Should the Colts beat the Patriots this Sunday night in Indianapolis, it would put Indy's record at 4-4. That is a record not ideal at this time of year, but it is not something to dismiss off hand. Back in November of 2005, the New England Patriots, fresh off their second straight Super Bowl winning season, lost to Indianapolis in Foxboro. They started November 2005 off 4-4, and went on to win their division at 10-6. That season, the Patriots suffered through some devastating injuries. Many had written them off at 4-4 in November, but they somehow managed to claw their way back. The Patriots went on to win a playoff game, but lost in the second round to the Broncos. In 2008, the Colts are in a similar situation the 2005 Patriots were in: Injured defense, inconsistent play, and questions as to whether or not they will make the playoffs.

New England's 2005 team stats had their offense scoring 24 ppg and their defense surrendering 21 ppg. During their opening 4-4 stretch, they surrendered 27.5 ppg and scored only 22.5. The current 3-4 Colts are scoring 21.3 ppg and surrendering 23.1 ppg. New England in 2005 had to contend with numerous injuries to various key defensive players like Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, and Richard Seymour. They lost Ty Law to free agency in the off-season that year, and on offense thier starting LT, Matt Lyght, was done for the year. Corey Dillon broke down, teams seemed to run the ball on the Patriots at will, and their homefield advantage lost its mystique.

Yet, they gutted it out and salvaged their season. How?

Well, first off, playing in the horrid AFC East certainly helped. The Dolphins were mediocre that year, and both the Jets and Bills sucked. So, having an easy schedule is a good way to dig yourself out of a 4-4 start. Most of their difficult games were in the 4-4 stretch while the bulk of their lunch meat schedule (aka the AFC East) was in the second half. Obviously, this is no comfort for the Colts, who pretty much have a hard schedule from start to finish. The next three game are New England this Sunday, then at Pittsburgh, and then Houston in Lucas Oil Stadium. None of those teams are lunch meat, including Houston who has won three in a row after blowing their game against the Colts a few weeks ago.

But what also helped New England eek out a playoff birth was the steady play of Tom Brady. Other than 2007, Brady's 2005 was one of the best statistical seasons of his career. He threw for over 4,000 yards and 26 TDs that year, completing 63% of his passes. He also threw 14 INTs, but considering his running game was pretty inconsistent, that's good.

To Brady's steady play salvaged New England's 2005 season

Photo: www.squibkick.com

If the Colts are to stablize their team and dig out of the current 3-4 hole they are in, they must get more consistent play from Peyton Manning. Peyton has been up and down all year. It is a combnation of injuries, unfamiliarity with new players, missing training camp, missing preseason, and poor execution. He has thrown 10 TDs and 9 INTs, complting only 61% of his passes. That is very un-Peyton-like.

Just as Tom Brady's steady play was the key to New England slavaging their season in 2005, the Colts must get better, more consistent play from Peyton Manning if they are to salvage their 2008 season.

And with this happy Halloween, I provide you with something that will really scare the crap out of you: A recap of Peyton Manning's greatest game as a pro. This was written several months ago by mgrex30, a Stampede Blue co-writer. Read at your own risk-- BBS:

via cache.daylife.com

Game #1 takes us back to January 21, 2007, where the Colts battled to New England Patriots for the right to go to Super Bowl XLI.  Since you've all read Manning's Greatest Game #3, and you know it is Super Bowl XLI, I think you have an idea who wins this game.  Manning and the Colts had come off Battle of Field Goals win in Baltimore, and the Patriots beat the 14-2 and #1 seed Chargers.  Coming into the Playoffs, I had the exact same thoughts as BBS, in that the Colts would be hosting the Patriots for the AFC Title, and that was the Colts best shot at getting to the Super Bowl.  A round of applause is unnecessary.  Here's what BBS said:

The Colts will beat the Chiefs, and then they will play their next playoff game in Baltimore for the first time since the Baltimore fans abandoned the Colts, thus prompting them for Indy. The Colts will then beat the Ravens, and then square off in the AFC Championship game against... the Patriots. Yes folks. The Patriots will beat the heavily favored San Diego Chargers, and they will face the Colts in the AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis. The Colts will beat New England (again), and thus make the Super Bowl. A road through the AFC like this is storybook: Beleaguered run defense against Larry Johnson; Colts in Baltimore for the playoffs; Colts against Patriots in AFC Championship Game. In one swoop, all playoff demons get exorcised.

