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Are the Colts Equipped to Take Down Kansas City?


Coltsman1788

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I think the way Chris Ballard is constructing the Indianapolis Colts makes them a very tough matchup for the Chiefs.  Last season, we saw a Colts team under the direction of our now backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett execute almost perfectly a ground and pound game plan that should have been utilized a year earlier in the AFC Divisional round.  The Colts dominated the Chiefs at the line of scrimage and the Chiefs had no answer to Marlon Mack running behind Quentin Nelson.  Now that offense is led by Phillip Rivers who has had many battles with the Chiefs as a member of the Chargers.  And the Colts still have Brissett on the roster who showed that he was able to do something that Luck couldn't and that was lead the team to a victory at Arrowhead over the Mahomes led Chiefs.   In additon, our running attack that battered the Chiefs last season has gotten more powerful with the addition of Jonathan Taylor and a run blocking specialist full back in Roosevelt Nix. The Colts have also augmented the passing attack with the addition of big bodied receiver Michael Pittman, Jr.  

 

On that faithul Sunday night of last season, the Colts defense led by Justin Houston (amped up to face his former team), and Kemoko Turay harassed a gimpy Patrick Mahomes all day and essentially contributed to him missing a portion of last season.  The Colts held Mahomes to his lowest point output of his career at that point.  Now Ballard has added Deforest Buckner to the middle of that defensive front.  Buckner's presence was definitely felt in last year's Super Bowl as he made life very difficult for Mahomes in the early going. 

 

The recipe to beating the Chiefs seems to involve pressuring Mahomes on defense and pounding the rock with a physical running game on offense.  The Colts appear to have significantly improved in both areas.  I see alot of teams in the AFC West trying to match K.C.'s offensive firepower.  Ballard seems to be building a potential K.C. killer that will dominate them in the trenches but also with enough passing weapons to keep them honest when necessary.  That was something that Tennessee was lacking in the AFC Championship last season.

 

Do you think the Colts are built to beat the Chiefs?  

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I still don’t think we are. We beat the Chiefs without their top 3 receivers. The 49ers who/are a better version of us did everything right for 54 minutes and still lost. We still have no one to contain either Hill or Kelce. I’ll say in the AFC the team that has a decent shot is the Ravens. 

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15 minutes ago, runthepost said:

I still don’t think we are. We beat the Chiefs without their top 3 receivers. The 49ers who/are a better version of us did everything right for 54 minutes and still lost. We still have no one to contain either Hill or Kelce. I’ll say in the AFC the team that has a decent shot is the Ravens. 

I agree that the Ravens have a nice team.  But in my opinion they are hyped to be more than what they currently are.  As explosive as Lamar Jackson can be in the regular season, he has yet to lead his team to success in the post season.  Until Jackson can win a playoff game, I can't buy completely into their hype.  

 

I recall that the Colts were also pretty banged up as well going into that Sunday night game with KC.  However, I don't recall the details of everyone that was out for that one.  I'm sure some of our other fellow posters will chime in on that. 

 

I like your comparison of the Colts to the 49ers.  In all honestly, the game was there for the taking by the Niners as they were in control for all but the most important final few minutes.  I think the Colts coaching staff may be a little better than the 49ers imo but San Fran has the edge on roster.  The gap may be closing though. 

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9 minutes ago, runthepost said:

I still don’t think we are. We beat the Chiefs without their top 3 receivers. The 49ers who/are a better version of us did everything right for 54 minutes and still lost. We still have no one to contain either Hill or Kelce. I’ll say in the AFC the team that has a decent shot is the Ravens. 

 

  Booooooo! 
  Of course we are. On paper today we have good talent across the roster and could play well enough to beat anyone. 
 Yes, we saw the stinkaroo game the Ravens came up with at crunch time. 
  

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Actually.... I think we are

 

I can see us going to KC in January, and running the ball down their throats....

 

All that speed they have will be downgraded in the very cold....

 

Give me a big OL and a back that’s tough to bring down.....

 

we will have more trouble at Home against them

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1 minute ago, MikeCurtis said:

Actually.... I think we are

 

I can see us going to KC in January, and running the ball down their throats....

