Week two is almost in the books with the Jets vs. Colts game is the finale of the week. Last week the Indianapolis Colts looked flat and disinterested in playing football. The New York Jets looked okay, but nothing to really write home about. The Jets have some weapons, true, but the Colts have more. Last week Luck and the boys weren’t able to get the show off to the best start, but tonight (in front of Monday Night Football’s national viewing audience) they will have to put their best foot forward. Here are my key match-ups for the game tonight. Enjoy and GO COLTS!!
1. Offensive Line vs. Defensive line
The Jets are just like the Bills in that they love to blitz. Last week the Bills blitzed the hell out of the Colts and it took it’s toll. This week the Colts offensive line has to really step up because they are facing one of the top defensive lines in football. The Bills were without Dareus, thank God, and we didn’t fully see everything that their team could do. The Jets are going to bring it hard tonight and really test the shaky line of the boys in blue. Anthony Castonzo and Jack Mewhort did a decent last week and so did Khaled Holmes for the most part. The guard play is still the weak point. David Harris is a top-notch inside linebacker with some pass rush skill and might pose a huge problem. If their impressive front three are allowed to do what they want then it won’t matter what the Colts do. The offensive line has to sack up and do their job and turn in a peak performance while keeping the flags in the belts of the refs.
2. Vontae Davis vs. Brandon Marshall
With the Colts defensive backfield basically depleted, Vontae Davis is going to have to be tasked with shadowing Brandon Marshall all game. Eric Decker is good, but I think any of the other CB’s can handle covering Decker with help from Mike Adams. If anyone but Davis is on Marshall I will be shocked for sure. The last time Marshall played in Indy he tore the team up for 21 receptions (at the time a record). 21!! That simply cannot happen again.
3. Trent Cole vs. D’Brickshaw Ferguson
Trent Cole did next to nothing last Sunday and gave his doubters more ammo than he needed to give them. His haters have said he is too old and will never be what he was in Philly. This week he has a big test as D’Brickshaw Ferguson is a great left tackle. In fact, the whole Jets offensive line is very solid. Cole really needs to step it up at home tonight to show the fans and all those haters that he still has plenty in the tank. Robert Mathis may play tonight, but he won’t start. He will be situational until he gets his bearings back from being off the field for so long. The Colts have to get pressure on an easily rattled Ryan Fitzpatrick. If they do rattle him they will be forced to go with the run which should be a better matchup for our defense. Cole is the catalyst to the pass rush showing up tonight.
4. Andrew Luck vs. Darrelle Revis
Andrew Luck had a terrible showing last week and he faced some pretty good cornerbacks. This week he is facing one of the best to ever play the position. Darrelle Revis is a nightmare for any quarterback. He exclusively covers a team’s best receiver and almost takes that player out of the game entirely each time. Thankfully the Colts have a plethora of good receivers, so if T.Y. Hilton is taken away by Revis, Luck still has Donte Moncrief, Andre Johnson, and Phillip Dorsett to sling the ball to. Add in Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener, as well as a core of running back that can catch, and it’ll be hard for the Jets to stop everyone. However, if Luck tests Revis and he gets picked off early that could get inside his head which could spell a W’s doom. Of course, we know Luck won’t shy away from Revis when it comes to his favorite target in Hilton, but he has to make sure he is including his other receivers.
Those are my keys to a Colts victory tonight. Nothing that really shocks anyone, but if the Colts don’t win 3 of these 4 matchups you can bet they will start the season 0-2. That just leaves the rest of us to hear about how terrible this team is and how badly it needs broken down and rebuilt. I don’t want to hear about that and neither does anyone else in the Colts Nation. The whole country will be watching our great city tonight. Let’s show them what a real 12th man is and let’s hope our team shows everyone that last week was just a fluke.
