The National Football League couldn't have drawn this up better. Andrew Luck will lead his Indianapolis Colts to Fed Ex Field to take on Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins. He does so in the third preseason game for both teams, meaning that the starters are going to play the majority of the game.
As you well know, Luck and RGIII were the first two picks in April's draft and take over the reigns of two struggling franchises. Comparisons will be drawn between the two for the next 15 years, but this matchup brings them together in the spotlight for the very first time.
This article is going to focus on a couple key things to look at as it relates to this matchup and fantasy football.
Indianapolis Colts Offensive Line
If Luck gets consistent pass-protection this season he is going to come right in and pick apart opposing defenses. You cannot give a quarterback that is this fundamentally sound and accurate time to pass the ball without expecting to be beaten through the air.
The problem is that the Colts have a shoddy offensive line as of right now. In reality they don't have anything more than a marginal starter at any of the five offensive line positions. Moreover, veterans such as Samson Satele and Winston Justice leave a lot to be desired in terms of both consistency and success.
Indianapolis is going to have to give Luck the protection that he needs to read defenses, get the ball to the outside and pick apart opposing secondaries. Without this, you can expect him to take a lot of hits and start to get uncomfortable in the pocket.
Washington offers a strong test for the Colts offensive line, even without the presence of Brian Orakpo, who will most likely sit the game out. This is definitely something to watch for.
Robert Griffin III vs Struggling Colts Secondary.
RGIII is going to be facing some tough secondaries in the NFC East, at least when he takes on the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. It is important to see what the talented young quarterback can actually do against a weak secondary going up against the Colts today.
If there are initial struggles against first-teamers on the other side of the ball, this could be an indication that RGIII just isn't ready to be relied on as a QB2 in standard fantasy football leagues.
That being said, if the Baylor product is able to pick apart a unit that lacks depth and talent, he could give fantasy owners a false idea that he should be selected sooner than most draft sheets indicate. Either way, skeptics could make a case against RGIII no matter what happens today. Such is the life of an armchair NFL expert.
Indianapolis Colts Continuing its Vanilla Scheme
This is also going to be extremely interesting. I wonder if Bruce Arians and Co. are going to open it up a bit more in the Colts third preseason game. After all, Luck hasn't given them any reason to believe that he is just going to be a game manager (overused term) as a rookie.
If Indianapolis decides to open it up more, I will be excited to see who Luck targets the most. Will this cause a lack of check-down passes to the running backs? How will Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen be used? What about T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne? Should be interesting.
Washington Redskins Facing Suddenly Fierce Pass-Rush
Ever since Indianapolis made the transition to the 3-4 scheme this offseason we all knew that Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis were going to be utilized as edge-rushers from the outside linebacker positions.
What Indianapolis has done in terms of scheme seems to have worked in their first two preseason games. They accumulated three sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers with Jerry Hughes stepping up a great deal last week. The Colts were also able to get to St. Louis Rams' quarterbacks twice in the preseason opener.
I want to see how RGIII handles the pressure, steps up in the pocket and recognizes his secondary reads. This will be huge heading into the regular season.