Peyton Manning (and the Colts practice squad) Vs the mighty Patriots.

I'd have to say, I don't have a good feeling about this one.  The Patriots are coming off of an impressive win over the universally hated Steelers, so we are facing them on a high.  I don't think they will overlook us either.

Whether or not Austin Collie is able to play is probably the most important unknown going into Sunday's nationally televised game.  He was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, but so far reports are that he has tested out fine and is recovered from his scary concussion.

Belichick likes to take the top two options away from an opposing offense - forcing them out of their comfort zone.  Expect that Reggie Wayne will be doubled on most every play.  If Collie does not play, Jacob Tamme will be also doubled.  This would leave only the highly unreliable Pierre Garcon in single coverage.  Not real helpful considering he and Manning have had trouble getting on the same page.

We have not had a lot of success running against the Patriots in the past, and they are doing well against the run this year.  Their pass defense can be shaky, but I don't know if we can take advantage of that.

On the good side they have a lot of young players on defense that have little to no experience dealing with our offense.  Hopefully we can fool them a few times.

Since trading Randy Mesothelioma to the Vikings (who promptly dropped him like a important call on AT&T) the Patriots passing game is mostly a ball-control one.  Since they have no receivers who can really stretch the field, we really match up with them well.  Although the Patriots offense throws a lot of short passes, they are not always quick passes.  They have a lot of complicated clearing routes and often you will see Tom Brady hold the ball for a little while.  This gives us a better opportunity for a sack than you would usually have against a small ball offense.

Unfortunately our pass rush has not been very good this year, particularly on the road on grass.

As I see it, the Colts lose this one.  Lets say 24-17.  (Vegas has the Pats as a 3.5 point favorite).

Whither Donald Brown?

It seems that the fan base has turned on Donald Brown.  I am seeing criticism from both bloggers as well as fans.  Criticisms center on the perception that he is not running hard and that he is not doing a good job blocking for the pass.

There was some of this in last weeks podcast on Coltzilla.com.  While I enjoy the podcast and feel they are well done, I have to take issue with their disenchantment of Donald Brown.

They mention that Donald Brown is coming back from injury but that he should be fine because he has been practicing.

Well, I'm not sure that is true.  The Colts have not been having good practices due to all of the injuries.  Manning has mentioned this multiple times in the last couple of weeks.

And I think that Donald Brown is still hurt based on what I am seeing from him.  He was out with a hamstring pull, which would definitely affect the leg drive of a running back.  Also, we have no idea if he has some other undisclosed injury.

With Addai and Hart out, I think that the Colts have broken form and asked a player to "gut it out" because they need someone who actually knows the offense out there.

Also, if he was not hurt he would have been on the field for 90% of the snaps in the Philadelphia and Cincinnati games - instead of sharing time with off the street guys who only know a small part of the playbook.

You simply cannot judge a running back by how he plays injured - and we are doing a disservice to a player that I feel is sacrificing himself for the good of the team.

The otherwise excellent podcast on Coltzilla.com can be found here: Check it to Pancakes, Episode 14: Week 10 – Bengals at Colts