Can the Colts Defense do it Again?

[Smonroe]

Great game last week, but there are facts we have to face:

 

Mahomes isn't near as good when he's not mobile - Watson won't have that problem.  The Colts will have to spy him on every play.

 

The Chiefs running game isn't much to speak of.  The Texans have a pounder in Hyde and a receiving back in Duke.

 

Neither of the Chiefs main threats at WR were on the field.  The Colts have done a great job on Hopkins and Fuller in the past, that needs to continue.

 

Before anyone says the Colts were also missing pieces on defense against the Chiefs, think about it like a chess match.  Were the pieces the Chiefs lost on offense worth more than what the Colts lost on defense?  Arguable, but probably even for the Colts at best.

 

On the other side of the ball, the Texans appear to be without Roby and Joseph.  I like our O line against their front seven.

 

Going to be a great game - maybe for the division.

[Imgrandojji]

Anything that has been done once can be done again.

 

It'll be down to Eberflus to break down the Texans' offense and to the players to execute the game plan.

[CaptainColt12]

I think as long as Leonard plays well and we have Quincy and Rock play a lot of man we'll be pretty good. 

[SouthernIndianaNDFan]

The key to beating them is getting to Watson. These last couple of games, he's not been sacked and he's killing teams. Tunsil is starting to get acclimated, which sucks for everyone else because he's a monster LT. They need to stunt, blitz, disguise, whatever they have to do to get pressure on Watson. Easier said than done though too, he's obviously extremely mobile having like 45 rushing yards and 2 TDs against KC. The good news is that DeAndre Hopkins has been relatively quiet thus far and he normally posts huge games against Indy. 

[Nickster]

I have my doubts about the run D.  KC is really poor at it this year.

 

I'm hoping DLs terrible play in week 2 was because of his symptoms.  If so, we might be OK.

 

Can we rush the passer again after losing the main guy whose been getting the pressure the team has gotten?  That will determine the D's effectiveness IMO.

[DougDew]

I think the pass rush/pressure we got in the two games we got it correlates to poor LTs at KC and LAC.  If Tunsil is playing well, it might be difficult, even with Sheard back.

 

Our secondary play is difficult to judge.  Young guys seem to play well but that can go up or down in any given week.

 

This will be a good test game for Brissett.

 

[MB-ColtsFan]

Joseph being out helps a bit.  I think we win the battle in the trenches.  Need a huge game from Autry & Grover, though.  Keep Watson contained and force pressure up the middle.  Very similar to KC game, in my opinion.

 

Hopefully we can keep the running game at least somewhat productive, but JB will have to get a few chunk plays in this one.  I'm looking forward to a really close game with us on top in the end.

[BProland85]

We should be able to run the ball at will again this Sunday, and that'll help our defense stay off the field. 

 

In regards to our defense, getting Leonard and Hooker possibly back will be huge. I expect our strong performance against KC to hopefully continue with the added playmakers we'll be getting back.

 

Not to mention we had success defensively against Watson and Hopkins in the playoff game from last year. 

[coltsfeva]

   One of the encouraging things I see about the Colts this year is the reduction in penalties. The old adage of; “more games are lost than won”. No friendly fire.

    Keep Watson in the pocket and press their receivers. Stopping the run is critical.

    They might load the box and dare us to pass. Missing Roby and Joseph hurts them and this will be a good test, not only for Brissett but for Reich, in scheming guys open.

[twfish]

1 hour ago, CaptainColt12 said:

I think as long as Leonard plays well and we have Quincy and Rock play a lot of man we'll be pretty good. 

I wonder how Quincy graded out against KC. He was a man corner coming out of college so I wonder if he graded better playing his natural scheme

[CaptainColt12]

Just now, twfish said:

I wonder how Quincy graded out against KC. He was a man corner coming out of college so I wonder if he graded better playing his natural scheme

I think like a 40 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

23 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

We should be able to run the ball at will again this Sunday, and that'll help our defense stay off the field. 

 

In regards to our defense, getting Leonard and Hooker possibly back will be huge. I expect our strong performance against KC to hopefully continue with the added playmakers we'll be getting back.

 

Not to mention we had success defensively against Watson and Hopkins in the playoff game from last year. 

Houston is like 4th in run defense. That’s pretty good.

 

This should be a game where we can take advantage of the Texans secondary.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

The Texans WR are a lot better then what we faced in KC. Should be a interesting Sunday. We have tall lanky corners who play their best in man coverage.

[MB-ColtsFan]

Tytus Howard will also be out.  May be able to get a sack from Sheard this Sunday?  Not sure who backs up Howard?

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

3 minutes ago, MB-ColtsFan said:

Tytus Howard will also be out.  May be able to get a sack from Sheard this Sunday?  Not sure who backs up Howard?

Isn’t that Houston’s side?

