Colts Scouting Report

18 to 88, the Colts Football Blog, has done a Scouting Report on how the NY Giants should get ready for Indianapolis this Sunday night.

 
We also exchanged our UltimateNYG Scouting Report to their site. 

On offense:  Run. The. Ball.  The Colts front four is fast and light.  They are designed to rush the passer, and they do so very well.  The Colts linebackers were the culprits responsible for the big rushing day by Arian Foster last week.  If you can pick them off with strong play from fullbacks and tight ends, you’ll be running free in the secondary.  Play action can be very effective, because one of the Colts best run stoppers is corner Jerraud Powers.  When passing, you have to max protect against Freeney and Mathis.  The Colts love to blitz inside the 20 yard line. 

On Defense:Get pressure on Manning.  Nothing else matters.  If you give him time, he’ll beat you.  The Colts have versatile personnel which are used to create matchup problems.  Both Indy tackles are suspect at best, so if you can get heat on Peyton, the offense grinds to a halt. If Manning has time to throw, he’ll look long. Watch Garcon on deep routes, but he has problems with drops, so pressure on the QB can take him out of the game (3 catches on 10 passes last week).  If you can find a way to cover Dallas Clark, you neuter the Colts offense.  Joe Addai doesn’t have the blocking to succeed in the run game, but he’s a devastating blocker and a real threat out of the backfield. 

Special Teams:Punter Pat McAfee is a weapon, but last week Jim Caldwell elected to punt instead of taking a 51 yard field goal.  That signals a serious lack of range by Adam Vinateri.  The Colts have terrible coverage units, and are not much of a threat to break long returns.

Thanks ’18 to 88.’

Tomorrow, an exclusive to UltimateNYG: a Hall of Famer talks to us about the NFL, past and present.