This week I caught up with a Colts blogger, Nate Dunlevy, to get the lowdown on the Colts and his thoughts on the upcoming game this Sunday night. “18 to 88” is on our Bloguin Network and I highly recommend you go check them out. It’s an excellent blog, by far one of the best on the network. Simply put, Nate knows his stuff. A big thanks goes out to him for taking the time to do this. You’ll recognize “18 to 88” as recognition for the historical tandem that was Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison in their heydey. It’s very strange to see neither of them on the field anymore, though hopefully Peyton will be back soon. Enjoy the Q&A below, which reveals a shocking prediction at the end about the score. Thanks again to Nate for taking the time.
Saints Nation: Nate, is former LSU Tiger Joe Addai going to play this week in your opinion?
18 to 88: He’s still not practicing as of Wednesday, so I seriously doubt it.
SN: Ever since Curtis Painter started playing, the Colts have been scoring more. I know he’s not the answer long term, but he’s been surprisingly good. Does it piss you off that the Colts didn’t throw him into the fire immediately and avoid wasting their time with Kerry Collins?
18 to 88: No, for various reasons. First, everyone in town thought Painter was awful. No one questioned the decision to bring in Collins until after the fact. Two, Painter has played well, but the offense isn’t really scoring more points. It’s basically just a 17 ppg offense (down from 27 last year). Three, once Peyton went down, the season was over. Dead stone cold over from that minute on. Painter’s play has been astounding, considering I was convinced he was arguably the worst player in football.
SN: With the “Suck for Luck” campaign in full force with all the losing teams in the NFL, do you really think the Colts enter in that picture? More specifically, if the Colts do end up with the 1st pick overall, do they really draft Luck with the cash they have just invested in Manning?
18to88: The Colts have an out in Manning’s deal after this year. If he’s not healthy, they can cut him and walk away. Personally, I favor trading the pick. However, there’s a strong argument to be made for moving on from Manning and going with Luck. It’s not what I would do, but I can see the logic. Whatever they do, the single dumbest play is to keep Manning and Luck. As long as they don’t do that, I can live with.
SN: What’s the record of this Colts team right now with a healthy Peyton Manning?
18to88: There’s no question it’s 5-1 at worst. It could be 6-0, but 5-1 is inarguable. No one can watch the last five games and tell me Indy doesn’t win every one if Manning plays.
SN: Just how bad are the Colts? Do you give them a chance of coming into New Orleans and winning?
18to88: The Colts are just the right kind of bad. They’ll play tougher than you expect. They have talent. They aren’t getting blown out in games. However, they are built around Manning, and without him everything is just…off. They can’t make a 4th quarter play to save their life, and the defense is on the field for far too long to be strong in the 4th quarter. The Saints are an awful matchup though. The one thing NO does is the one thing Indy can’t do: stop the pass. The Saints should never run. Not once. I’d pass 70 times against Indy. I’d just pass and pass and pass until the scoreboard runs out of room to hang the points.
SN: What’s the biggest weakness on the Colts’ team besides the quarterback position?
18to88: Saftey and corner. The Colts secondary is weak. The corners have no picks through 6 games. The safeties have two, and one of those is by a guy now on IR. Brees will shred them.
SN: What’s your opinion of the Saints currently? Do you view them as an elite NFL team or do you think that ship has sailed?
18to88: Not at all. I view the NFL playoffs as completely luck based. If you make the playoffs, you can win it all. Period. The Saints have a dominant QB in Brees, and they are clearly a playoff caliber team. If Brees was hurt and Manning was healthy, I think the Saints would be what…2-4 at best? Indy would be 5-1. Both teams are built the same way. It’s all about getting to the dance. What happens once you are in is a total crapshoot.
SN: How has former LSU star Drake Nevis been coming along?
18to88: Amazing…right up until he got hurt. He’s already been a difference maker and is super popular in Indy.
SN: Give me your top 5 quarterbacks, in order, right now in the NFL.
18to88: I’m a ‘tier’ guy. I don’t believe in ranking QBs. Top 5 (excluding Manning, since right now he’s hurt): Brady, Brees, Rodgers Then there is a HUGE drop off. The next tier of Rivers, Roethlisberger, and what ever QB d’jour is hot isn’t even in the category as those three.
SN: Score prediction?
18to88: Saints 45 Colts 10
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