Okay, so where was Mario this week?

[DiehardChris]

Last week his contributions didn't show up in the stat sheets - but he did a great job pushing his defenders back, and closing up running lanes.

Today however, he didn't do anything that I could detect from the TV coverage. Granted, you can see a lot more watching the team's game film than you can from the TV coverage - but I don't recall him doing anything at all during the game.

This was the kind of game I hoped he would step up huge in... he was going up against a rookie tackle, who wasn't even the starter until an injury made him one.

And before you flame me - no, this is not about me saying Mario is a bust. I love Mario, and I'm fine with him being on our team over Reggie/Vince. I'm just saying, I was disappointed because this was a big time game, against a big time Quarterback... and he didn't really seem to have an impact on the game at all.

That said - by my count, he's had one GREAT game, one solid game, and one game today that was below average. So I'm not saying the sky is falling. I just want to know if anyone else feels the same way.

[Bulluck53]

Mario was the focal point for Indy's o-line. Not to knock Okoye but thats exactly why he had that sack in the red-zone. They moved an extra blocker toward Williams all day. And Indy's line is a lttle better then Carolina's

[Leahmic223]

Originally Posted by DiehardChris

Last week his contributions didn't show up in the stat sheets - but he did a great job pushing his defenders back, and closing up running lanes.

Today however, he didn't do anything that I could detect from the TV coverage. Granted, you can see a lot more watching the team's game film than you can from the TV coverage - but I don't recall him doing anything at all during the game.

This was the kind of game I hoped he would step up huge in... he was going up against a rookie tackle, who wasn't even the starter until an injury made him one.

And before you flame me - no, this is not about me saying Mario is a bust. I love Mario, and I'm fine with him being on our team over Reggie/Vince. I'm just saying, I was disappointed because this was a big time game, against a big time Quarterback... and he didn't really seem to have an impact on the game at all.

That said - by my count, he's had one GREAT game, one solid game, and one game today that was below average. So I'm not saying the sky is falling. I just want to know if anyone else feels the same way.

I thought he had a pretty good game as the time went on, our defense got better as the game went on. We got more pressure as the game went on, I just wish we would have played tight like that at the start.

[TexansSB07]

H-O-L-D-I-N-G


Saw about 4-5 instances of Colts players grabbing arms and hands WELL outside body, which I think unless I missed a rule change USED to be called holding. Mario and rest of defenders got too much class to bring it up...so I will

[threetoedpete]

Originally Posted by TexansSB07

H-O-L-D-I-N-G


Saw about 4-5 instances of Colts players grabbing arms and hands WELL outside body, which I think unless I missed a rule change USED to be called holding. Mario and rest of defenders got too much class to bring it up...so I will

Agreed. But not to bang, Jethro needs to review being "hooked" with the big fella. All the DEs could use a refresher course. Seeing that slew footed QB on the edge throwing the ball out of bounds was very annoying. Ugoh and Deim both had great days.

So are you suggesting we put Mario on the waiver wire there ? Just what are you getting at up there ? Inquiring minds want to know ?

He got beat today. Judging by the results, by a better player. Look he is still raw. Still learning. We could release him and go after a back up for a pair of twos. Er wait a minute, ......

He's not reggie white out of the box. He's playing hard, out of position sometimes, but he is trying his best. The resluts will come.

[Silver Oak]

I watch Mario frequently through my binocs because he's one of my favorite players and I want to see him succeed. That said, as in other games this season, he came close to making plays all day long. He almost had Addai on a couple of occasions, but failed to finish the tackle.

I'm not a coach, but I thought he had a good push all day long, but he was also steered away from plays a few times rather easily.

IMO...Petey Faggins, or the Broncos Champ Bailey couldn't cover the Indy WR's if we don't get to Manning a second quicker.

[The1ApplePie]

Mario still provided a good amount of pressure. Ugoh is going to be a beast in this leauge though, and it should be a good rivalry for a long time.

[Texans Horror]

I thought he did as well as can be expected. Watching the game, I saw few plays where he was not in the backfield. He's getting pressure. It will come, eventually.

Now, that being said, I'll play devil's advocate and say: gee, I remember one of Mario's drawbacks was that he racked up his stats against lower-tier teams and was not much of an impact in the big games. Well, so far this season, he's par for the course. Looked impressive in the first two games, got some stats work going. Then disappeared in the big game against the Colts. JPDA - Just Playing Devil's Advocate...

[Mr teX]

He did fine in my book. He caught double teams & chips all game long & still managed to get more than his fair share of pressure. When getting what he got all day long & you're going against a QB that makes sure the ball comes out fast every play, It's going to be hard to get much of anything on him.