I thought that instead of explaining the details of a game everyone has seen multiple times probably, I thought I'd make this a video blog.  I've pulled clips from the game (well, almost exclusively from the second half), and I'll let the actual tape tell the story for me.  I'll interject with my thoughts at the time, as I'm sure they were very similar to yours.

Click to read more.

I've done it. I'VE DONE IT! I've taken over Pats Pulpit. From now until Saturday, I will run this blog that has for many years been the mortal enemy of Stampede Blue. There are so many things I want to do I just... I just don't know where to begin. One thing I was hoping to do was go around delete all the "Manning Sucks!" FanPosts and stories.

But, surprisingly, I don't see any.

Could it be that the fans of the dreaded and vile Patriots have finally accepted the fact that Peyton Manning is indeed a great QB? If so, wow. I now have faith that peace in the Middle East is possible, a black woman will one day be President, and flying cars are just around the corner. I think this season, more so than any other, we fans see why the NFL needs a healthy Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Why don't y'all hate me no more?

Let's be honest folks, I don't think the NFL brass are jumping for joy that Manning is playing sub par, Brady is out, and Palmer is about to be out. Replacing them are an ancient Kerry Collins, Kyle Orton, and Jason friggin Campbell.

Someone shoot me, please.

Unlike the Colts, the Patriots have  managed to eek out a solid 5-2 record despite suffering two devastating injuries. The Pats do not seem to excel in any one particular area. They just play solid in every facet, and do not beat themselves with dumb penalties or costly turnovers. Also, LB Jerod Mayo looks like a future star, Matt Cassel has quietly played some solid football, and Kevin Faulk continues to do what Kevin Faulk has always done: Score TDs and drive people like me CRAZY!

I think, more so than any other year (even the Super Bowl years), Pats fans should be proud of their team. Other teams might have folded up and quit after Brady went down in Week One. This one didn't. That says something, and don't think your rival fanbase hasn't taken notice of it.

For the next few days, I will post stories and FanShots that will offer you a Colts fan's take on your team. Believe me, it is far too easy to say you suck! and simply dismiss your Pats as a shell of their former selves. One, it isn't true, and two, because to truly know your enemy you must walk around in his skin. And that is exactly what me and MaPatsFan are doing these next few days.

patriots.com

In a very up-and-down game, the Patriots pulled off a win against the Rams.  We'll get into the stats later, but both teams were ridiculously even when looking at the numbers.  The difference makers were Rams penalties and a few very well timed plays: Deltha O'Neal's interception to end a Rams drive and Kevin Faulk's awesome endzone catch to put us ahead by 7.

Cornerback is still a weak position for us.  Hobbs got burned on a few occasions as did rookie Jonathan Wilhite.  Wilhite could've turned around and had an interception as Meriweather had coverage above, but he never looked at Bulger; rookie mistake.  Defensively, I thought the pass rush was pretty darn good; 4 sacks for 33 yards, not to mention all the pressure the blitz put on Bulger; that really made a difference.

I won't copy the stats number for number, but will comment on some interesting ones:

• Time of possession, net yards, yards rushing and yards passing were incredibly close
• Pass completions, attempts, and interceptions as well as gain per passing play were neck and neck
• Rushing yardage and average yards per carry were neck and neck as well

On the flip side, there were some difference makers:

• Return yardage was 77 for the Pats vs 29 for the Rams
• The Pats were 2-4 in redzone efficiency while the Rams struggled within the 20, going 0-2
• Bulger was sacked 4 times for 33 yards while Cassel went down 3 times for 17
• The Rams had 9 penalties for 63 yards.  The Patriots?  0 for 0

The last stat, in my mind was huge.  This caused St. Louis to make some desperate decisions when they were 3rd and long.  Sure, there was a little bias towards the Pats (Green-Ellis in an out-of-bounds hammering and Seymour with a potential roughing the passer), but this is the kind of stuff coaches hate - killing a game with stupid penalties.

