattle Seahawks 17, Indianapolis Colts 34
Seattle Seahawks
| QB Seneca Wallace, Pass: 33 - 45 - 257 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 8 - 1 |
Wallace was decisive and accurate. But you can't take what the defense gives you when they don't give anything. He was under heavy pressure all day and while his fantasy line looks all right, the scores both came in garbage time. He made some good plays, especially when improvising in scramble mode, and showed good accuracy on his deeper throws, but came up short too often and just wasn't able to string together any real drives until the game was out of reach - the Seahawks scored two late TD's to make the score respectable, but for all intents and purposes, this was a 34-3 drubbing by the Colts.
| QB Matt Hasselbeck |
Hasselbeck (rib injury) was inactive.
| RB Julius Jones, Rush: 11 - 25 - 0, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jones never found his groove. His two best runs, of 6 and 11 yards respectively, were called back due to penalties. As the game got further out of reach, the Seahawks were forced to throw and he was not a big part of the passing game. On the bright side, he did catch all three of his targets, albeit for very short gains.
| RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 4 - 16 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Edgerrin James, the all-time Colts rushing leader, came into the game on the third series against his former team. He looked much better than Julius Jones, but the results were not much better. His initial burst got him 5, 4, and 5 yards up the middle on his first three carries, but the line didn't exactly give him holes to run through. As the passing became necessary, Edge took a back seat again.
| RB Justin Forsett, Rec: 3 - 8 - 0 (4 targets) |
Forsett had no carries on the day and only one reception. His main contribution was on kickoff returns, where he was somewhat productive and almost broke one long return.
| RB Owen Schmitt, Rec: 2 - 3 - 1 (2 targets) |
Schmitt, the fullback, caught a TD pass late in the game, but otherwise did not factor into the offense.
| WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 8 - 103 - 0 (11 targets) |
Houshmandzadeh was primarily used on shorter routes, and he was effective in this role as he picked up a good amount of yards after the catch to move the chains (six first downs). He also had one longer catch called back as Wallace had crossed the line of scrimmage as he was throwing. Most of Houshmandzadeh's yardage came when the game was already out of hand.
| WR Deion Branch, Rec: 6 - 49 - 0 (6 targets) |
Branch looked surprisingly good (rumors of his demise greatly exaggerated?). He seemed to be able to get open but wasn't targeted as much as the other two receivers, so the jury is still out. One thing that didn't work: the quick hitch to Branch. They tried it three times for some reason, and it was less successful each time. His other three catches were good for 49 yards, however.
| WR Nate Burleson, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (8 targets) |
Burleson was inconsistent. He had trouble getting open, and Wallace wasn't able to get him the deep ball -- mainly due to all-day pressure -- which Burleson typically excels in.
| WR Deon Butler (3 targets) |
Butler was mainly used later in the game, and targeted on deeper routes. On one, he had a step on his man but just missed the catch.
| TE John Carlson, Rec: 5 - 39 - 0 (6 targets) |
Carlson wasn't a difference maker, but looked impressive when Wallace was able to get him the ball. He had a nice 16 yard catch brought back on a holding penalty, and a vital first down pickup on a screen pass. The rest was short stuff, and then he got stuffed by a stout Colts defense.
Indianapolis Colts
| QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 31 - 41 - 353 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Peyton Manning did what we've come to expect. He toyed with the Seahawks defense, and was never seriously challenged. He spread the ball out effectively, at first taking what they gave him -- which means that he marched the team down the field at will, hitting whichever receiver was open, and relying on a strong running game to keep the defense honest. His only blemish was an interception that seemed to be the result of feeding the ball to Reggie Wayne one too many times. After not throwing to him at all in the opening quarter, it appeared that Manning was trying to make it up to him, and made one bad play as a result. The game was out of reach by that time, so it did not hurt him.
| RB Joseph Addai, Rush: 12 - 46 - 1, Rec: 7 - 50 - 0 (7 targets) |
Addai started the game and was called on early and often, both on the ground and in the air. On the first drive, though, Donald Brown took over inside the 10, and promptly scored a short TD. As the game progressed, it seemed evident that the Colts were not using the two backs situationally, but instead rotating them evenly, regardless of the situation. Later in the game, the reverse happened, as Brown sat down and Addai got the red zone carries (and the TD). Addai had moderate success on the ground, and was also quite effective as a receiver, catching every ball thrown to him.
| RB Donald Brown, Rush: 9 - 33 - 1, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
On the first drive, Brown took over for Addai inside the 10, and scored a short TD. He looked good on most of his carries, but neither he nor Addai got the ball often enough to build any momentum. Brown had a fumble at the sideline, and was lucky it wasn't called the Seahawks ball, as it appeared it was touched on its way out of bounds. Brown was not featured in the passing game.
| WR Austin Collie, Rec: 6 - 65 - 1 (7 targets) |
Collie excelled with the short, middle, catch and run routes. All he did was catch nearly everything thrown in his direction, including one TD.
| WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 6 - 74 - 1 (11 targets) |
Reggie Wayne was not targeted once in the first quarter.Then just when you start to forget about him, boom, he picks up his first reception, a 5 yard TD in heavy traffic. After that, Manning found him more often, but never for the long gains we are used to seeing. With the other receiving options excelling, there was no need.
| WR Pierre Garcon, Rec: 3 - 71 - 0 (4 targets) |
Garcon looked very impressive on a limited amount of catches. First he made a tough 25 yard catch in traffic and held on while getting creamed by two defenders. All of his catches seemed to be of the highlight variety. He was thrown to in heavy coverage and came down with the ball each time; Manning definitely had confidence in him. Despite the fact that Austin Collie had the more productive fantasy line, Garcon is the one who has "big play" written all over him. Oddly, he was not targeted in the second half. Chalk it up to the Colts having a lead and going with a more conservative attack.
| TE Dallas Clark, Rec: 8 - 80 - 0 (10 targets) |
Clark, like clockwork, goes to work on third down. Manning found him six times for first down receptions of over ten yards. He caught all but one ball thrown to him.