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Dancing in the street: a new formula—balanced offense and improved defense—will drive the Colts to Motown, where they'll be …

Sporting News, The, Nov 11, 2005 by Dan Pompei

It's not The Same Old Song in Indy. You can't call them Peyton Manning and the Pips anymore.

"The Colts are not only better on defense, but their approach is different," says FOX NFL Sunday analyst Jimmy Johnson. "They are running the ball."

And they are running together victories--seven straight to start the season. The Colts' run of wins probably will end soon. They are bound to lose a few games in a stretch that will pit them against many of the NFL's finest.

But that doesn't mean the Colts are not the best team. They played like it in the first half of the season. They will prove it in the second half by clinching home-field advantage, then winning two home games to get to the Motown Super Bowl. Then they will win another indoor game to claim Indianapolis' first NFL championship.

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This Colts team has a different formula than the Colts of the past few years. The trade-off it has made is big plays for consistency. The Colts have gone from averaging 6.7 yards per play a year ago to 5.7 this year. And they have gone from averaging 4.75 plays of 20 yards or more per game to 2.85. But they are OK with that.

"They show a little more patience," says former Colts coach Ted Marchibroda, the team's radio analyst. "They don't have to hit a home run as quickly."

On first-and-10, the Colts have run the ball 62.6 percent of the time, the fourth-highest rate in the league. A year ago, they ran on 52.1 percent of their first-and-10s.

This is an indication defenses are taking a cue from the Patriots and inviting the Colts to run. But it doesn't matter because the Colts are a more effective team with improved balance. For all the offensive noise they made in 2004, they lost the time of possession battle on a regular basis, averaging 28:40 for the season. This year, they are averaging 30:03.

It is entirely possible, however, the Colts will begin swinging for the fences more frequently as the season goes on. Much of that depends on how defensive approaches evolve against the Colts. "The beauty of the ballclub is they can beat you both ways," Marchibroda says. "If you give them a lot of one-on-one coverage, they'll take advantage of it."

Holding the ball longer has helped keep the Colts' undersized, run-around defense fresh and effective. The same unit that ranked 29th in yards allowed a year ago was ranked fourth through Sunday.

Pass rusher Dwight Freeney has developed into the game's most dominating defender, and when offenses use too many of their resources to contain him, other linemen such as Robert Mathis, Montae Reagor and Larry Tripplett have snuck through the cracks.

And the Colts' defense has become more physical. "The addition of Corey Simon has helped them," Marchibroda says. "They lacked leadership on defense in previous years. With his character, personality and ability, he's given them leadership. And his presence has helped stop the run better than they have at any other time."

It should be noted this defense really has not been tested. Only one of their opponents to date, the Rams, is ranked in the top half of NFL offenses. Those tests will come.

But if the Colts stay healthy, there's no reason to believe in a few months they won't be on Cloud Nine.

RELATED ARTICLE: Other second half songs.

HEAT WAVE

These teams can be expected to get hot in the second half.

Steelers. Their power running game usually becomes more effective as the weather changes. And they have four games left against NFC North teams, as well as two games left against the Browns.

Seahawks. This team has its mojo on. It will benefit from playing in the weak NFC West, and only three of the Seahawks' remaining games are against teams with records better than .500.

Patriots. They have survived the dark valley of their schedule and are sitting on top of the AFC East. Oh, and they have Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri. The Patriots could have the rest of the AFC teams right where they want them.

Jaguars. They have only one game remaining against a team with a record better than .500.

GET READY

The two best divisions are the NFC East and AFC West. Only one of the eight teams in those two divisions, the Raiders, likely won't be a playoff contender.

But teams from those divisions have the most difficult path to the Super Bowl because, in addition to having to deal with three formidable division opponents, each of the NFC East and AFC West teams has to play one another. The second half promises heightened urgency and performances from the Broncos, Chiefs, Chargers, Giants, Eagles, Redskins and Cowboys.

It is unlikely any of the teams that emerge from these divisions will have enough left to win a Super Bowl, even though they are some of the NFL's finest.

YOU REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME

In the first seven weeks of the season, penalties were assessed at a record rate--an average of 15.5 per game, compared with 14.0 a year ago. The Raiders, Dolphins, Ravens and Bucs were on a pace to break the record of 158 penalties in a season (set by the 1998 Chiefs). Mike Shanahan, Jim Haslett and Joe Gibbs have paid large fines for criticizing officials.

Dancing in the street: a new formula—balanced offense and improved defense—will drive the Colts to Motown, where they'll be …

Sporting News, The, Nov 11, 2005 by Dan Pompei

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