Here's some good intel from a Colt's fan's perspective about their team. Nobody knows a team better than their fans. I found this posted on ganggreen.
"...QB - Manning is having a down year, and despite playing behind a horrible O-line, overcoming injuries by playing with street-free agents on offense and bad WR play, he is making horrible decisions, making poor throws, not trusting his protection and seeing ghosts out there. Many of his INTs have been his fault (not counting ones that result from miscommunication with his receivers) and after a year where he led 7 4th Q comebacks he has 0 for this season and for all intents and purposes, having a "down year" - but when you still get the #3 seed with all the adversity this team has faced, that says alot for how great Peyton Manning is.
Problem is, in years past, Colts lost one or two pieces on offense and Manning kept them rolling but he can only cover up for short-comings of talent on offense so far before the camel's back breaks ...not having Collie, Clark and Gonzalez is really hurting this team (see section on WRs) and forcing Manning to work to the strengths of who's on the roster ..which I'm not sure what it is. It's bull**** that Manning can make ANY receiver off the street look like a HoF-er ...he can exploit talent but end of the day, just because you sprinkle sugar on dog**** doesn't change the fact it's crap.
You can tell he's been frustrated this year and has had to force it into tight windows / make contested throws all year. Best way to beat Manning in my opinion is to play man-coverage and blitz - make his receivers beat you ..you play zone and 3-man rush he'll find the soft spot and kill you with death by a thousand cuts.
However, on any given day, Manning can snap out of his funk, make unbelievable plays and remind you why he is the greatest QB of this decade - problem is, those moments are mixed in with poor decisions and throws this year. If it's worth anything, he seems to have Rex's number throughout his career and hasn't lost to a Rex D since 2001. Best way to beat Manning aside from man-coverage is to take away his greatest strength, which is his ability to make pre-snap reads by playing amoeba defense and having your D audible into the "real" alignment just before the play-clock winds down to take advantage of Manning's tendency to let the clock drain before he gets a play-off.
WRs - horrible ...Reggie Wayne making it to the Pro Bowl was a joke and more a life-time achievement award than based on his play this season. Despite a career high in receptions, he struggles against man-coverage and doesn't get open deep anymore and is really a glorified posession receiver at this point and leads the team in drops.
Garcon, despite burning you guys last year is maddening as hell ..he'll drop routine, easy passes then make a freak one-handed catch. He is an unreliable receiver who makes you **** yourself on 3rd downs and struggles to get separation. He is meant to take the lid off of a D and beat them up-top but he is constantly blanketed, dropping balls, or running a crappy route - he is one of the worst route runners I've ever seen. He does seem to have "intangibles" however, and once he actually gets the ball in his hands (rare) he is capable of making things happen.
Blair White - UDFA rookie and a poor man's Austin Collie. Without Dallas Clark and Collie, the primary threat down the seam is Blair White and Tamme, but these guys are nowhere near as good. White's game-speed is far slower than Collies' despite supposedly having a better 40 time. He's a rookie I know, but he has had several miscommunications with Manning and struggles to get separation (notice a trend here?)
TEs - Don't let Jacob Tamme's statistics fool you, anyone who knows football and watches the Colts know that Tamme's value in numbers nowhere approaches the effect Dallas Clark has on opposing Ds in terms of opening things up for other players. Tamme is a slow, lumbering white guy down the seam who doesn't adjust well to the ball and can't make tough catches - but he does have good hands and hauls in the passes you expect him to. He is a classic example of someone being good because of Manning - can't wait for some sucker to trade for him expecting him to be a #1 TE
Brody Eldridge is a blocking TE who comes in on our "power" packages, and if he catches a pass it's because he was the last option - Gijon Robinson is arguably the worst football player I've ever seen, and how he has a spot on the roster is anyone's guess.
O-line - ironically, this much-maligned unit has survived the rash of injuries. Our tackles are average at best, our interior line play is awful and our center is aging. Polian needs to be held accountable for the quality of this O-line since he called them out after the Superbowl, cut one of our best linemen in the off-season, drafted garbage to replace them and has seen the unit regress over last year. They pass-block OK (but not good) but are soft as **** and get blown off the line on running plays. One of the reasons Manning's YPA is down this year is due to having to get rid of the ball, on average, in 1.7 seconds and not having time to let routes develop downfield by our slow receivers.
