Pats/Colts Gameplans

[NEGoldenAge]

I expect the Colts will do what the Colts do. On D, they will keep everything in front of them and make you get sustained drives down the field. I think the Patriots will take what the Colts give em, and barring a lot of turnovers, will put some points on the board.

On offense, I think the Colts will really want their receivers to get time with the inexperienced NE secondary. I expect they'll often keep guys in full protect and let their receivers make plays. They'll certainly switch it up with runs, spread formation and short routes, but I think the Colts plan to have intermediate and long passes be their bread and butter.

The wildcard here is what BB will do on defense. The Pats secondary is inexperienced, but they're fast, young and overall, pretty solid tacklers. I wouldn't be surprised to see some exotic stuff here, a there's a good chance to see 5 LB's on the field on a couple of occasions. I really think BB is going to blitz the crap out of Manning, inluding a few corner blitzes, and try to take advantage of his overall speed on D.

What do y'all think the gameplan will be?

 

[mgcolby]

I expect the Colts will do what the Colts do. On D, they will keep everything in front of them and make you get sustained drives down the field. I think the Patriots will take what the Colts give em, and barring a lot of turnovers, will put some points on the board.

On offense, I think the Colts will really want their receivers to get time with the inexperienced NE secondary. I expect they'll often keep guys in full protect and let their receivers make plays. They'll certainly switch it up with runs, spread formation and short routes, but I think the Colts plan to have intermediate and long passes be their bread and butter.

The wildcard here is what BB will do on defense. The Pats secondary is inexperienced, but they're fast, young and overall, pretty solid tacklers. I wouldn't be surprised to see some exotic stuff here, a there's a good chance to see 5 LB's on the field on a couple of occasions. I really think BB is going to blitz the crap out of Manning, inluding a few corner blitzes, and try to take advantage of his overall speed on D.

What do y'all think the gameplan will be?

Great thread!

Indy's D will look to take the quick slant away from Cassel and their usual bullrush from the ends. They may try to blitz up the middle to bring inside pressure, because their D-Tackles are a bad matchup against our Guards, especially if Neal plays.

Indy's Offense is struggling. They have absolutely no rythem on offense, especially with the deep ball. Clark had his best game of the season last week and they still struggled. They will have to beat us how they usually do, attack the soft part of our zone. And they have to use Clark and Wayne to do that, because Gonzalez isn't reliable. I expect them to try and establish the run early to setup the playaction. Unfortunately for the Colts they really haven't been successful at all this year in the run game, so it would take some big runs early to get the Pats to commit to the run.

Cassel will have to attack the edges of the field first and then work his way back inside. The Colts are very fast on D and will be able to take away the Moss slant that we have lived on for the past couple of weeks. Moss will have to take advantage of his height and go get the ball at its highest peak. Welker and Thomas (if they leave Watson into block) will need to over - under the LB's and it is essential that Cassel make the correct read on the LB's coverage.

I hope Jordan is ready to go this week and carry the ball 20+ times. Because we will be able to abuse the inside of their defense with a strong running game. I don't understand it but last week it seemed that the Titans wanted to attack the edge of their defense in the run game and IMO that is the Colts strength.

On Defense the Pats need to play more man. O'Neal won't have a problem covering Harrison, Hobbs with some over the top help can handle Wayne and we need to put a DB on Clark, a LB cannot cover him. My choice would be Merriweather. We need to attack their Guards, that is the weak point of their line. If we go with a 4 man line and some creative stunts we should be able to bring pressure into Mannings face all day long.

I don't think we will have a problem stopping their run inside, it will be outside that we need to be worried about. The stretch run has killed us in the past and hopefully with Mayo and I wouldn't be shocked to see more of Guyton this week on the field at ILB, we will have more LB speed to get to the 7 and 8 holes.

But ultimately I will defer to BB on this.

 

[mgteich]

So, Gonzales isn't reliable and the colts will need to depend on Clark, Wayne and Harrison (and Addai). How could they possibly succeed with such a mismatch of our strong experienced secondary against their weak set of receivers?

And we'll fool them on defense by taking out defensive backs and defending their receivers with linebackers!

Great thread!

