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We were waiting for the Colts to start clicking. They certainly looked good. Normally we expect an annual chessmatch between Peyton and Ray, last year we didn't get it and this year.. They made the Ravens look second rate, and even the seasoned Colts hater has to admit that the Ravens were a legit squad and perhaps the best 2-2 team in the league considering their slim losses to two very good teams in Pittsburgh and Tennessee. It was not a perfect game, and there were indications that the Colts have plenty of room to improve, but one must understand that this was a game very indicative of the Colts theology. They scored early and once up, they stomped heads into the deck. This Colts team is built to play with the lead and woe be to the ones who get behind them.
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Lets start off by talking about Marvin. He is not completely on sync with Peyton, and he is a million years old. At one point he got behind the defense and Manning gave him a decent ball on the outside. Marvin jumped too early and missed his chance at another touchdown. At another point he was in single coverage with the corner in pursuit mode and broke a route to the inside when Peyton was throwing to the outside. This was another miss at a sure touchdown. Still, five minutes in he saw single coverage on his side and the McAllister was playing back and Marvin ran the Go. Let me tell you something, he still runs the first 15 yards of the Go as fast as anybody, and that is where the route is made. He blew Mctoast's doors off. It wasn't even funny. He accelerated to him so quickly that the instant of indecision was far too much. That was as beat as you will ever see a corner and if anybody thinks that Marvin was running on E, you were wrong. YEAH TOAST
The Colts offense can't run the ball. They don't have any push. Saturday is hurt, Diem is having a crappy year, and everybody else is either still in diapers or completely outmatched. Charlie Johnson was a serviceable backup but is woefully inadequate at the left tackle position. He lacks the necessary pop in his hips to move medium to large ends off the line of scrimmage. On the stretch he can't move that end back enough to give the play an angle. In the pass blocking he is simply not quick enough, strong enough, or athletic enough to block the right defensive ends in the National Football League let alone ends that play with the extra motivation of playing in front of Ray Lewis. Tony Ugoh has to get back on the field. We have to start drafting some dozers, and for the love of Baby Jesus we need a fullback.
The offensive line blocked better, but were by no means perfect. They improved in terms of protecting against the inside rush. Baltimore was the best defense in the league, and had nine sacks, but the Colts were able to keep the rush down in the middle. The end rush was effective agianst Charlie Johnson, but Manning was able to either roll out or step up to avoid it. The trick is that Manning is  slick enough to avoid a rush from one direction and nullify it. If they are rushing the middle he is willing to hang in, if they are rushing the outside he is willing to step up, if he is flushed he is capable of keeping the play alive by making sharp throws on the run (NO, he isn't a good runner but he IS a good passer when on the move). He cannot avoid a rush coming from two different angles all day, and that is what the line was finally able to prevent.
Despite these offensive shortcomings, the Colts have accepted that they can win without the run. The Colts can win without the run, they just don't want to. When they accept that they need to then I think they will take another step. The best way to beat Ray Lewis is to take him out of the game. Spread the Ravens out and make guys that aren't Ray beat you. The Colts had three wide all day, and didn't hide the deep ball. That is a good way for the Colts to win. When Manning hits the switch on the deep ball he gives future Hall of Famers a chance to make plays. Anthony Gonzalez is continuing to develop and the Colts are rediscovering the layers of their offense. Dallas Clark is becoming concussion prone but I grudgingly admit that he is a tough matchup and gives Manning a trump on third downs.
The defense is built to play with the lead. They are built to rush the passer ON SECOND DOWN and have been getting burned being behind and forced to play the run on the first two downs with undersized tackles. When theya re up, however, and teams are looking to make more hay on second downs and cannot afford to run in the second half, the Colts are a very good defense. I and everyone else in the neighborhood have been ahrping on the Colts and their mediocrity at the tackle position and their pourous run defence, but let us give credit where credit is due. Today the Colts were a very good defence playing with speed and tackling well. The Ravens' bread and butter running play is a stretch-cutback to the strong side out of the I-Form. Typically they attempted to stretch it right and then cutback to the middle of the field and had success with the backside blocking of Ogden. With him gone, they don't have the same success but still came into the game as one of the best runnign teams in the show. Still, the Colts were very good agaisnt the run. When the Ravens attempted to cut it back Brackett and Naivote Taulawakeiaho (Freddie Keiaho) did an excellent job of shedding blockers and containing and pursuing. Clearly the existing defensive line played harder against the run, and doing so early gave them an opportunity to get away from it by being up. The secondary was fast today and tackled surely. Marlin Jackson is playing excpetionally well, so is Bethea and Bullitt.
The real tests will be against teams with seasoned quarterbacks to go along with their stout defenses, and what have we here, Pittsburgh and Tennessee are lining up to take their shot at us (not to mention solid teams in the form of Green Bay and the Pats). The defensive line will be tested a lot more against those teams. Pittsburgh is hurt in the backfield, and struggling to keep from becoming one dimensional. Unlike the Colts, who have enough offensive talent to excel as a strictly passing team, Pittsburgh doesn't have enough recievers to not run the ball. Nor should they, really, when you soncider that passing against the Colts is far less advisable than running. The Titans are the beast in the bedroom right now. They are the kind of team that keep you up at night. They are classicly inelegant. They run at you over and over again and keep themselves in third and manageable. Their defense is very talented and Bullock is the most underrated linebacker in the game.
The offense took a big step, the defense took a big step, but they have to improve dramatically again to be able to thump the rest of the schedule.
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It was an impressive victory. Probably one of the most satisfying wins in a long time for this fan.