After a chippy end to joint practices, the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts will suit up for their second preseason game tonight at 8 PM ET. This will be the first opportunity for many of the young players on both rosters to play a game against opponents they have already had a chance to play against. This should help coaches get a read on how well their players adjust. Andrew Luck is expected to play into the second quarter tonight. He will likely be given the opportunity to expand the playbook a bit in his second outing and there is a reasonable chance that he takes his first deep shot against the Ravens as well. Some of that will be up to an offensive line that is still undergoing a lot of change. Anthony Castonzo will not start at left tackle and rookie Braden Smith may get the nod at right tackle. Let’s face it, the most important thing for Luck is to be smart about how he takes care of himself and to not allow rookies and second string players at tackle cause any setbacks in his progress for a return to regular season action. Keep an eye on the following players on each side of the ball to see if they can put their stamp on a roster spot and push for considerable playing time in 2018. DEFENSE Hassan Ridgeway is likely on the roster bubble for a defensive line that is undergoing a lot of change. Last week, he made a statement by abusing Seattle’s third and fourth string line, generating pressure and tallying multiple sacks. Can he keep it up this week? Will he get a chance earlier in the game? Rookie linebackers Darius Leonard and Skai Moore will get their second chance at making an impression on Colts fans. Leonard has already earned a reputation for being a very athletic linebacker, unlike any in Indianapolis for some time. Moore has brought his ball-hawking persona along with him from college and made life difficult in the center of the field in training camp. Will they show meaningful progress from the first preseason game to the next? What can Quincy Wilson do to stand out from his competition? Somehow Kenny Moore, Nate Hairston, and Pierre Desir appear to be ahead of him on the depth chart. This has to motivate Wilson, right? OFFENSE How will Braden Smith perform in his second game? He will likely get a chance to play at tackle and guard again so he will be worth monitoring at both positions. His development could be crucial this year as the right tackle spot is up in the air and he needs to push for starting reps given his high draft position. How much earlier will Jordan Wilkins get to play? If he gets to play with the first team offensive line, will he look even better than he did against Seattle? There is a real chance that Wilkins can push his way up on the depth chart before Week 1. There is even a chance he could push his way to the top of the depth chart before Robert Turbin returns from his suspension in Week 5. Which pass-catcher will step forward? Deon Cain was lost to a season-ending ACL injury and K.J. Brent suffered an injury during training camp practice. This puts more pressure on a group that already had a lot of question-marks. Can Kasen Williams take advantage of his opportunity? Will Reece Fountain make his presence felt? SIGN UP FOR STAMPEDE BLUE FAN PULSE We are considered the voice of the fan here at Stampede Blue and we talk every day about how the Indianapolis Colts are doing--whether they’ll win their upcoming game or how Colts fans feel about that awful call from the referees. Now we’re starting a new polling project that will pull together the insights of the most *plugged-in* Colts fans. 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Game Time 8:00 PM ET on Monday August 20th, 2018 Location Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana TV Channel ESPN Radio WFNI (107.5FM/1070 The Fan) and WLHK (Country 97.1 Hank FM) — Bob Lamey, Jim Sorgi, Matt Taylor (sideline) TV National Broadcast Map See which games will be shown in your area, from 506Sports.com. Weather Looks like rain, likely a roof closed kind of game. Referee Assignment Alex Kemp Kemp is in his first year as a referee, after being promoted from line judge following the retirement of Ed Hochuli and Jeff Tripplette. “Enemy” Blog Baltimore Beatdown Twitter Follow @StampedeBlue for the complete Colts coverage on Twitter before, during, and after every game. Facebook Like Stampede Blue on Facebook! Podcast For all your Colts-related talk and information, subscribe, download, and review the Stampede Blue Colts Cast on iTunes, Stitcher, or BlogTalkRadio. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!<doc-sep>With two games in the books, we slogged ever closer to the start of the regular season. Week two was a hard watch. I was actually attending the game and stayed until the final whistle, for some reason. Regardless, let’s dig in and attempt to find our winners and losers from this contest. Winners Matthias Farley Matthias Farley made the first play of the game, and it was a pretty great one. The Ravens came out and took a deep shot downfield on their first play from scrimmage. Farley got a great break on the ball and batted it down in a nice effort. On the very next play, Farley proved his versatility by dropping the hammer on a runner and stopping them short of the line to gain. His solid play has made him the kind of reliable backup that is just what you need in a safety group where your two starters have had injury issues recently. If he has to play significantly, he has more than proven he is up to the task. Clayton Geathers Speaking of safeties, we got a chance to see Clayton Geathers back in action tonight. He made his presence felt pretty early on, stripping the ball on a punt return that resulted in the Colts getting the ball back in great field position. He was active in his time on the field, seemingly in on every tackle. If Geathers can stay healthy, a big if, he is a difference maker. Pairing him with Malik Hooker provides two guys on the back end of this defense that know how to take the ball away and make plays. Darius Leonard It is still early. This is not real football yet, it is the preseason. However, Darius Leonard looks like exactly what the Colts need in this linebacker group. You could hardly go a play without seeing him flying to the ball, batting away a pass, or leading the effort to gang-tackle the ball carrier. He isn’t a perfect player, but he has shown that if he can carry his play over to the regular season, he is a star in the making in the middle of this defense. That is hugely encouraging, because it is the area with the most questions, and if he establishes himself as a legitimate playmaker, this defense is vastly improved. John Simon Guess who’s back? John Simon is stating his case as clearly as possible for being a central fixture on this defense. He notched