patfanken

....Granted the Colts looked more than ready to defend their title against a team most think will be the NFC sacrificial lamb in the superbowl. However before anyone gets panicky, I'd like to take you back to ANOTHER young overacheiving team that won the superbowl in 2001. They too in their own way looked like they had improved on a superbowl winning team. They too opened up with a lopsided win against a supposed superbowl contender (Steelers)....THEN they followed that up with a complete blow out of a decent Jet team......AND then they won a shoot out OT game with KC....AND THEN the wheels fell off with 4 straight losses, and limped to a 9-7 out of the playoff season.

The point is that how a team looks early in the season (even the Pats) is no real indication of how that team will be playing when it comes to the playoffs. We started the 2002 season like a ball of fire and then just like Icarus fell from grace (there is nothing like a late night greek myth analogy to raise the level of discourse )

It is probably a good thing the Colts started strong. Maybe it will take the heat off the Pats as the media darling. (Most of them probably can't wait to get back on the Colt bandwagon anyway )

smg93

Who's panicking?

Yep. And in a brilliant adaptation to the famous "it is what it is", I shall say that The first game of the season is the first game of the season.

DisgruntledTunaFan

If Belichick, Norv Turner, et al pound it with Maroney and LT, respectively, they should beat the Colts.

Krazy Koz

who says last year just wasn't a fluke year for the saints. 2 years ago they were terrible. so it could be the colts beat up on a team that frankly isn't that good and the saints have been overrated due to their success last year.

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"A lie can be the truth, the truth just in disguise"

mgteich

The colts are a top team. Only some die-hard colt-haters deny this.

NYCPatsFan

In addition to being a top-rated team, they are the reigning SB champs. Until someone beats them, they are #1.

I didn't watch the second half but comparing the half-time score and the final score, I couldn't help but wonder if the Colts play a bit restrained and measured in the first half and then take it up a notch (with the help of the dome temperature ) during the second half. This is the second consecutive game when they outplayed their opponents in the third and fourth quarters. Just musing.

Halifax_Pats_Fan

agreed, the way anning dropped those passes in last night, and the receivers, wow, looked impressive. Addai looked good, their offensive line looked good, their cover two looked fast...

if those receivers were even last night, they were leavin...

should be interesting...

MoLewisrocks

From what little I saw of NO in the pre season led me to believe Payton may suffer a sophomore slump given the weight of the expectations. Bush may be electric at times, but he wasn't very impressive last night. Brees looked frustrated with his offense last night, and when he gets frustrated he tries to force the issue. They may use this as a learning experience and do just fine in the NFC which at the end of the day will get them no farther than a game past where they got last season at best.

The Colts young players on D look ready to step up. The trouble will arise if any of them are lost because depth is their achilles heel this season more so than ever. They have 14 players on their 53 man roster with NO NFL EXPERIENCE. If Sanders can't play more than a half dozen games they will teeter. And Ugoh could get Peyton pretty beat up or worse before his learning curve catches up to his predecessor. Addai is also at risk given they only have 2 other RB's on the roster with exactly 0 NFL CARRIES prior to this season between them and he will get the lions share of the workload this season. Clark will be critical as was Stokley. Manning and his WR certainly have a rapore to be envied entering the season, but injuries could impact that in a heartbeat.

That said, their first 6 games before their bye are against teams that may not offer much of a test against that offense or to that defense. Denver is the cream of the crop but they may be very weak out of the gate this season. After the bye they have to deal with us, Baltimore and SD, but again other than that it's a potentially cakewalk schedule unless teams like Tenn, Jax and Houston finally pull it together.

ClevTrev

Exactly, and anyone who doesn't consider the Colts talented and dangerous is spitting into the wind. Their D looked great last night; yet, being the first game, as PFK mentions, it will take a few games to get a true read on whether the team can sustain that energy.

Being the annual season "kickoff game" with the defending champs playing at their house on national TV, the motivation is no greater. I expected a Colts win. What I didn't expect was a complete meltdown by New Orleans. So far and against last night's opponent, it looks like the Colts D is better than it was in the playoffs last season.

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cavtroop

The Colts look damn good last night. A few weaknesses - Ugoh is going to need some time to come around. More than a few times, Manning was under pressure from his backside. With a better DL, those may turn into sacks, or at least hit Manning a few more times.

The Colts running game looked great, Addai is the real deal, though the OL has alot to do with that also.

NO looked awful. Bush looked terrible - NO vision at all, dancing around too much, missing open holes, and dancing back right at the 1st down marker. Deuce looked good though, for the most part.

The big surprise for me - the Colts Defense - they really stepped it up. Sanders is a great safety - if he can put together a whole season, then that abysmal run defense from last year should be patched up pretty well. But, as someone above said, depth is the problem here.

All in all, it was the SB Champs (showing WHY they are the champs) against a vastly overrated and overmatched NO team. Can't wait to play the Colts, THAT will be a great game!