Early Season

[ColtsFanMikeC]

I know this is a bit pre-mature, as we haven't gotten thru pre-season yet -- but assuming we don't have any more major injuries between now and week 1, here are some of my thoughts:

 

Last year, we had a big time struggle against Prior and the Raiders in week 1 -- IMO, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we played very well against similar/mobile QB's in Kaepernick and Wilson later on in the year.  You can never go back and be sure about anything, but I have a feeling if we had to face Wilson or Kaepernick in week 1 we would have lost to either team -- however, I think getting our feet wet against Prior helped us later in the year.

 

This year, we are without Mathis in the first four weeks.  We've got 2 primetime games against the top offense in the league (DEN) and probably the second best offense we will face all year (I am thinking New England is the only team that might challenge Philly's offense after week 2).  It looks like Werner has made a big leap in year 2 -- hopefully this translates to him playing well in real games. It looks like Walden has improved as well, and a lot of people are high on Newsome  -- we should also see improvements in the middle of the LB corps with D. Jackson and I think McNary will be a threat to rush the passer from the inside.  Personally, I think our DL is a lot better -- Art Jones can stuff the run and crush the pocket a lot more than RJF can and I am hopeful that will automatically make our LB corps better.

 

Anyway, I think the only way to beat Manning is to hit him without throwing major blitz packages at him (i.e., keep at least 6, preferably 7, in coverage at all times and always have a man on Welker and TE in the slot).  I think this is the only way we'll be able to beat Brady, as well.  Philly's O is a bit different, but we will have to stop the run and figure out how to hit the QB/force quick throws without letting a blitz package reduce our coverage.

 

We are relatively young on defense (especially with Mathis out).  If we get toasted in weeks 1 and 2 in prime-time games, the media will be all over us and it could potentially lead to some of our younger guys losing confidence very early in the year, which would not be good.

 

However, if Werner, Walden, McNary, Newsome, or anyone else steps up in Mathis' absence during these first 2 weeks and proves they are a legit threat to rush the passer, I think it is going to be HUGE for our defense after Mathis returns -- it should make the final 12 games a lot more bearable.

 

Although the first week may be difficult on us, I am hoping that it will be a good learning tool for us and if we can squeak by in that one and see a player or 2 step up as a pass-rusher, we may have a 'blessing-in-disguise' like we did last year and our D may be able to use what we learn week 1 to improve our performance throughout the year.