The Colts have lost 24-year old cornerback Jerraud Powers (dislocated left elbow) and 25-year old Terrence Johnson (forearm injury) for the rest of the season due to injury.  Powers played in 11 games for the Colts this year and he had 49 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Powers has now played in 33 games in his first 3 years with the Colts and he has 168 tackles, 25 passes defensed, 5 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 10 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Terrence Johnson played in 10 games for the Colts as a rookie this year and he has 37 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  These are big blows to the Colts’ D.

The Colts were down 31-3 after the first three quarters, but they didn’t lay down…which would have been easy.  They dropped 21 points on the Patriots in the 4th quarter to give them a little scare.  Dan Orlovsky completed 30 of 37 passes for 353 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT, as he really played well late in this game.  Donald Brown led the way on the ground for the Colts yesterday with 41 yards rushing on 14 carries (2.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Joseph Addai (13 carries for 39 yards) and Delone Carter (3 carries for 20 yards) also pitched in for the Colts in the running game yesterday.  WR Pierre Garcon had a monster game for the Colts with 9 grabs for 150 yards (16.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  WR Austin Collie (7 rec, 70 yards), WR Reggie Wayne (5 rec, 55 yards) and TE Jacob Tamme (5 rec, 49 yards) also pitched in for the Colts in the passing game yesterday.  The Colts finished up with 99 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 37 passes (81.1%) for 338 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:39.

The defense didn’t play that well for the Colts yesterday.  Safety Antoine Bethea (9 tackles) and LB A.J. Edds (9 tackles) led the way for the Colts’ D in this game.  CB Jacob Lacey (8 tackles) and LB Ernie Sims (8 tackles) also pitched in on D for the Colts in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 73 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 38 passes (76.3%) for 289 yards.  The Colts are now 0-12 on the year.

The Colts have waived 25-year old OT Mike Tepper.  Tepper played in 6 games (4 starts) as a rookie for the Colts this year.  It really says something that Tepper was cut loose by the Colts, because they are having big time problems along the O-Line.  It will be interesting to see if Tepper can find another job this year.  This is not much of a loss for the Colts.

The Colts showed some life last weekend even though they lost to the visiting Panthers 27-19.  The Patriots smashed the Eagles in Philly last weekend 38-20.  The Patriots now have a 3-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 109-39!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are turning to Dan Orlovsky at QB in this game.  This is likely going to be a nice improvement for the passing game.  The Colts are still a pass first team for some reason, so look for Orlovsky to try to attack the Patriots’ secondary (allowing 307.5 yards passing per game) down the field.  WRs Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon are going to be his top targets, but Orlovsky will have to be careful with the ball as Patriots’ corner Kyle Arrington is leading the NFL in interceptions with 7 of them.  If the Colts were smart (and they are not), they would keep the ball on the ground and try to play a game of keepaway.  Donald Brown, Joseph Addai and Delone Carter are good enough backs to give the Patriots trouble this Sunday, but sadly, they will likely be underused again.

When the Patriots have the ball:  This is going to sound bad, but the Patriots are going to be able to do whatever they want in this game.  DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis lead the Colts with 5.5 sacks apiece, but Tom Brady isn’t going to miss much sleep worrying about them tonight.  Brady is likely to have a monster game throwing the ball to Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in this game.  RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis is a very solid RB, so when the Patriots are trying to grind down the clock, the Colts are going to see a lot of him.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 49, COLTS 13

The Colts have signed 24-year old safety Jermele Hines.  Hines played in 5 games for the Panthers earlier this year and he had 3 tackles.  Hines was drafted in the fifth round by the St. Louis Rams.  Hines has been well traveled in his rookie season, but the Colts might give him a legit look as they have been lousy against the passing game this year.

33-year old WR Reggie Wayne is having an off-year, which comes as no surprise due to the QB situation for the Colts.  Wayne has been targeted 90 times by the Colts’ QBs so far this year and he caught 47 of them (52.2%).  Wayne has played in 11 games so far this year for the Colts and he has caught 47 passes for 652 yards (13.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 168 games for the Colts and he has caught 834 passes for 11,400 yards (13.7 avg) with 71 TD grabs.  I think Wayne’s production is not a sign of him slowing down, but more a result of pretty pathetic QB play from the Colts.

The Colts have placed 24-year old safety Stevie Brown on the Injured Reserve List, ending his year due to a quadriceps injury.  Brown played in 8 games for the Colts this year and he had 5 tackles.  Brown has now played in 23 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 35 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  This isn’t a big loss for the Colts moving forward.

The Indianapolis Colts have fired defensive coordinator Larry Coyer.  He will be replaced by linebackers’ coach Mike Murphy for the rest of this year.  Coyer deserved what he got as the Colts were giving up 29.7 points per game.  The Colts are also giving up 150.6 yards rushing per game (4.2 ypc) and 238.7 yards passing per game so far this year.  This is likely just the first shoe to drop on the Colts’ coaching staff this off-season.

The Colts have claimed 25-year old fullback Jerome Felton off waivers from the Panthers.  Felton played in 9 games for the Panthers last year and he carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards (3.3 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 24 yards (12.0 avg) for the Panthers this year.  Felton has now played in 51 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 42 times for 136 yards (3.2 ypc).  He has also caught 32 passes for 264 yards (8.3 avg) so far in his career.  This was a good move for the Colts as Felton is a solid all-around fullback.

The Colts fought hard today but they fell just a bit short in the end.  Curtis Painter completed 15 of 29 passes for 226 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  Donald Brown really ran well for the Colts today with 80 yards rushing on 14 carries (5.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Joseph Addai pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 7 carries (3.3 ypc).  WR Reggie Wayne had an outstanding game today for the Colts with 5 grabs for 122 yards (24.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Pierre Garcon pitched in with 3 catches for 34 yards today.  The Colts finished up with 105 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 29 passes (51.7%) for 218 yards as they had possession of the ball for 23:43.

The defense was pretty awful today, as usual, for the Colts.  Safety Antoine Bethea (9 tackles), LB Pat Angerer (7 tackles, 2 QB hits and 1 sack) and CB Jerraud Powers (6 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss) led the way for the Colts’ D today.  CB Jacob Lacey pitched in with 2 tackles and a fumble recovery today.  The Panthers finished up with 201 yards rushing on 35 carries (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 27 passes (74.1%) for 176 yards.  The Colts are now a perfect 0-11 on the season.