- Joined
- Feb 8, 2005
- Messages
- 43,545
- Reaction score
- 24,135
I think the real question is if the replacements at DT and OT can hold their own and gel with the players around them. Essentially just avoid being a glaring weak link that requires adjustment from the rest of the unit to avoid disaster.
With this in mind, I think the Colts should be able to juggle their tackles reasonably well without impacting the overall offense (no long passes, keeping extra TE/RB in to protect, running to the opposite side, etc.). Not that I think Glenn's performance can be replaced this year...just that the Colt offense can absorb the relative drop in productivity from the LT without collapsing.
The situation at DT is a little more dicey. How many players will the Colts have to put in the box to compensate for DT? Will the DE's have to hesitate a half-second to avoid huge draw plays? Will the safeties have to make a living 5 yards from the line of scrimmage? Will this leave the new starters at corner on an island more they would like?
Remember the Pats were a "1992 Steve Martin" from potentially winning 4 in a row. Not that he was a bad player (ok, he was), but his inability to do what was expected of him forced the entire defensive unit to adjust.
The Colts face a litany of teams with solid running games + defenses good enough to prevent a shoot-out:
DEN, @JAX, @CAR, NE, @SD, JAX, @BAL
There is also a reasonable chance that the Colts will need to get through 2 or 3 of those AFC teams in the playoffs to get back to the SB. I'm not predicting the Colts will suck, but I'm also questioning the prevailing sentiment in the media that the Colts can withstand almost any loss (outside of Manning, Freeney and Sanders). They are paper-thin right now and will need some good fortune to have the type of season expected of them.
The JAX/CAR/NE/SD stretch is in consecutive weeks just after their bye. That gives them a reasonable amount of time to get everything sorted out. If they don't (and don't at least split those 4 games), that may be enough to cost them home field, first round bye or even their division. So look for how the overall Colt defense is performing in the 1st five games. Deep passes allowed, sacks, completion percentage, etc. If those opposing offenses seem comfortable, watch out.
A very good synopsis, Metaphor.
Personally, I think that its kind of funny how the Colts lose so many players who had medium to big roles in their run to the SB, yet, they are being predicted to repeat, while, the Pats actually lost less players and everyone was saying how they'd be lucky to finish 8-8 or 9-7 last year.
Personally, a LOT depends on the LT. Manning is an extremely good QB, but if Ugoh or Johnson can't step up and be adequate on a regular basis, then Manning isn't going to have the time to throw the ball that he needs. And, with the plethora of outstanding DEs that the Colts are going to face, its pretty certain that their entire offense hinges on that position. If Manning gets sacked more than 20-25 times this season, there's a good chance that he'll be disrupted enough where the offense won't click.
The LT position was also the side where the Colts ran the ball the best last year. With both Rhodes AND Addai.
So, a LOT is riding on Ugoh and/or Johnson.