Canadian's "other thread" about the Colts' scary offense

[JD10367]

Ask and ye shall receive...

Speaking of scary offenses I must admit that the Colts look down right terrifying. But that's for another thread

Against the Lions, a Pop Warner football team would look terrifying. (The Lions have also given up 20 to Cleveland and 26 to Cincinnati.) And only 21 of those were in the first half against the Colts' first-team offense; the other 16 points came in the 2nd half with scrubs against scrubs.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure the Colts will be a good team again. But they've suffered a lot of losses, which I think the Colts fans are glossing over and "whistling past the graveyard" about.

The Colts have a fun schedule, too; they open with the Saints, so we'll see right off the bat how good Indy is. They follow that up with a two-week road trip in the division, to the nasty Titans and improved Texans. After that they get to host the Broncos (no pushover) and Tampa. Then after the bye it's back on the road for two: the nasty Jags, and on the road to Carolina (who looks to get back to the playoffs). The Pats come into Indy, and after that the Colts get rewarded with a West Coast trip to the Chargers.

In the last half of the season they also have to go to Baltimore and then cross-country again to Oakland. Just going by the teams, the second half isn't too hard; they finish with two home games against Houston and Tennessee--who'll probably both be well out of the playoff picture--so I can see the Colts going 5-2 in that stretch, maybe even 6-1. But I can also see them going 4-5 in that first half. With every team gunning for them, and the losses they've suffered, they might win their division but I don't think they'll have home field again... and, as we saw last season, that makes all the difference (as, if that game had been in New England, I doubt the Colts mount such a second-half comeback, and right now the Pats have four Lombardis and the Colts are still answering the questions of the doubting critics as they take shots at Manning and Dungy).

 

[daedge]

Ask and ye shall receive...



Against the Lions, a Pop Warner football team would look terrifying. (The Lions have also given up 20 to Cleveland and 26 to Cincinnati.) And only 21 of those were in the first half against the Colts' first-team offense; the other 16 points came in the 2nd half with scrubs against scrubs.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure the Colts will be a good team again. But they've suffered a lot of losses, which I think the Colts fans are glossing over and "whistling past the graveyard" about.

The Colts have a fun schedule, too; they open with the Saints, so we'll see right off the bat how good Indy is. They follow that up with a two-week road trip in the division, to the nasty Titans and improved Texans. After that they get to host the Broncos (no pushover) and Tampa. Then after the bye it's back on the road for two: the nasty Jags, and on the road to Carolina (who looks to get back to the playoffs). The Pats come into Indy, and after that the Colts get rewarded with a West Coast trip to the Chargers.

In the last half of the season they also have to go to Baltimore and then cross-country again to Oakland. Just going by the teams, the second half isn't too hard; they finish with two home games against Houston and Tennessee--who'll probably both be well out of the playoff picture--so I can see the Colts going 5-2 in that stretch, maybe even 6-1. But I can also see them going 4-5 in that first half. With every team gunning for them, and the losses they've suffered, they might win their division but I don't think they'll have home field again... and, as we saw last season, that makes all the difference (as, if that game had been in New England, I doubt the Colts mount such a second-half comeback, and right now the Pats have four Lombardis and the Colts are still answering the questions of the doubting critics as they take shots at Manning and Dungy).

Nice post, I do agree with some of the losses being looked over. On paper our defense sure has taken a few losses, but overall I still dont think we are as bad off as alot of people are making it out to be. Its going to be a very interesting season once again. With Gonzo in the Colts be sure to see plenty of 3 WR Sets and a more explosive offense than last season. We missed the extra threat with Stokley out, so heres hoping Gonzo can step up in his first year and make some plays for the O.

Loosing Glenn hurts, Its obviously very important to protect Peyton and do it well. No QB can pick apart Defenses with guys in his face and thats a fact. Hopfully our Run blocking lets Addai develop into a more mature back, I can only see him improving we just have to stay commited to the run and establish the run, as it sure does help out Peyton and Co and the Play action pass.

Defense, well its all yet to be seen how it pans out. But we are still very quick and we still swarm to the ball very well. We will still pick up plenty of sacks and turnovers. But the biggy is the run defense, loosing Booger hurts big time. Ed Johnson has looked good in the pre-season so far but the main worry is that Run D. We sure got ran over alot last season, nothing worse than seeing the chains moving on the ground all game so its very important we play the run defense well or it will be a frustrating regular season.

Looking at out schedule I can see 12-4 or 13-3. 11-5 at the worst IMO.

 

[Canadian]

Lol, nice segway.

