Ask an Indianapolis Colts fan: Playoff Edition

Obviously you don’t get much chance to read Stampede Blue. :D

As szquirrel so accurately indicated, I think the choice by the Colts was hypocritical and illogical. Again, that is shot at Colts management, not the players.

…but I think the P. Manning vs. R. Lewis matchup will be hyped in much the same fashion: two future HOFers who command their respective sides of the ball in a similar fashion with play calling, misdirection and disguised personnel packages.

Plus there’s no guarantee that the Pats would’ve even made the AFC Championship game, and given the way they played Sunday, there’s no way they get by the Bolts even if they managed to beat the Ravens.

Actually, I don’t think the match-up would have been as compelling. The Patriots clearly are not the team they were two or three years ago. Jerod Mayo disappeared yesterday, and Brandon Meriweather is waaaaaaay over-rated. Defensively, they struggled to pressure the QB all season, and yesterday they were wretched at stopping the run. Bill Belichick is supposedly a “genius” who can take dog meat and turn it into a Top 10 defense, right?

Yeah, that myth took a big hit yesterday.

Obviously not from a timing perspective, but our receivers have been playing pitch-and-catch with Peyton since August, so I do not believe lack of significant action will equate to our offense flat-lining against the Ravens.

The biggest issue with Colts personnel in the last month has been getting the starters healthy, and this much-needed respite will pay dividends in their (hopefully) deep playoff run. On both sides of the ball from Freeney, Mathis, Powers & Bullitt to Garcon, Brown and LT C. Johnson, our team was limping to 14-0 and home field advantage.

I expect a great showing this Saturday night from both squads, but I believe the Colts will get out early and lean on our pass rush to disrupt Flacco’s comeback hopes. A stellar performance against the Pats is a great building block for the Flacco, Rice and the younger Ravens, but the Wild Card dreams will end in Indy.

I don’t know. What I do know is the final score will answer your question. If the Colts win, then resting made sense. If they don’t, the Polian notion that “momentum is over-rated” is forever discredited.

I’ll be polite, but I ain’t ever going to let go or forgive that lying drunk Irsay for destroying part of my childhood (Note, I fully recognize that the city leaders of Baltimore were just as much to blame). That said, I do have a lot of respect for his son Jimmy nor do I hold any dislike for current fans of the Indies.

But I digress, to the Indy fans….
The big knock on Dungy (actually the only knock when you think about it because the dude is a class act) is that he only got one Superbowl ring with Peyton Manning. What is the feeling about that perspective among Indy fans?

Not really related to the game, but I remember hearing a lot of rumblings about finance issues in Indy in regards to the cost of the stadium between the ownership and the city. If anyone could shed light from a local perspective, I would appreciate it.

after Addai got the best of him a couple times (the TD run and in pass pro)

At least I do. Take out the Dolphins wildcat game (something I doubt they will see) and the final 2 games, the run defense would be #10 in the league. When this team is completely healthy like it should be next week, there is a lot of depth. Kelvin Hayden, Jerraud Powers, and Jacob Lacey should all play finally. Clint Session and Gary Brackett will both be out there. This is one of the best defenses in Indianapolis Colts history IMHO.

because it has so much talent and play-making upside. Every time an opposing QB drops back presents an opportunity for mathis and freeney to produce a sack/fumble. Every time a QB hurries a throw, I know our ball-hawking, fast-as-hell secondary is looking to make a play, and every time a see Clint Session shooting a gap in the line of scrimmage, I know he is looking to take someone’s head off.

Attitude has never been an issue here, and my confidence stems from the talent I know they possess. Young guys stepping up and stepping in like rookies Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey, Clint Session and Phillip Wheeler give our D a promising outlook. Melvin Bullitt and Bethea are studs at SS and FS, and despite Bob Sanders being out, his presence and his identity is still felt and exuded by the guys in the locker room. Damn I like our team, in all facets…except kick returning.

limit the Colts big plays, force a few mistakes, and put up some points while grinding out the clock

And obviously do anything you can to cause Peyton to make critical mistakes. Pressure him. Force a few turnovers. Frustrate him. Induce him to beat himself.
If Peyton’s on his game and stays in rhythm you don’t stand a chance. That’s not conceit, just truth. You’re never going to win a shoot-out against Peyton Manning when he’s on fire. I doubt if there are many teams that can.

On Defense:

1. pressure Manning and get him off his spot – when he gets happy feet, he makes mistakes.
2. jam the Colts receivers and knock them off their routes – with a few weeks in between games, timing might be off slightly, and this certainly would disrupt the patterns more
3. protect the middle of the field – clark and collie have eaten defenses alive over the middle all season.
4. disguise coverages as best you can – try to use manning’s own recipes of diversion against him.

On offense:

1. Ray Rice needs to study tape of Maurice Jones-Drew and follow along – They are carbon copies of each other, and MJD has given the Colts fits for years. If Rice can harness that running form against the Colts, he’ll have a big game.
2. If the Colts elect to stack the box against the run, Flacco has to come up large – This means finding a rhythm with Mason, Clayton, Heap early on…playing catchup doesn’t work against the Colts pass rush.
3. limit the turnovers – If you give the Colts a short field to work with, they will make you pay. Again. and again.

But, in all honesty, even if Peyton throws 3 INTs and Rice runs for 150 yards an a couple TDs, #18 and the Colts find a way to manufacture points and possessions at the end of games…I don’t know what it is, but if there’s time on the clock and the ball in Peyton’s hands, there’s always a chance.

That Manning cannot be stopped using any method. He can pick apart any kind of defense. The strategy is to keep him off the field with controlling the clock and having to act on every single mistake he mades. If a Ravens player drops an interception or lets a Colt recover a fumble by Garcon or Addai, it may be enough to keep the Ravens from winning. This team hasn’t lost a meaningful game in a year. Colts players will have to screw up to lose IMHO.

