Tomorrow in Miami, Florida Peyton Manning is going to try to lead his Colts to their 2nd World Championship in Indianapolis.  It won’t be an easy task though.  The Saints have a solid secondary that makes a lot of big plays so Manning will have to be careful when throwing the ball downfield.  With all of the talk about Dwight Freeney this week you just know that the Saints’ Will Smith (DE) wants to put his name in the bright lights.  That means that OTs Ryan Diem and Charlie Johnson are going to have their hands full with him.  If they can keep him out of the backfield then Peyton Manning will have a lot of time to throw the ball.  I think the Saints are going to have to play straight up on defense with the way that Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have played in the playoffs so far.  That brings Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark back into the gameplan as major players.  The Colts are also going to run the ball a bit more than usual in this game to keep the ball away from Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense.

The Saints have a more balanced offense than the Colts do and that will cause problems for the D.  The Colts can’t afford to play extra defensive backs to deal with the WRs of the Saints because of Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush.  The Saints should really be worried about Reggie Bush who is playing like a man possessed during the playoffs as he is averaging 7.7 yards per carry and 9.5 yards per reception.  When Drew Brees drops back to pass the Colts better get someone in his face.  That will be easier said than done with Dwight Freeney either playing gimpy or not playing at all.  If Raheem Brock is forced to start at DE the Colts are in trouble because the Saints will double-team Robert Mathis on the other side every single play.  The hard thing about defending the Saints is that they like to keep the passing game short to lull you into a sense of security then they got up top to Devery Henderson who is one of the fastest receivers in the NFL. 

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 34, COLTS 30

The Colts can’t afford to let down at any point in this game if they are going to win tomorrow.  They need to jump the Jets quick on the scoreboard and then keep attacking the whole game.  The Chargers made a big mistake in letting off the gas pedal last week and it let the Jets off the mat.  The Colts should get Joseph Addai more involved in this game to keep the Jets’ linebackers honest.  But, that doesn’t mean that Peyton Manning won’t be throwing the ball all over the place because he will.   In fact I look for the Colts to keep the offense the way it has been all year long with Manning challenging Jets’ CB Darrelle Revis by throwing the ball just as much as usual to Reggie Wayne.  I think a mis-match that the Colts will go to a lot is TE Dallas Clark against Kerry Rhodes or Jim Leonhard.  This will result in a lot of big plays, mark my words.  Manning also has a lot of confidence in young receivers Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie so look for him to get the ball to them a lot too.

The Colts know what the Jets are going to do and that is run the football.  The Colts need to bring the safeties up to help with dealing with Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones.  But, Mark Sanchez has been good in throwing play action passes specifically to TE Dustin Keller so the Colts’ safeties will have to read him before coming up to help against the run.  That means that CBs Jacob Lacey and Kelvin Hayden will likely be playing man to man against Jerricho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards. 

PREDICTION:  COLTS 21, JETS 17

The Colts pushed the Ravens around a little bit on Saturday Night and it showed on the scoreboard.  Peyton Manning was solid completing 30 of 44 passes for 246 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Joseph Addai had a hard time getting much going for the Colts in this game with 11 carries for 23 yards (2.1 ypc) and he also added 3 catches for 14 yards (4.7 avg).  Reggie Wayne (8 rec, 63 yards, TD), Dallas Clark (7 rec, 59 yards, FR) and Austin Collie (4 rec, 52 yards, TD) all had solid games for the Colts on Saturday Night in the passing game.  The Colts finished up with 275 total yards in this game on offense (42 rushing, 233 passing).

It was the defense that won this game for the Colts.  DT Daniel Muir had one of the best games of his career leading the way for the Colts with 7 tackles (1 tackle for a loss).  Linebacker Clint Session also had a solid game with 4 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  CB Jerraud Powers and S Antoine Bethea each pitched in with 1 interception apiece.  The Ravens finished up with only 270 total yards on offense (87 rushing, 183 passing).  Only the Jets stand between the Colts and the Super Bowl now.

The Colts will face a Ravens’ team that is on a roll.  Hopefully the rest the Colts had pretty much the last three weeks will have them ready to go tomorrow night.  The Colts must jump on the Ravens quick in a attempt to take them out of their gameplan.  The Ravens want to run the ball and keep it away from the Colts’ offense.  The Ravens’ CBs are the weakness of the defense so look for Peyton Manning to be targeting Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie a lot.  It would also be smart for the Colts to run the ball some with Joseph Addai to keep the Ravens from bringing a big pass rush.

This is not a good matchup for the Colts’ D which is more equipped to stop the pass than the run.  The Colts need DTs Daniel Muir, Antonio Johnson and middle linebacker Gary Brackett to stop the inside running game of the Ravens and that will not be easy.  If the Ravens are running the ball well and there is no reason to think they won’t the Colts could be in some trouble in this game.  DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis will likely be negated in this game as the Ravens won’t be throwing the ball much.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 23, RAVENS 20

This will likely look like the final pre-season game for the Colts who get their starters in and out really quickly to keep them healthy.  That means that this game will likely be in the hands of rookie QB Curtis Painter who looked overmatched last weekend against a outstanding Jets defense.  But, this week he should do better although he will likely just be trying to manage the game with the Colts leaning on the running game against a Bills’ D that is allowing 165.1 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry.  I have a feeling that rookie RB Donald Brown is going to have a monster game this Sunday afternoon.

The Colts are likely going to rest DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis so they will need someone to step up and pressure the Bills’ QB.  The Bills are hoping that the QB will be Ryan Fitzpatrick instead of Brian Brohm.  If it is Fitzpatrick the Colts might have a tougher time defensing the pass.  The Colts must be able to contain Lee Evans and Terrell Owens to have a legit chance of winning this game.  The Colts can’t cheat to stop the passing game or Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch might gash them.

PREDICTION:  BILLS 20, COLTS 14