What is different this year? Well Addai looks great. Against the Lions he was down right explossive (yes I know it was just the Lions ). He could be what the Colts have been missing these recent years. Stokely is a big loss but if Gonzo can live up to his expectations there won't be an issue there.

Glenn is a big loss, and I mean big. You never want your QBs blind side opened up. I expect Manning to be blitzed a lot this year to test the blind side and out of sheer frustration in trying to stop this Offense from getting yards. The very first play Mannign got double teamed by the Lions.

I also expect the go-to-guy torch to be passed to Wayne this year from Marvin. I think Peyton will continue to switch to Marvin in the end zone more often then not because he has amazing hands, but going up the field I think Wayne will now be the slight favourite. I thought I detected a weakness in the game last night... after several successful passes to Wayne he switch his attention to Marvin again... almost like it was loyalty. Who knows, I was drinking a lot of rye (Canadian Wiskey) last night . But maybe there's a weakness there to exploit... help predict those times Manning will be blindly looking for Marvin.

But Manning looked awesome. He is hands down the best in the league at scanning the feild and then quickly deciding and quickly throwing that perfect pass.

Relax... though it may not sound like it here... I am still whole heartedly a Pats fan . I just have a lot of respect for the Colts O. I think BB and Kraft do too since they seem to be trying to implement a much more Colts like Offense this year.

 

[JD10367]

I just have a lot of respect for the Colts O. I think BB and Kraft do too since they seem to be trying to implement a much more Colts like Offense this year.

I don't really see that. I mean, what IS a "Colts-like offense"? Heck, the Forehead has been playing with Marvin Harrison his whole career, and a trio of apparently-solid backs (Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, and now Joseph Addai). If Brady had those kind of weapons, I think you would've seen a very "Colts-like offense" in Foxboro as well, LOL.

If anything I think it's going in the other direction: the Colts are playing a more Patriots-like offense. The thing about the Pats' offense has always been that they're willing to spread the ball, find the open man, take what the defense gives them; the opponent never knows where the ball is going. Up until last year, the Colts were prone to do pretty much the exact opposite; the Pats could always count on the fact that, eventually, Manning would get rattled and try to force the ball deep or force it to Harrison or SOMETHING, and the Pats would capitalize on it. Now it appears that the Colts are a bit more diverse than in previous seasons.

 

[Canadian]

"If Brady had those kind of weapons, I think you would've seen a very "Colts-like offense" in Foxboro as well, LOL."

That's my point actually! Weapons like that... you mean Welker, Moss, Stallworth, Washington, Maroney....?

The Pats have been more grindstone orientated recently. With the sledge hammer Dillon as the anchor and short throws to anyone on the field. No need to pay for great WRs when you can get the job done by sacrificing flashy yards for short solid less predictable plays.

It wasn't enough agaist the Colts last year. It didn't quite get the job done.

So look at the Colts. They have in my opinion the best dynamic duo of WRs in the leaugue. That definately spreads the D... you can't afford not to cover them and cover them well. That opens up the medium field... enter Stokely, Utek, Clark. So like you said, you just don't know where that ball is going. And Forehead is good enough that if you sacrifice coverage on a WR to cover the middle (or vice versa) you are going to pay.

Don't you see the similarities yet? We added Moss and Stallworth to be our Marvin and Wayne. Then we brought in Welker to be our go to guy for the medium yards (I am so pumped about Welker.... he is going to have a stellar year) combined with Watson and K. Brady.

There was a clear change in BBs strategy here. The old way no longer was good enough. He's making a large shift in the Offensive strategy and I think he's taking some serious notes from the strategy that bested him last year (not to mention the last few times they met in the regular season too).

I can't wait to see what Brady and BB can do with the new weapons

 

[Canadian]

I rest my case. The Colts are the team to beat this year.

They looked really strong last night. Notice Wayne had two long TD receptions (Manning starting to look to him a little more over Harrison). Notice how explosive Addai was. The Offense looks mature, they've been working on thier system for some years now. The Saints started with cover 2 and Manning ran the ball. When the Saints tried to plug up the middle Manning dropped it past David. They scored 31 points in the 2nd half.

The surprise to me was how the D absolutely shut down The Saints Offense. After filling some running holes found in the first half the Colts D looked awesome.

The Pats have thier work cut out for them.

The Colts are clearly the team to beat this year.

 

[babalu87]

^
No doubt
They are making the adjustments at half-time look at the way they SHREDDED the Patriots in the AFCCG AND they just SHREDDED the prohibitive favorite NFC Superbowl team.

The Colts are SCARY good and will probably get better as the season progresses

 

[JD10367]

I rest my case. The Colts are the team to beat this year.

