There were five plays from the Colts that helped them lead towards their nine-game win streak and making the playoffs with a 12-4 record. They eventually lost in the Wild Card round to the Chargers in overtime, 23-17, by a Darren Sproles touchdown. Here are five plays the Colts used in 2008 that can really help them for this year.Go Long!
Last year against the Baltimore Ravens, in which the Colts won 31-3, Peyton Manning just went long to Marvin Harrison, resulting in a 67-yard touchdown. Then there was that other long pass against the Steelers, in which the Colts won 24-20, in which Peyton Manning went long to Reggie Wayne, also was a tipped pass, resulting in a 65-yard touchdown pass.
Every time the ball goes long, Indy scores 60 percent of the time. That is very positive! This will be a very important play for next year, especially with Marvin Harrison gone, who is the king of those plays for the Colts. Now it will have to be Anthony Gonzalez's turn to try out the long balls.
Slant Pass
Against the Bengals last year, resulting in a 35-3 win for yours truly, the Colts were going with a slant pass to number 88. And guess what? It worked out perfectly. A 37-year-old receiver running the hell out of 20-year-old cornerbacks to should be way faster than the old man. It went into a 67-yard pass. Harrison was tackled at the four-yard-line and the Colts, obviously, scored on the drive.
With Marvin gone, and setting to retire, the Colts should do this play. Reggie Wayne has been doing this for a while and looks to be a pro at this from what he's learned from the deal. Gonzalez, Hall, and Collie will have to work on theirs.
Up the Middle
This always work. 100 percent of the time. Whenever the Colts are at the goal-line, you see those short passes that results in touchdowns. But usually, that is very hard to do. The Colts mostly do that when they are on the five-to-15-yard-line. But on the one or two-yard-line, the Colts always goes up the middle. When it's Dominic Rhodes or Joseph Addai, they will always score.
In the Wild Card round of the playoffs, resulting in a 23-17 win in overtime as the Chargers won, Joseph Addai punched it up the middle for a strong one-yard touchdown. Can the Colts do that this year, even with Rhodes gone? Yes they can. With Donald Brown here, a new strong and physical back has come. We will also be seeing Mike Hart punching it up the middle a lot, now that he is named the goal-line back.
This is a big play to watch for.
Blitz Blitz Blitz
Now into the defense. The Colts will need to blitz at least sometimes when it really matters. Remember the game against the Cleveland Browns, in which the Colts won 10-6, when the Colts couldn't score at all. The game was coming to a close and the Browns had the lead with a small score, 6-3.
Then came the heart and soul of the game, Robert Mathis.
Mathis, and along with some other Colts, sacked the Browns quarterback badly. More like bulldozed over him. It was a big ass blitz! Then you just see the ball loose and Mathis picks it up and runs all the way for a touchdown. Colts win, 10-6!
Blitz can really change the whole state of the game when the time really matters, and that is why this is on the list.
Tackle Away
When I was watching a Colts game, CBS's Jim Nantz said that the Colts defense have the best tacklers. And they do this on every play, gang up on the ball carrier and destroy him on tackles. And that's how you get it done. They did 80 percent of the time last year and they look to do 100 this year with newly added players to the squad: Fili Moala, Jerraud Powers, Terrance Taylor, and re-signed Ed Johnson.
They are the best tacklers and that's how they never gave up many many rushing yards as they did in 2006. The defense in 2008 wasn't as good in 2007, but surely better in 2006. And let's hope the 2009 defense will be better than all three of those years. If they just keep ganging up and tackling and tackling, watch out Steelers and Ravens, a new number one defense has arrived!
Conclusion
So those are the plays. Can the Colts really use these five plays? Answer: Hell yeah! They will kick-ass with these plays and I guarantee you there will be some very good highlights. If the Colts can use those five plays, they really are up for contention in the NFL.
Believe in blue!
