Predictable approach, predictable results for Colts

By Anthony Bialy  |   Monday, October 22, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Indianapolis Colts
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!

The Colts tell the same story every week. They set the game's tempo, pound their runners between the hash marks just enough times, blow open the game with deep air strikes after patiently waiting for the defense to cram near the line, and unleash Bob Sanders and friends on the other offense. A decent foe this past Monday night can attest to the fact that their opponent's standard game plan, gently, works well, as a Jacksonville squad that was on a fairly lengthy hot streak couldn't overcome Indianapolis, a team that is itself constantly rolling.

One of the iconic video images of Peyton Manning is him directing traffic with both teams lined up, rearranging personnel and maybe or maybe not changing the play. That maneuvering perfectly sums up his mastery of football, and, along with being a display of the unparalleled control he has over the game, served an additional importance on a stuffy Florida evening: exhausting the other team.

Most defenses combat heat and humidity by swapping players on and off as often as possible, but Indy's lack of huddles doomed its adversaries to trying to rest while standing, hands relegated to hips and far from the Gatorade cooler. With Jacksonville's only true chance to sit down and be still for a few minutes coming at halftime, the Colts dominated not only the score but also the play.

Keeping Jacksonville defenders stuck from substituting was obviously part of the strategy behind the Colts running fairly regularly. They rushed 33 of their 72 plays, not an extraordinarily high percentage but still enough to chew both clock and field.

The effectiveness of the ball-control policy was best illustrated by the number of third-down conversions the Colts made. They were successful on seven of their 14 tries and on their one fourth-down attempt, a notably high rate which was deflating to the Jaguars not only in the possession battle but further to those depleted players chained to the field.

Conversely, getting to rest on the sidelines instead of between them kept the Indianapolis defense fresh. That fact was most particularly evident in the third quarter when Dwight Freeney sped around the player whose purpose was allegedly to slow him down on his way to sacking the hapless Quinn Gray for a safety.

The end zone tackle didn't merely end a two-play, 10-second drive for the Jaguars: It also nicely represented how the invigorated Colts played like predators against the understandably overwhelmed Gray. The ill-fated backup, inserted after David Garrard suffered an ankle injury, may has well have spent the game with a triangle of red dots on his forehead.

Earlier, Sanders' interception a few minutes into the second quarter after he read the play as if he had been in the offense's huddle established a frustrating tone for a quarterback who never had a chance. The safety was also in on thwarting Maurice Jones-Drew's attempt on fourth down during the next Jaguar series, the kind of play big-game guys routinely execute, especially when the other defense can't do the same.

It was more of the usual for Sanders and the pressure-generating defense paired with their balanced, deadly comrades on offense. So, who cares if they perform the same way each time as long as it works? "Slap Shot" and "Shaun of the Dead" are entertaining even after seeing them 100 times each, so watching a team overflowing with exceptional players trample adversaries every week shouldn't be any different.
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Anthony Bialy

I'm just here to submit ...
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report