speed

Thanks, I really suspect that with Moss, can't contain him for a whole game. I think the Colts D will try to keep him to underneath stuff and come up and hit him on short gains, but Moss is so elusive its hard to think about someone getting a clean lick on him.

I think the thing that worries me from a Colts standpoint is I have not seen Brady get touched the few times I've seen Pat games this year, the Pats line just hasn't seemed to allow anyone to get to him.

Just a side note from my perspective, if the Purdue kid lines up across from the Right tackle and rushes, Diem has struggled two of the seven games this year in a big way, imho.

From the Colts perspective.... Hobbs looks vulnerable and if he get Safety help, Addai, Clark, and Utecht the tight ends will be in single coverage with a Linebacker, that seems like an advantage.

And lastly, Bob Sanders is the X factor, he had 2.5 sacks in one game this year, other games with picks and knock downs, several big tackles for losses on 3rd and 4th and short. Also the Colts corners are twice the tacklers and hitters that David and Harper where in those spots last year.

So anyway, all just my opinion, unsolicited. Do you all see Asanti Samual as that same thing, the straw that stirs the drink so to speak?

Lloyd_Christmas

Bob Sanders is a beast! He's the one guy on the Colts that I wished played for the Patriots.

__________________
A Truly Vindictive Fanboy-type Poster

"My name is William Stephen Belichick, Coach of the New England Patriots, Three Time Super Bowl Champion, Defensive Guru, Pride of Karlovac, The Greatest Coach in the History of the NFL Since Vince Lombardi. Target of the spygate lynching, Defender of our Dynasty's legacy. And I will have my vengeance, in this game and the rest."

BostonBullit

Sanders is excellent at reading the play quickly and getting into the best position to make a play. He's small and fast but hits hard, and like I said, he's smart. The Colts D is NOT the same without him and the Colts know it, that's why they don't practice him as much this season.

Now one thing that I'll be interested to see this Sunday is how well Bob does against a more balanced attack (leaning toward heavy passing attack). Sanders has had the benefit this season of playing against teams that have virtually no passing attack so he's free to do what he does best - sit in the box and blow up the RB. Even when he drops back into coverage he's dealing with sub-par QBs or receivers which gives him a cushion....

363839

AJ, why would you say this? Everytime I watch Indy this
guy is just all over the place. He seems to have a sixth sense
of when it's going to be pass or run as he is on many plays whether it's a run or a pass.
That is why I asked the question. He seemed to be not so prevalent in the AFCCG. DO you think BB knows his weekness and exploited it in the AFCCG?

BTW Belichickfan. The last offensive play of the game for the Pats was an interception. It wasn't Sanders who made it.

I just read your next entry AJ. Thanks. Sounds logical to me.

AndyJohnson

No I dont get what that has to do with this.
I think Maroneys ability is much higher than mediocre but his production has not yet been. (A starting RB in the NFL passes mediocre around 1300 yards).

Sanders is extremely overrated. He is not a bad player, but he gets way too much credit for run defense. Safeties are SUPPORT in run defense not run stoppers. If you scheme to bring them up, and scheme to keep blockers off of them, they can make a lot of tackles. Sanders is not fighting through blockers to make tackles, he is just carrying out his assignment in the defense. Pass defense is a much larger gauge in assessing a safety, and he is not fantastic in pass defense.

Many talking heads are making Sanders sound like he is Dick Butkus or Jack Lambert. Essentially the Colt defense is designed for him to be unblocked at the point of attack. What he gets are the scraps left over if the rest of the D does their job, or the tackle on a longer gain if they do not.
That is the epitome of overated.

ColtinIraq

Uh . . . yeah . . . . OK

eric5280

pound for pound, the best defensive player in the game.. He actually may be the best defensive player in the game regardless of size.

AndyJohnson

See what I must wrote in response to another post.
When the defense sets you up to make the play, you are just getting the job done, not playing great.

Rodney was the same way in SD. I thought he was one of the most overated players in the league there. The scheme dicatated that he was free to make a lot of tackles. Not that he wasnt a great player, but he was overrated. A safety does not stop the run, a safety cleans up at the end of the team carrying out its defensive assignments. Depending on what team you are on and what their scheme is, a safety can make a lot of tackles just being on the field, while a better player at the same position in a different scheme willhave very different responsibiliites.

AndyJohnson

You guys are completely out of your mind.

jays52

In my opinion, Bob Sanders is an incredible football player. His run stopping is usually not from the box, it's usually from 12 yards back in the secondary. He reads plays very well, and is frighteningly explosive. Because most run plays are drawn up to get a hat on the line and the backers before transfering to the downfield blocks, he is often free to come nuking into the holes.

He hits to stop momentum and is a very, very sure tackler. His technique is flawless, keeping the explosion through his hips and driving well after the tackle. Even when he can't put a shoulder on a player, he usually makes the tackle. He's got quite a few unbelievable shoe-strings under his belt.

A big reason why he is so productive in the run game is also why he is an asset in coverage. His hips. He has explosive and very fluid hips. He gets in and out of cuts very well. To watch him move to the ball is amazing. In that defense, he is often allow to remain back and break to the play, often perfectly seperating the ball from the reciever. He has sure hands and can jump out of the building. It's not rare to see him win jump-balls with recievers four inches his senior. In addition, because he is so explosive, he is less vulnerable to double-moves. He rarely wastes a step, but when he does, he is athletic enough to recover and still be around the ball.

How I would beat him is to run directly at him. Scheme the guards onto the backers, and allow Kyle Brady to put a hat on Sanders. Force him to commit to an inside run to negate his persuit skills and use Brady in an H-Back role. Motion him through the hole and assign him to hit Sanders head on. Allow the back to run at Brady's feet and make his cut off of that. Once they get smart to this, have Brady do some backside pulls and try to free up the playside sweep or bubble screen.