I'm here for Colts and Pats week
 

Boy this game sure did look better before the season started. I'm not sure where to start, so I will start with a little reaction to the Titans game. I was surprised at how well the held the White/Johnson combo in check. The Colts D played well enough to win the game, but the offense never got clicking. It's obvious that rust with the lack of training camp and preseason still shows up. I thought the O-line did a decent job against one of the better front 7s in the league, I realize that KVB wasn't there, but Peyton was upright most of the game and Rhodes had running lanes. I sure am sick of seeing balls tipped by receivers getting picked. I think at least half of the picks this year should have been catches.

On to this weeks match up. The Colts are finally starting to get healthy. Minus Ryan Lilja, the starting left guard, the Colts are healthy on offense and had the closest thing to their projected line in the Titans game for the first time. Addai is expected to be back, though I'm not sure how much they will use him coming off the injury and with the success that Rhodes has had filling in. On defense Sanders should be back and Hayden will be close. Hagler, one of the projected starters at linebacker played for the first time since coming off the PUP list against the Titans.

This has been a Jeckle and Hyde team this season. They have only played one complete game this year, the Ravens game, but they looked awesome doing it. But it was the Ravens. Peyton and the receivers just aren't quite clicking. That said, they aren't too far off most of the time. Peyton has made some poor throws as a result trying to make something happen though. The running game is starting to come around, so that may make the play action more effective.

I'm not overly familiar with all of the injuries going on with the Patriots minus Brady, the running backs and Harrison. I haven't been following as closely this season since each team has their issue to make this year unlike the past. So, I'm not quite sure how much your injuries will impact things. Harrison being out should help the Colts running game. I've seen just enough o Cassel to know that he's playing, but not enough to see how well his decision making is going. He does seem to hold onto the ball for a while, that could be one area that plays into the Colts scheme. If Morris isn't back I think Faulk can be effective, but more as a receiver than a runner.

A couple questions and then I'll wait to see how you guys feel about the match up. One, is your line doing enough to allow your linebackers to drop back into coverage and are you guys comfortable with them matching up with Dallas? Two, how has your secondary been playing? The Denver game is probably hard to judge since Cutler was hurt right away and they were forced to play catch up. And last, how is the health of you O-line?

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

Welcome (back, I assume)!

A lot of the concerns for this team on offense have been answered in the last two weeks. From watching last night's game, our offense, is better than the Titans with the possible exception of our O-Line.

Our secondary is tough to gauge, but they seem to do just enough to keep teams out of the EZ and our Red Zone D is downright excellent. Obviously a stress point in camp/practice.

Gonna be a fun game and I personally hope to see both teams playing well so it's a nice match-up.

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

Thanks for the breakdown of your team.......now with the gratuities out of the way the Colts suck:D

D line has played Good at times and been invisible at times but is coming off the best two week stretch for the unit.

THe LBers are playing much better in pass coverage than years past Mayo and Guytons speed have alot to do with it. I am comfortable with a lot of guys covering Dallas (Guyton, Mayo, Thomas, or Merriweather) though Dallas does seem to kill us.
Secondary is a hurting unit right now with the Loss of Rodney and Hobbs being his normal Hobled self. But Hobbs has stepped into his number one role and Merriweather has been a beast. Everyone else has had their moments good and bad. Overall I would say the unit could be playing better as whole but not the worst we have fielded under BB.
Knock on Wood the O-line seems to be healthy and we recently got back Neal off the Pup who should be just about ready for full game action...BB has been using a rotation until he gets his stamina up to football level.

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

Workhorse -
You said 2 questions, but you gave 4.

The Pats secondary is a work in progress. The loss of Harrison is obvious. That being said, there is not a lot of drop off from the starting CBs to the Rookie CBs. Richardson, Wheatley (in limited time) and Wilhite have all been playing well.

The D-line has improved significantly since the Miami game. Though they do seem to be giving up too much running yardage at time, they do seem to be stacking up the line just at the right time to make the critical stop.

The linebackers are doing well. Mayo hasn't looked out of place. The matchup between him and Clark is going to be an interesting one.

The Patriots O-line is doing much better the last 2 games. Stephen Neal, the starting RG from last season who started this year on PUP, is being slowly brought back. The rotation of him and Yates seems to be working very well. Mark LaVoir has been a find at RT, more than solidifying that position. However, he will be tested against your front 4. I actually expect to see Freeney lined up across from him more than Mathis, but only time will tell that.

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

Still gotta love Indy week. Interested to hear your take on Manning. I've noticed Manning's throws have looked different since (ironically) their SB year. His passes don't seem to have the same pace on them...they just seem to be in the air a loooooooong time.

Manning is still the best I've ever seen on timing routes...throwing to a spot, not a player...but he doesn't seem to be able to have the same success when stronger downfield throw is needed. You notice the same thing or am I imagining things based on the limited Colts games I get to see?

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

The line was dominant last week. If it plays this week the way it did against the Lambs, Manning might not survive the game. As for the LBs, Mayo and Guyton are very quick for ILBs, so the Patriots have genuine speed in the linebacking corps. The key for Manning will be fooling them and making them look like rookies if he can.

Meriweather has been playing very well, Hobbs has played adequately as a #1 (Samuel isn't doing any better in Philly), O'Neal has had his ups and downs along with Sanders, Wilhite's been ok as a nickel and Wheatley has struggled on the outside. The loss of Harrison will likely make for different ways of covering your tight ends coming off the line.

It's getting better, as Neal is working back into a starting role.

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

I said couple, not two. I was using it as an expression more that literally, so cut me some slack.

Do you feel the Rams and Broncos defense can give you an accurate assessment of your offense? I haven't seen Mayo in the limited amount that I have seen of the Patriots, so it should be interesting to see how that match up goes.

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

I don't know if the Rams or the Broncos defenses are the best way to assess the Pats offense, but I don't know if the Colts are either. Their pass defense is suspect the last two weeks and run defense has been suspect at other times this season. I don't think the Pats offense gets another true test until Buffalo comes to town.

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

I think they are still a half beat out of synch. Missing all those reps in the off season is lingering longer than I thought it would. When it comes to the deep ball, I think Peyton is waiting too long to throw it. In years past it seemed that he would release it earlier and let the receivers make a play on the ball. By holding it just a little bit longer it is allowing the DBs to recover and to have a chance to break it up. I'm not sure why this is happening. If he is wanted to make all his checks or if he wants to make sure there isn't a sure thing underneath or what it is.

Re: I'm here for Colts and Pats week.
 

I think with a QB who only has 7 games under his belt any success VS any Defense is good. Sure he will face some better defenses but he is showing more and more that he can make all the throws, his reads and pocket presance are getting better but still a good way to go there. The key is he is showing improvements and its not like we have played the best defenses this year so he was worse vs bad des earlier in the year than he is now.