[krunk]

I'm sure we'll play some man but I don't know how much of that you play against a running QB like Watson.  When you play man the DB get their back turned away from the QB which allows a running QB like D. Watson to extend plays.   I think the winning formula will be more Zone coverage with some man mixed in at a lower percentage than KC.  That along with blitz pressures.  And lastly being very disciplined about pinning him in the pocket.   I'm not all that concerned about their receivers.  We've got decent matchups on all of them. 

 

Will Fuller almost never does anything against us or he ends up being hurt before the game is over.  Hopkins is Hopkins but honestly outside of that big game he had against us in Indy last year he usually doesn't do a whole lot of damage against the Colts historically. Desir and a combination of some safety help should be fine.   I think Kenny Moore will do more than okay against Coutee(another guy who usually ends up hurt).  Rock and Quincy can deal with Fuller and Stills.    I think we'll be fine as long as we do a good job on Watson.   I'm not too concerned with Hyde and Duke Johnson. 

[atapcl]

I didn’t think Hooker was coming back until after a few more weeks.

[krunk]

Anybody know what percentage of Man vs Zone did we play in those last 2 games versus Houston last year?

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

7 minutes ago, atapcl said:

I didn’t think Hooker was coming back until after a few more weeks.

There is a chance he will play Sunday. He said he is preparing to play but if he isn’t ready he has confidence in the young guys. He said he won’t come back Sunday unless he is ready. Reich said he was cautiously optimistic he will play.

Kevin Bowen said Campbell was in the locker room yesterday. He thinks he is a week or two away.

[Fisticuffs111]

33 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Isn’t that Houston’s side?

Houston's at RE going up against LT's and Sheard at LE going up against RT's, which is where Tytus was.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Eberflus said today that how they play defense depends on who they play. He said it should a balance on keeping things simple with the young guys and being aggressive.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

1 minute ago, Fisticuffs111 said:

Houston's usually going up against LT's and Sheard, RT's, which is where Tytus was.

Wonder if they could switch Houston on the other side once in awhile.  I know they have moved him around this year.

[Dark Superman]

I don't see why they shouldn't be able to play well against Houston. (Especially with Leonard coming back.) and the game being at Lucas Oil Stadium. Deshaun Watson, Hopkins and Fuller will give us a battle, but Coutee is the one guy I'm watching out for. Last year we took advantage of their weakness on offense and that was their offensive line. This game could go either way.

[Coffeedrinker]

12 minutes ago, krunk said:

Anybody know what percentage of Man vs Zone did we play in those last 2 games versus Houston last year?

I don't know the percentages but one of the big things the Colts did against Houston in the last two games was they fooled Watson.  They would should man coverage but then drop into zones or they showed zone coverage and then went to man at the snap and I expect to see more of that this game, especially with 2 weeks to prepare.  Take away Watson's first two reads and he lacks the field awareness to be effective

[lollygagger8]

I say roll with Willis and Odum again. 

I do want to see a Hooker/Willis duo at some point for sure as well. 

 

Leave Ya-Sin instead of Wilson, and put Desir on Hopkins again. 

 

Play more man (esp on 3rd down) and Blitz Moore! 

[EastStreet]

On 10/15/2019 at 2:47 PM, krunk said:

I'm sure we'll play some man but I don't know how much of that you play against a running QB like Watson.  When you play man the DB get their back turned away from the QB which allows a running QB like D. Watson to extend plays.   I think the winning formula will be more Zone coverage with some man mixed in at a lower percentage than KC.  That along with blitz pressures.  And lastly being very disciplined about pinning him in the pocket.   I'm not all that concerned about their receivers.  We've got decent matchups on all of them. 

 

Will Fuller almost never does anything against us or he ends up being hurt before the game is over.  Hopkins is Hopkins but honestly outside of that big game he had against us in Indy last year he usually doesn't do a whole lot of damage against the Colts historically. Desir and a combination of some safety help should be fine.   I think Kenny Moore will do more than okay against Coutee(another guy who usually ends up hurt).  Rock and Quincy can deal with Fuller and Stills.    I think we'll be fine as long as we do a good job on Watson.   I'm not too concerned with Hyde and Duke Johnson. 

 

Both Fuller and Hopkins are banged up. Both were limited in practice yesterday. Stills is a bit banged up too, but was "full practice". Howard (starting RT) did not practice, which could be an impact (for our pass rush).

 

Houston's DBs are also banged up. While I think we'll try to run it a bunch, this might be a game where JB needs to do more with his arm.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 hours ago, EastStreet said:

 

Both Fuller and Hopkins are banged up. Both were limited in practice yesterday. Stills is a bit banged up too, but was "full practice". Howard (starting RT) did not practice, which could be an impact (for our pass rush).

 

Houston's DBs are also banged up. While I think we'll try to run it a bunch, this might be a game where JB needs to do more with his arm.

I think this might be a game for the offense like we saw against the falcons. They will do everything to stop TY and guys are going to be wide open.

[BigQungus]

Darius Leonard was key last year in stopping Deshaun Watson. Last year we had him spy Watson for most of the game. We need him to do that again