Colts Week

[broncosteven]

So after watching Monday Night Football and seeing the Colts lose on the road to an inconsistent San Diego team I am not going to eat the tripe that ESPN and NBC will be feeding us to hype this game Sunday night.

First of all the red zone was a big issue for the Colts. They could not rush the ball, only 40 yards for their new RB. Our Defense is soild vs the run. Luck made bad decisions and it seemed that SD knew all their tendencies. The only thing I am worried about is that Luck will just load up and chuck it deep as our coverage has been an issue the last 2 weeks.

I know road wins are tough, but this is the house Peyton built, he excels playing in a dome and it will let some of our team speed shine. I didn't see much from Indy as far as pass coverage or even from the pass rush. Even if we have to play with a jury rigged OL the depth at RG is good. I would rather do what they did in game than try to throw Justice out there but that is not my call.

I know that the Jags and their new QB gave us all they could and scored 19 on us (7 of which were a gift) but if we don't turn it over and we continue doing what Manning has been able to I am not as worried as all the media outlets are trying to make this out.

There is still "Any Given Sunday" but you got to believe this is the game Peyton wants to win of all the games on the schedule.

Anyone else have any thoughts on what to watch for or expect from the Colts this week?

Steve

[orangeatheist]

Here's what concerns me:

1.) Woodyard: Will he be back?

2.) We went into Dallas with the idea that Manning "knew" the sort of defense that they had and, of course, with out high octane offense the Cowboys weren't supposed to be a problem. Thank you, Romo.

3.) Jacksonville is the doormat of the League. Can't beat anybody. Had scored only 51 points all year which was the same total as we put up in one game. Odds makers had us as 28 point favorites.

It seems, for the last two weeks at least, we have made teams that are supposed to lie down for us look like contenders. Well? What is going to happen when we play a legitimate contender-caliber team? Maybe it will go the other way and Indy will look like a doormat in front of us...Maybe we'll get curb-stomped...Maybe it will be a close one. Dunno. That's part of the frustration.

[gyldenlove]

The Colts offense can't run the ball but they are making a concerted effort to do so, which may work in our favour as the one thing our D can do is stop the run. Coby Fleener is having a bad case of the dropsies in the middle and as long as their other sophomore TE is out this leaves them pretty thin in the middle of the field. On the outside Wayne and Hilton are dangerous guys with lots of speed to go deep on us. We need to ensure we keep Luck in the pocket and get pressure on him to get rid of the ball quickly.

When the Chargers did get pass rush on Luck it was always with wide rush keeping him contained and either stunts or blitzing the interior line. I think that strategy is sound, it keeps Luck from using his speed to extend plays or pick up easy first downs and since his TE and RBs are a bit inconsistent in catching the ball his dump off options are limited.

On defense the Colts use a classic bend don't break scheme. Their system looks very much like a 4-3 even though nominally it is a 30 front. They use 3 down linemen in the base formation and move Robert Mathis from side to side to get him good matchups, he tends to line up in a 2 point stance in the 9 tech position to get a wide rush and use his speed to get the corner or a counter move to get inside leverage when the tackle backs off. Their LBs are weak in man coverage and Julius Thomas should be able to gain some good yardage against them, in zone coverage Pat Angerer is solid but has limited range.

Their CBs are physical, Vontae Davies loves to jam at the line and use his speed to stay with WRs. I think they will try to match him up on DT all day, I think DT can win that on the outside with his strength to get away from the jam easy.

The Colts DL is pretty weak, they can get some penetration against the pass, but even the Chargers who are not a good running team had no problem moving them around and creating big open running lanes. Running the ball is going to be a key to victory here between the 20s and inside the red zone we need to continue utilizing Welker (the most scoring WR) and Julius Thomas (the most scoring TE) to get in the red zone. The Colts defense plays more aggressive with the linebackers in the red zone so running becomes much harder, but it opens up some room and 1v1s on the intermediate stuff which is something Welker has been owning all year.

[Pony Boy]

Anyone else have any thoughts on what to watch for or expect from the Colts this week?

Nope, I think you cover it all

[Blart]

The Colts offense can't run the ball but they are making a concerted effort to do so, which may work in our favour as the one thing our D can do is stop the run.

Great post, but the line above I'm curious about. Do we *really* have a good run D, or do teams give up on the run because they're behind?

Colts seem like a team that's going to run regardless. Maybe they don't fully trust Luck, maybe they want to control the clock, but they don't give up on the run until 4th quarter.

[oubronco]

[ScottXray]

I think that the Colts are going to try to pass.... a LOT.

Their run game will not be effective so they will pass to set up the run
at unexpected times, and use screens and underneath stuff a lot.
Our pass rush is going to have to be good and pressure Luck early to
keep him out of any rhythym. We can't leave a run lane for Luck to go to
either, as he is an effective runner and if we do get to him the rushers must wrap up and tackle him. And we will have to run effectively like SD did last night. I think we'll keep 2 TEs in almost all game to help with that and Pass pro.

Like Denver against Jax I think they were looking ahead to next week and
had a sub par game.

I like our chances, but it is not going to be easy, and our injured players ( Ayers, and Woodyard in particular ) are going to have to play. The secondary is going to have to be on the same page, and Woodyard sets that.

[baja]

My take;

Von is back. Manning has a lesson to teach. If Woodyard is healthy we win going away

[TonyR]

The Colts offense can't run the ball...

They actually came in to the Chargers game ranked 4th in the league in rushing. They fell to 8th after the Chargers shut them down.

Colts are a tough team to figure. Struggled against Raiders, lost to the Dolphins and Chargers, beat the Niners and Seahawks, beat the Jags far more convincingly than we did. Go figure. They're really nothing special and they're clearly not consistent.

[2KBack]

They actually came in to the Chargers game ranked 4th in the league in rushing. They fell to 8th after the Chargers shut them down.

Colts are a tough team to figure. Struggled against Raiders, lost to the Dolphins and Chargers, beat the Niners and Seahawks, beat the Jags far more convincingly than we did. Go figure. They're really nothing special and they're clearly not consistent.

Gabbert pick six and no Blackmon easily explains Jax....the SF and Seattle wins are interesting though

[DENVERDUI55]

Gabbert pick six and no Blackmon easily explains Jax....the SF and Seattle wins are interesting though

SF had nobody to throw to and Davis was banged up. As great as Seattle is AT HOME they are mediocre on the road. They barely beat Carolina and probably should of lost if Williams didn't fumble.

[Punisher]

Woodyard might be the best LB on this team.....

[LongDongJohnson]

Great post, but the line above I'm curious about. Do we *really* have a good run D, or do teams give up on the run because they're behind?

Colts seem like a team that's going to run regardless. Maybe they don't fully trust Luck, maybe they want to control the clock, but they don't give up on the run until 4th quarter.

Looking at the ypc we give up, our run D is legit.

[NFLBRONCO]

O-
Avoid stupid Flags
No Fumbles/TO's
OL no more injuries

D

Dominate Von
Better DB play
WW needs to play if not LONG NIGHT
Overall play on the road has to get alot better

[broncosteven]

Woodyard might be the best LB on this team.....

From a pass rushing skill set Von is light years better but Woodyard is a better cover guy. I think Von plays the run well, we actually get to find out this week!