Indy/Chargers..... Been-gals....

[Popps]

Sorry to post another Indy thread, but I missed all of the games today. (Was traveling)

Curious to know if anyone watched the game closely enough to know if SD exploited something in Indy's game, or if Indy just came out a little flat?

From what I heard, Merriman was in Manning's face all day long... sacked him at least once and the d-line forced him into a couple of INTs? Wouldn't surprise me. I've been saying for two seasons that the way to beat Indy is up front... not by trying to outscore them or signing 30 CBs every off-season.

Anyone catch it? Opinions? Did SD lay out a blue print, or was it a fluke?

Bengals.... we DO have the tiebreaker with them, right? Seems like we almost need KC to win this week so they have a shred of hope in week 17 against Cinci. Of course, if we win out... we're cool. But, if we happen to stumble against SD or something, it wouldn't hurt to get a little help from our good pals in KC! I'd love to have them play a part in sealing a first round bye and a home field game.

[Kaylore]

These threads can kind of give you a feel for what happens, albeit on a very base level.

Generally they just used quick passes and preassured the snot out of Manning.

http://www.orangemane.com/BB/showthread.php?t=34910

[Goobzilla]

Merriman was awesome today. Even with LT on the pine late in the game, they found a way to get it done.

[ludo21]

great Q as i missed the game as well. I know June and Simon were out so that had to be a big loss for Indy.

And how bout that NFC WC, Skins in playoffs as of now, woulda thunk??

And after watching highlights of Steelers/Vikings game it makes me feel better about facing the Steelers if need be, Vikings just made mistakes and still almost won.

[Clockwork Orange]

The Bolts dominated the line of scrimmage. The Colts weren't able to get any long scoring drives together, their only touchdowns came off of turnovers that gave them short fields to work with. They got in Mannings face constantly and knocked him down way more often than he's used to.

[sirhcyennek81]

Chargers made peyton move around, and cut his reads from 1-2-3-4 to 1-2. Screwed up his timing, threw the whole colts offense off. Chargers offense also had "explosion" plays to beat on the colt defense. good win for san diego.

[Popps]

I'm guessing when the front 4 were putting enough pressure on Manning, the running game couldn't get going, either? LBs were probably cheating up, safeties didn't have to sit back and guess where he was going with the ball?

That's a fking finesse, dome-team. They're the new Rams.

[sirhcyennek81]

Chargers got pressure with blitzes and the front four. Merriman played a damn good game. I see possibilities if we play indi. Chargers did not always get to Manning, but he had happy feet, overthrew and underthrew passes, made poor decisions, looked frsutrated, which is the key to beating the colts. make manning press, and he makes mistakes.

[Kaylore]

Shawne Merriman was amazing. What a killer.

[Goobzilla]

The 4th down busted play where Manning tried to run it in was pure comedy. Definitely some miscommunication on that one.

[sirhcyennek81]

I watched Indi get outplayed, two defensive starters out for indi do not account for how badly the colt o line played. Colts got beat to the ball, showed no emotion until the 2nd half. and had a dazed look on their faces most of the game. Chargers got out to a 13-0 lead at half. In the third qtr, colts scored 17 points, to make it 17-16, chargers scored 10 in the 4th to make it 26-17. Chargers defense made manning look average, and it was not a new game plan. It was like watching the patriots dismantle the colts the last 2 years in the playoffs. The chargers ran for 206 yards on indi, outrushing the colts by 186 yards. Indi just gave up the run when they were down, allowed the chargers to tee off on manning. If we play them, our composure when things go wrong will be key, if we panic, we lose. Our defense is capable of doing enough to throw manning off, but our offense has to show up, and not turn the ball over. Sound football beats Indi.

[Blueflame]

The Colts are so used to playing creampuffs it almost looked like they had already chalked this one into the "W"" column prior to kickoff and were stunned to see the Bolts actually putting up some resistance....

[Atlas]

If the Charger game is the Blueprint then if Denver plays the Colts they need to move Pryce to DT Bench Brown and just blitz Predator and Williams and Gold off the edge. Will the hold up against the run?? I don't know but that is what the Chargers did.

If Denver could move to a 3-4 for one game and blitz their LBers that might throw Manning off.

[rbackfactory80]

Originally Posted by Atlas

If the Charger game is the Blueprint then if Denver plays the Colts they need to move Pryce to DT Bench Brown and just blitz Predator and Williams and Gold off the edge. Will the hold up against the run?? I don't know but that is what the Chargers did.

If Denver could move to a 3-4 for one game and blitz their LBers that might throw Manning off.

Best post on this thread, Predator could be the key. 3-4 is also very critical in beating Manning.

[ND Bronco Fan]

Originally Posted by Atlas

If the Charger game is the Blueprint then if Denver plays the Colts they need to move Pryce to DT Bench Brown and just blitz Predator and Williams and Gold off the edge. Will the hold up against the run?? I don't know but that is what the Chargers did.

If Denver could move to a 3-4 for one game and blitz their LBers that might throw Manning off.

Exactly the same thing I thought, great post and lets all hope that we can do it. I could not help but remember all the talk in the offseason about the "move to the 3-4" and Coyer saying that in certain instances they could use it. Do you think they were looking ahead to a way to beat the Colts in 2005?