 

All that speed they have will be downgraded in the very cold....

 

Give me a big OL and a back that’s tough to bring down.....

 

we will have more trouble at Home against them

Interesting point that the Colts likely match up better with them at Arrowhead than they would at Lucas Oil Stadium.  Makes sense as a game in Indy would likely be more prone to turn into a track meet.  But it also means that our defensive speed would be more evident in the pass rush.

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My fist instinct says no...... but..... we did last time.

i think alot will hinge on how Rivers fits and how he performs this year.  He doesnt have to carry us, but we will need sone big plays at the right time from him.

  Im optimistic, idont think we’re quite ready for a super bowl , but who knows what this team is capable of.  
KC and Baltimore shoukd be really good this year.

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42 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

I think the way Chris Ballard is constructing the Indianapolis Colts makes them a very tough matchup for the Chiefs.  Last season, we saw a Colts team under the direction of our now backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett execute almost perfectly a ground and pound game plan that should have been utilized a year earlier in the AFC Divisional round.  The Colts dominated the Chiefs at the line of scrimage and the Chiefs had no answer to Marlon Mack running behind Quentin Nelson.  Now that offense is led by Phillip Rivers who has had many battles with the Chiefs as a member of the Chargers.  And the Colts still have Brissett on the roster who showed that he was able to do something that Luck couldn't and that was lead the team to a victory at Arrowhead over the Mahomes led Chiefs.   In additon, our running attack that battered the Chiefs last season has gotten more powerful with the addition of Jonathan Taylor and a run blocking specialist full back in Roosevelt Nix. The Colts have also augmented the passing attack with the addition of big bodied receiver Michael Pittman, Jr.  

 

On that faithul Sunday night of last season, the Colts defense led by Justin Houston (amped up to face his former team), and Kemoko Turay harassed a gimpy Patrick Mahomes all day and essentially contributed to him missing a portion of last season.  The Colts held Mahomes to his lowest point output of his career at that point.  Now Ballard has added Deforest Buckner to the middle of that defensive front.  Buckner's presence was definitely felt in last year's Super Bowl as he made life very difficult for Mahomes in the early going. 

 

The recipe to beating the Chiefs seems to involve pressuring Mahomes on defense and pounding the rock with a physical running game on offense.  The Colts appear to have significantly improved in both areas.  I see alot of teams in the AFC West trying to match K.C.'s offensive firepower.  Ballard seems to be building a potential K.C. killer that will dominate them in the trenches but also with enough passing weapons to keep them honest when necessary.  That was something that Tennessee was lacking in the AFC Championship last season.

 

Do you think the Colts are built to beat the Chiefs?  

That Divisional round loss wasn't all on Luck that was a team loss defense sucked offense sucked and Vinny sucked in that game. Also the gameplan was trash.

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16 minutes ago, jameszeigler834 said:

That Divisional round loss wasn't all on Luck that was a team loss defense sucked offense sucked and Vinny sucked in that game. Also the gameplan was trash.

Agreed it was a team loss.  But Luck had a no show type of performance opposite one of the best QBs in the game so it wasn't a good look for him.

 

Jacoby catches so much grief on this forum so sometimes I like to rub in that he played a better game opposite Mahomes than Luck did in that playoff game.  For kicks and giggles. 

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They will let us run on them all day and then they will try to score fast when they get the ball. They are counting on being able to score a quick and decisive, backbreaking TD in the 4th. If we have 2 minutes to go with the ball on our 25, we have to score. That means the passing game at that point. No mistakes. Then we can win.

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Brissett did not “lead the team to victory.” He had 151 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. It was his lowest passer rating of the season at 61.1. 

 

It was a great win...but it was early in the season and KC was without their top two starting WRs and Mahomes was visibly gimpy. KC has since won the SB...and they added a dynamic RB to their weapons...on top of bringing everyone back. 

 

They will be a different team next time the Colts face them. This time...I think the offense will have to play keep up...and I think they can.

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3 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

They will let us run on them all day and then they will try to score fast when they get the ball. They are counting on being able to score a quick and decisive, backbreaking TD in the 4th. If we have 2 minutes to go with the ball on our 25, we have to score. That means the passing game at that point. No mistakes. Then we can win.