I knew this would happen after the KC game. teams were going to start focusing on him & force someone else to step up. So far Amobi's answered the call, Weaver TJ/Maddox need to raise their game a little more. It's the main reason i predicted in another thread that Mario won't have more than 8 sacks this year. I hope i'm wrong, but so far ......

[powerfuldragon]

Originally Posted by threetoedpete

Agreed. But not to bang, Jethro needs to review being "hooked" with the big fella. All the DEs could use a refresher course. Seeing that slew footed QB on the edge throwing the ball out of bounds was very annoying. Ugoh and Deim both had great days.

So are you suggesting we put Mario on the waiver wire there ? Just what are you getting at up there ? Inquiring minds want to know ?

He got beat today. Judging by the results, by a better player. Look he is still raw. Still learning. We could release him and go after a back up for a pair of twos. Er wait a minute, ......

He's not reggie white out of the box. He's playing hard, out of position sometimes, but he is trying his best. The resluts will come.

haha! sluts!

[kcdoubleeagle]

Originally Posted by Mr teX

He did fine in my book. He caught double teams & chips all game long & still managed to get more than his fair share of pressure. When getting what he got all day long & you're going against a QB that makes sure the ball comes out fast every play, It's going to be hard to get much of anything on him.

I knew this would happen after the KC game. teams were going to start focusing on him & force someone else to step up. So far Amobi's answered the call, Weaver TJ/Maddox need to raise their game a little more. It's the main reason i predicted in another thread that Mario won't have more than 8 sacks this year. I hope i'm wrong, but so far ......

I believe that Mario will be a very GOOD player for a long time. Do I think he will be as dominant as a Merriman? NO. You can put 2 people on Merriman and he still gets 2 sacks a game. JMHO.

[tulexan]

Originally Posted by kcdoubleeagle

I believe that Mario will be a very GOOD player for a long time. Do I think he will be as dominant as a Merriman? NO. You can put 2 people on Merriman and he still gets 2 sacks a game. JMHO.

Merriman isn't a DE.

[disaacks3]

Originally Posted by Mr teX

He did fine in my book. He caught double teams & chips all game long & still managed to get more than his fair share of pressure.

Pretty much what it looked like "live". Mario kept getting the pressure & getting close and Manning is pretty much the hardest guy in the world to get a sack on. The whole Defense pretty much left it on the field yesterday. Petey Faggins was overmatched (again), but that's for a different thread.

[rollinstone18]

From what I remember he made a one handed tackle on Addai and hurried Manning a couple times.

[ledzeppelin229]

Manning was just getting rid of the ball too fast. Faggins cushion on the WR made it very easy for the Colts to use their timing routes all day long. Very rarely did Manning hold onto the ball for more than a few seconds.

[MojoMan]

Wherever Mario was, Dwight Freeny was there with him. Both of them had identical stat lines - 1 tackle, 1 Assist.

[BigBull17]

It seemed to me that the dline was on read for run, then react to rush the pass. Thats the way it looked all day. The thing tht bugged me is Mario needs to make the tackle when he gets awsome penetration. There were plays he did and just overran the play. Other than that, he looked alright.

[AnthonyE]

Originally Posted by tulexan

Merriman isn't a DE.

You stole the words from my mouth.

[drewmar74]

For what its worth, I know that Ugoh is a rookie LT but he's played well so far this season. Ask Will Smith from the Taints. I'm sure that he was stoked to line up across from a rook in the 1st game. 0 sacks.

The Colts are too good at blocking, scheming, etc., to put their rookie in a bind and Ugoh is looking pretty darn good in his own right. It also helps when your "laser rocket arm" QB gets the ball out in about .0046 milliseconds. In summation, I'm just not real surprised that Mario's stat line is what it is. So said, I am a little surprised that Freeney's was what it was. Wasn't this the same O-line as last year? Hmmmmmmm.

As far as Mario overrunning the play, I watch him a lot because I want him to do well (not that there is a correlation between my watching and him succeeding but I digress). He seems like he's generally about a hand's length away from the play a lot of times. It's frustrating to watch, but it seems to be getting better. I've got nothing empirical on that - just opinion.

[datchapin]

I think the dude just needs to refine his technique a little more and make sure to keep separation so he can be aware of what's going on in the backfield. The one play where Manning rolled out and Mario chased him down he could have had him if he had better awareness. He initiated contact with the lineman just as Manning was rolling to where he was at, I think had he been more aware or engaged single handedly instead of jabbing with both hands he would have had a better angle and stuffed him. Also he needs to work on his spin move and when to use it. There were some instances where he tried to spin where a rip move would have been more effective. Don't get me wrong spin moves can be effective when used in the right situation. I'm just thinking Mario needs to keep practicing, the guy is doing well, but he still has a lot of untapped potential.