The Indianapolis Colts come to Foxboro to face the Patriots on Sunday. The Colts are a very mediocre team with a huge question mark at QB. The team has a 5-7 record but is just 2-4 on the road. The Offense ranks 22nd in Total Offense with 326.3 yards per game, 24th in Passing Offense with 199.7 yards per game and 17 in Rushing Offense with 116,7 per game. Scoring they are 21st with 20.2 points per game, 24 in Red Zone with 52.8% and on 3rd Down they are 23rd with 36%.
Offense
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| QB | Anthony Richardson | Joe Flacco | Sam Ehlinger | – |
| RB | Jonathan Taylor | Trey Sermon | Tyler Goodson | – |
| WR | Michael Pittman | Adonai Mitchell | Juwann Winfree IR | – |
| WR | Josh Downs | Ashton Dulin | ||
| WR | Alec Pierce | Anthony Gould | – | – |
| TE | Kylen Granson | Mo Alie-Cox | Drew Ogletree | Will Mallory |
| LT | Bernhard Raimann Q | Matt Goncalves | Blake Freeland | – |
| LG | Quenton Nelson | Tanor Bortolini Q | – | – |
| C | Tanor Bortolini Q | Danny Pinter | Ryan Kelly IR | Wesley French IR |
| RG | Dalton Tucker | Will Fries IR | ||
| RT | Braden Smith | Matt Goncalves |
Anthony Richardson is the biggest Trick or Treat QB in the league. You just don’t know what you are going to get with Richardson. I liked him in the pre-season as a potential comeback player of the year. Richardson’s PFF Offense rating is 60.4 which is 46th in the league for QBs. Joe Flacco is actually ranked higher, and IMO gives Indy a better chance to win. Flacco’s PFF rating is 65.5 for a 39 ranking.
Michael Pittman is a true #1 receiver, but with Richardson’s throwing, his numbers are way down. Pittman has 41 catches on 73 targets for 588 yards, a 12.4 yards per catch and 2 TDs. The 6’4” 223-pound receiver out of USC was drafted in 2020 2nd round (# 34). His PFF rating is 71, good for 55th at the position. Josh Downs has actually been the better receiver for the Colts. He leads the team in receptions with 53 on 78 targets for 594 yards, 11.2 average and 4 TDs. His PFF rating is 87.8 good for 4th in the league. The 5’9” 171-pound receiver out of North Carolina was taken in 2023 3rd round pick (#80). However, he is very unlikely to play on Sunday. Alec Pierce is 6’3” 211-pound receiver out of Cincinnati. He was taken by the Colts in the 2022 draft 2nd Round (#53). His PFF rating is 73, good for 39th. He too was on the injury report missing Wednesday’s practice. He is questionable for Sunday. If both receivers can’t go that allows the Patriots to blanket Pittman and reduces his effectiveness. Rookie Adonai Mitchell and Anthony Gould would be up next. Ashton Dulin is also questionable as he didn’t practice on Wednesday.
At Tight End, Mo Alie-Cox leads the TEs with 9 catches on 16 targets for 111 yards and a TD. Kylen Granson and Drew Ogletree also contributed. The Colts are one of a few teams that carry 4 TEs, with Will Mallory as the 4th TE.
The Offensive Line group is one of the best in the league and are ranked 6th overall. Bernhard Raimann a 6’6”, 303-pound Left Tackle out of Central Michigan, was drafted in the 2022 draft 3rd Round (#77). He has an outstanding 82.5 rating from PFF good for 10th amongst Tackles. Quenton Nelson is one of the best Guards in the league. Nelson is a 3-time 1st Team All Pro, and a 2nd team selection once. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl 6 x. The 6’5” 330-pound Guard is a Notre Dame product selected by Indy in the 2018 1st round (#6). His PFF rating is 79.1 good for 11th amongst Guards. Tanor Bortolini is 6’4”, 310-pounds out of Wisconsin. He was selected in the 2024 4th round (#118). The rookie’s PFF rating is 65.1 good for 21st amongst Centers. He is Questionable for Sunday and did not participate in practice on Wednesday. If he can’t go then Danny Pinter will be pressed into action. RG is Dalton Turner is an exceptionally tall Guard at 6’7” 319-pounds. Turner attended Marshall University and was signed as an UnDrafted Free Agent this year. His PFF rating isa low 53.3 good for 93rd amongst Guards. Braden Smith is the Right Tackle. The 6’6” 312-pound Tackle out of Auburn was a drafted by Indy in the 2018 draft 2nd round pick (#37). Smith and Nelson are entering their 7th season playing together. We can’t get a group of Offensive linemen to play together for 7 weeks. Smith’s PFF rating is 66.2 good for 47th amongst Tackles.
Defense
The Colt’s Defense is 28th Overall giving up 315.8 yards per game. Passing they are ranked 27th with 233.3 yards a game, and in Rushing they are ranked 27th with 142.6 per game. Overall scoring they are giving up 22.8 points per game which is ranked 16th. Red Zone Defense is 19th at 59.1% and on 3rd Down they are 44.6%.