another sack, bringing his total to 2.5 for the preseason so far, and also had a tackle for a loss and 2 more QB hits. As a guy who many thought did not fit this new scheme and couldn’t really make the transition to defensive end, Simon just keeps making plays. Hassan Ridgeway Speaking of guys making plays and getting after the quarterback, Hassan Ridgeway is back again as well. Maybe it is foolish of me to do it, but I’m getting really excited about Ridgeway. There are plenty of reasons to pump the brakes on his ceiling, but the guy has now put together consecutive games with 2 sacks. He also had 3 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits. The Colts’ depth at defensive line just keeps looking better with each week. Losers Nyheim Hines Real talk time. Nyheim Hines has had a miserable preseason. His fumbling and kick return problems are becoming a serious issue. In the preseason it seems that Reich plans to keep using him, but it would be pretty questionable to start the season with Hines returning kicks in any capacity. He has a lot to prove if he wants to make any contribution to this team. Reece Fountain Fountain hasn’t done much in camp and has generally looked raw, like you expect from a rookie out of a small school. However, he had an opportunity to make an impression last night, and frittered it away. He was the target on two end zone looks from Brissett and couldn’t bring either one in. The passes weren’t great, but he has to step up and make a play there. Andrew Luck This was not a good game for Andrew Luck. He threw an ugly pick on their second drive on a pass with a pretty unclear target. It is clear that there is still not great chemistry with his receivers, and without T.Y. Hilton in the game, he struggled. Some miscommunication with Ryan Grant led to a miss on a deep ball along the sideline, and he really only was able to consistently connect with Jack Doyle. This is not a major worry to me. Luck is not a good quarterback, he is a great one. The play calling and scheme are being kept very vanilla, his best receiver wasn’t on the field, the offensive line was missing its starting left tackle, and they were facing a very good pass defense. Luck will be fine, but this was not a pretty outing for him. Ryan Grant What is it exactly that Ryan Grant offers this team again? The bill on him was that he was the reliable playmaker. Nothing spectacular, but he was sold as the Jack Doyle of the receiver group. He wouldn’t make big plays after the catch, he wasn’t making highlight reels, but he would come in, do his job, and make valuable catches when needed. I’m still waiting to see one. It is true, Luck didn’t give him the best throws to work with. The first was a miss on a fade route where it seems Grant turned over his inside shoulder and Luck threw to his outside shoulder. It was a bit high, but could possibly have been brought down. The second was on a drag route and was high off his fingertips. Maybe it is unfair to criticize him too harshly for missing on these, but if you’re the team’s number two receiver, it seems like you need to actually make some plays. Denico Autry Autry had a pretty rough two play stretch, getting called for encroachment and then nailed for leading with the helmet. While the helmet rule is a total mess, this was definitely the kind of play where you know he’s getting hit with it. Darius Leonard is in the process of making an excellent tackle, literally catching the tight end in the air and slamming him into the ground. Autry comes in late with a helmet hit that actually pushes him upfield. Worse for Autry, he got banged up on a play and was down for a bit before walking off on his own. In a competitive defensive line group, any kind of injury is bad for establishing that he is a guy who deserves playing time.<doc-sep>Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts are set to take on the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night in their second preseason game of the 2018 NFL season. It is a game that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but one the Colts view as very valuable to their development process. Looking ahead at the game, there are quite a few things for fans to keep their eyes on. Individual players and the way the depth of the team comes together are just two of the things. New head coach Frank Reich and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus are still in the process of getting their systems implemented with the players. These preseason games are extremely valuable to help with that process. Let’s take a look at three keys to victory for the Colts tonight against the Ravens: The Defensive Starters Must Come Together Indianapolis needs to see their starting defense come together for the first time in a long time. They may still have some glaring holes in their defense, but there is plenty of talent there. Eberflus is bringing a much more aggressive defense to the Colts. That has been seen already in the first preseason game, but there were still too many big plays given up. Shoring up some of those issues in Week 2 preseason action would be a big step in the right direction towards moving to 2-0 in exhibition play.<doc-sep>
The Indianapolis Colts are set to play their first home game of the preseason when they host the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. While it will be exciting to be back in front of their home crowd, there are several Colts that won’t be able to suit up in the primetime game against the Ravens. Here’s a look at the list of inactive players for the Colts ahead of Monday night’s game: The following players are not expected to play in #BALvsIND: https://t.co/v913vSoKSg pic.twitter.com/78Bc3uTRRF — Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 20, 2018 There are a few players unsurprisingly inactive for the preseason matchup. Left tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring), safety Malik Hooker (knee) and running backs Marlon Mack (hamstring) and Robert Turbin (ankle) weren’t expected to suit up for the game. It is a good sign for star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who isn’t on the list despite suffering a shoulder sprain on Saturday. The Colts are hoping Hooker can make his preseason debut in the Week 3 home game against the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 25, but the team is taking it week by week with Castonzo, Mack and Turbin. Rookies Tyquan Lewis (foot) and Kemoko Turay (knee) will miss their second consecutive preseason game due to their respective injuries. Turay is a bit of a surprise as he returned to practice late in the week. The Colts have several injuries keeping them from seeing the full potential of the roster on the field, but this simply means more opportunity for other players to show what they are made of.