It’s getting easier and easier to see Roger Goodell saying, “With the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select...”
The Colts lost 17-3 at home to the Jaguars on Sunday afternoon to move to 0-10 and continue to show almost nothing that makes you think they can win a game this season. In the last 22 quarters, the Colts have had 64 possessions. Those possessions have ended with four touchdowns, three field goals, 13 turnovers, a missed field goal, a blocked punt and 34 punts. The rest either ended on downs or at the end of games or halves. The last of those turnovers came from the third man to quarterback the team this season.
The Colts turned to Dan Orlovsky after Curtis Painter’s second interception of the game in the fourth quarter (an interception that came a couple of plays after an earlier interception was overturned on review because the Jags had 12 men on the field). This being the 2011 Colts, Orlovsky promptly fumbled on a hit by Jeremy Mincey and Tyson Alualu recovered to set up a Maurice Jones-Drew touchdown that put the game out of reach.
We’ll see if Orlovsky gets a chance to start after the bye week, but, frankly, it probably doesn’t make much of a difference. Neither Orlovsky nor Painter, who has regressed terribly after a decent start this year, is good neough to lead a deeply flawed roster to victories. Orlovsky, a veteran of the 2008 Lions, will be able to tell his teammates what to expect as a winless season draws closer so maybe he should be the man going forward.
On the other side, Jacksonville’s 17 points on Sunday were their second-highest total of the season. That tells you just about everything you need to know about the state of their offense, although Jones-Drew -- 137 of 251 total yards -- remains a very productive player despite the lack of talent around him. Blaine Gabbert did throw a touchdown in the third quarter, but, at 4.8 yards per pass, there’s still a lot of work for him left to do as he develops as a quarterback. The Jacksonville defense has been pretty good this year and they were very good on Sunday against the admittedly overmatched Colts. That might be enough to get them another two or three wins this season, but, as with Gabbert, there’s much work to be done.