Collie on the radar

Personally, I think he has a bit of a down year coming

Now imagine Gonzalez or the now proven Garçon on the outside.  Either receiver should demand at least one defender leaving what is left over on Collie.  This is extremely dangerous for a couple of reasons.  First, Collie could very well establish himself as the second best receiver on the team as he has now developed in the offense, earned Manning’s trust, was one of the primary third down targets in 2009, and has acclimated himself to the speed of the NFL.  Second, the leftover defensive focus will almost have to be either a safety or a linebacker, either of which will individually struggle to cover Collie.

A safety will struggle because bringing two safeties up on the Colts will open up the long pass for Manning and because if the safety plays back and waits for Collie to get to him, Collie will be able to exploit what he does best, which is to find a spot in the defense and sit in it awaiting Manning’s pass.  A linebacker will struggle because Collie is too fast and athletic for a linebacker to single cover and because if two linebackers pay attention to Colts’ receiving options, the defense will be opening itself up to being gashed by runs or short passes to Joseph Addai or Donald Brown, who have been and certainly will be one of Peyton’s first looks in this kind of blanket coverage.

I wish Vilma had ‘struggled’ to cover Collie a little more.  We’d have won the Super Bowl.