MoLewisrocks

Colts fans have selective memories. It's less likely they can muster 38 points against a Patriots D that added Thomas in the offseason and has Rodney Harrison back at SS and Junior Seau in the LB rotation and Randall Gay as it's nickle CB and a youngster like Merriweather lying in the weeds. Particularly not with a less than healthy Marvin and a rookie slot receiver and a ? at LT.

The Colts have sputtered somewhat on offense so far this season, but facing a number of QB'less opponents have been able to wear down the competition and put up some points late. They won't have the luxury of sputtering on Sunday because they are facing a HOF QB who managed to put up points against essentially this D even when his best available receiving weapons were the Redskins 5th WR this season and his own 4th WR this season and a 35 year old slot receiver who remains on PUP after having his balky knee dealt with in the off season.

Colts fans can't seem to grasp the simple fact that they have never faced this offense, and they didn't beat this defense in 2006. Or in 2005 for that matter.

But then again look at the screen name this dunderhead selected. Can you imagine naming yourself after a mediot whose sanity, nevermind objectivity, even most of his peers are now questioning. Unfortunately that is the nature of the Indy fan base since 2005. Larger than ever yet dumber than a brick.

A couple of things I'll be watching in this game are how Randy fares against another cover 2 - he did OK last week when we practiced against the 'Skins. And Deion opined a few weeks ago that uber-talent WR's love Cover 2. The Colts 2 young CB's are bigger and more physical than their predecessors. However using them to advantage against this speedy receiving corps may be easier said than done since Polian chose to lobby for the handcuffing of bigger physical corners back when he didn't have any (and we did). Vic Carrucci was on WEEI yesterday recalling a conversation he had with Polian at the time where he pointed out to him that the rules emphasis he initiated might one day haunt him were his own secondary to become more physical...

chrisfx811

I'll disagree that the Colts defense is MUCH better than it was in the AFCCG.
I don't see it. I see them being as good as they were then, and possibly having refined their tackling. They have not faced an offense worth it's salt yet this year unless you consider the Saints as good as last year.

As pointed out, we've proved we can score on the Skins, Chargers, and Cowboys. 2 of those teams have balanced offenses, capable of keeping the ball away from an offense against many teams. The Colts are better on offense than both those teams for sure.

Now look at the Colts schedule and find me one, just one, solitary example of the Colts defense squaring off against a team that is within 20% of the Patriots production this year.
Brady has more td's throwing than most teams have total. The Pats have scored 13 td's aside from Brady's arm. That's over 11 points per game from the ground, defense, and return game alone.
Factor in field goals, and the Patriots average right near 15 points per game.
The Titans avg 20.7 ppg
The Jags, 18.7 ppg
Carolina, 18.6 ppg.
The Texans are a juggernaut @ 22.4 ppg.

The Colts have proven their defense can stop those offenses, and have won handily in most games, save for the 2 point 'shootout' they had against the mighty Titans, and the 6 point win against the 'potent' Texans.

The Texans scored more than their average against the Colts w/o Andre Johnson.
The Titans met their average against the Colts.
Denver was 3 points over their average against the Colts.

So, I think it's safe to say that the 41.4 ppg average of the Patriots might pose a little bit more problems than what the Colts have faced.

chrisfx811

I trust Edward's words would carry more weight in the context you are using them if he had any Super Bowl wins, or post season success to fall back on.

RobAllan

They'd also have been less funny if he'd said "The purpose is to WIN the game" instead of "You play to win the game!"

AndyJohnson

Once again, you are out of your mind. Bradys last drive started with 2 minutes left in the THIRD QUARTER. It would be STUPID for a team whose first unit on offense played less than 3/4s of the prior weeks game to stop playing offense IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
Brady was removed after that drive. After that we ran the ball 7 times and threw in 3.
Let me guess, YOU shoudl decide for BB whether when he gets the opportunity to put his backup QB in who has never played significant snaps, whether throwing the ball a couple of times would be helpful to his development?

This is what is so stupid. No one has come close to the Patriots all season.
So now there must be something created. They must be evil, so lets find an argument to fit it.

It is very simple.
1) Until the game is TRULY out of hand (see the Colts comeback vs Tampa a few years ago, 21 point deficit erased in 5 minutes) you keep playing football. That is why Brady came back in against Miami. It became a 21 point game. In a nightmare scenario, they could have gotten back in it. If there is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that the lead isn't safe, a smart coach doesn't worry about how the other team will feel about the # of points they let up.
2) When the scoreboard still says 3rd quarter, no matter the score, you don't start pulling people out. They need to stay sharp and play football.
3) When you bring your subs in, they are in the game TO GET EXPERIENCE, not in order to pad the psyche of the other team by helping them feel better about the final score.

AndyJohnson

OK, I will stop reading and responding to any of your posts, because you just called Marlin Jackson a top 3 corner in the NFL.
You have proven you know less about football than the paperweight on my desk.

RobAllan

Well, I think it's better than last year. But the argument that it is MUCH better is where the line is being drawn. The production of the teams you've faced says plenty to support the notion you're not a great deal better, which is why it was posted earlier in this thread.

Comparatively, the Pats are MUCH better on offense. That's undeniable. And the Pats D is healthier by leaps and bounds... I'd venture to say the Pats D is as much better as the Colts D is.

RobAllan

And his paperweight is probably a Sox baseball.

Patsfanin Philly

You don't call a 52-51 coaching record or 2-4 in the post season success?????
Herm also said,
When we score seven points, I’ll say we’re slow starting. If we score 21 points, I’ll say, ‘Whoa, we scored a lot of points.’ Twenty-one points – that’s a lot of points. Thirty points? That isn’t even a football game. That’s Arena Football. We’re talking about real football.” [16]

What would he classify 40 points a game as??????

RobAllan

Madden 2008 on "Rookie"