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Week 9 Preview, New England at Indianapolis

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots 

New England PatriotsIndianapolis Colts
Call this game anything that you want. But one thing is for certain this Sunday – this has to be considered the game of the year. Two undefeated teams, of which one will remain unbeaten. Two of the elite teams in the National Football League will square off this weekend as the New England Patriots visit the RCA Dome to take on the Indianapolis Colts. As one would suspect, there will be plenty of subplots.

You have Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. 2 quarterbacks that will eventually go to the NFL Hall Of Fame squaring off against each other. There’s no questioning their greatness – they both are having their usual productive seasons, albeit they are having them in totally polar opposite ways. On the one hand, Brady (198-for-267, 2,431 yards, 30 touchdowns, 2 interceptions), as opposed to seasons past, now has weapons (wide receivers) on offense. Manning (152-for-232, 1,833 yards, 13 TD’s, 3 INT), on the other hand, doesn’t have to throw the ball 40 times a game in order to get the job done. But when he does throw the ball, it is productive.

Then there’s the running game. New England has both running backs Laurence Maroney (74 carries, 358 yards) and Sammy Morris (85-384-3 TD’s) – both productive. The Colts counter with RB’s Joseph Addai (123-592-7 TD’s) and Kenton Keith (72-344-3 TD’s) – both very productive as well. You also have the wide receivers. The Patriots have Randy Moss (47-779-12 TD’s), Wes Welker (56-613-6 TD’s) and Donte’ Stallworth (26-411-3 TD’s) – probably the best weapons that Brady has ever had thus far in his career. Meanwhile, the Colts have WR’s Reggie Wayne (44-668-5 TD’s) and Marvin Harrison (20-247-1 TD). On paper, the edge decidedly goes to the Patriots at WR.

Do not be surprised if the wild card on offense for both teams is at tight end. The Patriots have a decent TE of their own in Benjamin Watson (18-222-5 TD’s). The Colts, on the other hand, have 2 of their own – Dallas Clark (32-388-6 TD’s) and Ben Utecht (10-119). On paper, you could say the edge goes to Indianapolis at TE. The return game are polar opposites. New England has CB/KR Ellis Hobbs (18-525-1 TD-29.2 YPR); on the other hand, Indianapolis counters with CB/KR T.J. Rushing (16-408-25.5 YPR). Edge to New England, obviously. The Colts will naturally have to have their special teams keying on Hobbs.

Defense is where New England has obliterated their opponents (offense obviously as well, but the Patriots have done it on both sides of the ball). The Patriots’ defensive line is led by linebacker Mike Vrabel (42 tackles, 29 solo, 7.5 sacks) and defensive end Jarvis Green (3 sacks) and many other role players. Their secondary, as you’d expect, is stellar, led by CB Asante Samuel (4 INT’s). The Colts, while not as overwhelming as the Patriots, they have some decent defenders of their own. One must consider that the Colts’ defense is built on speed, not necessarily bulk and size. Their resurgent defensive line is led by DE Dwight Freeney (3.5 sacks), who while not having a usual Freeney-type year, is gathering momentum. The improving secondary tends to spread the wealth. They are led by an improving Kelvin Hayden (46 tackles, 41 solo, 1 INT) and Marlin Jackson (48 tackles, 36 solo, 1 INT). Keep in mind that Jackson was a safety when the Colts drafted him, so he will only get better as he masters the defensive schemes that are required of the cornerback position.

The kicking game, one would imagine, has the edge going to the Colts. They have Adam Vinatieri (14-of-15 field goals made, 24-of-26 extra points made); his success at the RCA Dome speaks for itself. Ask New England (his former employer). The Patriots have a placekicker in rookie Stephen Gostkowski (10-of-11 FG’s made, perfect on extra points) who is pretty good in his own right; but to be fair, the Patriots score many more TD’s than most teams so extra points are a given.

I doubt that this game will be a defensive struggle as both offensive juggernauts should be marching up and down the field with some regularity. And as aforementioned, the TE position should play a major role in the outcome of the game. The Colts will naturally have to adjust their game plan to the Patriots, but then again, the Patriots aren’t facing the Buffalo Bills’ QB or even the Washington Redskins’ QB, for that matter. They’re facing Manning, so they won’t be able to do their usual stuff as they would do on any other given weekend. I expect this game to be close until the end with the Colts scoring a late touchdown as they upset (hey they’re 5 1/2 point underdogs after all) the Patriots in the RCA Dome.


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