Comparing the Pats, and Colts
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by Behbigben15
The main topic on all sports shows (especially ESPN) has been the Pats, and Colts all this week, so why not join in on the debate? So, I decided to breakdown the Patriots, and Colts position-by-position. So, if you have been watching ESPN this week, and are tired of listening about them already, just do me a favor and just read one last article about the two undefeated teams (NE 7-0, Indy 6-0), and I will promise you that I will do a better job then ESPN has done.
Quarterbacks:
The two QB's for the Pats, and Colts (Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning) are, by far, the two best QB's in the NFL. I am very glad that Tom Brady has gotten more spotlight thus far this year, than Manning. In the past five years Peyton Manning has probably made more money, and gotten more attention than every other starting QB in the NFL combined. Both Brady, and Manning throw few INT's, and alot of TD's, and both are obvious Pro Bowlers.
'07 Stats:
- Tom Brady - 169 for 229 (73.8%), 2,125 yards, 27 TD, 2 INT, 137.9 Rating
- Peyton Manning - 138 for 202 (68.3%), 1,578 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT, 103.5 Rating
Brady is on pace for 62 TD passes this season, which will shatter the previous record for most TD's in a single-season (held by Manning, 49). Brady has more completions, and attempts than Manning, and, at the same time has a better completion percentage by about 5%. Brady has just 2 INT's, and has the highest rating in the NFL by far, all while leading the Pats to their first 7-0 start in New England history. Edge: The edge deffinitely goes to Brady, everyone else that follows the NFL has to agree with me on this one. Brady has lead the Pats to a 7-0 start while helping them average nearly 40 points per game (39.8).
Backfield:
The Patriots have been without second-year back Laurence Maroney for a couple games, but veteran backup Sammy Morris has done an excellent job stepping in for Maroney. The Colts have also been without their star second-year back, Joseph Addai, and has also had a backup step in. The Colts 27-year old, Kenton Keith stepped in for the battered Addai as he started week 5 versus the Bucs, and ran for 121 yards and 2 TD's on 28 carries. While the Pats, Morris, had back-to-back 100+ yard games in weeks 4 and 5 (117, 102). Both teams have a solid run game, with the Pats third in the NFL in rushing, and the Colts ninth. But, these two teams are pretty close in the running game category, just like in the QB position.
'07 Stats:
- NE: Sammy Morris - 85 ATT, 384 Yards, 3 TD, 4.5 Yds/ATT
Laurence Maroney - 60 ATT, 283 Yards, 0 TD, 4.7 Yds/ATT
- Indy: Joseph Addai - 100 ATT, 492 Yards, 5 TD, 4.9 Yds/ATT
Kenton Keith - 66 ATT, 311 Yards, 3 TD, 4.7 Yds/ATT
The Colts have the best individual RB out of the two teams (Addai), but the Pats, have a great team running game, and they probably pass over half the time, yet they have the third most rushing yards in the league. So...... Edge: The edge goes to the Pats in the running game as well, you can't argue with their potentially outstanding one-two punch at RB, if Maroney can get back to his '06 form, so don't EVER underestimate the Pats run game.
Receiving:
The Pats have added three potential '07 Pro Bowlers (Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth, and Wes Welker), plus a great blocker at TE, this year. On the other hand, the Colts, too, have some Pro Bowlers add the WR position, and they are very familiar with the game, and the Colts system. Not to mention the speedy slot receiver that the Colts drafted this year (Anthony "Speedy" Gonzalez), and another threat at TE (Dallas Clark). Both teams hold a great receiving core, and the good thing is: None of them get into trouble by shooting off their mouth like T.O., and Ocho Cinco (other than Moss, but he has vastly changed, and is supposedly saying good-bye to his old, pot-head self).
'07 Stats:
- NE: Randy Moss (WR)- 44 Rec, 732 Yards, 10 TD, 16.6 YPC
Wes Welker (WR)- 47 Rec, 524 Yards, 5 TD, 11.1 YPC
Benjamin Watson (TE)- 18 Rec, 222 Yards, 5 TD, 12.3 YPC
Donte' Stallworth (WR)- 22 Rec, 367 Yards, 3 TD, 16.7 YPC
- Indy: Reggie Wayne (WR)- 37 Rec, 500 Yards, 4 TD, 13.5 YPC
Dallas Clark (TE)- 30 Rec, 366 Yards, 6 TD, 12.2 YPC
Marvin Harrison (WR)- 20 Rec, 247 Yards, 1 TD, 12.4 YPC
Anthony Gonzalez (WR)- 13 Rec, 178 Yards, 0 TD, 13.7 YPC
The Colts star receivers have really been struggling this year, mainly in result of injuries. The Colts leader in TD catches is their TE, Dallas Clark, who is Manning's primary target while in the red zone. The Pats receivers have been spectacular so far, in many games the Pats had 2-3 100+ yard receivers. Edge: Once again, the edge is given to the Pats, their receivers have all been way to good for the Colts usual spectacular receivers.
