All Eyes On Colts' Defense

Friday, 05 February 2010 00:00

The Indianapolis Colts defense ranked 18th overall and 24th against the run this season, and though this looks pretty pedestrian, don’t be deceived. These guys are much better than those numbers.

The Colts can play defense, if you don’t believe it, it’s because you weren’t paying attention to their two postseason games. They stiffed Baltimore, and then the Jets, two of the best running teams in the league.

The Colts D ranked eighth on points allowed in the regular season. However, they surrendered 17 or fewer points in 10 of their 13 first games. What happened down the stretch when their last three opponents averaged 30 points apiece, including Buffalo? Coach Jim Caldwell rested his starters and Indy’s second and third starters couldn’t matchup with their opponents playing at full strength. Big deal, they had clinched the AFC No 1 seed, and they decided to get to the postseason healthy and well rested.

It worked so far,as neither of their playoffs opponents figured them out.

The Ravens had the league’s fifth-best rushing attack, they ran into Indianapolis and only managed 87 yards on the ground.

Then came the Jets, the No1 running team, that ran five times for 200 or more yards, including a season-best 318 at Buffalo. In the playoffs, they shredded Cincinnati for 171 and San Diego for 169 before running into the Colts where they had a season-low 86 yds rushing.

If there is a knock on the Colts D, it’s that they bent against the best quarterback they faced, Tom Brady, surrendering more points (34) and passing yards (375) to him than any opponent. But if you look closely, Indy buckled down on defense when it had to, holding the Patriots to 10 second-half points, including one score that followed a Peyton Manning interception.

More important, they stopped the Pats on a critical fourth-quarter possession, when they tried to convert a fourth-and 2 late in the game. That’s why this defense is so deceptively good, when it has to make plays, it does. After trailing 17-6 at halftime against the Jets, they allowed nothing in the second half.

Denver’s Brandon Marshall had a league-record 21 catches against them, but thirteen of them were under 10 yds and seven were five yds or fewer. Marshall averaged 9.5 yds per reception, Larry Fitzgerald averaged 10.9 on seven catches and Andre Johnson 10.3 on 10 catches against the Colts D.

You can find holes in Indy’s secondary, but it’s rare to beat it for big plays. It happened a couple of tomes against the Jets, as the Colts primary mission was to stop the run, but it didn’t happen after they figured New York out and buckled down.

That’s where this unit is solid, it’s resilient, holding up when it must. These guys proved in the last two games that they are better against the run than most people think, and although they can be beat sometimes in the passing game, they are quick to the ball and rarely miss tackles, allowing very little after-catch yardage to the receivers.

They will have to be sharp Sunday in Miami to stop the Saints and NFL No 1 offense. However, I think they are up to the task.

Check out the betting lines at BetPhoenix.com Sportsbook and put a ager on your favorite team in Super Bowl XLIV. My money is on Indy.

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All Eyes On Colts' Defense

All Eyes On Colts' Defense

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