Our depleted secondary vs. Peyton & friends

[Tunescribe]

This could get real ugly real early, especially if Hobbs is out. What do you suppose BB has up his sleeve to attempt containing Wayne, Harrison, et al?

 

[Rob0729]

I didn't think the Titans played their best defense of the year and the Colts didn't score more than 14 points until garbage time. The Titans didn't particularly pressure Manning all that well early and their tackling was attrocious at times.

I don't know why people still think the Colts are this dominant passing team. They have been wildly inconsistent on offense. One drive they look like the Colts of old. The next drive Manning's passes are off or the receivers can't pull in the ball.

I don't know if I saw an offense today that really scared me. It is still a good offense at times that can be great at times, but it can also be mediocre.

 

[Rob0729]

BTW, the Colts had 317 yards of offense tonight which included their 71 yard garbage time TD drive. But they also had 4 punts, 2 INTs (one tipped), and 2 drives end on downs out of 10 drives.

 

[JoePats]

No idea but he's said in the past that there's only so much new stuff he can throw at Manning because the teams play each other so often. We could use a big game from Vrabel.

One thing that always scares me about the Colts is we get those illegal contact penalties on 2nd and 3rd and longs.

 

[KillEM]

James Sanders will blow his coverage assignment, then completely whiff on the tackle, and his assignment will have a wide open jog into the run way.

Guarantee that happens at least once next week.

 

[Tunescribe]

I don't know why people still think the Colts are this dominant passing team. They have been wildly inconsistent on offense. One drive they look like the Colts of old. The next drive Manning's passes are off or the receivers can't pull in the ball.

Yeah, but look who we had on the field at the end of the Rams game. I'm really concerned about our secondary vs. Indy.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Yeah, but look who we had on the field at the end of the Rams game. I'm really concerned about our secondary vs. Indy.

You never know. Remember the game @CIN where the Pats' secondary was supposed to be burnt to a crisp?

 

[Deus Irae]

Yeah, but look who we had on the field at the end of the Rams game. I'm really concerned about our secondary vs. Indy.

Who won that Rams game?

 

[SVN]

our secondary will have issues , iam more worried about our pass protection. indy bought pressure tonite but the titans line held. should be a big test for cassel and the line.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Indy played hard tonight. At Indy the Pats will have a tough time against that blitz. Also Peyton dealt with the Titans pressure VERY well despite the loss. I don't see the Pats D getting even close to that pressure. Going to be a tough game Sunday night. I don't think the Pats will have enough to beat the Colts if they put forth a similar effort. Hopefully they can somehow keep it close enough to make a game of it and have a shot to win late.

At the least they MUST hit Clark at the line of scrimmage! Thee defense CANNOT let him release into the backfield unopposed or it will be a long night indeed.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

key will be getting jordan back, and if Sanders does not play, we will be able to control the clock.

 

[Rob0729]

Yeah, but look who we had on the field at the end of the Rams game. I'm really concerned about our secondary vs. Indy.

Hobbs said he was fine. He'll be back. O'Neal made an interception at the end of the game. Lewis Sanders could be back for the Indy game.

 

[JSn]

Yeah, but look who we had on the field at the end of the Rams game.

I'm not worried about the secondary too much. As long as the O can hold up against the rush, we'll sail through this game.

 

[BelichickFan]

I expect we'll lose this game and Manning will have a good game. However, his "friends" aren't what they used to be. Wayne is still a stud. Harrison is an aging facsimile of what he used to be. Gonzalez looks like a career #3 WR. Clark is a tough matchup as always. A tough group but nowhere close to what they used to be.

I imagine we'll be putting a LB on Clark as usual - personally I'd put Meriweather on him, have Sanders help Hobbs on Wayne and take my chances 1-1 with Harrison and Gonzalez.

 

[Rob0729]

Indy played hard tonight. At Indy the Pats will have a tough time against that blitz. Also Peyton dealt with the Titans pressure VERY well despite the loss. I don't see the Pats D getting even close to that pressure. Going to be a tough game Sunday night. I don't think the Pats will have enough to beat the Colts if they put forth a similar effort. Hopefully they can somehow keep it close enough to make a game of it and have a shot to win late.

At the least they MUST hit Clark at the line of scrimmage! Thee defense CANNOT let him release into the backfield unopposed or it will be a long night indeed.

Manning dealt with the pressure from the Titans, but still failed to move his offense? Again, the Colts scored on 3 of 10 drives and one of the drives the Titans played a prevent in garbage time. I could see this argument if the Colts' offense was scoring points against the Titans, but they weren't.

