And Scott, even if he might kill you slowly by working to keep the gains in front of the defense, it’s not the same group on the line for the Colts. Lots of false starts and procedure penalties combined with the offficials deciding to call holding on Indy again goes a long way to ending drives.

Lik Scott wonderfully said, this is not 2006. The last two games, Peyton has a 60.1 QB Rating. That not just bad – it’s downright bench-worthy. Factor in that he is only making 6.6 yards per attempt this season (Cassel is at 6.8 per attempt) and that his season completion percentage is a smidge over 61% and it’s not looking good for this old Volunteer.

At this point, I would rather make Peyton show me that this is just rust rather than a decline of his skills before I would change my plans.

Mark, thanks for reading. Here are my thoughts on your response.

You are right – BGE only gained 16 yds on 9 carries but he was not the feature back for the game. that would be Kevin Faulk who did rack up 60 yds in only 13 carries (a 4.6 average). I’ll take that type of average any Sunday.

As for the defensive front four creating pressure, I’m not sure we’re watching the same team. The Colts, as a team are tied for 28th in the league with 10 sacks, tied for 18th in the NFL with 5 INTs and are 30th in passes defensed. It doesn’t seem like a ton of pressure going on there.

And while Addai is still questionable for Sunday Night’s game, the possibility of reinjuring his hamstring is not one that is easily discounted; especially when you consider that speed is a major facet of his game. One wrong step in that same stretch game may send him to the bench.

Lastly, if this game was going to be played last year, the RCA Dome would be a big tiem advantage but Lucas Oil Stadium is no RCA Dome, my friend.

Speaking of which, NFL Network replayed the 2006 AFC Championship last night. Damned Reche Caldwell and his two wide-open drops.

Let Cassel be Cassel. Short drops and throws to the perimeter. Make them run side to side. If they are dropping him seven steps back, even with Thomas and Watson in to block, that’s an invite for more sacks. If they’re going downfield, just make it quick with fade type things up the sideline.

Defending Manning and the Colts offense – I don’t think the Pats necessarily have to place an emphasis on stopping the run. I think the front seven can keep that in check with out any undue effort. Few occasions come to mind where the Colts have beaten the Pats with the run.

At the same time, dropping five and six db’s into a passive coverage with minimal rush and keeping everything in front of them so that Manning doesn’t beat them quickly just guarantees that he will beat them slowly instead. They have to go after him like they did Cutler.

Approaching this game with trepidation is the worst thing they could do. It’s not 2006 anymore for either of these teams.

I think they should play the Super Bowl XX and XXXVI game plans: shorten the game and minimize possessions. Treat Manning as the threat and dare them to run. Addai’s coming back from injury and their line this year hasn’t been what it once was. I’m not convinced they can execute the stretch play as effectively.

The offensive game plan might be a little tougher because the Colts defense is just a bad matchup for the Pats’ offense. If possible, though, follow the same strategy of keeping the clock moving. Maybe Jordan running behind Mankins or Neal is good enough for four or five yards/carry against Indy’s smallish line. We’re fortunate this time around not to have stutter-step Maroney taking up carries against this fast D.

Marlin Jackson’s out for the year, so that means Welker could thrive.

It might take a lot of patience. Tennessee ran the ball 29 times Monday night for just 90 yards and 3.1 ypc. But they held the ball for 35 minutes, limiting Indy’s chances and tiring their defense.

Even if he doesn’t get huge yardage, Addai running the stretch play over Rhodes forces teams to pay more attention and opens up the play action. If Wayne is too banged up to play, maybe it lets the defense focus on Clark more but the Patriots have their own host of issues among the DBs right now.

Add in a road game and Monday night to the motivational angles and this is a bad spot for the Pats.