RBs - Donald Brown is a waste of a 1st round pick - no clue in pass protection and whenever he's back in shotgun I get scared of Manning get Romo'd. He has some home-run ability and pass-catching ability, but he lacks decisiveness and vision to run behind this ****ty line
Addai is quite possibly the most underrated and one of the most important players in our offense. He is a complete back who runs hard (he struggles to get 2-3 yards after having to fight to get past the line of scrimmage on so many plays that go off-tackle) but will never post big individual numbers due to our style of offense and crappy O-line. He is one of the best pass-protecting RBs in the league and the drop-off between him and others is significant in terms of technique and recognition. Not a home-run threat however.
Rhodes is over-the-hill but brings a spark and runs hard ...he's a good relief back but wears down quickly and not a homerun threat.
D-line - we are ranked something like 15-16th in sacks ..makes sense since we only have half a pass-rush ...our DEs are great, but they sell-out against the pass too much and can be taken out of the play alot plus our interior line generates zero pass rush hence opposing QBs usually just have to step-up in the pocket. Larry Coyer is also a horrible D coordinator and will often waste our DEs on fruitless stunts that negate their strength. Freeney is all speed and leverage ..asking him to loop around (something they do ALOT) is just ******ed. Behind Mathis and Freeney is no-one and because Coyer is an old saggy piece of **** who plays our DBs 10-15 yards off the receivers, we can make Kerry Collins and David Garrard look like HoF-ers.
The DTs have gotten alot better against the run but they still lack the ability to collapse the pocket. You guys, with the best center in football and a strong interior line, won't have to worry about the pocket collapsing anytime soon. However, they have gotten ALOT better at stopping the run - don't believe me, look at our last 3 games against Tennessee, Oakland and Jacksonville. Trust me, we've been stopping the run just fine of late, it's our pass D that currently sucks due to injuries and the fact we sell out against the run.
LBers - very very average group that's been injury riddled. Not sure how much of a boost Session coming back gives us owing to rust and injury. They over-pursue alot and lose containment alot due to the mentality of swarming to the ball ..they bite hard on misdirection plays alot too.
CBs - the weak-link due to injury ...Jerraud Powers is our best CB and he's on IR, Justin Tryon was signed off the Foreskin's practise squad and played good coverage ..Hayden is our most expensive corner but he is incredibly overrated yet always gets a free-pass. Lacey is master of the 10-yard cusion but will occasionally make a play. Our CBs aren't good in man-coverage and to make things worse, often play 10-yards off a receiver, even on 3rd and 4th or 3rd and 3rd. We have one of the worst 3rd down Ds in the league. They tackle well though ..if it wasn't for them, all those 15 yard gains would be 40 yarders *eyeroll*. They struggle against big physical receivers and someone like Holmes looks like a nightmare.
Safeties - walking wounded. Antoine Bethea is a Pro Bowl snub and the only person holding our secondary together - he reminds me of a productive Kerry Rhodes. Aaron Francisco might be the worst strong safety in the league and how he has a job is beyond me - he'll whiff, take poor angles and just outright sucks, but in fairness, we were scraping the bottom of the barrel at this spot due to injury
"Special teams" - we have one of the worst coverage in the league and are dead last in average starting field position, that's all you need to know. Our projected return-men are on IR and Rhodes is a horrible return-man ..getting back to the 20 on kick-offs is a miracle. Pat McAfee looked like Scifres at one point, but since his little naked swim in the canal during the bye-week has played like crap. Vinatieri is luckily having an amazing, quiet season and only missed 1 FG over 40 yards at home for his Colts career. His kicks today were dead center from 48 yards out - this guy still has it.
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Playing the Colts is a blessing - TheGangGreen.com Message Board
Plus they're coached by idiots. You'll find a way to win this or they'll find a way to choke.