I'm pretty darn happy with a win, but watching this game makes me concerned about our upcoming challenge at The Lube.  Our cornerbacks are still struggling as is the safety position, essentially the defensive backfield is having troubles.  Manning will expose those problems.  With Safety Bob Sanders projected to be back, their defense could be better against the pass.  Joseph Addai is also back, so the running game will be in better shape.

That's all for now, folks.  More to come this week, I'm sure.

5 Questions with... is normally a feature reserved for regular and post season games.  However, given that this thursday's game is with our XLII Super Bowl opponent, ETVal, blogger at Big Blue View, and I thought why not?  Let's do it for the last preseason showdown between the Super Bowl opponents.  Without further delay, here's my questions to ETVal and his answers.

In my mind, Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan were big reasons why the Pats had so much trouble offensively in the Super Bowl.  With Osi's season ending injury and Michael's retirement, what does 2008 look like for the Men in Blue?

BBV: I am still optimistic that the Giants can have a good season. I went into this year thinking that  a "good" year did not have to include a Super Bowl title. A fourth straight playoff appearance would be, in my mind, a good season. Even with the injury to Umenyiora, I believe that is a realistic goal/expectation. That said, the fact that Giants could bring big-time pass rushers from so many places was a key for them last season. It is going to be more difficult this season.

Reports are that Eli Manning has looked good in preseason.  In fact, they're saying he's picked up where he left off.  If Eli's not the issue for a possible 2008 repeat, what is? 

BBV: Eli, I don't think, will ever put up numbers like his brother -- or Tom Brady. But, what we learned about Eli is that he is fearless, he can make all the plays when he has to, and he can win. He has thrown the ball well so far, and, more importantly, looks very comfortable, very confident and very relaxed. As he should. The issue defensively for the Giants will be can they pressure the passer like they did last season, and can they stay healthy. The Umenyiora injury leaves them dangerously thin on the defensive line, and dangerously inexperienced when it comes to the backups they have at linebacker.

This has been a preseason plagued by injuries for both Pats and Giants.  Other than Osi, run down the ones that give you the most worry for a Giants fan.

BBV: Well, who knows how healthy Plaxico Burress is. He has barely practiced with his ankle injury. I have no doubt that he will play, but can he be successful without practice for a second straight year? I don't know. Other than that, kicker Lawrence Tynes is hurt, there is no timetable for his return, and Josh Huston, currently holding down the job, is not the answer if Tynes is out long-term.

NFL.com is reporting Kiwanuka's move to DE to replace Umenyiora.  Does this end the possibility of Strahan coming out of retirement?  Will the Giants still pursue one of their icons?

BBV: I think it's obvious the Giants will -- and are -- pursuing Strahan. I do not think Strahan will return, though, and I don't believe the Giants think he will either. If they thought he would play, there would be no reason to move Kiwanuka from linebacker back to defensive end. Moving him plugs one hole, but might create another.

Given Eli's dramatic 2007, can his name be mentioned in the same sentence as big bro and Tom?  Does his astounding 2007, SB win and SB MVP put him in elite company?  If there's still something to prove what does he need to do?

BBV: As I said earlier, Eli is not Brady or his brother. He is more like Phil Simms, and that is just fine with Giants fans. Simms was a guy who never put up big numbers (60% completions just once), but he was tough, he was a winner and you always felt good with him under center. We had our doubts about Eli for a long time, but that is pretty much how Giants fans feel about Eli now. Sure, we would love, 70% completions and all sorts of passing records. But, we will take Super Bowl rings.

I think the loss of Osi in addition to Michael's retirement is a big deal.  They were instrumental in the devastating rushing attack that hampered Brady's ability to get the ball to his receivers and, ultimately, shutdown the Patriot's aerial assault in the Super Bowl.  I do agree with ETVal that rings are more important than records and Eli Manning seems tailor made to fit that role.

