The Colts need to work on their tackling, both on defense and special teams. The Colts have allowed 10.8 yards per punt return and 26.0 yards per kick-off return (including one that was returned for a 103 yard TD)!

Adam Vinatieri has made all 7 of his FG attempts and all 6 XPTs. Martin Gramatica hit his only FG and all 7 XPTs. Punter Hunter Smith is averaging 45.7 yards per punt, 37.2 net yards per punt and has placed 25% of his punts inside the other teams 20 yard line.

The kick returners have been excellent so far this season. Terrence Wilkins has averaged 12.6 yards per punt return (including one for a TD) and 22.1 yards per kick-off return. Rookie TJ Rushing has averaged 7.0 per punt return and 33.5 yards per kick-off return.

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The Colts narrowly escaped with a win over the Tennessee Titans. Peyton Manning completed 20 of 31 passes for 166 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. Dominic Rhodes carried the ball 20 times for 84 yards (4.2 ypc) and caught 5 passes for 26 yards. Joseph Addai carried the ball 13 times for 62 yards (4.8 ypc). Brandon Stokley caught 5 passes for 57 yards. Marvin Harrison only caught 3 passes for 29 yards and a TD. Reggie Wayne caught 3 passes for 24 yards and a TD.

The Colts still can’t stop the run and the Titans took advantage of the Colts weakness and almost beat them. LB Cato June had 11 tackles. Safety Michael Doss had six tackles, defensed a pass and returned an interception 31 yards. The Titans ran the ball 31 times for 214 yards (6.9 ypc). The Colts only allowed the Titans to complete 10 of 21 passes for 63 net yards passing.

The Colts got lucky they were playing the Titans, as almost any other NFL team would have beat them.

The Colts re-signed Martin Gramatica. Look for him to at least handle kick-offs against the Titans and maybe more if Adam Vinatieri is out.

Ben Utecht is out for Sunday with a back injury. Utecht is a good run blocker, but he’s fallen on the depth chart behind Dallas Clark and Bryan Fletcher.

Corey Simon is out for the season with a sickness that is not football related. This sounds a little out to me, and I will keep you up to date on his illness when more is revealed. This definately hurts the Colts defense, which is having major problems stopping the run.

This is the biggest NFL mis-match in a long time. The point spread opened at 18.5 and it’s warranted.Â

It the Titans were smart, they wouldn’t even let Vince Young attempt a pass until the second quarter. The Colts have been getting brutalized on the ground, as they’ve allowed 155.0 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry. Of course, for that to work Chris Brown (106 yards rushing), Travis Henry (82 yards rushing) or LenDale White (63 yards rushing) must carry the load. The Titans will have to run alot of short pass routes when they throw to keep Ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis off of Vince Young’s back.

The Colts should have no problem doing whatever they want on offense against the Titans. The Titans defense allows 177.0 yards per game rushing, and opposing QB’s have a rating of 102.8 vs. the Titans. Look for the Colts to work on their running game with Joe Addai (207 yards rushing) and Dominic Rhodes (189 yards rushing). WR Marvin Harrison (29 rec, 413 yards) and Reggie Wayne (18 rec, 358 yards) will have huge games if Peyton Manning (1,112 yards passing) wants them to.

The Colts will win this game by as many points as they want to. The Colts could score everytime they get the football.

DT Corey Simon (knee) and S Bob Sanders (knee) will both miss the game against the Titans. The Colts probably won’t miss them in this game, but against an NFL team they would.

Peyton Manning is the leader of the Indianapolis Colts. Manning has even run for 2 TDs himself this season, which is a new wrinkle for him. Manning has completed 86 of 140 passes (61.4%) for 1,112 yards with 6 TDs and 1 INT. Manning has a QB rating of 97.7 which is sparkling as usual. The Colts should be the favorite in the AFC to get to the Super Bowl as long as Manning stays healthy.

This was a very interesting football game and proved my theory that Tony Dungy is terrified to have his defense on the field. For the first three quarters, all the Colts were doing is running the football. Then when the Colts needed some magic because the defense and special teams were playing horrible, Peyton Manning waved his magic wand and victory was theirs. Peyton Manning completed 21 of 30 passes for 217 yards and a TD, he also ran the ball one time….a one-yard TD plunge to win the football game. Joseph Addai carried the ball 20 times for 84 yards and a TD, and Dominic Rhodes carried the ball 15 times for 75 yards and a TD. Marvin Harrison caught 7 passes for 79 yards, Reggie Wayne caught 4 passes for 74 yards. TE Bryan Fletcher caught 3 passes for 19 yards and a TD.

The defense played a bad football game again. LBs Cato June and Gary Brackett each had 13 tackles. DE Robert Mathis had 1 tackle and 2 sacks. The Jets ran the ball 37 times for 135 yards (3.6 ypc). The Colts also allowed the Jets to complete 17 of 23 passes for 189 net yards passing.