I took a week to be impressed with myself after picking both the Saints and the Colts back in August. Now I am back to really examine the two teams before the match up Sunday at 6ish in Miami.
Each day I will examine a portion of each team’s offense and defense which will get us through Thursday. Friday will be my picks and maybe I will throw something else up for Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the week…I know I am excited!
Indianapolis Colts Offense
The Colts offense obviously starts and stops with the best quarterback in NFL history Peyton Manning. No one can argue that fact (the offense part not the best in history part) but he is not the only piece that matters. While the running game has been abysmal for much of the season they do just enough to keep defenses honest. Without running often Peyton’s play action would be meaningless. But they run enough and defenses bite enough to make it effective.
The offensive line showed a lot against the Jets. They were getting blitzed and beaten every play for the first 7-10 minutes of the game. Then adjustments were made by the line and the play calling which pretty much made the Jets blitz meaningless for the rest of the game.
I always say that I would rather start off a game struggling a bit while the other team is playing perfect. As long as you keep the score close the proper adjustments WILL be made by the struggling team while the perfect team continues down the same path.
That is what the Colts continuously due. And much of that credit goes to Manning and his line. They know what the other needs to do and wants to do and they do it brilliantly. Peyton makes even the weakest part of an offense look exceptional at times. I swear that the running game has been more effective (yardage wise) than it really has and that is because Peyton is so efficient.
The wide receivers are the story of the season and will probably be the story of the Super Bowl. The reason I was so confident against the Jets was that while I knew Revis would shut down Reggie Wayne I knew Austin Collie and/or Pierre Garcon would have big days. Honestly I didn’t think both would go off but they both did. And now Peyton and and company are getting set to play in Miami.
Will the Saints defense be up to the challenge in shutting down all the Colts weapons? You shut down Wayne and Dallas Clark but Collie and Garcon blow up. Shut down Collie and Wayne while Garcon and Clark have big days. And if you could possibly shut down 3 of the receivers, lets say Wayne, Collie and Clark, then you have to contend with Joseph Addai and Donald Brown coming out of the backfield.
If you sit back too much to shut down the passing game I guarantee Addai will run the ball often. The Vikings torched the Saints run defense and while Addai and the Colts offensive line isn’t as good as Peterson and the Vikings line you can bet your top dollar that they will be more than good enough to win this game.
I don’t see the Saints defense shutting down Peyton and company too much. The question is…can the Saints offense score more??
Let’s examine this tomorrow.