I just wanted to see that you al were capable of discussing a way to tag an L the Colts. :P

As for that prayers, I’m not a believer of prayers for sporting event outcomes, but if forced to pick, psalm 58:6-11 is to the point.

There are a lot of first, second, and third year players in the rotation or starting lineup right now. The team is coming together.

but he is now a 4 time MVP, and the ONLY one ever. Another SB ring (or two) and he goes down as the best ever. Without at least one more ring, the debate is wide open.

Win?
Still Win?
Win by alot?

Ifs and buts…

Should be a great game on Saturday!

I think your statement would be more accurate if you said: “Do what we did the first game this year! Except this time score touchdowns…”

Or has this turned into the prediction thread?

Or is he beat out by Webb or a rookie we draft or free agent?

Do we package a deal together including Landry for a WR or a few more 2nd or 3rd round picks and put Zbi in his place?

Does Gaither resign? Oher switches to LT, who plays RT?

the Ravens are not built to come back from deficit. If the Indies start out fast, its over quick. We live and die by the run. Rather frustratingly, it seemed our coaching staff refused to admit this during the year at times.

but I don’t ike our chances for winning a real close game, with anning there. I believe we can win by more than one score but also can see the Colts winning big as well. A tough game that will be very physical, at least from our side!

to buy a franchise and then be owner, GM,head coach, all while playing QB for a few more years!

Think about it. If you had the world’s greatest artist at your fingertips would you ask him to draw a picture for a greeting card or have him paint the greatest masterpiece you could imagine? Most offensive coordinators are limited by the fact that they have a QB with limited talents and must therefore tailor the offenses accordingly. Not so with Tom Moore. He is able to dream up all sorts of crazy plays and have them executed in a nearly flawless manner because of the talent and discipline of Peyton Manning (and a few other guys may help out sometimes, too).
Tom Moore is a happy man, but he by no means sits around drinking pina coladas while Peyton runs the offense.

The sheer excitement in his voice is priceless. I’d wager that most of the Colts fans here in town loves our Bob Lamey, but I can understand how his particular cadence is found to be annoying by other fan bases.

One thing is for sure, he wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s not ashamed of that. You can literally hear him live and die with the games on the radio.

cannot stand the Ravens radio broadcasts. I end up listening on my phone to the opposing team broadcasters while watching the game. I think its interesting to hear opposing views and some of those other announcers are really good. I absolutely love the dudes that do the Bengals broadcasts.

With all my heart.

You guys had some Anita woman on your ESPN radio station. I hate her. She’s really obnoxious and crass.

is undoubtedly the best radio commentator in the biz. The guy is such a homer its hilarious to listen to him. During games I turn the volume down on the TV and turn the radio up. There’s about a 5 second delay on the TV, but its better than listening to the schmucks that call the games on TV.

like we sort have had last week, but remember, good teams make their own luck.

It’s been so long since we have seen a real live NFL defense on our side of the field. They are still susceptible to being bullied at the line of scrimage, but the LBs have been much better in run support this year than in years past. Session moved to the weak side to replace Kieaho with Wheeler now on the strong side. Kieaho was great in pursuit, but not big or strong at the point of attack. Session is about 15lbs heavier and still has decent speed. The Colts have routinely limited some of the top RBs in the league this year. Teams still want to run the ball 30 times/game against the Colts so the total yards add up, but aside from the Dolphins game we haven’t really seen an opposing running offense dictate the flow of the game. This may not be a top 5 defense, but probably in the top 10.

the other circumstances that we rested and didn’t do well were more injury than any other factor. In those games we were missing key players whither it was freeney, sanders, mathis on one foot, harrison who returned as playoffs started after not playing all season, (and i know im missing at least one).

And there is absolutely zero correlation between resting players and playing through when it comes to playoff wins and losses. Last year the Colts played through the season and went into the playoffs on a 9-game winning streak before losing in the first round. This year teams like the Patriots and Green Bay finished the season playing all of its starters (even though the Pats had nothing to gain) and ended up going home after Wild Card Weekend. Whether you rest players or not, the playoffs is about who wants it more, not who’s been hot/cold. The year the Colts won the Superbowl they had the worst run defense in the last decade and finished the season losing 3 of the last 5 games including a 44-17 ass-whuppin’ at the hands of the Jags (who ran for over 300 yards in that game).

This is an argument which holds no water b/c for every example you can present showing how a team coming off a bye loses, I can show you a team coming off a bye that has won. For every team you can show me that rests it starters and loses, I can show you a team that rests its starters and wins. It’s an overly-simplistic generalization which, somehow, has so easily captivated the masses by the MSM. Do the research for yourself, and you’ll see.

spots n rankings.

And the Colts would have the number 10 run defense in the league.

You should just leave your starters at home to rest them up for the Championship game. We promise we’ll let you win…

he was a rookie last year, from DIII Mount Union.

We all knew he had potential, but was raw. That’s what we saw. He hardly would have seen the field this year if Gonzalez wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Pierre had a bad case of the dropsies in preseason causing him to lose the 3rd WR job to Collie. Once Gonzalez went down, Collie hadn’t been prepped to play on the outside (just the slot) so Garçon got Gonzo’s starting spot. I think we were all surprised with how much he was able to do with it, especially given the preseason struggles. He’s still raw though. For the 1st half of the season he drew a penalty every game and his hands came and went from week to week. In all he’s had a very good year for a guy 2 years removed from DIII football and we’re all very excited for what he’ll be able to do with more experience.

He came from his dads balls!!