The Myth of the Weak Colts Defense

[shakadave]

I'll let the thread title speak for itself.

 

[Deus Irae]

And I'll let the course of the entire season do that talking. I'm guessing that will speak much louder than this one game, but it won't be saying the same thing.

 

[fair catch fryar]

I'll let the thread title speak for itself.

The Colts defense is very good as long as Bob Sanders is healthy. The minute he's out they become ineffective in multiple areas. Although the LB Keiaho looked good too.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

If they can keep that up like they did last night, they'll be damn scary. Holy-Cow scary. Fast, swarming to the ball, hard hitting, aggressive.... Gads, Bob Sanders is a beast.

Imagine how scary they would have been to Brees last night if the zebras called a few of those 4 or 5 obvious holds on Freeney.

 

[ClevTrev]

No one has mentioned Freddy Keiaho who came up big last night with 6 tackles, all hard hits. He's got Colts fans saying, "Cato who?"

 

[letekro]

You can run on them. Bring Sanders up and then hit them deep. Problem is, you need a good defense to be able to make the commitment to the run.

Keep in mind they are a different defense outside of that dome. The crowd noise helps those defensive ends immensely.

 

[patchick]

They certainly looked good against New Orleans. But just in case they fall apart in week 2, keep in mind that you can reuse this thread title with just a couple of minor tweaks:

"The Myth of the Week: Colts Defense"

 

[rabthepat]

When they play with heart they are "GOOD" but still not "GREAT". I guess with Manning as QB "GOOD" is good enough.

 

[JaredOfNazareth]

Imagine how scary they would have been to Brees last night if the zebras called a few of those 4 or 5 obvious holds on Freeney.

I saw that too. The Saints tried to stall the pass rush but couldn't. The Colts D were waiting for the short stuff because they knew NO couldn't protect Brees for long.

I saw McAlister blow right through a Bob Sanders tackle for a first down. That was a down hill run for him though. For some reason NO kept trying to run off tackle. But that played into Indy's strength.

 

[JaredOfNazareth]

You can run on them. Bring Sanders up and then hit them deep. Problem is, you need a good defense to be able to make the commitment to the run.

Keep in mind they are a different defense outside of that dome. The crowd noise helps those defensive ends immensely.

Yeah the Saints were not going to pull it off.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Could we merge all the freakin colts threads into one? As I recall, we play the Jets this Sunday.

There are 11 freaking threads on page 1 of a PATRIOTS fan message board about the freakin Colts.

 

[Rob0729]

Let's not go overboard. They looked really good last night, but it was one game. As it was pointed out in other threads, the first game of the season can be deceiving and all you have to do is look at the 31-0 drumming of the Pats by the Bills in 2003.

One thing that would concern me if I was a Colts' fan is that they did show in the first half that they can be exposed by teams that are good at the ball control offense. It isn't Brees' game and he was able to march down the field pretty easily. I think stupid calls on third down hurt the Saints more on offense than the Colts. It was Sean Payton's impatience in the second half and giving up on what was working that allowed the Colts' defense to really shine.

If a team can put together long drives like the Saints mounted early, it will ground the Colts' offense too. From what I saw in the first half, I like Brady's and the Pats' offense's chances against the Colts' defense. The Colts' defense isn't a team you want to air it out on, but I think you can put together a lot of long substained drives against them.

 

[Peytonsbetter]

If they can keep that up like they did last night, they'll be damn scary. Holy-Cow scary. Fast, swarming to the ball, hard hitting, aggressive.... Gads, Bob Sanders is a beast.

Imagine how scary they would have been to Brees last night if the zebras called a few of those 4 or 5 obvious holds on Freeney.

Thats par for the course with Freeney. The man gets tackled outright several times a game and held every other play. Its always been that way.

 

[Oswlek]

I'll let the thread title speak for itself.

The Colts looked every bit as good defensively - possibly even better - against Pitt in the 2005 regular season. They were jacked and pumped about making a statement about the worthiness of their championship.

I am still not sold on Indy's D just yet.

 

[STFarmy]

Thats par for the course with Freeney. The man gets tackled outright several times a game and held every other play. Its always been that way.

There's plenty of missed holds that could be called on that Colts O-line too. They say it's one of those penalties that could be called every down.

 

[Peytonsbetter]

Let's not go overboard. They looked really good last night, but it was one game. As it was pointed out in other threads, the first game of the season can be deceiving and all you have to do is look at the 31-0 drumming of the Pats by the Bills in 2003.

Good call. It's one game folks. For a team one year removed from being historically bad on defense, especially run defense.

Plus, the Saints were God-awful last night, really bad. And I'm not sure if it was because of the Colt's or not. Like I said, its one game. We'll know more in a few weeks.

 

[shakadave]

Let's at least put an end to the sentiment --- heard occasionally --- that the Colts are no longer a top rival for a championship. If Sanders makes as much difference as he is commonly credited with, let's insert him into any MVP conversations. Let's remember that if the Colts' vulnerability on D is power running, then we're not the team to exploit that. Let's realize that a safety duo of Sanders and Wilson is not a shoe-in to stop that receiving squad. And one more thing. Let's beat the living snot out of Indy.

 

[Rob0729]

Let's at least put an end to the sentiment --- heard occasionally --- that the Colts are no longer a top rival for a championship. If Sanders makes as much difference as he is commonly credited with, let's insert him into any MVP conversations. Let's remember that if the Colts' vulnerability on D is power running, then we're not the team to exploit that. Let's realize that a safety duo of Sanders and Wilson is not a shoe-in to stop that receiving squad. And one more thing. Let's beat the living snot out of Indy.

Their defense is also vunerable to the short pass. That clearly isn't Brees' forte.

 

[Nordy]

I thought the Saints' 3rd down playcalling was absolutely atrocious last night. They tried to force the ball to Bush WAY too much.

 

[Rob0729]

I thought the Saints' 3rd down playcalling was absolutely atrocious last night. They tried to force the ball to Bush WAY too much.

Yeah, they killed that opening drive that the Colts had no answer for with a Bush draw on 3rd and 6.