Offensive Line:
- NE:
LT- Matt Light (29)
LG- Logan Mankins (25)
C- Dan Koppen (28)
RG- Stephen Neal (31)
RT- Nick Kaczur (28)
- Indy:
LT- Tony Ugoh (23)
LG- Ryan Lilja (26)
C- Jeff Saturday (32)
RG- Jake Scott (26)
RT- Ryan Diem (28)
The Pats have a more experienced O-Line (average age of 28 yrs old), and they have only given up 7 sacks this season, and they have blocked the way for the third ranked rushing team in the NFL. The Colts are a little younger (average age of 27 yrs old), and have given up just 5 sacks to Peyton Manning. Both of these Offensive lines are great, and now how to protect their QB. Edge: I will have to say that these two Offensive lines are about even, and i'm not going to say that one is better than the other.
Defense:
Defensive Line:
The Pats run a very affective 3-4 Base defense, with a 6'5, 300 pound Ty Warren, and 6'3, 285 pound Jarvis Green on the ends, with a 6'2, 325 pound run stopping monster, Vince Wilfork, plugging up the middle of the field at NT. These three guys have a combined 56 tackles (40 solo), and 6 sacks. The Colts run a 4-3 base defense with speedy Dwight Freeney (6'1 268 pounds), and Robert Mathis (6'2, 245 pounds on the ends, and Raheem Brock (6'4, 274 pounds), and rookie Edward Johnson (6'2, 295 pounds) plugging up the middle. The Pats aren't the best at stopping the run, but they are solid, ranked at 9th in the league, with the Colts at 14th in the NFL. Edge: The Pats get the edge again, they are more experienced, and I just like there guys better, I think what hurts the Colts at this position is that they have a rookie DT, if they had a little more expericence their, then they might be a little better at stopping the run.
Linebackers:
Another unfair fight for the Colts, as they are once again beat out by the more experienced, and more talented New England Patriots. The Pats have 4 LB's (3-4 defense), Tedy Bruschi, Adalius Thomas (offseason acquisition), Mike Vrabel, and Roosevelt Colvin. The Pats backups are very expericenced as well, with the 95256248729 year old Junior Seau, and 37-year old Chad Brown. The Colts have very little experience at LB, with Rocky Boiman, and Freddie Keiaho at the OLB position, and at MLB is Gary Brackett.
'07 Stats:
NE:
- Teddy Bruschi- 38 tackles (24 solo), 2 Sacks, 1 PD
- Adalius Thomas- 37 tackles (26 solo), 0.5 Sacks, 1 INT (returned for TD), 5 PD
- Junior Seau- 29 tackles (21solo), 1 Sack, 3 INT, 3 PD
- Mike Vrabel- 28 tackles (17 solo), 3.5 Sacks, 1 FF
- Roosevelt Colvin- 17 tackles (11 solo), 2 Sacks, 2 FF, 1 INT, 1 PD
INDY:
- Gary Brackett- 41 tackles (27 solo), 0.5 Sacks, 1 FF, 1 INT, 1 PD
- Freddie Keiaho- 29 tackles (24 solo), 1.5 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 PD
- Rocky Boiman- 10 tackles (7 solo), 1 INT, 1 PD
With the loss of LB Rob Morris (injury), and the offseason loss of star LB Cato June (signed by Bucs), the Colts have just two solid 'backers in Brackett, and Keiaho, with the Colts backups being a bunch of unproven no-namers. The Pats, on the other hand, have four solid starters (two being Pro Bowlers). Edge: The edge will deffinitely be going to the Pats. You Can't beat this group of guys, they are just too dominant, and may be one of the top Linebacking crews in the NFL.
Secondary:
The Colts have a couple hard-hitting safeties in their defensive back-field, including the smallest player in the NFL, Bob Sanders, the 5'8, 206 pound Strong Safety is one of the best in the game. The Pats have a few guys who are worth mentioning, as well. The Pats Strong Safety is a hard-hitting tough guy, like Sanders, that guy would be the 6'1, 220 pound Rodney Harrison, who just returned from a four week suspension a few weeks ago. Edge: The Colts get the edge here, I absolutely love Sanders' talent at the SS position, and he's got some solid guys in Kelvin Hayden, Antoine Bethea, and Marlin Jackson, around him.
Special Teams/Coaching:
Kicking: Colts
Punting: Colts
KR/PR: Even
Coaching: Pats
Bottom Line:
The Bottom Line here is that the Colts can no longer be considered the best team in the NFL, the Patriots are back in town, and are hungry for their fourth NFL championship. The Pats had made some spectacular moves this offseason (signing WR's Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte' Stallworth, and TE Klye Brady along with LB Adalius Thomas), and if you combine that with the spectacular coaching of a great coach in Bill Belichick, and a Pro Bowl QB, then you have a Super Bowl bound team. The Pats are the best team in the NFL, and will most likely win yet another SB this year, but it's unlikely that they will have a perfect 16-0 season, but it's always possible.
NOTE: The Pats and Colts play in two weeks, hopefully one of them will lose this week so that ESPN may not have as much coverage as they would if they were both undefeated (but don't be surprised if they have one whole Sportscenter dedicated to the game). The game is on Sunday November 4th at 4:15 on CBS, the game is at Indianapolis.
