Keys to beating the Colts

Curious as to what some of you guys and girls perceive as weaknesses on that team, and how you'd go about attacking them. Theyve been dominating. What kind of gameplan do some of you think we could sketch up to give us a good chance? We've got two weeks....

 

The key to beating them in the past was to be more physical than they are and get pressure on Manning, preferable up the middle. I think that is still the way to go about it but they are tougher than they used to be. Smith can shred their secondary if he gets some decent throws his way. They are not great against the run despite the playoff run last year. Peppers and Jenkins will be key to stopping them.

 

I'd bull rush Manninig on every single play. Steelers did it a few years back and it worked. I'd send 14 guys at him.

 

Keys to beating the Colts:

1) Cheat
2) Cheat
3) Cheat

 

- Run the ball
- Stop the run
- Protect the Football
- Create Turnovers
- No Penalties
- Good fundamentals
- Capitolize on their mistakes
- Take it one play at a time
- Use lots of cliches

 

Theyre gonna get their big plays and scores, so its interesting. Do we send mad blitzes? Do we play heavy zone? Hope not, honestly.

We'll have to key in on their running game. Key the fuck in, and goddamn be disciplined. If we start biting on the PA, we're toast. That O revolves around the run game and PA. They do it better than anyone in the league. Perhaps Davidson could pick up a few pointers...ya know....passing seven times in a row and then running a few PA fakes really doesnt fool the defense when our run game isnt doing shit....but I disgress, and exaggerate.

Find ways to get Smith in man. Christ, utilize King. Hes a weapon. FIND ways to utilize him, like they do with their TEs, to open up things for the WRs.

Dwight on Travelle could make for a long day. If Carr starts, we'll have to keep him on the move, and use more short passes. ANd teams have been running towards DF this season, shockingly without much success....its still a way to slow him down, wear him out. FInd a way to make him less effective in the pass rushing game....

 

I think the biggest thing we need to do is score more points than they do.

 

Sure, thats obvious, but Im looking for more than that. How? How do we score on them with our QB situation the way it is, and more interestingly, how the fuck do we stop them from dropping a 50 bomb on us. Obviously, as great as Manning is, and their receivers are, our D needs to center its entire strategy on their run game. Everything they do revolves around that. Not just a runner, per say, but the run game as a whole. And whats difficult, is that they pass to set up the run.

 

Things I would not do:

Drop Peppers into coverage
Rush 3 guys on long yardage
Cover Clark with a linebacker
Let Carr take long drops
Fail to throw the ball to Smith regularly

 

Indy doesn't run a lot in the A or B gaps, so I'd like to see more Lewis and Moorehead than Kemoeatu. The staple of that running game is the stretch play, which puts pressure on the edges of the defense and plays into their run/play action relationship which I believe is the key to the Colts' offense. By attacking the edges so effectively, Indianapolis creates read responsibilities with the corners, safeties, and linebackers.

One of the reasons the Tampa 2 has traditionally had success against the Colts is that their corners roll up regardless, so they don't have to guess whether it's a run or pass. They have short responsibilities in either case, which means that they can more effectively come up in run defense without exposing holes in the zone. But in our 3 deep scheme our corners will need to consistently and accurately read the play in order to decide whether they should cut off the edge or drop back into coverage. That's understandably a tall order. And the more success that Indy has with the run, the more likely the linebackers and safeties are to cheat, opening up additional holes to be exploited in the passing game. Unfortunately Peyton Manning is probably the best in the league at executing play action, so our guys have to be on their toes.

Then on the other side of the ball, we need to run, run, and run some more. Some people try to spread the Colts out, but I think that just plays right into their hands. I'd rather come out in strong formations and just push on them, for while that isn't our strength, it is their greatest defensive weakness and allows us to slow down the game. PA and double moves can also have success against their corners because they do squat on short routes, something that becomes even more effective when a successful running attack brings Bob Sanders down into the box.