Pats - Colts Divisional Round Discussion Thread

[Gallo]

How would you say Colts fans are feeling about this game in general? It's funny, it was only a few years ago but I can't seem to build up the hatred I did for the Colts with Manning and Polian but with Belichick and Brady still around I imagine the Colts fans are feeling about the same as they did in 2004 towards the Pats?

I can only talk about me, but to me, this feels different, i guess because we have such a young team, with a young quarterback, and i don't feel like they "have to" win this game. Of course, i would prefer if they won, but with Manning, it felt different. With all that said, a win against the Pats, would mean so much more than against any other team. The loss probably wouldn't hurt as much as it did in the past because of the lesser expectations, but a win is always great against he Patriots.

 

[mosi]

Luck is like the team itself at this point, inconsistent. Can make all the throw in the book, and then some, recognize covers in an instant, and make laser passes into tight coverage, run with the best of them, and at the same time, he will try 2-3 passes every game that only the defender will have a chance to catch. It's very interesting, because i'm 100% sure he doesn't get nervous, he is super clutch since his first Colts game, had a number of clutch game winning drives even in his first season.

So i guess, he just thinks he can make any throw, and sometimes this gets the best of him. I rarely see Brady make passes like those. Referring to that article, Brady really is the best decision maker in the league. I barely remember him throwing picks when he's not forced to get the ball down field in a hurry. Back to Luck he also has another very stupid tendency, he will try passes mid-fall, during sacks, and often get into trouble because of that.

The thing about Luck is that he has no memory - and I mean that in a good way. He will fight to the end and the Pats will have that in the back of their minds. The Colts moved the ball pretty much at will in last years game. The turnovers killed them. Limit the turnovers and this will be a close game. I wish we had a Gronk. ):

 

[Double TE]

The Colts message board is lined with comments on:

- Brady has been less than stellar in playoff games since 2007
- The Pats have no answer for TY
- Their D will get to Brady
- Donald Brown is the next Marshall Faulk
- Landry will destroy Edelman and Amendola

Highly predictable and borderline funny.

We'll see if its true come Sat.

 

[RIpats88]

If the pats get up by a couple of scores I expect them to go back to ground and pound to eat up the clock with ridlet/blount. Dont give them a chance to come back.

Andy reids poor play calling/clock management is a large part of what gave the colts a chance to come back

But if alex smith can go for 375 and 4tds brady should eat up that secondary. This is a game where a bigger receiver like dobson is going to be important

 

[Kontradiction]

Hilton has been targeted far more in recent weeks. I think he is the key. He has had 24 catches for 379 yards and two TDs in the last two games.

I do agree that I think the Colts are a better draw for the Pats than Cincy.

I don't deny that taking Hilton's ability over the top away should be a huge area of focus as well. That said, both of our starting corners, when healthy, are more than capable of doing that. The Pats soft spot on defense is coverage against TE's and RB's, though. That should be the area of focus, primarily given that a lot of times Luck gets rolling by feeding Fleener.

 

[Double TE]

Is Dobson definitely playing? We need someone outside of Edelman and Vereen to catch passes!

 

[Gallo]

The thing about Luck is that he has no memory - and I mean that in a good way. He will fight to the end and the Pats will have that in the back of their minds. The Colts moved the ball pretty much at will in last years game. The turnovers killed them. Limit the turnovers and this will be a close game. I wish we had a Gronk. ):

Yeah, with Gronkowski, this Patriots is a totally different team. I would have them as the favorites in the AFC if everybody were healthy, but you guys have the 2nd, and 3rd most impactful player out, which is obviously huge. Still wouldn't surprise me if the Pats got to the Superbowl, but it's not gonna be easy, even if you guys take us out. Although, it could also turn out to be "not that hard", if the Chargers take care of the Broncos, which honestly can happen. That Chargers team is very underrated. Also agree that the Colts seems like a better matchup on paper than the Bengals would have been.

 

[dales804]

Is Dobson definitely playing? We need someone outside of Edelman and Vereen to catch passes!

I would expect him to be listed as Questionable this week on the injury report. Probably won't know until Saturday if he's suiting up.

 

[Gallo]

The Colts message board is lined with comments on:

- Brady has been less than stellar in playoff games since 2007
- The Pats have no answer for TY
- Their D will get to Brady
- Donald Brown is the next Marshall Faulk
- Landry will destroy Edelman and Amendola

Highly predictable and borderline funny.

We'll see if its true come Sat.

I don't know why are you surprised about that. Well, you say you aren't, yet, you felt to point all that out. Fans will be fans. You have the "same exact" types over here. Everybody do. It's just how some fans handle big games, they come up with theories that can reassure them. In reality, the Pats are favorites, but i don't think anybody would be shocked if it's a close game.

 

[Rob0729]

I don't deny that taking Hilton's ability over the top away should be a huge area of focus as well. That said, both of our starting corners, when healthy, are more than capable of doing that. The Pats soft spot on defense is coverage against TE's and RB's, though. That should be the area of focus, primarily given that a lot of times Luck gets rolling by feeding Fleener.

If the Pats shut down Hilton, the Colts are dead in the water. He took over the role of being the entire offense after Reggie Wayne went down. As good as Luck is at this point, his biggest weakness is that he over relies on one receiver all the time.

Fleener has not made the impact that you suggest. He had a good, but not a great game on Saturday. But his last six games of the regular season he had 15 catches for 161 yards and one TD combined. That is an average of 2.5 catches 26.8 yards, and 0.17 TDs per game. I don't see any evidence that feeding Fleener gets the ball rolling.

 

[PP2]

One of the things that stood out to me from the last game we had against Colts was how clean we kept Brady despite the fact that Mankins and Connolly were out for that game. I expect the O-line to have a solid game as far as keeping Brady clean and giving him ample time in the pocket. As long as we have that, I think we are in a very favorable position.

