Vorstellung » HOUSTON (AP) — A year ago at this time Andrew Luck

was at home struggling with an injured shoulder that cost him the entire season.On Saturday he wrote a happy ending to the latest chapter of his comeback season https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Braden-Smith-Jersey , throwing for 222 yards and two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts raced out to a big lead and cruised to a 21-7 win over the Houston Texans in the wild-card game. Luck put on a show in his hometown in a stadium where he'd attended games throughout childhood and played in them since high school, throwing for 191 yards and two touchdowns before halftime to help the Colts (11-6) build a 21-0 lead.He denied feeling "at home" at NRG Stadium, but admitted to having warm feelings for the city he grew up in and where his grandparents and many friends still reside."But it's still an away stadium," he said. "It was very loud, very energetic, but fun to win, certainly."Running back Marlon Mack had 148 yards and a touchdown for Indianapolis, which advances to face the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round next weekend."We know we have an elite quarterback and we can throw it for 400 and win when we have to," Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said."But the margin for error in playoff football when you try to do it that way is very thin. When you can win like this — running the football and stopping it — that's just everything."Houston (11-6), which overcame a 0-3 start to win the AFC South, gave up too many big plays and couldn't get anything going on offense in the first half to fall into the huge hole.Deshaun Watson, who was sacked an NFL-leading 62 times in the regular season, was sacked three times and hit eight more times in a disappointing playoff debut. He finished with 235 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception."Just a lack of execution on our part," Watson said. "We didn't make plays. I didn't make plays. Communication was a little off. You just got to give the Colts the credit."The Colts, who opened the season 1-5, continued an impressive run by winning their fifth straight and for the 10th time in 11 games. Saturday was their first playoff appearance since the AFC championship game loss at New England in the "Deflategate" game in the 2014 season.It was another good game in a splendid season for Luck. He threw for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns in the regular season after missing all of 2017 with a shoulder injury.The Texans didn't score until rookie Keke Coutee grabbed a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap a 16-play, 89-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion that cut it to 21-7 with about 11 minutes left.They led the NFL with nine comeback wins this season, but their attempt at a rally ended on their next possession when Watson's pass on fourth-and-10 from the Indianapolis 24 fell short with about four minutes left.Luck threw for 863 yards with six touchdowns as the teams split two meetings in the regular season. He picked up right where he left off in this one Jabaal Sheard Jersey , when he found Eric Ebron on a 6-yard TD pass on their first drive. That play was set up by a 38-yard catch by T.Y. Hilton, who had 63 yards receiving on that drive."We didn't have a lot of guys that made the playoffs so the guys that made the playoffs wanted to go out there and set the tone early, try to get the crowd out of the game," Hilton said. "That's what we did."Hilton didn't have any catches on the next drive, but the Colts still drove down the field easily and made it 14-0 on a 2-yard run by Mack later in the first.Houston went for it on fourth-and-4 from the Indianapolis 45 on its second possession and Watson was intercepted by Kenny Moore II. It was his first interception since he threw two against the Redskins on Nov. 18.The Colts got to the 17 after that before J.J. Watt deflected Luck's pass and he was intercepted by Brandon Dunn. But the Texans couldn't move the ball and had to punt.Indianapolis pushed the lead to 21-0 when Luck connected with Dontrelle Inman on an 18-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter."It's very frustrating when they're able to execute and get their job done," Watt said. "We had a couple of big penalties early in the game as well. But you have to overcome it and you have to find a way to win."The Texans had a fourth-and-1 from the 9 late in the second quarter and went for it again instead of settling for a field goal. The gamble didn't pay off when Watson's pass to DeAndre Hopkins was low and bounced in front of him in the end zone.INJURIESColts: Safety Malik Hooker left in the third quarter with a foot injury. … S Mike Mitchell injured his calf in the third quarter and didn't return.Texans: Safety Justin Reid injured his ribs in the second quarter and didn't return. … Hopkins said he played most of the game with a Grade 3 AC sprain of his right shoulder after injuring it in the first half.UP NEXTColts: Travel to Kansas City where the Chiefs were 7-1 in the regular season.Texans: The Texans have some decisions to make in the offseason with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and safety Tyrann Mathieu both becoming free agents. They might use the franchise tag to keep Clowney, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft. Could Lodge be a potential Colts target in the draft?" