Colts Week Has Begun

We've all had this game circled on the calendars since the end of Super Bowl XLIX. The Colts were the team that "filed a complaint" to the NFL, who is adamant that was not a sting operation on the Patriots. During the whole saga, I've seen how the sausage is made and the NFL is controlled by completely by greed and is by no means altruistic. The NFL suspended Brady for 4 games to create an extra headline into this game of Brady facing the Colts after they started the Deflategate story. Instead, Brady had his suspension lifted in federal court and has gone interception free in those 4 games and the Patriots starting off 4-0.

My opinion on the Colts is not very friendly to say the least. Not only do they celebrate just making the AFCCG, the Colts play in CFL-caliber division with the Texans, Titans, and Jaguars being the NFL's doormat every year. Maybe the Patriots fans in Indianapolis can hand out participation ribbons as a gag to Colts fans after the game. With Andrew Luck under center, the Colts are a very average team and don't hold a candle to the Peyton Manning-led Colt teams. After starting the year 0-2 against the AFC East, the Colts have gone 3-0 in their own division with two of those wins with Matt Hasselbeck taking the snaps to push their record to 3-2. Now the Patriots travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Colts on Sunday Night Football where the stakes are high. A win would put the Patriots in the driver's seat for Home Field Advantage in the AFC Playoffs with only Denver left to beat and a loss legitimizes the Colts as an AFC Power for a week.

The Colts run defense has gotten better with the addition of both Henry Anderson and David Parry from Stanford in the draft and could pose problems for LeGarrette Blount in this matchup. At the same time, the Colts secondary is banged up and the Patriots offense is relatively healthy for the game with Nate Solder's elbow injury being very minor. While the game plan likely involves a lot of running with Blount and Dion Lewis, this game could be ripe for Brady having a banner day as a passer. The Colts coverage hasn't really gotten much better relative to last year, which could mean Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, and Lewis having big days as a receiver. More of what I'd expect to see New England do this week will be listed on the weekly Game Plan Post.

The 2015 F U Tour continues as it hits it's 5th stop, and we're on to Indianapolis for Colts Week. Have a great week