Colts RBs vs NE Front Seven – Razor’s Edge Indianapolis
The Colts for the past several years have struggled to run the football. But by bringing in Frank Gore, they look to have addressed that big need. Gore had his best game of the year last week rushing for 98 yards on 22 carries against the Texans and the Colts will look to keep things balanced on offense to take the pressure off of Luck to do it all.
The Patriots defensive front seven did a good job of bottling up the Dallas running game last week; going more with a base look early, the big bodies up front did a good job against the Cowboys OL, one of the best in the NFL.
Gore should find some yardage inside this week as the Patriots will look to use more of their sub-packages against the Colts this week. The key here is if Indy remains patient enough with the running game to keep it effective.
Colts WRs vs NE Secondary- Razor’s Edge New England
Indy has plenty of weapons in the passing game with Luck throwing to T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Coby Fleener. They added both Andre Johnson and Gore during free agency and then used their first round draft pick on Phillip Dorsett in the 2015 NFL Draft. But the passing game hasn’t been the one that people were expecting to see this season. Luck prior to his shoulder injury struggled, passing for only five touchdowns against seven interceptions. They’ll look to get that straightened out this week.
The Patriots entered 2015 with a lot of questions about the secondary after overhauling the CB position entirely. But so far the coverage has been pretty solid; this week will be another big test as they face an offense with a lot of weapons at its disposal. Getting a good pass rush on Luck will be key here, Jabaal Sheard and Jamie Collins had big games last week, look for them to be the guys to bring the heat.
This will be a good week for the Colts to feature Dorsett in the passing game, with Hilton, Moncrief and Johnson in the lineup, he’s been kind of pushed to the back burner a bit. It will bear watching to see how Hilton fairs against a secondary with Kyle Arrington. Arrington now a member of the Ravens always did a great job of matching up with the speedy Hilton. Turnovers as always will be a key area to watch here.
Special Teams- Razor’s Edge Push
The Patriots have one of the solidest kicking games in the league with P Ryan Allen and K Stephen Gostkowski, with each bringing a great degree of expertise to the table. Gostkowski hasn’t missed a FG this season and last week boomed a 57-yarder at Dallas that would have been good from much further.
Indy has excellence in the kicking game as well with P Pat McAfee who is among the best in the league and K Adam Vinatieri, the ageless one who continues on with a Hall of Fame resume.
Both teams have been excellent in coverage so it will come down to who makes the big play on Sunday night. This is one of their rare occasions where New England doesn’t have a clear cut advantage on special teams.
So who wins and why? Next up our prediction:
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
