Week 2 – Preview
Indianapolis Colts (1-0) @ Miami Dolphins (0-1)
WHEN INDY HAS THE BALL:
It’s the home opener on Monday Night Football so one would think the fans would be as loud as possible to at least try and rattle Peyton Manning and the Colts high octane offense. Manning is the master of catching defenses in bad matchups with his audibles at the line. With WR Anthony Gonzales out of action you can expect Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark to be the targets of probably 25-30 passes for sure so it’s vital that most of them fall incomplete. Miami was excellent at keeping Michael Turner at bay and should have excellent success stuffing the Colts running game which isn’t thought to be anywhere near that of the Falcons. Phillip Merling and Kendall Langford have each shown great improvement over the past year in both their run stopping and pass rushing abilities and we all know what Jason Taylor and Joey Porter like to do against passing teams. Manning is tough to sack but constant pressure on him has cause him to play poorly, relatively speaking, in the past. Similar to last week rookie Sean Smith and Vontae Davis will platoon ever couple series at Cornerback and you can bank on Manning testing them early and often. It’s imperative we get a pass rush on Manning to help the talented but inexperienced duo.
WHEN MIAMI HAS THE BALL:
First and foremost they need to hold onto it. Putting additional stress on the defense is no way to break into the win column against Peyton Manning. Quite the contrary, Miami needs to protect the football and move the chains keeping Mr. Manning on the sidelines and limiting his opportunities. Great idea in theory but unless the Dolphins offensive line vastly improves on last weeks performance they will have similar results. Jake long needs to slow down Dwight Freeney for starters or we’ll be seeing Chad Henne replace our injured Chad Pennington by halftime. Miami absolutely must establish themselves at the point of attack to run the football. It all starts at the line and getting Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams successfully running the ball. The last thing we need is the Colts pinning their ears back on 3rd and long. If that means unleashing the Wildcat numerous time than so-be it. Play calling was extremely conservative last week and Miami has to find a way to not only get the football into Ted Ginn’s hands but they need to stretch the field just to keep the Colts honest. Miami should have more success running the ball this week with improved play, it’s the home opener and the Colts being undersized which all should play into Miami being more aggressive offensively beginning with play calling and continuing with CP10’s willingness to throw it downfield giving his receives an opportunity to make plays. And oh by the way, Colts star safety Bob Sanders is out. Thank God!
KEY MATCHUPS:
Jake Long vs. Dwight Freeney
After last week Long has a chip on his shoulder to prove that his performance was an aberration and not the norm. He’ll be ready and he better be as Freeney is a whole level better than John Abraham was, which is saying a lot. If Long has success, the Dolphins will have success. If he doesn’t, Miami offense will make last weeks performance look like the ’84 Dolphins offense.
FEARLESS PREDICTION:
The Dolphins offense bounces back and come out throwing catching the Colts off balance resulting in open running lanes for Ronnie and Ricky to run through. The Dolphins defense doubles Reggie Wayne all day and nobody else i.e. newly signed Hank Baskett or Pierre Garcon steps up to fill Anthony Gonzales shoes. Behind the excitement of MNF and the home opener the Fins frustrate Manning and the Colts offense sputters.
Colts 23
Dolphins 27
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