Guys, against the Colts, it comes down to this:

[BelichickFan]

I don't buy this, Brady and Manning will both play well. This year we have way more speed in the secondary than before - that may not make the difference but my hope is that it will. We had better see our CB challenging for the ball on completions and the safeties in position to try to knock the ball loose; play like that is more likely to cause the Colts problems that the (small) chance of Manning not being at the top of his game.

 

[eagle eye]

Merriweather is going to be so important in this game.

 

[Kontradiction]

I don't buy this, Brady and Manning will both play well. This year we have way more speed in the secondary than before - that may not make the difference but my hope is that it will. We had better see our CB challenging for the ball on completions and the safeties in position to try to knock the ball loose; play like that is more likely to cause the Colts problems that the (small) chance of Manning not being at the top of his game.

Who do you think our starters are going to be at CB? I'm thinking we'll put Butler on Garcon and a mixture of Bodden and Springs (yes, Springs) on Wayne.

 

[BelichickFan]

Do you realize last year for this Colts game our depth chart at CB for this game was :

Hobbs
Wheatley
O'Neal

My God.

And our Safety depth chart was

Meriweather
Sanders
Spann

My, how far we've come.

 

[Kontradiction]

Merriweather is going to be so important in this game.

Mayo and Merweather are going to be important vs. Manning. I suspect we'll see Mayo rush the A and B gaps a couple of times in the beginning of the game to guage if he can disrupt Manning up the middle. If it's successful, we'll probably go to that more often. If it's not successful, we obviously won't do it because it will leave the middle of the field completely exposed to Clark and Collie. If Mayo can cause pressure on Manning, though, Meriweather is going to have a field day.

 

[HarkDawg]

Did you see Teddy Ginn at the end anticipate a hit from Merriwheather and the ball was dropped? We need to be physical w/ their receivers. Every ball that is caught by an Indy player..... lay him out and make him feel it. This physical play will create anxiety and mistakes on Indy's receiving Corps. We must be physical early..... and do it consistently. Show no mercy.

 

[BelichickFan]

Who do you think our starters are going to be at CB? I'm thinking we'll put Butler on Garcon and a mixture of Bodden and Springs (yes, Springs) on Wayne.

Sounds right to me. I expect McGowan to get Clark, Butler on Garcon, Bodden on Wayne and Meriweather to get the slot guy (Collie) in the standard formation with Springs also an option on Wayne as Wayne is a solid sized WR.

I'm not into the "Belichick is saving something for later" theories BUT between our CB and our newfound speed/hitting at Safety, this is the first time in a while that Belichick has had some toys to play with against this kind of passing attack. I expect to see a LOT of Nickel with 3 DL and 3 LB as McGowan, Chung and Meriweather are all Safeties but can play the run as LB. I could see those three getting even more snaps combined than last week when they had :

S Brandon McGowan -- 72 of 72
S Brandon Meriweather -- 72 of 72
S Pat Chung -- 31 of 72

I could see that being something like 72, 72, 50 this week.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

I'm not really worried about the Pats defense because as good as the Colts record is, they have struggled on offense. In addition, as bad as the Pats defense was last season, they held the Colts to 18 points.

However, there are 3 x-factors for this game. First, Vollmer is going to have a huge test against Freeney. I'm really excited about this match-up. Second, Kazcur will have his hands full with Mathis. Finally, Laurance Maroney needs to run the ball effectively to keep their pass rush honest and the Colts offense off the field. The Colts, Giants and Steelers are the few teams that can mask their deficiencies in the secondary because of their great pass rush.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

not all the time......


play more zone/ linebacker depth and anticipate passes to the TE clark in the the 8-20 yd range.


when they catch the ball I want them hit hard so it will make them weary and unconfident.

Much like how Welker can take a lick and keep on ticking, Clark can do the same. He's tough as nails. Beating the crap out of him after the catch only means another set of downs for Indy. The Colts will gladly let Clark take a beating...all the way into the endzone. Pats MUST keep him from making catches in the first place.

Regards,
Chris

 

[JFK]

Merriweather can't stop Clark. I think McGowan would do a better job at that. A TE would gain 4+yrds if Meriweather tries to tackle them.

 

[condon84]

Pressure Manning and we'll win. We don't pressure him, we'll lose.

Orton looked great against us because of lack of pressure. Manning? He'll carve us up like Thanksgiving turkey if no pressure is applied.

We have no Seymour to push up the middle, no Rosy to pressure from the edge. It's gonna be interesting how Dean plays this out. Truthfully, I don't have a good feeling about this...

 

[mcsully]

We got too many weapons for you "Bozo's" !

was not gong to respond to this but i have to..

This year out of any year I would take the pats offensive weapons over the colts..

 

[Tuxicon]

Much like how Welker can take a lick and keep on ticking, Clark can do the same. He's tough as nails. Beating the crap out of him after the catch only means another set of downs for Indy. The Colts will gladly let Clark take a beating...all the way into the endzone. Pats MUST keep him from making catches in the first place.

