Rex Ryan determined to finally beat Peyton Manning and Colts: "BY KEVIN ARMSTRONG RRex Ryan reiterated that his matchups with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning are personal Monday morning. "I respect heck out of this guy," Ryan said. "But I'm going to beat him one day. I just hope it's this Saturday." Manning, whose Colts reached the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, has carved Ryan's vaunted Baltimore Ravens defenses in the past, eliminating those teams twice, but the coach remained adamant that his team is built to beat Manning. He also beat Ryan's Jets in last year's AFC title game. "I think we're built to win a defensive struggle," Ryan said. "I think we're built to win an offensive shootout." *** Ryan said safety Eric Smith (head) will be back for the playoff opener. He also believes right tackle Damien Woody (knee) will be set. Safety James Ihedigbo (ankle/knee) is "targeted" to play. *** All Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis is all but guaranteed to match up with Colts wideout Reggie Wayne. *** Quarterback Mark Sanchez, whose sore right shoulder was rested Sunday, is expected to be ready to play against the Colts. "I think he's healthy [for the playoffs]," Ryan said. He did not answer directly whether Sanchez will need offseason surgery." http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/je...ined-to-finally-beat-peyton-manning-and-colts It's personal for Rex and the players, hopefully this is the game where it all comes together. Our starting offense hit it's stride in Chicago and Rex is the man!! lol
Plus, Sanchez is a mobile guy who is good at avoiding the rush. That said, I shudder to see who is going up against Wayne Hunter off the edge. Not sure if he can handle Mathis or Freeney. He will get a lot of help though, I'm sure. They'll make a play or 2, I have no doubt about that, but as long as they're not making difference-making plays, or turnovers, that's the key.
Woody is looking like he'll be back. Hunter has did a great job against Bears and Steelers. I hope we can play Woody though.
MBP, you need to do your homework before posting. Everyone knows about all of the injuries and starters missing from the Colts and I expect that to be their downfall against the Jets. However, you have posted that the Colts can't run the ball and they can't stop the run. The Colts have shurdown Jones-Drew, McFadden and Johnson in the last three games. All three were well under their averages. In the last three games, the Colts have also ran the ball for more than 100 yards and very effectively. I still think the Jets will secure this win, but it's because the Colts have finally got the running game figured out on both sides of the ball that I have some hope for a win.
I'm not saying not to blitz at all, but the old addage of live by the blitz and die by the blitz should not be our only option. If you want to send and extra defender every other play fine, but if you think sending 5 and 6 players every time is going to get it done, we are wrong, it is a recipe for disaster, keep the game close and make him move the ball 5-10 yards at a time and he will make a mistake, he always makes mistakes when forced to keep everything in front of the defense.
The Colts CAN shut down the run, but it usually comes at the expense of the pass defense. The Titans with an ancient Collins at QB got all of their offense through the air, because the Colts were playing the run. The Colts forced a very bad TN team to pass, and actually should have lost the game if not for an unforced fumble on a snap exchange. The Colts running game has looked better, but look at the defenses they have played against. I don't think the Colts can run against this Jets defense. I also think that the Jets will have to come out throwing, or this predictable ground and pound will give the Colts the only chance they have to win. Like I said, the Colts CAN shut down a good ground game, but at the cost of being vulnerable to crossing patterns and TE receptions. If Ryan stubbornly tries to run in the first quarter without some passing plays on first downs to burn the Colts line backers who will be cheating in run support, that plays right into the Colts hands. If the Colts win, this will be the reason why.
We're gonna have to put up 23+ points in this one to win imo. I think it's entirely possible, the Colts defense isn't that great.
I certainly agree, but I would go 27 points to win. The losses of Collie and Clark cannot be overstated against the Jets defense.
The Colts have been porous against the pass all season. They are playing the fourth string safety, 2nd string corner and a practice squad player at the other corner. The nickle and dime backs are free agents off the street. Hayden is the only DB that might be able to return against the Jets, yet that looks doubtful. All of the others are on IR. Collins had success because of the above and the Titans did a great job of keeping Freeney and Mathis off of Collins until late in the game when Coyer finally started blitzing. I would expect Sanchez to have a lot of success as well.
That's all well and good but when you jump out to big leads they have to throw as you know I'm sure. Look at the carry amounts too, part of your homework. McFadden only had 11 carries but had a 4.1 average. If shutting down Chris Johnson is holding him to 111 yards at 5 YPC then there is no point in finishing your homework. Not to mention his 68 receiving yards. Yesterday yes you did do a much better job against him. [thumbs up] Titans are ranked 17th in the league in rushing for a reason.
That's what we said about the Steelers and Bears too, you do realize Hunter was the one blocking those games right?
I'm fully aware of the decimation of the Colt's defensive backfield. That is the biggest weakness the Colt's have. In addition, against TN your LB's were way, way up on the line in run support. something I expect they will do again next Saturday. Point is, Ryan can be very stubborn, and still try to run the ball. This is a game where the pass needs to be used to set up the run. Burn the LB's cheating with over the middle stuff early. Still ball control, but with short 3 step possession type throws over the LB's, and let Keller and Holmes get some YAC. That is not what I expect to see. I think the Jets will make the mistake of attacking just what the Colts are prepared to stop, the run game.
Exactly. The Colts' defense really isn't that good. They've allowed 388 points on the year, more than any above .500 playoff team. They struggled against the run most of the start of the year, and then when they started gameplanning more against the run, you were worse against the pass. The Jets are a much different offense than last year. We're no longer ground-and-pound. We do want to run the ball first and foremost, but it hasn't been quite as successful as last year. Meanwhile, the passing offense has been a lot better. Sanchez has looked good his last 2 games. I would think he could get comfortable against the Colts' defense. He played fairly well against a better Colt defense last year in the playoffs, and he ripped apart the Bears' cover 2 for most of the game. Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards are two talented receivers, and Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller are pretty reliable. The weapons have been plagued by drops for a lot of the year (except Edwards, surprisingly enough), but I think they can make plays against the Colts' defense. As always, it comes down to the Colts' passing offense. Last year, Manning picked on whoever Revis wasn't covering, whether it was Dallas Clark against Eric Smith or Austin Collie vs Drew Coleman or Pierre Garcon vs anyone. This year, Revis will be on Wayne again, Cromartie will be a BIG upgrade against Garcon, and the secondary weapons aren't nearly as good. Tamme and White will be primary options, but they're not nearly as good as Clark and Collie. Can they make tough catches and big plays for Manning? That's going to be huge. By the way, I despise Pierre Garcon. I pick him up last year in fantasy, and he drops every pass that comes to him. I drop him, and he kills it. Then he kills the Jets. He can make some nice catches, but he drops a TON of passes. I worry that he sees the Jets' uniforms on the other side, and all of a sudden he gets hands of glue again.
MBP, I just checked again. Johnson had 20 carries for 39 yards, a 2.1 YPC avg. He had 6 catches for 51 yards. McFadden had one decent run of 26 yards. Take that away and he was 10 carries for 19 yards, a 1.9 YPC avg. I would call that shutting him down. MJD was 15 carries for 46 yards a 3.1 YPC avg. I understand these guys didn't get 25 - 30 carries for these games, but the reason was they weren't having any success running and started going pass heavy.