Indy's D will look to take the quick slant away from Cassel and their usual bullrush from the ends. They may try to blitz up the middle to bring inside pressure, because their D-Tackles are a bad matchup against our Guards, especially if Neal plays.

Indy's Offense is struggling. They have absolutely no rythem on offense, especially with the deep ball. Clark had his best game of the season last week and they still struggled. They will have to beat us how they usually do, attack the soft part of our zone. And they have to use Clark and Wayne to do that, because Gonzalez isn't reliable. I expect them to try and establish the run early to setup the playaction. Unfortunately for the Colts they really haven't been successful at all this year in the run game, so it would take some big runs early to get the Pats to commit to the run.

Cassel will have to attack the edges of the field first and then work his way back inside. The Colts are very fast on D and will be able to take away the Moss slant that we have lived on for the past couple of weeks. Moss will have to take advantage of his height and go get the ball at its highest peak. Welker and Thomas (if they leave Watson into block) will need to over - under the LB's and it is essential that Cassel make the correct read on the LB's coverage.

I hope Jordan is ready to go this week and carry the ball 20+ times. Because we will be able to abuse the inside of their defense with a strong running game. I don't understand it but last week it seemed that the Titans wanted to attack the edge of their defense in the run game and IMO that is the Colts strength.

On Defense the Pats need to play more man. O'Neal won't have a problem covering Harrison, Hobbs with some over the top help can handle Wayne and we need to put a DB on Clark, a LB cannot cover him. My choice would be Merriweather. We need to attack their Guards, that is the weak point of their line. If we go with a 4 man line and some creative stunts we should be able to bring pressure into Mannings face all day long.

I don't think we will have a problem stopping their run inside, it will be outside that we need to be worried about. The stretch run has killed us in the past and hopefully with Mayo and I wouldn't be shocked to see more of Guyton this week on the field at ILB, we will have more LB speed to get to the 7 and 8 holes.

But ultimately I will defer to BB on this.

 

[N.Eman]

I hope he blitzes the **** out of manning. Or at least be on his face all day and disrupt him

 

[ScottieC]

I expect the Colts will do what the Colts do. On D, they will keep everything in front of them and make you get sustained drives down the field. I think the Patriots will take what the Colts give em, and barring a lot of turnovers, will put some points on the board.

On offense, I think the Colts will really want their receivers to get time with the inexperienced NE secondary. I expect they'll often keep guys in full protect and let their receivers make plays. They'll certainly switch it up with runs, spread formation and short routes, but I think the Colts plan to have intermediate and long passes be their bread and butter.

The wildcard here is what BB will do on defense. The Pats secondary is inexperienced, but they're fast, young and overall, pretty solid tacklers. I wouldn't be surprised to see some exotic stuff here, a there's a good chance to see 5 LB's on the field on a couple of occasions. I really think BB is going to blitz the crap out of Manning, inluding a few corner blitzes, and try to take advantage of his overall speed on D.

What do y'all think the gameplan will be?

Seymour, AD, and Vrabel HAVE to disrupt Manning or it's lights out in the secondary and Matty needs to manage the game.

I think that this will go to the wire in the 4th (If the Defensive line does it's job) and you have to go to Moss early and often, or there will be no fear of the deep ball in the 4th QTR when we will need it.

Patriots win.

 

[mgcolby]

So, Gonzales isn't reliable and the colts will need to depend on Clark, Wayne and Harrison (and Addai). How could they possibly succeed with such a mismatch of our strong experienced secondary against their weak set of receivers?

Our secondary isn't as bad as people think. Again they have been in postion to make the play. The Colts don't have anyone with Avery's speed or SD's WR size. Rivers was putting the ball on the money against us. Manning has not been extremely accurate, especially down field. And he has a case of the impatients again this season. Addai is hurt, Harrison is no better than a #3 and Gonzalez isn't a good #2. That leaves Wayne and Clark and Rhodes. Their line is weak in the middle so bringing pressure should force some errant throws and help our secondary.

And we'll fool them on defense by taking out defensive backs and defending their receivers with linebackers!

What are you talking about? Do you have anything to add to the thread? Or are you only here to make jokes?

