Will the real Daniel Jones please stand up?
Week 1 has the ability to tell a lot of false stories. It's the only sample size we've got, so overreacting doesn't take much. And in their season opener against the Miami Dolphins, the Indianapolis Colts and Jones looked fantastic in a 33-8 victory.
But maybe it's worth slowing down the enthusiasm just a bit.
In his Monday morning column, ESPN's Bill Barnwell shared three reasons that things might not be perfect going forward for Indy, and it has to do with the overly good fortune they had Sunday.
"The Colts went 10-for-18 on third and fourth down, started three of their drives from beyond their own 40-yard line and played the entire game from an extremely positive game script," Barnwell wrote. "Playing with a lead is always going to make life easier for an offense, and I would expect the sacks that have plagued Jones to rear their head more often if and when Indianapolis is playing from behind."
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Barnwell had more to say, also pointing out that the Dolphins weren't exactly the '85 Bears on the other side.
"The other issue is that the Dolphins just don't have an NFL-caliber secondary," Barnwell writes. "Losing Storm Duck to an early ankle injury didn't help, but he isn't exactly Pat Surtain. Guys they signed in training camp, such as Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas, were playing significant roles at cornerback. Fifth-round picks Jason Marshall Jr. and Dante Trader Jr. were called on for meaningful snaps in their NFL debuts. And frankly, the Dolphins looked as if they accidentally ran out their third-stringers for a real NFL game. They were getting smoked off the line, struggling to communicate and sort out route combinations, and couldn't consistently handle stacks and motion. When they did pressure Jones and he got the ball out, they couldn't get close enough to Indy's receivers to make quick tackles. They looked lost. It's possible that the Colts secretly snuck prime Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton onto the field, but I suspect the Colts will have more trouble moving the ball against the Broncos next week."
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It would definitely be exciting if random Colts legends got onto the field.
But that's not how this works, of course. The Broncos will be a massive test for Jones, and it's not certain he'll pass it.
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