As for the Colts' pass rush, I don't know if I would draw too much from it either. The Colts are a small fast defense that were going up against a big, slower, but powerful o-line. The Colts defense used their speed as an advantage. Even so, Collins wasn't sacked once. The Colts also gave up 31 points to a team that averages 25.7 PPG. The Titans scored 24 unanswered points in the second half.

So people are worried that an offense that had a 30% drive success rate and a pass rush that had zero sacks last night showed that they are going to dominate the Pats on both sides of the ball last night. I saw a Colts team on both sides of the ball that was wildly inconsistent.

 

[JR4]

"depleted secondary " ?

Pats should have both starting CBs plus
Richardson, Wheatley and Wilhite
our
Safties are probablay faster with Meriweather and Sanders
both who have been doing very well.
with their backups Slater and Spann.

I don't see "depleted".
Now if you want to contend our secondary can't match up well with
Colts receivers ... then maybe you have an argument.
"Depleted" makes it sound like PAts are reduced to playing second
string players in the secondary ... a scare tactic as I see it.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

...

So people are worried that an offense that had a 30% drive success rate and a pass rush that had zero sacks last night showed that they are going to dominate the Pats on both sides of the ball last night. I saw a Colts team on both sides of the ball that was wildly inconsistent.

In one word, yes.

We have the amazing ability to make any average QB looks like he is the best; so, I will not be surprised if Manning, who is already a great QB IMO and knows BB's schemes very well by now, has a great day in our game. And, after watching Clark make some solid catches among heavy coverage last night and have some good yards-after-tackle (I saw only the first half of the game), I am a bit worried whether our secondary can limit his plays.

To your point on the Colts D that had zero sacks last night: I believe that the Titans are #1 in terms of sacks allowed this season. And, if I am right, this stat compares pretty well in the last twelve years. So, irrespective of what kind of teams that the Titans played against in their last eight games, their stout OL certainly deserves kudos for not letting the Colts get to their QB. On the other hand, I am looking at our MC taking 28 sacks and have every reason to worry if our OL and MC can hold up.

All that stats aside, I hope that we get another W with no injuries so that we are well prepared and poised to take on the three significant division games coming up soon.

GO PATS!!

 

[JSn]

Our secondary has some work to do in outsmart opponents, which is the beauty of game-planning.

More than that, though, is that speed wise we are in a great position against most of the Colts receiving corps. On the odd chance that Peyton (who was really all over the map last night) hits a deep one, we can still make the tackle and our red-zone D is amazing.

That long bomb TD the Rams hit us for was a product of both a bad coverage choice AND a collision. If not for that crash by our defensive backs, that td prolly would have been another field goal.

I'm feeling pretty good about this game. Mr. Light better be on his game, though.

Peyton can make all the faces he wants. It's the sad one I like best.

Closely followed by this one:

 

[NYCPatsFan]

...

Peyton can make all the faces he wants. It's the sad one I like best.

Closely followed by this one:

lol...man, you certainly have some great pics.

Awesome one!!

 

[Rob0729]

In one word, yes.

We have the amazing ability to make any average QB looks like he is the best; so, I will not be surprised if Manning, who is already a great QB IMO and knows BB's schemes very well by now, has a great day in our game. And, after watching Clark make some solid catches among heavy coverage last night and have some good yards-after-tackle (I saw only the first half of the game), I am a bit worried whether our secondary can limit his plays.

To your point on the Colts D that had zero sacks last night: I believe that the Titans are #1 in terms of sacks allowed this season. And, if I am right, this stat compares pretty well in the last twelve years. So, irrespective of what kind of teams that the Titans played against in their last eight games, their stout OL certainly deserves kudos for not letting the Colts get to their QB. On the other hand, I am looking at our MC taking 28 sacks and have every reason to worry if our OL and MC can hold up.

All that stats aside, I hope that we get another W with no injuries so that we are well prepared and poised to take on the three significant division games coming up soon.

GO PATS!!

Funny, I watched the game last night and other than early in the game and one drive in the second half, I was encouraged. Manning clearly isn't right. He is clearly less than 100% and it is showing on the field. Even without the Titans' best pass rusher or his first back up, Manning was rattled last night and his passes were off.

As for the Titans, they don't give up a lot of sacks because they don't throw the ball all that much. That wasn't the case last night. Collins even after last night is 26th in number of pass attempts with 170 or 24.2 per game. He passed for 37 times last night. Last night's game and his game vs. the Ravens accounts for 69 of his 170 pass attempts. That is a big reason why he doesn't get sacked.

The Pats have been able to move the offense even with sacks. Matt Cassel was sacked six times vs. the Broncos and the offense still scored 41 points and the 4 times vs. the Rams and still scored 23 points. Sacks aren't neccessarily killers as long as you don't turnover the ball.