 

[neuronet]

The wildcard here is what BB will do on defense. The Pats secondary is inexperienced, but they're fast, young and overall, pretty solid tacklers. I wouldn't be surprised to see some exotic stuff here, a there's a good chance to see 5 LB's on the field on a couple of occasions. I really think BB is going to blitz the crap out of Manning, inluding a few corner blitzes, and try to take advantage of his overall speed on D.

Great point. It is amazing how much energy and speed our defense has. I love it!

 

[workhorse]

Our secondary isn't as bad as people think. Again they have been in postion to make the play. The Colts don't have anyone with Avery's speed or SD's WR size. Rivers was putting the ball on the money against us. Manning has not been extremely accurate, especially down field. And he has a case of the impatients again this season. Addai is hurt, Harrison is no better than a #3 and Gonzalez isn't a good #2. That leaves Wayne and Clark and Rhodes. Their line is weak in the middle so bringing pressure should force some errant throws and help our secondary.

The line is as healthy as it has been all year and now is only down 1 preseason projected starter. So the middle of the line isn't the question mark is was earlier in the season. Don't be surprised if they use Marvin and Reggie on the edges of the field and deep down the middle to open the the middle underneath for Clark and Gonzo.

The key for the Colts on D is how healthy your running game is. Against the Titans the Colts used some 4-4-3 to help shut down the running game. I don't think they can do that much against Moss and Welker with Marlin Jackson now hurt. Bob is the wild card. First game back, how effective will he be and what kind of lift will he provide.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

First game back, how effective will he be and what kind of lift will he provide.

I don't believe I've ever seen Sanders be ineffective.

 

[workhorse]

Any idea if Jordan is going to be back?

 

[NEGoldenAge]

He's been practicing.

 

[workhorse]

He's been practicing.

Does that mean they expect him to play or is it a game time decision?

 

[mgteich]

1) You are entitled to believe that our secondary is better than their receivers. Personally, I think that position is delusional, but that is just my personal opinion. You are also entitled your opinion that Manning is not as good/accurate as Rivers. I disagree.
2) The original poster suggested using 5 linebackers and lots and lost of blitzes. IMHO, this sort of backyard panic football is exactly NOT the way to defend against Manning and the colts.
3) I don't know the defensive game plan any more than anyone else here, except to believe that Belichick and our defense will NOT panic and will act as we usually do. We will attempt to bend and not break and to limit the effect of big plays.
4) In the end, I believe that we will win or lose depending on the offense. If they score as they should and stay on the field, the defense will succeed. If the defense is forced to be on the field too long, we will have a long evening and will likely lose the game.

Posters here might be much more able to evaluate the patriots than those who are betting on the game and have made the colts a favorite. I suspect the betters know better hoe to evaluate the colts.

As always, I look forward to the patriots beating the colts. We have a great rivalry, whether we are competing for the first round draft choice or for a playoff spot, or fighting in the playoffs.

Our secondary isn't as bad as people think. Again they have been in postion to make the play. The Colts don't have anyone with Avery's speed or SD's WR size. Rivers was putting the ball on the money against us. Manning has not been extremely accurate, especially down field. And he has a case of the impatients again this season. Addai is hurt, Harrison is no better than a #3 and Gonzalez isn't a good #2. That leaves Wayne and Clark and Rhodes. Their line is weak in the middle so bringing pressure should force some errant throws and help our secondary.



What are you talking about? Do you have anything to add to the thread? Or are you only here to make jokes?

 

[mgcolby]

The line is as healthy as it has been all year and now is only down 1 preseason projected starter. So the middle of the line isn't the question mark is was earlier in the season.

Thanks for clearing up the state of the line. Do you agree that the weakest part of your line is the Guards, or do you think it is one of the Tackles?

Don't be surprised if they use Marvin and Reggie on the edges of the field and deep down the middle to open the the middle underneath for Clark and Gonzo.

That wouldn't surprise me either, but Harrison just doesn't have the speed he used to so it doesn't concern me as much, as others on our board. Wayne is the key IMO. I believe the Pats will be better off if they can slow him down and force throws to Clark and Gonzo. The seem to Clark scares me as well, he and Manning run it well. They always seem to know right where to hit the throw.

