8:20 PM | Lucas Oil Stadium | TV: NBC
The Indianapolis Colts have long been looked at as one of the model franchises in the NFL along with teams like the Steelers, Patriots and others.
But with Peyton Manning’s injury, the Colts are now a shell of their former selves and are a cautionary tale for all NFL franchises.
A player like Peyton Manning only comes around every 20 years or so and the Colts did a great job drafting and developing him. But Manning’s skills and work ethic were able to cover up a lot of mistakes that the franchise has made over the last 10+ years.
The Colts rocky start to 2011 is a lesson to all teams that player development, drafting and coaching matter no matter how well the team is performing. While the Colts have been elite, their drafting has been poor. Since 2005, their first round draft picks have been Marlin Jackson, Joseph Addai, Anthony Gonzalez, Donald Brown, Jerry Hughes and Anthony Castonzo. The jury is still out on a few of those players, but so far none have had the type of impact that you’d like to see from a 1st round pick.
The Colts have always been one injury away from being a 6-10 team and it’s an amazing testament to Peyton Manning that it hasn’t caught up to them until now.
Three Things To Watch For
1. Freeney and Mathis. The Colts have a very quick pass rush off the edge, especially at home. Roethlisberger is going to get knocked around a little bit in this one. Hopefully the protection is good enough that the Steelers can still put up some points.
2. Fast track for Steelers WRs. While the turf helps out the Colts pass rush, it’s also going to be a boost for the Steelers young WRs. Look for Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown to go down the field often. Matt Schaub was able to exploit the Indianapolis secondary in Week One and I’d expect the Steelers to try and do the same thing.
3. Make Collins feel the heat. Kerry Collins might be the most immobile quarterback the Steelers face all season. He’s also looked rusty early on in the season. The Steelers need to make him miserable in and out of the pocket all game long. Pittsburgh should be primed for a dominant performance from their linebackers.
Prediction
As I mentioned on the radio with ESPN Williamsport last week, this is pretty much a lose-lose situation for the Steelers. Everybody is expecting them to blow out and dominate the Colts. Anything less than that is going to feel like a letdown. I think the Colts will be able to move the ball through the air at least a little bit and their WRs will make the game interesting at least for a while. Steelers 24 Colts 14.
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