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| LDE | Kwity Paye | Tyquan Lewis | Isaiah Land | – |
| LDT | DeForest Buckner | Taven Bryan | Adetomiwa Adebawore | |
| RDT | Grover Stewart | Raekwon Davis | – | – |
| RDE | Dayo Odeyingbo | Laiatu Latu | Samson Ebukam IR | – |
| WLB | E.J. Speed | Grant Stuard | Jaylon Carlies IR | |
| MLB | Zaire Franklin | Cameron McGrone | Liam Anderson | – |
| SLB | Segun Olubi | Grant Stuard | – | – |
| LCB | Samuel Womack | JuJu Brents IR | – | – |
| SS | Julian Blackmon | Ronnie Harrison | Trevor Denbow IR | Daniel Scott IR |
| FS | Nick Cross | Rodney Thomas | Darren Hall | |
| RCB | Jaylon Jones | David Long | ||
| NB | Kenny Moore | Chris Lammons |
The front 4 are formidable and they have a quality backup too. Kwity Paye is a good one at LDE. Paye is a 6’2” 265-pound Edge rusher from Michigan and was a 2021 1st Round (#21) by Indy. He has 30 tackles and 5.5 sacks for the season and his PFF Rating is 67.1 for 70th rank. DeForest Buckner is the kind of DT the Patriots have had problems with. The 6’7” 295 Interior Lineman was a 2016 1st round selection by San Franscisco out of Oregon. The former 1st and 2nd team All Pro was also selected to 3 Pro Bowl teams in his career. On the season he has 37 tackles and 4.5 sacks. His PFF rating is 79.5 good for 7th amongst DTs. The other DT is no slouch either. Grover Stewart stands 6’4” 314 pounds, out of Albany State. He was a 2017 4th round selection by the Colts. For the season he leads the D-line in tackles with 50 and adds 3.5 sacks. His PFF rating is 74.2 good for 19th amongst DTs. Dayo Odeyingbo is a 6’6” 286-pound Edge player out of Vanderbilt. He was drafted in 2021 by the Colts in the 2nd round (#54). On the season he has 24 tackles and 3 sacks. His PFF rating is 65.7 good for 80th. Working his way into the lineup is this year’s 1st round pick (# 15) Laiatu Latu a 6’5” 245 Edge player out of UCLA. He has contributed 25 tackles and 4 sacks so far. His PFF rating is 73.1, good for 38th.
Linebackers include EJ Speed, a 6’3” 227-pound backer from Tarleton State. He was a 2019 5th round pick (#164) and for the year he has 108 tackles. His PFF rating is 53.5 good for 133rd rank. Zaire Franklin leads the team with 123 tackles. The 6’ 235-pound backer from Syracuse was drafted by the Colts in 2018 7th round (#235). His PFF rating is 57.9 good for 118th. On the outside Segun Olubi is projected to play. The 6’2” 225 backer from San Diego State has played in only one game this year and that was in week 7. He did have 9 tackles in that game. His PFF rating is inflated at 86.4 because of that one game.
The secondary features LCB Sam Womack, a 5’10” 189 corner from Toledo. He was selected in 2022 draft 5th Round (# 172) by San Francisco. He has 24 tackles on the season and his PFF Rating is 72 good for 33rd. Strong Safety is manned by Julian Blackmon a 6’ 202-pound safety from Utah. The 2020 3rd round pick (#85) by Indy has 65 tackles and a half sack. His PFF Rating is 65.7 good for 53rd. Free Safety Nick Cross leads the secondary in tackles with 116. The 6’212-pound safety played at Maryland. He was a 2022 3rd round pick (#96). His PFF rating is 63.3 good for 69th. Jaylon Jones played at Texas A&M and was a 2023 7th round (#223) by Indy. For the year he has 72 tackles and his PFF rating is 68.8 good for 56th. Kenny Moore was signed by the Patriots as an UnDrafted Free Agent back in 2017 out of Valdosta State. We couldn’t keep him, and he was cut. He was scooped up by the Colts and he has been there ever since. The 5’9” 190-pound Nickel Back has 60 tackles on the season and has an outstanding PFF rating of 78.3, good for 11th amongst CBs.
Special Teams
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| PK | Matt Gay | – | – | – |
| P | Rigoberto Sanchez | – | – | – |
| H | Rigoberto Sanchez | – | – | – |
| PR | Josh Downs Q | Anthony Gould | – | – |
| KR | Tyler Goodson | Ashton Dulin Q | Anthony Gould | Josh Downs Q |
| LS | Luke Rhodes |
Matt Gay is a consistent kicker inside of 50 yards, making all 21 of his kicks. It’s beyond 50 where he has missed three kicks. He ranks 12th in scoring. It must be pointed out that he kicks in a dome for half of his games which is a huge factor. The winds at Gillette can be very unpredictable. Rigoberto Sanchez ranks 9th with a 50.0-yard average on his kicks and 7th with a 43.9 Net average. Since Josh Downs will not be playing, Anthony Gould will be the replacement, and he is not a factor as a Punt Returner. Neither is Tyler Goodson as a Kickoff Returner. He has not returned enough kicks to qualify for ranking.
Comings and Goings
The Patriots claimed Offensive Guard Lester Cotton off waivers from the Dolphins. In a consequent move they waived Guard Michael Jordan. We will have a new O-Line combo this week, our 9th different combination in 13 games. Perhaps Cole Strange will be activated. Demontrey Jacobs was benched for Sidy Sow at the end of the game last week. Ben Brown is the worst Center in the league and needs to be replaced. Perhaps we see a line combo of Vederian Lowe, Layden Robinson, Cole Strange, Michael Onwenu and Sidy Sow. Lester Cotton in the three games he played for Miami had a higher rating than any Guard on the Patriots roster at 67 for a 39th rank. Michael Onwenu is at 41st.
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Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.
