This is a much more effective offense when it is balanced: Without Anthony Gonzalez, without Donald Brown, and with a hobbled Reggie Wayne,
this was a very different offense in Week 8 than we've seen so far this
season.
Wayne did have 12 catches for 147 yards and the game-winning
touchdown, but he needed 20 targets to get there and was definitely a half-step
slow throughout the game, especially when Peyton Manning targeted him deep.
Between Wayne's 20 targets and the ten that Dallas Clark had — and he was much
more efficient than Wayne's 60 percent conversion rate, with eight catches for
99 yards — that means 30 of Manning's 48 attempts were directed at either Clark
or Wayne, which is 62.5 percent of his total attempts.
Without diversity in the running game and the passing game, the Colts were
0-for-4 in the red zone on Sunday and needed to settle for four Matt Stover
field goals instead of cashing in for touchdowns. One of the keys to the
offense's success this season has been that everyone has gotten involved in the
passing game, especially in the red zone.
San Francisco's corners —
Shawntae Spencer in particular — gave Wayne a 15-yard cushion and he took full
advantage of it. But, when Indianapolis got inside the 20 in Week 8, the
49ers knew to stay close to the line, take away Clark and Wayne, and like their
odds. That's exactly what they did and the odds turned out in their favor.
Brown is more sorely missed than Gonzalez: Pierre Garcon has
fallen off quite a bit since he seemed to be connecting with Manning and
improving his game by leaps and bounds in Weeks 2-5. He has had lapses in
concentration since the bye week, struggling on deep passes, getting flagging
for a couple of holding penalties, and fumbling once, though he didn't lose it.
It's not time to give up on Garcon just yet, but it may be time to think about
the fact that Joseph Addai's production declines precipitously once he tallies
more than 15 carries in a game. Brown is not only a good change-of-pace
back, he also allows Addai to take a breather from time to time in order to keep
him fresh.
It's possible that the Colts didn't probe the edges of the
formation in the running game because Addai was gassed and couldn't get to the
corner. They therefore focused up the middle, where they weren't nearly as
effective, particularly because of the stellar play of Aubrayo Franklin and the fact that . . .
. . . Mike Pollak has regressed since his rookie season:Pollak was
consistently blown off the ball by Franklin and was responsible for a giving up
the third sack of Manning towards the end of the first half. Pollak's
regression is part of the reason that the Colts have not been effective running
the ball thus far in 2009.
In 2008, they finished 31st in the league in
average rushing yards per game and didn't have the confidence to run the ball on
third and two. On Sunday, they were 30th in rushing yards per game and
weren't able to gain two yards on third and two on two occasions, though they
did convert on fourth and inches to close out the game.
Tackling is a concern: Against Tennessee and St. Louis, the
Indianapolis defenders were able to put their opponents down with their
shoulders and elbows and were able to use their explosive speed to get to the
ball carrier and make him pay.
Against Frank Gore and the 49ers, leading
with their shoulders and elbows led to a 64-yard touchdown run by Gore.
Granted, that was an isolated incident, but yards after contact and missed
tackles were rampant on Sunday.
Still, the run defense looked strong: That sounds like a strange
statement considering that Gore averaged seven yards per carry on 13 attempts,
but, take away the aforementioned 64-yard touchdown and Gore had only 12 carries
for 27 yards, which is not an impressive average at all.
For a defense
that gave up seven points before it had a chance to catch its breath, giving up
only 14 points for the game is a tremendous effort for an oft-maligned and
overlooked unit.
Speaking of defense, Jerraud Powers, Jacob Lacey, and Melvin Bullitt don't
get the headlines, but they're still making a big contribution: Bob Sanders had the big interception, but Bullitt was still solid, although the
"snap count" that Sanders is currently on seems to be ratcheting up. He'll
probably play the entire game against the Texans and most definitely against the
Patriots and Ravens.
Powers and Lacey have filled in more than admirably in the absence of Kelvin Hayden and Marlin Jackson, with Jackson being the most notably absent member of
the secondary thus far this season now that Sanders has returned. When Jackson does come back at
100 percent, the Colts will once again have one of the deepest secondaries in
the NFL.
Matt Stover was 4-for-4, but Colts fans should want Adam Vinatieri back as
soon as possible: Stover made four fairly short field goals by a total
of six yards from left-to-right. He lacks the automatic, split the
uprights ability of Vinatieri. But they all went in, which is better than the alternative.
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