Week 11 Breakdown

[Coltsalr]

Well, another week, another nail-biter. To be fair, this wasn't quite as bad as previous weeks, most seemed to be pretty optimistic throughout. What's the reason behind why the Colts had trouble? Are the Texans on the upswing? Perhaps, but their losses in the previous weeks to Baltimore and Minnesota would suggest otherwise. Maybe they're about to start something good? It could happen. I tend to think, however, that's it's just a divisional game and those are always tough.

The Elite:

Peyton Manning: He was simply spectacular. He had 5-6 dropped passes, but he overcame that. He was always able to find somebody open, it seemed. He didn't seem to force passes at all and he didn't make any blatantly terrible passes that I saw. Also, his playcalls at the line of scrimmage were impressive, as always.

Joseph Addai: Weird seeing him all the way up here. Usually, I write about him last. Not this week. Maybe he thought that the season started Week 11. That's a possibility. Maybe his hamstring finally healed up. Maybe, just maybe, however, when the offensive line decided to run block, he could actually do something? That's the theory I'm going with. He's the same guy he's always been, save for possibly being a little more dinged up than usual. His dancing at the line of scrimmage isn't because he's soft like say, Laurence Maroney. It's because there weren't any holes for him to run through.

Reggie Wayne: Wasn't his greatest day statistically, but it was one of his better days, save for a drop in the 1st half. He has a nifty spin move this year as well that makes him an even bigger weapon on the short passes. He's also always a deep threat and his hands were great as usual. If he doesn't make it to the Pro Bowl, it'll prove the game to be more of a farce than it already is, and that's saying something.

Adam Vinatieri: Continues to silence the critics. His kickoffs are a hidden weapon. The special teams being able to hit the guys downfield is also nice, as well. But he's been money as far as field goals go too, in recent weeks. Let's hope he decides to travel to San Diego this year, unlike last year.

Dwight Freeney: Though he's no longer the highest paid defensive player, he still plays like he is. He gets held every play and he was eased back into the line-up at the beginning of the year and he still somehow has 7 sacks on the year. Hopefully he'll have a strong showing for the rest of the season to get his sack numbers up and get him to Hawaii. God knows, he deserves it.

Dominic Rhodes: How many 2nd running backs have there been in the NFL this year that have done a better job than him? He simply does all that he is asked to do. I still think that he should get closer to even number of carries as Addai, but when Addai has a day like he had today, who can complain?

The Fall:

Eric Foster: After a spectacular showing last week, namely a great play, he became somewhat invisible this week. He wasn't Keyunta Dawson who spent most of the game getting driven back into the RCA Dome, but he wasn't by any means amazing. Might be a bit unfair to criticize too heavily so I won't do that, however.

Keiwan Ratliff: After looking like a spectacular pick-up against Pittsburgh and New England, he became more of himself. He didn't look like a random scrub picked up off the streets like he is, but he wasn't as up to par as what we had come to expect (right or wrong). Hopefully Hayden and Hughes will get back soon so he'll be in a much more reduced role.

The Sleeper:

Antonio Johnson: He didn't have a spectacular game, but he wasn't by any means bad. Looks like he could be a great pick-up, though. In other news, has anyone ever seen Antonio Johnson and Ed Johnson in the same place at the same time? We could have a mystery on our hands here...

Clint Session: Week after week, he's done pretty well. He's probably never going to be a Pro Bowler, but if he can play fast and guess right most of the time, he's a valuable player to have. He hits hard, as well and is fast enough to cover.

Marvin Harrison: No, I'm not going to call this some sort of breakout game. But if they can find a way to give him shorter passes to keep the sticks moving, it'd be a great thing. As much as we salivate at the thought of Manning going up top to Marvin like old times, if Marvin at this stage in his career is a pretty good possession receiver, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The Joke:

Freddie Keiaho: OK, so he may be worse in coverage than I initially thought. Seriously, can he cover himself in bed? I move to have him not on the field on passing downs and preferably never covering a tight end with any sort of speed whatsoever again.

Keyunta Dawson: As aforementioned, after a stop, it's always interesting that the offensive lineman has usually pushed Dawson further than the running back takes the ball too. Not always, but usually.

Closing Thoughts:

This was a good win only because had they lost this, well, I wouldn't know what to think to be honest. Because it was a win, it doesn't change anything really and it only means that they need to keep working hard out there. Next week is really their only game before they play the Titans in Week 17, but if they lose that one, that could open the door to them losing to someone like the Jaguars or Browns. They need to keep going out there with enthusiasm and make it an effort to try to fire on all cylinders. They've shown that they're capable of that and if they can get Sanders and Hayden back healthy, this is a team that could very well make a very big push late in the season.

[FatDT]

IMO this was Peyton's best game of the season. He played mistake-free, made great decisions, great throws, handed the ball off to keep the D guessing, and overall just played the way we've come to expect and the way other teams wish their QB would.

I don't blame Dawson, he is just not big enough to be a DT. The defensive coaches that keep putting him in need to get a clue. Johnson, Brock, Foster, and Reid are all better options than Dawson.

Hopefully Freeney will continue to play well now that there is a big DT on the field to engage blockers. The great thing about his sacks was that they came at really crucial times.

I agree that Johnson didn't play at an all-pro level, but he is still able to stand up to and sometimes knock over O linemen, something our other DTs can't do.

IMO the hamstring injury bothered Joe more than we'll ever really know. Even considering the line hasn't blocked well up until the 2nd quarter yesterday, he looked bad. I don't know if it was a breakout game, but if the Colts can involve him like that consistently, in both the running and passing game, they will win.

Good writeup.

[omahacolt]

the reason you didnt see much of foster is because dawson was getting a ton more playing time than he was. which i didnt understand at all. foster isnt great by any means but he has made a few plays this year. that cant be said for dawson


also i think session should be higher. he has been playing very well imo