2011 Indianapolis Colts; Preview

            
            The worst possible news for the Indianapolis Colts and us fans was announced today. Peyton Manning had another surgery today and will be out for at least 2 months. (I’ll let you soak that in). Yes, Peyton is out.

            

             I should probably just leave the preview at that because Peyton is the Indianapolis Colts. This team has gone from Super Bowl contender to playoff hopeful in less than a couple of weeks. When the NFL Lockout ended everybody in Indy rejoiced that not only would we get our Super Bowl, but that our team may be playing in it. Now that dream has been shattered.

             

            The Colts will start Kerry Collins and will have Curtis Painter as a backup. In my opinion, I would flip that and have Painter start. Painter led the Colts offense against the Packers first string defense in a preseason game and scored two touchdowns. That was the Super Bowl Champion Packers and a pretty stout defense.

-If you recall, I said Tommy Rees would better than his teammate Dayne Crist who got to start for Notre Dame last week. So far that prediction is holding true.

             

            Whoever the quarterback is they will have a plethora of options to choose from. Wide receiver Reggie Wayne is one of the best receivers in the league (and a supporter of Painter). Also on the receiving corps: Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Anthony Gonzalez, and Blair White. All these guys are solid pass catchers, but the key is to stay healthy. Gonzalez has only played a full season once since being drafted by the Colts in 2007 and Collie suffered two concussions last season.

-I just checked the Colts roster and not listed is Mel Brooks. He had a good preseason and would have been a better pickup than Gonzalez.

             

            There’s also this other guy that you may have heard about, Dallas Clark. Clark is one of the best tight ends in the NFL but missed time last year due to injury. He is back this year and healthier than ever so look for him to get a lot of passes thrown his way. The second option at tight end is Jacob Tamme. Tamme filled in for Clark last season and made some good plays.

            

            In the back field for the Colts is Joseph Addai and Donald Brown. This tandem should go by the moniker, “Kings of Averageness”(It’s my blog, I’m allowed to make up words). Neither of these guys are game changers and won’t ever break open a huge run. They both enjoy taking a hand off, juking left or right, and then getting tackled in the backfield for a gain of zero yards. Watch for that season, it won’t take long to see what I’m talking about.

             

            On the defensive side of the ball not much has changed from 2010. Defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, and Linebacker Gary Brackett, are still the staples of the unit. The biggest change was getting rid of safety Bob Sanders (no love lost here). Melvin Bullitt, who has proved to be just as adequate, will replace him. It’s hard to judge how the defense will be this season. I could almost guarantee that they will not be great against the run, but maybe they’ll be a pleasant surprise.

2011 Colts Schedule

9/11- at Houston Texans

9/18- vs. Cleveland Browns

9/25- vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

10/3- at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

10/9- vs. Kansas City Chiefs

10/16- at Cincinnati Bengals

10/23- at New Orleans Saints

10/30- at Tennessee Titans

11/6- vs. Atlanta Falcons

11/13- vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

BYE WEEK

11/27- vs. Carolina Panthers

12/4- at New England Patriots

12/11- at Baltimore Ravens

12/18- vs. Tennessee Titans

12/22- vs. Houston Texans

1/1- at Jacksonville Jaguars

            My first thought after looking at the schedule is that this is gonna be a longgg season. I count three “circle games”, as Peyton would say. Those would be games that you circle as easy wins. The six divisional games (Houston, Jacksonville, Tennessee) could be split, or even end up 4-2. I don’t see us beating the Texans twice though. 
            Unless this team gels and really comes together there is no way we beat most of the teams up there. It’s unfortunate we play two of the toughest divisions in the League, the AFC North and NFC South.

             

            With Peyton Manning out for the whole season I think the Colts finish 6-10. If he somehow comes back, then that win amount will increase. Either way, this will be a pretty depressing season for Colts fans.

Colts vs. Packers Analysis

            The Colts played the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers last Friday night in their third preseason game. Although the Colts ended up losing at the last minute, 24-21, there was plenty to be optimistic about. The play of the Curtis Painter in the first half was actually pretty impressive. The Colts starting defense was great too as they held Aaron Rogers and company to just 10 points in the first half.

3 Things I liked:

Curtis Painter- I have proudly stated that Painter need to be cut from the team ever since he was picked up by the Colts. He was never that good at Purdue, so why would he be good in the NFL? He has looked absolutely dismal in every start he’s had and in every game he's ever played in. He changed that perception Friday night though. In fact, Painter looked solid. He stood in the pocket every time he went back to pass and kept his composure until he found an open receiver. There were times when he didn’t pick up blitzes, but that falls on the offensive line as well.

            With 1:55 in the second quarter, Painter led the Colts down the field in a perfect 2-minute offense. He finished the drive with a perfect toss in the back corner of the end zone to wide receiver Chris Brooks. After the play there was a clip showing Peyton Manning  smiling on the sidelines. To me, Peyton was thinking “I knew you could do it” or “That was a heck of a throw”, either way it was a cool moment.

            Painter was done after the first half, but during the time he played he threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns. I never thought there could be such a widely publicized battle for a backup job, esp. when the leading contenders are Painter and Kerry Collins. If you would have told me even a month ago that I would type this next sentence I would have laughed in your face and probably punched you. Curtis Painter needs to be the backup to Peyton Manning.

Colts defensive front: The four defensive linemen for the Colts were monsters for two straight quarters. People want to hype up what the Detroit Lions have, but I think our lineup is pretty impressive; Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on the edge, then Tommie Harris and Jamal Anderson inside. These guys had three sacks, knocked down a pass, and pressured Aaron Rogers continuously. Rookie Drake Nevis made one of those sacks and should get some time on the field this season.

Dwight Freeney (#93) and Robert Mathis (#98)

Tackling: The Colts have been called out past seasons and in this year’s preseason about how poor their tackling is. I didn’t see but one or two broken tackles, if that, in the first half. The speed of our defense didn’t allow the Packers players to break tackles because our guys were swarming their ball carriers.

3 things I didn’t like:

Phil Simms: God this guys is annoying!!! I hate this announcer more than any other of any sport or any network. He NEVER has anything good to say about the Colts. Never. It was even more annoying when he started a sentence “In this building…” (referring to Lucas Oil Stadium) three times in two quarters. Newsflash Simms, L.O.S. isn’t that loud, and doesn’t even begin to compare with the cacophony inside the old RCA Dome.

Phil Simms

Offensive line: These guys were definitely the weak link in the game. I swear it must be somewhere in Ryan Diem’s contract that he HAS to be the cause of at least one penalty a game. How can you have a “false start” when you’re playing at your own stadium, in the preseason? It’s not like you can’t hear the quarterback! They also let Packers corner back, Charles Woodson, get to Painter about three times and sack him twice. They opened up no holes at all for the running game,thus never giving Joseph Addai or Donald Brown a decent chance of getting a big run.

Phil Simms again?: There wasn’t a lot to dislike about how the Colts played in the first half. The real problem came in the second half when the backups went in. The even bigger problem came in the final minute of the 4^th quarter. The Packers scored a touchdown then a 2-point conversion, recovered the ensuing onside kick, and then kicked the game winning field goal. Yeah, all that in the final minute. Fortunately, several of the players involved in that meltdown were cut from the team.

            The Colts play their final game of the preseason Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. The regular season starts against the Houston Texans on Sept. 11^th.

            Indianapolis also announced that Peyton Manning is off the “Players unable to play” or “PUP” list and was able to practice today. It seems like somebody was right about Manning being ready to play in the first regular season game.