We have seen that strategy backfire as Colts fans before in the Manning era.  I think a team that controls the line of scrimmage can eventually take a high powered finese offense out of its rhythm if they can play physical enough.  I think the Colts have the physicality on offense to control time of possession and game tempo.  It remains to be seen if they have the required physicality on the defensive side of the ball.   I think we can get pressure on Mahomes but can we get physical enough with the KC receivers when we need to?

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2 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

We have seen that strategy backfire as Colts fans before in the Manning era.  I think a team that controls the line of scrimmage can eventually take a high powered finese offense out of its rhythm if they can play physical enough.  I think the Colts have the physicality on offense to control time of possession and game tempo.  It remains to be seen if they have the required physicality on the defensive side of the ball.   I think we can get pressure on Mahomes but can we get physical enough with the KC receivers when we need to?

I remember Peyton sitting on the sidelines when Miami was winning with a that wildcat formation and we won because he could step on the field cold and score.  Mahomes can do that too.  

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6 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

Agreed it was a team loss.  But Luck had a no show type of performance opposite one of the best QBs in the game so it wasn't a good look for him.

 

Jacoby catches so much grief on this forum so sometimes I like to rub in that he played a better game opposite Mahomes than Luck did in that playoff game.  For kicks and giggles. 


So you like to goad people by saying stuff that isn’t even true? I think there’s a word for that.

 

JB was really bad against KC...worse than Luck according to passer rating...and I don’t recall Luck throwing a pick in that KC game either.

 

It is purely circumstantial that JB “beat” Mahomes. 

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4 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

I remember Peyton sitting on the sidelines when Miami was winning with a that wildcat formation and we won because he could step on the field cold and score.  Mahomes can do that too.  

Yes I remember that game.  It was great!  In all honestly, the Colts had no business winning that game statistically speaking but then again that's Peyton Manning for you.  And...we were playing Miami so that helped.  

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7 minutes ago, shastamasta said:


So you like to goad people by saying stuff that isn’t even true? I think there’s a word for that.

 

JB was really bad against KC...worse than Luck according to passer rating...and I don’t recall Luck throwing a pick in that KC game either.

 

It is purely circumstantial that JB “beat” Mahomes. 

We were actually in scoring position every drive but one that game. He actually made a couple throws that Kept drives alive. His downfall that game was we couldn’t score TD in the red zone. Up until that game we had been one of the best teams in the red zone.

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1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

Actually.... I think we are

 

I can see us going to KC in January, and running the ball down their throats....

 

All that speed they have will be downgraded in the very cold....

 

Give me a big OL and a back that’s tough to bring down.....

 

we will have more trouble at Home against them


I mean...I am sure that’s what TEN thought last year before the AFC Championship game. It was <20 degrees at Arrowhead...and TEN had Derrick Henry.

 

KC hung 35 on them. Speed doesn’t really get downgraded because of the cold. 
 

But the Colts should absolutely be building a team that can take advantage of LOS.

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20 minutes ago, shastamasta said:


So you like to goad people by saying stuff that isn’t even true? I think there’s a word for that.

 

JB was really bad against KC...worse than Luck according to passer rating...and I don’t recall Luck throwing a pick in that KC game either.

 

It is purely circumstantial that JB “beat” Mahomes. 

 I'm stating my opinion.  It gives me kicks and giggles how some love to bash Jacoby but want to come to the defense of  Luck for any remotely critical comment.  He played a bad game that Saturday.  Just face it.  He was off.  Lost fumble, four of his passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, passes looked off, and the offense kept committing penalty after penalty.  He did not manage the game well and the Colts lost resoundingly.

 

Jacoby on the other hand played within his means. Limited mistakes.  Stuck with the game plan and allowed his team to emerge from Arrowhead stadium with the  W.  It is what it is.   Jacoby managed the game better.  Offense had a better game plan which was actually executed and the Colts won the game.  The man deserves his due credit for that. 

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33 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

They will let us run on them all day and then they will try to score fast when they get the ball. They are counting on being able to score a quick and decisive, backbreaking TD in the 4th. If we have 2 minutes to go with the ball on our 25, we have to score. That means the passing game at that point. No mistakes. Then we can win.

