Wild Card Preview

            The impossible-to-believe season for the Indianapolis Colts continues into the playoffs where their first round matchup takes them to the city we take everything from, Baltimore. The Irsay’s moved the Colts to Indianapolis from Baltimore in 1984 and before this season started we took Chuck Pagano and defensive lineman, Cory Redding. They got Jim Caldwell and Curtis Painter (fair trade, right?).

            The Colts are seen as underdog in the matchup and that’s understandable. However, you want to be playing your best football late in the season and the Colts played what I believe was their best game of the season last week against Houston. The Ravens, on the other hand, have gone 1-4 in their past five games and look very vulnerable.

It seemed as if the Colts would have the emotional advantage in the game with Chuck Pagano on the sideline but then Ray Lewis announced earlier this week that this is his final season. There is nobody in Baltimore who wants to see Ray Lewis retire. The Ravens are going to be playing inspired football in all aspects and nobody is going to give up.

             Before the Ray Lewis announcement, I figured the Colts could win this game by a touchdown. Now, I am not so sure. This game is going to be a dog fight but that plays into the Colts’ favor. Indy is a remarkable 9-1 in games decided by 7 points or less. The Ravens are 6-4 in the same circumstance.

The Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco could be considered a seasoned veteran but he has yet to claim a spot on the “elite” level. Flacco is 6-4 in the playoffs but has lost to the Steelers twice and the Patriots once. This is a game that could push Andrew Luck to that level while putting Flacco on the same level as Tony Romo. It is vital that Luck withstand the Raven’s pass rush and limit his turnovers. If he throws a couple interceptions and fumbles then the Colts will lose. Luck will also need production from rookie running back, Vick Ballard, to help in the cause and reduce the amount of blitzing Baltimore does.

As for the Colts defense, they really stepped it up against Houston in Week 17. In a game that Houston needed to win, our defense held them to only 16 points. We picked off two of Matt Schaub’s passes and held Arian Foster to 96 rushing yards. Many are worried about Ray Rice putting up huge numbers against our defense but I am not one of those. The Colts are gonna bring their “A” game against Baltimore just like they did against Houston. If they can force Flacco to make plays then we will have the advantage.

Predicted score: Colts-20. Ravens-13.