They looked really strong last night. Notice Wayne had two long TD receptions (Manning starting to look to him a little more over Harrison). Notice how explosive Addai was. The Offense looks mature, they've been working on thier system for some years now. The Saints started with cover 2 and Manning ran the ball. When the Saints tried to plug up the middle Manning dropped it past David. They scored 31 points in the 2nd half.

The surprise to me was how the D absolutely shut down The Saints Offense. After filling some running holes found in the first half the Colts D looked awesome.

The Pats have thier work cut out for them.

The Colts are clearly the team to beat this year.

Uhhhh.... Hold on there, pardner.

First off, it's one game. The Pats lost to Buffalo 31-0 one year... we all know what happened that year. I think they also started off a season with a mighty whupping of the Steelers at home and a nice opening run... we all know what happened that year. It's a long season.

Don't forget, the Colts were on an emotional high last night. First game of the year, all the TV hoopla, raising the banner, etc.,. And you might want to consider the possibility that the Saints just suck ass.

(Oh, yeah, the Saints might want to try doing things like "defending that Marvin Harrison guy" and "not giving Peyton Manning all day to fade back and pass".)

If you want to crown their asses, then crown their asses. I certainly won't after just one game, under these circumstances.

 

[dashoe]

I sense A LOT of fear from Pats fans today.

 

[PatsFan09]

I sense A LOT of fear from Pats fans today.

Right, because our secondary is as pathetic as Jason David...

The Saints were exposed last night. They barely put any pressure on Manning, and their LB corp is absolutely pathetic.

In all honesty, I think that the first half Colts would be more indicative than the 2nd half when playing a team with an actual defense.

 

[RoadGrader]

I sense A LOT of fear from Pats fans today.

how in the name of Bill Polian did you just manage to type this post what with all the you had to be doing last nite??

those little hands and fingers have to be rubbed raw

guess you're a gamer after all

 

[Jaric]

how in the name of Bill Polian did you just manage to type this post what with all the you had to be doing last nite??

those little hands and fingers have to be rubbed raw

guess you're a gamer after all

Fortunately, with all the ball washing going on as of late, we are all staying niiiice and lubed up so there is no chaffing.

I thought Salisbusry was going to have an orgasm talking about the defense this morning on ESPN. It was kinda disturbing to be honest.

 

[dashoe]

Right, because our secondary is as pathetic as Jason David...

The Saints were exposed last night. They barely put any pressure on Manning, and their LB corp is absolutely pathetic.

In all honesty, I think that the first half Colts would be more indicative than the 2nd half when playing a team with an actual defense.

What ever makes you feel better, my friend. There isn't a secondary in the league that can cover Wayne, Harrison, Clark, Addai, Utect, Gonzalas, Fletcher,.........and occasionally Klecko.

The Colts defense is for real. Fast and now PHYSICAL.

It's just one game, but boy, was it a great start. If the Colts defense continues to play like that I really don't see anyone beating them. Not that they'll go undefeated. You just can't say with any certainty that X team can beat them.

 

[dashoe]

how in the name of Bill Polian did you just manage to type this post what with all the you had to be doing last nite??

those little hands and fingers have to be rubbed raw

guess you're a gamer after all

:LOL: Twas a very satisfying night at dashoe's.

 

[HarpoonIPA]

I sense A LOT of fear from Pats fans today.

It’s only one game.

 

[grog]

funny, on ESPN this morning they are proclaiming the key to a good NFL defense is now a lot of undersized quick guys. They fail to realize that that type of defense works great if you get the lead and the other team is trying to play catch-up. Give me a break.

 

[bideau]

funny, on ESPN this morning they are proclaiming the key to a good NFL defense is now a lot of undersized quick guys. They fail to realize that that type of defense works great if you get the lead and the other team is trying to play catch-up. Give me a break.

Mike & Mike had someone on (one of the talking heads) who said that the Colts are now the clear cut favorites to win the whole thing.

If I had known the Super Bowl was being played last night, I would have paid closer attention.

 

[dashoe]

Mike & Mike had someone on (one of the talking heads) who said that the Colts are now the clear cut favorites to win the whole thing.

If I had known the Super Bowl was being played last night, I would have paid closer attention.

Yeah, what an idiot. Someone should tell him the SB was already won in the offseason by the Pats.

 

[dashoe]

funny, on ESPN this morning they are proclaiming the key to a good NFL defense is now a lot of undersized quick guys. They fail to realize that that type of defense works great if you get the lead and the other team is trying to play catch-up. Give me a break.

It was 10 to 10 at halftime. Speed kills.

 

[Undertaker #59*]

Yeah, what an idiot. Someone should tell him the SB was already won in the offseason by the Pats.

That's old news now. Clearly the Colts are the cream of the crop.