[Mediator12]

I have seen everyone of Indy's games this year and there were reasons they lost yesterday that have not been discussed. There were two OL playing out of position yesterday that allowed Merriman to pressure manning. Ryan Diem Was injured early and Dungy Benched him in order to not risk further injury. That made the Colts move guys around and the protection was nowhere near as good and the run blocking was not there. They did not run a lot of the stretch plays for James either. Those, like KC's Sweeps, are their bread and butter in the running game.

Peyton was still able to pass on the Chargers with a ton of Pressure in his face too. The two INT's were tipped balls off the WR's, not bad decisions or throws.

Defensively, the Colts lacked the killer pass rush without Simon and Mathis playing on third down's. Their rush was the most inconsistent it has been all year. The Chargers were able to Double Freeney almost every pass play without those two guys in the lineup. This gave Brees alot more time to throw deep than any other team has faced all year. The Colts S are not good in deep coverage in the Cover two. They rarely even get tested with that pass rush, but today they were exposed and their lack of experience with covering deep balls exploited.

As for the rushing defense, Simon has been a beast up the middle and the Chargers were able to open up some running lanes at Freeney without him protected by Simon in the scheme. The front four for the Colts was dominated for the first time all year in both phases yesterday. That will not be available in the playoffs.

Surprisingly, Cato June did play yesterday. I was really surprised but expect him to get some rest now that they lost. Brackett had a good game and David Thornton was the best LB yesterday covering gates very well for the most part. I was really impressed they had that level of Success with Gates since I had attributed them to just being average in man coverage against TE's. Relying on the zone to exploit pass rush pressure to date. No pass rush yesterday and they played just as well in coverage.

Just some thoughts...

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

Just some thoughts...

Any more excuses?

[Rascal]

Their defensives line kicked ass and pressured Manning all game long.

They won despite Brees having two TO's, Gates having less then 40 yards, and LT getting hurt and having less then 80 yards.

Do you think we would win if Jake had two TO's and that type of production?

Their defense was some of the best I've seen and the continuous pressure they got on Manning was incredible.

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Bronco_Beerslug

Any more excuses?

Excuses for what. The Colts were exploited by the Chargers yesterday. Excellent gameplanning and even better execution with the playoffs on the line. Colts were flatter than pancakes in the first half and the Chargers should have been up by 20+ instead of 13. Colts had the lead at 17-16 even after being badly outplayed for the most of three quarters.

This is football and things change quickly. The question is can you do anything about it? The chargers did and kicked them hard in the fourth quarter. They were the better team that day and deserved to win.

To say that there was a blueprint created from this game is ludicrous, though. The Colts match up worse with the Chargers Defense than most even when healty up front. Each team has to create better favorable matchups and the Chargers had the opportunity to exploit several today. The most important part is that they succeeded in doing just that. They won the overall matchups.

[Jason in LA]

I wouldn't call it a blue print. Did the Giants give the league the blue print on how to beat the '98 Broncos when they ended the perfect season? It's just one game. The Colts weren't at 100%, which was smart on Dungy's part. I wouldn't be shocked if they closed the playbook down, knowing that there is a chance that they could be playing this Chargers team in a month. I hope the Colts shut it down completely so they'll be rusty come playoffs. We all know what happens when teams shut it down.

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Bronco_Beerslug

Any more excuses?

Also, Popps did not see the game and I was summarizing it from my viewpoint. He wanted to know what happened and why. So, those were my thoughts.

Thanks

[freak6]

They brought heat all day long. They rushed two DT's, and usually two or three LB's from differing spots.

Don't be fooled into thinking we can do the same. Peyton would destroy us. There is no way Ian Gold, Al Wilson, or even DJ would be able to get to Peyton one on one with thier O-lineman. I could see rushing 3 DL and blitzing 2 LBs though. Pryce and Brown will need to have a huge game if we even get that far in the playoffs.

Anyway, the point is Merriman is a freakasaurus and we don't have him. The Chagers zone blitz scheme could be copied, but not with our little LB's. Patrick Chukwarah is probably our closest thing to a pass rushing LB but even he gets eaten up most of the time.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

Also, Popps did not see the game and I was summarizing it from my viewpoint. He wanted to know what happened and why. So, those were my thoughts.

Thanks

Yeah don't give SD any credit. They only reason they had any success was because the Colts didn't have all their starters playing and not because SD played great.

Great non-homer take!

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Bronco_Beerslug

Yeah don't give SD any credit. They only reason they had any success was because the Colts didn't have all their starters playing and not because SD played great.

Great non-homer take!

Oh, you not being able to read explains things. Read the part where I say that SD out executed and out gameplanned them again unless you really have an agenda and do not care!

There are more options than two in assessing things. A lot of reasons why SD won that game. Reason #1 SD outexecuted them. Reason #2 they had a great gameplan and forced matchups in their favor.

[Rascal]

IMO...

Go to a 3-4 mix. Trevor and Warren inside with Eukuban being the other true defensive lineman (strong side). Mix up Pred and DJ on the outside with their blitzes with Gold and Wilson as the only true LB's. Champ, Darrent, Foxworth, and Fergy in the backfield.