By Sean Quinn
The San Diego Chargers, not the New England Patriots, not Tom Brady, not the apparent next Messiah Tedy Bruschi, handed the Indianapolis Colts their first loss of the season Sunday. The Colts showed imperfections in their offense and severe blemishes in their secondary that would be difficult for Proactiv Solution to even attempt to clean up in time for the playoffs. The Colts, though, are still the frontrunners for the Super Bowl title and should be afraid of the dark before they are frightened by the New England Patriots.The Colts were outplayed Sunday, as more than half of their possessions included at least one play of negative yardage. None of those coming at a more critical time than Peyton Manning’s intentional grounding late in the fourth quarter to take the Colts, trailing 19-17, out of field goal range.
Peyton Manning was hurried more than a gift wrapper at a holiday department store. The AFC’s leading rusher, Edgerrin James, ran almost 90 yards less than his season average. The offensive line was so pedestrian it forced Tony Dungy to call pass after pass. And the league’s No. 4 defense gave up 453 yards.
The Colts showed more flaws than any of us thought possible Sunday. They, like the other 31 teams in the league, have things to work on during the last two weeks of the regular season. Unlike the other 31 teams, though, Indianapolis will make sure those flaws never flare up to that high of a level in a game again this season.
They still have to worry about facing the Denver Broncos, Sand Diego Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers or whatever other team comes at them in the playoffs. But they won’t have to worry about the New England Patriots. Not because Tedy Bruschi will miss the game in a heroic effort to pull small children out of a burning bus in the stadium parking lot, but because this season, Peyton and the Colts are just better than Tom and the Pats.
The Colts won’t have to play another game outside of a dome after this weekend’s game at Seattle. And if the Patriots make it to the second round of the playoffs, they won’t go any further. Week Nine showed us proof – in New England.
Manning broke his 0-7 mark playing in Foxboro with the Colts 40-21 win. There’s no reason to think he won’t break his winless playoff record against them this season either.
The Patriots don’t have the speed that the Chargers had Sunday to compete the with playoff Colts. The Chargers came with a 3-4 defensive attack against the Colts, as Shawn Merriman assaulted Manning all day Sunday. The Patriots linebackers aren’t quick enough to get to Manning using stunt blitzes, as they had no sacks in the first meeting this season. The defensive front is big and physical, but the Chargers had the No. 1 rushing defense in the league and the Colts had an unhealthy offensive line.
Brady threw three touchdowns in the first meeting and he could do that again, considering the Colts gave up 255 yards to Drew Brees on Sunday. That won’t matter, though, as the Colts will shut down a dismal Pats rushing attack that averages less than 100 yards per game. The Colts offensive fire power will reignite in the postseason and be too much for perhaps any team, especially the Pats.
The meeting on Sunday could be a preview of the Super Bowl, as the Seahawks’ Shaun Alexander could be the most valuable player in the league. We won’t see the best of both teams, so it will be hard to judge what the Colts have done to repair the divots in their armor.
You have to figure Manning isn’t going to have such a strenuous day in the pocket as he had against the Chargers, as he looked more like a bouncing kangaroo with a baby joey in the pouch than the stealthy tiger he has always been. The offensive line will improve with a healthy Ryan Diem, helping the rushing attack that was nonexistent Sunday.
The questions about the secondary still loom. The opening touchdown to Keenan McCardell was a blown coverage by the secondary. They refused to fix the problem, allowing a 54-yard pass again to McCardell on a third-and-9 that led to the game-winning field goal.
Let us not forget this is a defense that is built around the efficiency of the offense. When the Colts don’t score, the defense is naturally going to show weaknesses. The Colts were undefeated because the defense could make plays to help the Colts win, not to make the Colts win. Even so, Dwight Freeney’s sack and Gary Brackett’s interception were the only reasons Indy was able to get back into the game.
Perhaps this game was a mirage for the one-loss Colts, as they had nothing to play for after having already clinched home field advantage. Still, they looked vulnerable and the Chargers looked good. It’s guaranteed Tony Dungy isn’t thinking about the Patriots, he’s just hoping lightning doesn’t strike twice in Indianapolis the same season. Thankfully, Manning won’t let it.
One reply on “Colts- media have to get back on the horse”
Colts-Pats The Colts are an excellent regular season – probably even the best in the last few years. They aren’t really a bad playoff team either; they’ve just had the misfortune of playing in inclement weather in Foxboro the last two years. You make some nice points about a possible Colts-Patriots playoff matchup, but rely much too heavily on their earlier meeting this season in your analysis. I cautioned Pittsburgh fans about the same thing last year. The Steelers dominated the Patriots during the regular season, but the Patriots were a far different team in the playoffs, and blew out Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. The point is, don’t put too much stake in a regular season victory. The Patriots were injured, and the Colts were coming off a bye-week with plenty to prove. The problem is, the Colts didn’t really prove anything. Beating the Patriots in the playoffs, though, would be another story. Even that, however, would make the year a disappointment if the Colts don’t win the superbowl. There are plenty of reasons to think that the Colts will win, but I personally think that if they meet the Patriots in the playoffs, they will lose.