Just as Rivers did 16 months ago at Arrowhead. He was absolutely brilliant in the second half, leading the team back from a 14 pt 4th quarter deficit. If you have any doubts about his ability to beat the Chiefs, watch that game. 

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I don’t think we’ll ever be able to score with them, so it depends on our defense and tbh idk because we haven’t really seen our defense at full strength.  
 

our defense is good but it will mainly depend on our pass D.  Gotta see how things play out.  Will Buckner provide enough pressure on the line to let our LBs and DEs eat?  Will our Rock and Kenny step up and play to their potential?  Will Hooker stay healthy?  Will Darius and Anthony continue to have lapses in pass coverage?

 

lot of questions to be answered for our pass defense.  But I will say,  a good pass rush will answer all of those questions for us.  Hopefully Buckner is that missing piece and our young gunners can continue to progress

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1 hour ago, shastamasta said:


So you like to goad people by saying stuff that isn’t even true? I think there’s a word for that.

 

JB was really bad against KC...worse than Luck according to passer rating...and I don’t recall Luck throwing a pick in that KC game either.

 

It is purely circumstantial that JB “beat” Mahomes. 

After the game there were folks saying they would rather have a QB like JB instead of Mahomes lmao

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1 hour ago, shastamasta said:

Brissett did not “lead the team to victory.” He had 151 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. It was his lowest passer rating of the season at 61.1. 

 

It was a great win...but it was early in the season and KC was without their top two starting WRs and Mahomes was visibly gimpy. KC has since won the SB...and they added a dynamic RB to their weapons...on top of bringing everyone back. 

 

They will be a different team next time the Colts face them. This time...I think the offense will have to play keep up...and I think they can.

Colts had players out with injury that game as well. We’ll be an different looking team as well. KC did nothing to fix the interior of their offensive line. It will show next season. 

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28 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

We were actually in scoring position every drive but one that game. He actually made a couple throws that Kept drives alive. His downfall that game was we couldn’t score TD in the red zone. Up until that game we had been one of the best teams in the red zone.

 

They were actually  in "scoring position" on 6/9 drives. And one of those drives had a 53 yard PI. One they started in scoring position at the KC 33 because KC went for it on 4th and 1. Another drive started at the KC 48 after a punt.

 

And on another drive...JB also threw an awful INT on 2nd and 9 from the KC 22 on another drive.

 

The only TD drive featured 44 yards rushing (vs 26 yards passing)...including the last 38 yards.

 

JB was 1/5 for 2 yards in RZ that game. Colts didn't score because KC was able to stop the run game in the RZ...where the Colts had a 2:1 run to pass ratio.

 

JB just threw short passes all game. It was his third lowest Y/A (only behind the NO and CAR games)...lowest AY/A (by far)...and his second lowest Y/C for the season (only behind the 2nd HOU game) . Saying he was better than Luck (in the snow in the playoffs)...let alone that he "led" IND to victory...is borderline trolling. 

 

With that run game...OL performance...and especially defensive performance...Luck would have blown KC out. 

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19 minutes ago, runthepost said:

After the game there were folks saying they would rather have a QB like JB instead of Mahomes lmao

 

I think I missed that...but I am not surprised if there were people actually saying that. I know there were people who liked him better than Luck.

 

I forgot how insufferable the JB talk was until now. I blame myself for taking the bait. 

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36 minutes ago, a06cc said:

Colts had players out with injury that game as well. We’ll be an different looking team as well. KC did nothing to fix the interior of their offensive line. It will show next season. 

 

I don't disagree...I think both teams will be different...so the Week 5 game from last year really has no bearing on their next matchup...which won't occur until 2021 at the earliest (either hopefully in January or during the following season if the Colts win the AFCS).

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Defense wise I hope we play more man than zone.  We got torched by receivers last year. 
Dhop 15 Rec 200 yards 3Tds 2 games

Thomas 12 rec 128 yards 1td

Jones 8 recs 128 yards 1 Td

Allen 8 recs 123 yards 1 td

Fuller 7 recs 140 yards

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KC is no lock to be a juggernaut. We see it all the time. 