Regards,
Chris

Exactly. Clark got pounded last week going over the middle. But he immediately gets back up and hands the ball to the official. Then proceeds to catch more balls.

Oh, and btw, a lot of the "keys" to beating the colts that you mentioned, are the same old thing as past years. But I guess you guys have to have something to talk about.

I am not one to over analyze any game, so I will just say that it should be a good game, as they have been for several years now. And let's hope for no injuries.

 

[mcsully]

Defense

i expect us to play a 3-3-5 or 3-2-6 a majority of the time..
Rotating AD or May & one of the Brandons on Clark..

The key is to get pressure on Manning without blitzing.. Manning two best traits are:
1. reading where the blitz is coming from
2. getting rid of the ball almost as fast as Marino

If Manning sits in that pocket all day, we're in serious trouble..

lastly I wouldn't mind seeing there two young Wr's, Collier and Garcon, being welcomed to the NFL with some nice body shots..

Offense

We almost won last year with a strong running game plan and we could follow the same plan..(Iniitally I had a hunch that Fred Taylor was brought here for the purpose to start against INDY) but I think the game will come down to a shoot out..

 

[BelichickFan]

Defense

i expect us to play a 3-3-5 or 3-2-6 a majority of the time..
Rotating AD or May & one of the Brandons on Clark..

With 6 DBs I'd be tempted to line them up like this :

Wayne - Bodden
Clark - Springs
Garcon - Butler
Collie - Wilhite

Leaving McGowan and Meriweather at Safety. Assuming Wilhite is OK this week, we have the CB depth to put a bigger CB on Clark.

 

[bradydaman29]

It's going to take a combination of things to happen to beat the colts. If the Pats get some decent pressure on Manning to keep their scoring down but Tom can't get them in the endzone, that cancels each other out. As with every football game, who knows what's going to happen - that's part of what makes it fun to watch.

The gist of this post is: the Pats win either way. If they win the game, it's great because they get closer to a playoff berth and spoil Indy's chance to have an undefeated season, and I'll feel good all week. If the Pats lose, it's still good because it seems when 2 teams are evenly matched, the team that wins in the regular season usually loses if they meet in the playoffs (see Pitt breaking the pats win streak, then losing in the playoffs). And, it keeps the pressure on Indy for an undefeated season. That pressure can take a toll the closer you get to the end of the season, and it may compel indy to play Manning and the starters longer to keep the streak alive even when they have nothing else to gain, contributing to more fatigue physically and mentally and getting more dinged up, making them more vulnerable come playoff time. The obvious downside is it's another loss for the Pats, and I'll feel lousy all week.

 

[PatsBoy12]

It comes down to getting the d off the field on 3rd downs

This is so so true. Unfortunately, the Pats defense hasn't been stout in that area for a few years now. They do, however, seem to be improving by small increments. Let's see what happens against Mr. Manning and Co.

All the talk in recent weeks is how Meriweather is getting read to cross over into the elite class of his position. Well, here is where he can truly earn his stripes. Is there any better test than this . . . not just for Meriweather, but also for our secondary? They must play well to win this game. The pass rush is what it is at this point. They've shown that they cannot consistently apply enough pressure. So, that being the case, the secondary must cover well.

 

[Patriot 37]

With 6 DBs I'd be tempted to line them up like this :

Wayne - Bodden
Clark - Springs
Garcon - Butler
Collie - Wilhite

Leaving McGowan and Meriweather at Safety. Assuming Wilhite is OK this week, we have the CB depth to put a bigger CB on Clark.

I want a safety on Clark, I think it will be McGowan. If they run a dime I think it will be Wilhite, Butler, Bodden, Chung, and the Brandons with Springs giving guys a rest here and there.

 

[spacecrime]

I don't buy this, Brady and Manning will both play well.

I don't buy the premise either. There will be 25 starters (including P,K,LS) on each team, 50 players in all, and to say the their non-QB49 will play to the exact same ability as our non-QB 49 is too big a stretch.

Both Brady and Manning can throw long and short, throw accurately, moe well in the pocket and make you pay if you blitz too often.

The game will come down to what the other team units do. Special teams - we won't have Edelman or Tate for kickoffs. Running game - will Donald Brown play? Pass rush - can Sea Bass contain Freeny? Can we generate one with four rushers?

Most important in my opinion is the Oline protection. Give Manning time and it will be Miami all over again for him, scoring on every 7th play. Give Brady time and he will carve up the Colts weak secondary. Don't give him time and unless Welker/Faulk hot reads are exceptional, he won't have time to throw deep.

 

[4xMVP]

The key to beating the Colts is running the ball, converting 3rd downs, controlling the clock, and keeping Peyton Manning on the sidelines.

Do this successfully, and you will have a chance.