 

[mosi]

Yeah, with Gronkowski, this Patriots is a totally different team. I would have them as the favorites in the AFC if everybody were healthy, but you guys have the 2nd, and 3rd most impactful player out, which is obviously huge. Still wouldn't surprise me if the Pats got to the Superbowl, but it's not gonna be easy, even if you guys take us out. Although, it could also turn out to be "not that hard", if the Chargers take care of the Broncos, which honestly can happen. That Chargers team is very underrated. Also agree that the Colts seems like a better matchup on paper than the Bengals would have been.

Personally, I believe that if Gronk was healthy, we would have won the super-bowl in 2011-12 and 2012-2013. Really. With him, this team can be dominant.

 

[Gallo]

Personally, I believe that if Gronk was healthy, we would have won the super-bowl in 2011-12 and 2012-2013. Really. With him, this team can be dominant.

Not sure about last season, but you might be right about the 2011/2012 season, that super bowl came down to a few plays after all, and Gronkowski wasn't anywhere near healthy.

 

[primetime]

Not sure about last season, but you might be right about the 2011/2012 season, that super bowl came down to a few plays after all, and Gronkowski wasn't anywhere near healthy.

The Patriots win the Super Bowl if Gronk catches that jump ball that got picked. A healthy Gronk wins that jump ball 99% of the time. (Of course, they win if Brady hits Welker/Welker holds on)

I suspect they would have gone and won last year with a healthy Gronk too, but that's much less certain.

Unfortunately, Gronk may never be healthy. Which is too bad because when he is, he's one of the game's all-time dominant players.

 

[Kontradiction]

If the Pats shut down Hilton, the Colts are dead in the water. He took over the role of being the entire offense after Reggie Wayne went down. As good as Luck is at this point, his biggest weakness is that he over relies on one receiver all the time.

Fleener has not made the impact that you suggest. He had a good, but not a great game on Saturday. But his last six games of the regular season he had 15 catches for 161 yards and one TD combined. That is an average of 2.5 catches 26.8 yards, and 0.17 TDs per game. I don't see any evidence that feeding Fleener gets the ball rolling.

You're talking about the way different teams match-up with Hilton and Fleener, not the Pats. The Pats match up with Hilton and do it well because both of their CB's are capable of shutting him down man to man. What the Pats have trouble with are TE's and RB's due to the speed of their LB's. That's why I would expect the Pats to focus in on Fleener moreso than Hilton.

 

[goheels22002]

I don't know about that. Mathis is the non d-bag version of suggs when it comes to pressure on brady.

Colts.com | Depth Chart

Besides Mathis, a natural OLB, who on their defense concerns you? The Colts 3-4 is okay, but Redding and Franklin are older veterans, and other than Mathis, the linebackers are pretty average. Their DBs will have their hands full with Amendola, Edelman, Dobson and Thompkins.

This isn't the 2013 49ers, the 2007 Giants or the 2012 Ravens. If Solder is back from his concussion, the Pats OL can handle these guys to give Brady the time he needs and open holes for Bloiunt, Ridley, Vereen and Bolden.

My guess is that Robert Mathis is going to see a pretty consistent series of runs by Blount and Ridley straight at him. Nothing wears down a guy like him like having to handle blockers and running backs headed in his direction. Even if the Colts get an early lead, my guess is we'll see some mano a mano drives in the first half that look like that last drive of the Ravens game or the Bills mauling.

This is where the Patriots are vastly different from the Chiefs, especially without Jamaal Charles. The Patriots can morph from a five-wides, 45 passes per game pin ball machine into a smash-mouth traditional NFC East team as the situation requires. Keeping Luck off the field will be an objective on Saturday night. I expect the Pats to crank up the road graders mixed in with some no-huddle to convert third downs and wear out the Colts front seven.

 

[BradyManny]

Personally, I believe that if Gronk was healthy, we would have won the super-bowl in 2011-12 and 2012-2013. Really. With him, this team can be dominant.

Agree. When you think about the sheer amount of talent this team has lost to injury/crime/free agency in the last year - Gronk, Welker, Hernandez, Vollmer, Wilfork, Mayo - you realize how good those squads were.

The secondary was trash in 2011, and was crippled when Talib went out in 2012, but other than that, those were talent-packed rosters.

We struck gold by getting a true All Pro, HOF potential player in Gronk in round 2 and haven't been able to cash in. Blown opportunities hurt. I'd love to make up for it by winning a title with a roster that has no business doing so, ie, this season.

 

[BradyManny]

Colts.com | Depth Chart

Besides Mathis, a natural OLB, who on their defense concerns you? The Colts 3-4 is okay, but Redding and Franklin are older veterans, and other than Mathis, the linebackers are pretty average. Their DBs will have their hands full with Amendola, Edelman, Dobson and Thompkins.

I'm more scared by the fact that this Colts defense comes from the Ravens playbook, which has haunted us in the past. But the players aren't there. We should be able to move the ball by air and ground - at least until the red zone. From there, I'm less confident.

 

[Bhelmet]

I like the matchup and think this one works well for NE. Luck will show up and he will never quit, but this is the first time in a long time I can say I believe our D will step, play well, and strike some fear in at least some of the fans' minds. I expect to see an exceptional pass rush Saturday night - otherwise it will be a longer night than it probably should be. We can also keep their greatest weapon off the field with our improved run game. I am excited to see this one. In years past, I knew what kind of D I would see - this year I have NO idea, but even with the injuries it could be special. No matter what happens in Denver, I want this D to have some swagger coming in.

 

[Foxypats]

I am cautiously optimistic . I remember feeling overly confident when the Jets visited and we all know how that turned. out!