Horseshoe Huddle

Film Room: French, Fries Steal the Show in the Preseason Opener

The Colts have a lot of decisions to make when it comes to the reserve offensive linemen this offseason. Which players stood out in the preseason opener?

Zach Hicks

Preseason football is fairly difficult to gauge, as teams like to stick to very vanilla and basic play-calls/designs. One thing that we can actually look at, and takeaway from these games, is one on one match-ups between individual players.

With that, these games can be somewhat valuable for players in the trenches and/or players out at wide receiver or cornerback. The Indianapolis Colts have some positional battles going on at every one of those spots, so the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills provided a little clarity as to how those battles are going.

Today, we are going to focus on the offensive line and dive into which players stood out on Saturday.

French, Fries Steals the Broadcast's Heart

Anybody that tuned into this game was forced to listen to the Buffalo broadcast team make joke after joke about Wesley French and Will Fries playing alongside each other. While the French Fries joke got old pretty fast, this duo did perform quite well against the Bills.

Starting with Wesley French, he really impressed me in this game. He is a superb athlete that fell to UDFA territory due to his smaller frame. His frame was hardly an issue in this game. He came out aggressive and fast in pass protection, and he got on defensive tackles in a hurry.

This is the first that I have seen of French this offseason and I came away from this game thinking that he has a strong chance to make the team as the 9th offensive lineman. If he continues this play in joint practices against the Detroit Lions, I think we should all start penciling his name into our roster projections at the end of Summer.

Shifting over to Will Fries, and he was even more impressive. The second-year interior offensive lineman looked sturdy and strong all game long. He overpowered his match-ups and he didn't allow any pressure as a pass protector.

Fries is a player that will be relied on quite a bit this season, as he will likely slide in as the team's primary reserve interior lineman. This performance should only give the fans, and the coaching staff, more confidence that Fries can step in if there were to be an injury on the interior this season.

Here are a few of his best pass blocking snaps on the night:

Bernhard Raimann's Up and Down Night 

Rookie third round pick Bernhard Raimann saw a lot of action in this game, logging a team-high 48 snaps. The results were a bit of a mixed bag. He had some strong reps where he showcased his fluidity and technique, but he also had other reps where the concerns about experience and arm length reared their ugly head.

Overall, I would say that this was a good learning experience for the young offensive tackle. It is exceedingly difficult to play left tackle in the NFL and Raimann got to see that first hand on Saturday. The hope is that he takes the film he got from this game and improves upon it this week against the Lions.

Here are some clips that showcase his up and down night:

Other News and Notes

While the starters didn't play too long in this game, I did want to add my two cents on each player and how they performed in this one. I didn't grab any clips because we know that these players are going to make the team and play a ton of snaps this season. The preseason just matters more for depth players.

Left Tackle Matt Pryor: He also had an up and down night. He had a few rough snaps in pass protection, but he did recover well on (most of) them. He was superb in run blocking, arguably the best on the team in this department.

Left Guard Quenton Nelson: Despite what that one viral-ish clip against Tim Settle would have you all think, Nelson was perfectly fine in this one. No worries about him going into the season.

Center Ryan Kelly: Kelly looked a little shaky in this game, especially in the run game. I'm not overly concerned, but it is something to keep an eye on once the season rolls around.

Right Guard Danny Pinter: Pinter saw a lot of action in this game, seeing time at both center and right guard. He looked as athletic and fluid as ever, he just needs to clean up some concerns at the second-level in the run game.

Right Tackle Braden Smith: Braden was Braden. Sturdy and strong all around. No concerns at all.

Right tackle Jordan Murray had the ultimate lowlight in the second quarter of this game. He completely whiffed on a block, which led to a quick sack and fumble on Nick Foles. The Bills would go on to scoop and score on the play.

Not the best look for a player hoping to squeak onto the roster.

UDFA guard Josh Seltzner had a few nice reps in this one. He's likely still behind French and Fries on the depth chart, but I'll be keeping a close eye on him going forward.

Stock Up

  • Will Fries
  • Wesley French
  • Josh Seltzner
  • Danny Pinter

Stock Down

  • Jordan Murray
  • Alex Mollette
  • Brandon Kemp

Need your fill on daily Colts' content? Head over to the Locked On Colts' YouTube channel where Jake Arthur and myself hit on all the major topics surrounding this team. Hit that subscribe button while you are there!

Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.

Follow Horseshoe Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.

Published
Zach Hicks
ZACH HICKS

Zach Hicks is the Lead Analyst for HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has been on the NFL beat since 2017. His works have appeared on SBNation.com, the Locked On Podcast Network, BleacherReport.com, MSN.com, & Yardbarker.com. 

Home/Film