Mad Props to ETVal, blogger at Big Blue View, for answering my questions.  Head on over to Big Blue View to see my answers to his questions.

Pat Kirwan's article at NFL.com is a well written and objective article in my mind.  Pat asks a number of burning questions and throw out some opinions based on his observations and interviews with Kraft, Pioli, Belichick and some of the players.  I won't cut & paste the entire text of that article, but I'll attempt to answer the same questions in my homeristic, blogger frame of mind.  If you're even remotely interested in comparing, bring up Kirwan's article and track side-by-side.

1. Can New England repeat its 16-0 2007 season?
No.  Now, before you unleash a blanket party on my sorry butt and drop my sad carcass in an alley behind the Bell In Hand, hear me out.  Most teams in the first half of the season were taken by surprise.  Before they knew what hit them, it was over.  Call it carpet bombing or call it a Blitzkrieg, the first 8 games were a massacre.  And then came the Colts.  As banged up as they were, it was a 4 point "Whew!!!".  It's my opinion that most teams are preparing for the carnage we unleashed last year.  I'm not saying we're gonna lose to Indy, but they're healthy and looking to prove it.  I also feel that 2 west coast swings with back-to-back games will take their toll; I think we can expect a loss from 1 of those games.

2. Is secondary a primary concern?
Maybe.  Rodney's aging, but he's still Rodney.  Tank Williams is showing some stuff like a good veteran should (besides, I like his name).  Terrence Wheatley appears to be challenging the vets for a spot.  That's what we need - talented young guys willing to throw themselves in harm's way.  I think the secondary will be underestimated.

3. Will problems that the Giants exposed be resolved?
The O line gets a bad wrap for the Superbowl.  Unable to stop the crushing pass attack unleashed by the Giants' defense, Brady spent a lot of time eating fertilizer.  But, let's not forget they protected him smashingly for most of the season.  My biggest gripe, however, was not with the O line; it's with OC Josh McDaniels.  The Patriots are known for adjusting in the second half and McDaniels didn't.  Brady was taking too much time in the pocket and should've gone to a Manning (Peyton, that is) style quick release.  I don't want to send too many props to the midwest, but Manning is one of the best in the league at this style of offense and I see the Patriots adopting some of that.

4. Is Seymour ready to return to his All-Pro form?
Seymour had a tough 2007, but supposedly he's healthy.  He hasn't been practicing a whole lot, but don't read too much into that.  Brady is only throwing one practice a day.  Belichick seems to be protecting his vets and stars so they don't get worn out.  Remember, the Patriots played a month more than most and need to rest their key players.

5. Where are the most critical position battles?
This is where I disagree with Kirwan.  3 out of 4 of his position battles are dead on except for Gaffney vs. Jackson.  Kirwan feels Gaffney is in the lead for a third receiver spot.  Gaffney has never struck me as a WR who lines up almost every play; in my mind, he's a speciality guy brought in to make sideline or corner grabs.  Jackson is supposed to be the bull of the WR group; a receiver with RB capabilities post catch.  I think that Gaffney and Jackson take on totally different roles.

In a very interesting read, si.com's Don Banks discusses how the Chargers are making serious moves to beat the Patriots.  In particular, Antoine Cason was picked up to handle Wes Welker.  This I want to see - Cason the rookie against arguably the best slot receiver in the NFL today.  Wes, just to rub it in, make a great catch then tie Cason's shoelaces together and smack him on the back of the helmet.

Colts QB Peyton Manning has a bursa sac removed from his knee.  He'll most likely miss training camp with a 4-6 week recovery.  Indy fans now know how we felt seeing Brady walk to Giselle's apartment with a boot on.  Sucks, don't it?  No matter how minor, this crap makes ya nervous.

Mike Reiss, as usual, does a bang up job of breaking down the wide receiver corp and what to look out for.  Besides, isn't this like the coolest picture ever?