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteStampede Bluean Indianapolis Colts communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsColtsShopAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Colts StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Colts NewsYahoo Colts Team PageYahoo Colts ReportYahoo Colts Depth ChartYahoo Colts TransactionsYahoo Colts PhotosShop About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Filed under:Colts AnalysisInterviewsNFL DraftColts Prospect Interviews: Ole Miss WR DaMarkus LodgeNew,19commentsCould Lodge be a potential Colts target in the draft?EDTShareTweetShareShareColts Prospect Interviews: Ole Miss WR DaMarkus LodgeMatt Bush-USA TODAY SportsThe Colts prospect interviews are rolling along as we approach these players’ Pro Days. Today’s player interview is Ole Miss WR DaMarkus Lodge. The Colts need more depth at the receiver position and the acrobatic Lodge would be an excellent fit.The interview will be towards the bottom of the page as we talk about his how he wins at the line of scrimmage, his insane catch against Vanderbilt, and how he fits in the Colts’ receiver group.BackgroundSize:6’1” 202 pounds Measurables: 40 Time: 4.55 / 10-yard split: 1.6 / Bench Press: 11 Reps / Vertical Jump: 33.5 inches / Broad Jump: 119 inches / 3-Cone: 7.06 secondsCareer Stats:122 catches for 1,790 yards and 14 touchdowns with a yards per catch of 14.6 in his college career.Fit with the Colts:DaMarkus Lodge would be an excellent fit in the Colts’ offense. With TY Hilton as the “Z” receiver and Devin Funchess likely lining up as the big slot, the Colts need an outside “X” receiver who can win off the line and catch balls in traffic. Those are two areas that Lodge excels in. His releases are superb and his ability to make acrobatic catches in traffic is perhaps the best in the class. He would be able to settle in perfectly on the outside in the Colts’ offense and perform well in this potential role.Film RoomFirst thing that really pops with Lodge is his releases off the line. He wins in a ton of ways from quick feet to being more physical than corners. Lodge creates a lot of separation at the line of scrimmage.Lodge wins in traffic as well. His ability to get vertical and high point passes is superb. He is an acrobat in the air, and he knows how to twist and contort his body to make catches most players struggle to make.Lodge is unafraid of going over the middle. He can work in the intermediate areas and fight through contact for catches. He also has strong hands and shields his body well in traffic.Lodge seems to love to block which I’m sure has caught the eye of both Frank Reich and Chris Ballard.InterviewZH: You played with two NFL-caliber wide receivers at Ole Miss in AJ Brown and DK Metcalf. What was that receiver room like during the season?DL: Well it was actually a unique experience. Once you get guys that are of that caliber then guys like myself even, it’s usually a selfish room with a lot of egos. It actually wasn’t that way with us. We held each other accountable every day no matter what we did on and off the field. We went to work every single day and put in extra work every day together as a group. It was certainly a blessing to play with those guys and learn from them and have them learn from me also.ZH: Your Junior year Ole Miss went from starting Shea Patterson to Jordan Ta’amu late in the season. What was that transition like going from Shea to Jordan?DL: It actually wasn’t a hard transition at all because everything we did, we did together so if one quarterback was out there then all of the quarterbacks were out there, from walk-ons to scholarship guys. We had been throwing with Jordan all offseason in the summer so we were pretty familiar with him and he was familiar with us. It was pretty easy getting him in and connecting with him real fast because we were working with him for so long. ZH: You were invited to the Shrine Game this offseason. How was that experience for you?DL: Definitely a great experience, especially my favorite part, which was the hospital. Just seeing those kids and how their faces lit up when we walked in. Spending time with those kids, and learning their stories Pierre Desir Color Rush Jersey , and how they came up, and what they are going through, and try to be an inspiration to them was definitely my favorite part. It was a great experience though, I got to meet a lot of guys. I met a lot of NFL coaches and got to learn NFL terminology out of their playbooks so I really appreciate the East West Shrine for having me. ZH: Let’s talk a little about your game now. The first thing that stands out is your releases off of the line of scrimmage. How did you master the ability of winning off of the line?DL: Well I’ve kind of been working on it for a long time with my trainer, David Robertson. He would always tell me that if you can’t get off press coverage then it doesn’t matter if you run a great route or run a 4.3 even. If you can’t get off of the line