Watching Philip Rivers on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers, you could tell his second week of practice was beneficial for him and the Colts offense.
Of course, Philip was calm against the Seattle Seahawks – he was calm in both games – but him throwing the ball the way he did, getting it a little further down the field showed he was a little more settled in. It was good to see he wanted to go after it, and of course, his excitement wasn't any different from the Seattle game or from five years ago. He's still the same individual who is really enthusiastic and always into the game.
So really, nothing changed between the two games Philip has played this season outside of seeing him throw the ball downfield, taking those shots and opening up the offense a little bit more. And overall, despite the final score, I thought Philip played well on Monday.
Going into the game, I was expecting the ball to go down the field a little bit further because I knew that if the Colts didn't do that, the 49ers were going to start sitting on routes and start crowding the line of scrimmage to make it even tougher for the Colts to run the ball. I knew they had to have something in the game plan to get the ball downfield, and they certainly did.
The Colts also had to have a plan to, if they couldn't get the ball downfield, make a concerted effort to gain yards after the catch to still get some big plays, because you need those explosive plays for an offense to be effective and keep the defense off balance.
We saw all of that Monday night, with guys like Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs and Alec Pierce performing well when called upon. The Colts wanted to get the ball in those guys' hands, especially in space, to give them the opportunity to run with the ball and make those positive plays.
The connection between Alec and Philip was especially big on Monday night, with Alec getting two touchdowns and four targets for 86 yards, and it was very important to see those two guys have the success they had. Those plays were all very significant, and good to see Alec make those catches. He played very aggressively, going after the ball, and it was good to see that Alec and Philip have that kind of connection and an understanding of each other's tendencies.
It was also another game where we saw Alec showing his continued growth as a multi-threat receiver. You see him running some different routes, like post routes and over routes, which is good for him because now defenses can't sit on him and know they can just play him deep. You want to come off the ball the same on all of your routes so the defense can't distinguish which routes you are running.
As a former wide receiver, it's fun to see someone grow the way Alec has and understand what it takes to grow your game.
There are just two weeks left in the regular season and a significant part of the Colts' playoff chances are out of their hands. As an athlete, that's the hard part: you don't have full control of your own destiny.
But as a player, as a teammate, as an athlete, you owe it to the organization, your teammates and yourself to go out there and perform as a professional regardless. You have to still play to the best of your ability and help the team win football games. You are a competitor, and every time you compete you want to put your best foot forward. That's what the Colts have to look and think about for the next two weeks.
You're playing in the National Football League, which I'm sure was a dream or goal for all of these players, so make the most of it and play to win. And there's no better feeling than going out, playing and winning a football game.
