New England at Indianapolis (11/04/2007)

I've yet to see anyone explain the first half of Indy's game last week against Carolina.  I watched it and was seriously disappointed because I thought Indy was going to lose and ruin this weeks matchup.  Vinny looked circa 1996 out there and the Carolina pass rush was giving Indy's O-line lots of trouble.  It would have been a much different game if Vinny didn't throw that INT in the endzone in the second quarter, they would have at least kicked a field goal there.  Plus Vinny didn't play in the second half and Carolina was stuck with an already injured 3rd stringer David Carr.  Needless to say, Carolina couldn't do anything in the second half offensively and Manning was able to get rid of the ball quickly and pull way ahead.

I know it's easy to say that Vinny DID throw an INT and Manning DID get it figured out in the second half but please explain to me why they struggled so mightily in that first half

GoG, you seem to have all the answers for Indy and since Indy backers are the real "handicappers", explain that first half for us and why it doesn't worry you and maybe more of us would be convinced of at least an Indy cover.

The Colts are NOT the best team in football. The Patriots are.

The best CB on the field (Samuel) plays for NE.

The best LB on the filed (AD Thomas) plays for NE.

The best DE on the field (Seymour) plays for NE.

The best DT on the field (Wilfork) plays for NE.

Not to mention Colvin, Vrabel, Seau, Bruschi... four of the most cagey veteran LBs in the game. (Who even plays LB for the Colts?)

The only two players the Colts need be concerned with are Freeney (handled by Light and Kyle Brady), and Sanders (who will be forced to cheat up to the LOS when NE starts gaining big chunks of yardage with the draws and screen plays to Faulk and Maroney).

On those draw plays, Welker will be deployed as a blocker, and once the Dbs start to sell out on those blocks thinking "run", Welker will cut up field and Brady will kill them with the Play action.

I agree. However, I am not one of them. 

They are also not the Redskins who up until last week had a better Pass defense than Indy.

The Pats have had plenty of success stopping Manning with THESE WRs in the past. The same can not be said for the Colts against THESE NE Wrs. The Colts struggled to stop Brady with a bunch of stiffs last season. There is NO WAY they will be able to contain the group on the field Sunday.

Based on what?? Which match-ups are you giving the edge to on defense over the NE offense? Please be specific. Do the CB's match up well against the WRs? Does their pass rush trump New England’s (ridiculous) pass protection? Do their LB's match up well with Ben Watson or Kevin Faulk? Do the Colts have a better pass rush than SD, or a better secondary than Washington? (Serious questions).

The Colts are a "execution based" defense. There is nothing real “exotic” about them. It will take more than just good execution to beat what could be the greatest offensive team that the league has ever seen. They are just too talented. It is going to take great game-planning, and in that dept. Belichick gets the check every time. He may not be winning any popularity contests over Dungy... but when it comes to X's and O's Belichick wins hands down.   

Exactly what "Big Play" offenses have they played? Are you serious?? That stat means nothing going into this game.

First of all, there isn’t a CB in the league who can cover Randy Moss. He is a treat to go down field every single play. He has the size, speed, hands, and jumping ability advantage over any of the Colts DBs. So the probability of him catching a "Bomb" in this game is just as likely as it is any other week.

That said... the Patriots DONT NEED to lob bombs up to Moss all game to blow the doors off of Indy. They have a plethora of weapons. Moss can be just as effective as a decoy, dragging extra defenders with him to the sideline and opening up the middle of the field for Stallworth, or allowing Brady to exploit mismatches (like Ben Watson on a LB).

See now… I wish I would have read this sentence first. Obviously you are a Colts fan (or Patriot hater) and are thinking with your heart and not your head. I could have saved some time typing all of this!

 Anyway… Enjoy the game.

Its funny that people believe that Indy will win.... Indy is great team and on of the best franchises in sports but they are not better than NE.

NE played Dallas and Washington which both are in the top 10 in defense, and they hammered them ALL game, unlike Indy that had trouble against the Panthers(first half) despite winning that game(thanks god cause I had them).

Indy is really good but they're not in the same caliber as the Pats.

You expect everyone to play 100% against the Pats, yet Marvin Harrison will not be able to(best reciever for Indy).

NE are out there to prove something and for revenge...whereas Indy are not.

NE 34

IND 17