then all that stuff doesn’t matter. I’ve been working on press releases for a while man. I’ve got so many (moves) that I can just pull out and beat a cornerback with all game, so that is definitely something I’ve worked on.ZH: You are an acrobat in the air as you make a ton of difficult catches. Is that just a natural trait that you have or was that something you tried to work on?DL: Well, with things like that and making those type of catches, the circus catches, as people will call them, it kind of has to happen naturally. That was kind of just God-given, man, and I never really just worked on making crazy catches but they just seem to happen for me (laughs). ZH: Of all your crazy catches you made in your career at Ole Miss, which one was the most memorable one?DL: It is crazy because I have two actually. Number one was the one handed touchdown against Vanderbilt (shown below). I caught it on Joejuan Williams. It was a fade route, I opened up and reached out with my left hand. I’m right handed so I really don’t catch the ball with my left hand at all really so it kind of just like stuck and I got my two feet down and that was just crazy. I’ve always dreamed of catching a one handed touchdown all my life and I finally did it so that was by far my favorite one.My second favorite one, I caught a screen route and then I hurdled a guy and once I hit the ground, I juked another guy so that had to be my second favorite one (shown below).ZH: I’m glad you brought up the Vandy catch because I wanted to ask you about it. I noticed you got two feet down when you only needed to get the one. Just what was going through your mind on that one?DL: (Laughs) Well you know, I was working on the toe tapping and things for so long so it just kind of happened naturally. A lot of my catches that I catch on the sideline, I honestly don’t even try to do the toe tapping thing, it just kind of happens. When I came from the sideline on that play https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Kemoko-Turay-Jersey , AJ Brown came up to me and was like “Bro you caught that with one hand AND got two feet down?? That was a circus bro.” I was like dang, I didn’t even know that so I don’t know it just kind of naturally happens (laughs).ZH: Switching topics a tad, I noticed on film that you like to do the dirty work. You are a very strong run blocker for a receiver. Is that an area of your game that you take pride in?DL: Yes sir, I definitely do. I’m not the biggest of the group or the most stand-outish of them. You know those guys got the big muscles and six packs and all of that so I was always called the “little guy” so I kind of just took it upon myself to work on blocking and just compete every play. You know blocking is straight effort. Little technique but straight effort so you can control how you block and not be a selfish teammate. It was something I took upon myself to get better at because I was God awful at it my freshman year.ZH: Who was the toughest cornerback you faced in your college career?DL: Oh wow.... there a bunch of guys man. I’d probably have to say Vernon Hargreaves which was my sophomore year when we went down to Florida. Hargreaves was the toughest corner as far as being physical, he was a technician, he was a very smart football player and where he was supposed to be every single time, so definitely Vernon Hargreaves.ZH: Which NFL player do you compare yourself to most/model your game after?DL: I watch a lot of guys. I pick and choose from a ton of them. Michael Thomas, he’s a big physical guy who is going to go up and catch the ball no matter where it is with his catch radius. I get a lot of my releases and top of my routes from Odell, he is very good with releases and giving a little sauce at the top of the route. I model my toe tapping after AB. He kind of made it popular with the “Tony Toe Tap” thing. I kind of pick and choose from a lot of guys though.ZH: Last two questions are going to be Colts centered. First off, the Colts’ receiving core features two talented players in Devin Funchess and TY Hilton. What would you bring to that receiving room with those guys?DL: I think me just being the person that I am. I bring high energy to everything I do from film session to weight room, I’m always up dancing and getting everybody going. I’m also a student of the game, though. I can dissect a defense and I think I’m a pretty good route runner. I can get separation at the top of my routes. I would just come in and compete with those guys every day.ZH: Lastly, what would it be like to catch passes from a quarterback like Andrew Luck in the NFL compared to playing with college quarterbacks (no slight to Jordan Ta’amu or Shea Patterson intended)?DL: Man.... That would be awesome. It still doesn’t feel real at this point that I’ll be playing with the guys that I’ve been looking up to for the last decade. I don’t know man, I just can’t wait. Like you said, no disrespect to Jordan or Shea but those guys in the NFL are the top of the top. They’ve been doing this for a while so I know there will be a lot of accurate balls and they’ll put the ball where only I can get it. I think my true talents will actually show better than my college career at the next level.