The key for the Colts on D is how healthy your running game is. Against the Titans the Colts used some 4-4-3 to help shut down the running game. I don't think they can do that much against Moss and Welker with Marlin Jackson now hurt. Bob is the wild card. First game back, how effective will he be and what kind of lift will he provide.

Exaclty, and that is my biggest question "how healthy is Jordan?". I don't think stopping the Titans run is as tough as folks think it is, given their limited passing abilities. But the same will hold true for us. If we can't run the ball, stopping the passing game will become much easier.

I want Sanders in the box for a couple of reasons 1) it means we are running the ball with success and 2)when he plays deep he is a ball hawk with his speed (unless he is still slowed by the injury).

 

[NEGoldenAge]

Does that mean they expect him to play or is it a game time decision?

Except for the injury report and seeing who is in the media portion of practice, you don't get much injury info out of this organization. I think he'll play, but he may not start till late 2nd, early 3rd quarter.

 

[mgcolby]

1) You are entitled to believe that our secondary is better than their receivers. Personally, I think that position is delusional, but that is just my personal opinion. You are also entitled your opinion that Manning is not as good/accurate as Rivers. I disagree.

I never stated that our secondary is better than their receivers. I stated that their receivers and most importantly their passing game as a whole, is not as good as it has been in the past. Manning has been very erratic, I have watched every Colts game this season and Rivers was more accurate against us then Manning has been at anypoint this season. That includes the Ravens game. I did not say that in general, Rivers has been as good/accurate as Manning, but it would be tough to argue against that at this point in the season.

2) The original poster suggested using 5 linebackers and lots and lost of blitzes. IMHO, this sort of backyard panic football is exactly NOT the way to defend against Manning and the colts.

What did that have to do with what I wrote? But I think lots of timely blitzes will be what the doctor ordered. But in no way do I think they should play 5 LB's.

3) I don't know the defensive game plan any more than anyone else here, except to believe that Belichick and our defense will NOT panic and will act as we usually do. We will attempt to bend and not break and to limit the effect of big plays.

I agree, but I think pressure will be the key to victory. Just because Manning has struggled thus far doesn't mean if given time he can't still pick a part a defense. Which is why I suggested more of a 4 man line and I believe we will see quite a bit of that this week.

4) In the end, I believe that we will win or lose depending on the offense. If they score as they should and stay on the field, the defense will succeed. If the defense is forced to be on the field too long, we will have a long evening and will likely lose the game.

Agreed, and I think a lot of that will be based on the success of the running game and that will depend on the health of Jordan.

Posters here might be much more able to evaluate the patriots than those who are betting on the game and have made the colts a favorite. I suspect the betters know better hoe to evaluate the colts.

Well, I bet which is why I tend to watch as many games as I do. With that said that line is to draw even money on the game. And I can assure you betting isn't an exact science.

As always, I look forward to the patriots beating the colts. We have a great rivalry, whether we are competing for the first round draft choice or for a playoff spot, or fighting in the playoffs.

Agreed.

 

[JoeSixPat]

My expectation is that both the Colts and the Patriots will adopt a gameplan seeking to score more points than the other. This will require each to focus both on offense and defense. Whoever can score more points than the other team should, in theory, be able to win.

 

[mgcolby]

My expectation is that both the Colts and the Patriots will adopt a gameplan seeking to score more points than the other. This will require each to focus both on offense and defense. Whoever can score more points than the other team should, in theory, be able to win.

Brilliant!!! :eat3:

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I know this isn't likely to happen, but if Sanders starts creeping up into the box, I'd like to see the Pats line up Ventrone at WR for a play or two, and have Ventrone make Sanders' acquaintance (within 5 yards of the LOS, of course).

 

[ICSB]

Colts need to get Freeney and Mathis to make Cassel get rid of the ball faster than he has all season. Many young QBs can often struggle with the speed of our ends and especially in our house. And I am not sure Cassel has seen a defense as fast as ours yet.

Cassel is the second most sacked QB I think in the league? Get him to move quicker than he would like. He does not have the quick release Brady does.

And Colts neded to get a lead hopefully and make Cassel play catch up. Pats need to not abandon the running game.Not sure the Pats have the backs though to kill us. We will see. We have faced some great backs this season so far.