Every year is truly different and the only ones you could expect several titles from was NE. The champs always get everyone's A game the following year.

 

The modern NFL is a year to year thing and we have just as good a chance as most.

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1 hour ago, Coltsman1788 said:

 I'm stating my opinion.  It gives me kicks and giggles how some love to bash Jacoby but want to come to the defense of  Luck for any remotely critical comment.  He played a bad game that Saturday.  Just face it.  He was off.  Lost fumble, four of his passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, passes looked off, and the offense kept committing penalty after penalty.  He did not manage the game well and the Colts lost resoundingly.

 

Jacoby on the other hand played within his means. Limited mistakes.  Stuck with the game plan and allowed his team to emerge from Arrowhead stadium with the  W.  It is what it is.   Jacoby managed the game better.  Offense had a better game plan which was actually executed and the Colts won the game.  The man deserves his due credit for that. 

 

I am not against criticizing Luck...he was pretty bad in that KC game...in fact he was pretty hit or miss against great teams in the playoffs in general. I just think using JB's performance against KC to criticize Luck or somehow prop up JB is goofy...they were both not good against KC.

 

Sure...Luck was further away from his typical performance than JB was...I won't disagree there. But I don't think Luck was any worse than JB. 

 

It's just really hard to compare the two games anyways...given the stakes and even the weather. And while Luck had the same OL personnel...they didn't show up against KC like they are capable of.

 

And his defense definitely didn't either. Against KC last year, the defense was huge and made big plays (Houston sack to force FG, McCoy FF on huge catch and run)...and held KC to 10 points for most of the game...which allowed JB to be Checkdown Charlie and Handoff Hank (aka playing within his limitations) for the vast majority of the game. IF KC had gotten up by even a TD in that game...and JB has to play catchup...it could have gotten real ugly.

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, shastamasta said:

 

They were actually  in "scoring position" on 6/9 drives. And one of those drives had a 53 yard PI. One they started in scoring position at the KC 33 because KC went for it on 4th and 1. Another drive started at the KC 48 after a punt.

 

And on another drive...JB also threw an awful INT on 2nd and 9 from the KC 22 on another drive.

 

The only TD drive featured 44 yards rushing (vs 26 yards passing)...including the last 38 yards.

 

JB was 1/5 for 2 yards in RZ that game. Colts didn't score because KC was able to stop the run game in the RZ...where the Colts had a 2:1 run to pass ratio.

 

JB just threw short passes all game. It was his third lowest Y/A (only behind the NO and CAR games)...lowest AY/A (by far)...and his second lowest Y/C for the season (only behind the 2nd HOU game) . Saying he was better than Luck (in the snow in the playoffs)...let alone that he "led" IND to victory...is borderline trolling. 

 

With that run game...OL performance...and especially defensive performance...Luck would have blown KC out. 

Adam kicked 4 FG. Plus Jacoby scored a TD.So yes we were in scoring position most of that game.

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10 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Adam kicked 4 FG. Plus Jacoby scored a TD.So yes we were in scoring position most of that game.


Most is not what you said. But it’s pointless to argue this further. The Colts have moved on from JB being a starting QB for them.

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Right now the variety of ways KC has to win a game are still better than those of any other team in the league.

 

But so what?

 

This is the ultimate team sport. Which means that the outcome of each game depends on the performances of more of the players involved than in any other sport. And with that many variables in each game, quite literally anything can, and often does, happen.

 

Sure, if each team played its best game, KC wins it all again. But that pretty much never happens. So yes, the Colts are equipped to beat KC. And so are a LOT of teams in this league. That's why it's so much fun :D.

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The short answer is of course they are.  Any given day in this league.  

 

I don't subscribe to previous performance being a harbinger of things to come.  Each season is different.  Players come, players go.  Injuries occur all the time.  Who knows what these two teams would look like if a matchup happened, which would have to happen in the playoffs at this point.

 

All things being equal, the Chiefs would have the edge because they have the best player at the most important position.  But that's why it's a squad game, and that's why the Colts would always have a fighting chance.  Ballard is building a well-rounded roster and that goes a LONG way.

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