Colts can show many looks
PITTSBURGH – If you expect the Indianapolis Colts to employ a spread offense against the Steelers Monday night, you are not alone. “We’ve got to expect it every week,” safety Lee Flowers said. “The difference is, we’ve got it under wraps now. The first couple of games brought it to everybody’s attention, then the last couple of weeks, it went away.”
“I think we’ll see it,” added fellow safety Mike Logan. “They have the wide receivers for it and all of the other essential tools.”
Like an excellent receiving tight end in Marcus Pollard and a running back who is a good receiver out of the backfield in Edgerrin James.
Strange as it might sound, however, James also is a good reason the Steelers shouldn’t expect the spread offense used so effectively by New England and Oakland.
Granted, he’s excellent as a receiver and is more than adequate as in blitz recognition as a blocker.
But James remains one of the best runners in the league. He is just rounding into shape after missing most of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
“And they run him the best out of their base set,” Logan pointed out. “In a way, they’d be foolish not to try to take advantage of what he does best, which is run the ball from base formations.”
But from the Colts perspective, base formation includes three receivers and Pollard, with James alone in the backfield. That, to the Steelers, constitutes a spread offense.
Of course, the key element to the Colts offense is the quarterback. Peyton Manning, only in his fifth season, already is considered among the smartest quarterbacks in the league. He has the Colts off to a 4-1 start, but they haven’t had the kind of success on offense they had become accustommed to.
“So far, defenses have been trying to take away the deep stuff,” Manning said. “We’ve been trying to get the short passes and let the receivers run with it a little bit.”
“We’ve got some pretty good weaponry on offense,” Dungy said. “Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, Peyton Manning and Qadry Ismail has been playing pretty well for us. That’s pretty good weaponry.”
And the Colts know how to use that weaponry. Dungy said Harrison doesn’t get much single coveage these days, but added that when he does, Manning is usually all over it.
The Steelers’ defensive MO is leaving their cornerbacks in single coverage allowing more blitzers to come from different places than a quarterback might be expecting. The hope is to get to the quarterback before his receiver can come open.
“It’s new for me,” Manning said. “I’ve only played against them in the preseason and I only played in the first half, so I don’t know what to expect, really. I know they are a good defense and a good challenge for us.
“They give you a lot of different looks and send different players on blitzes. That’s all part of the cat-and-mouse game we all like to play with each other.”
Many, including Steelers coach Bill Cowher, believe that Manning is one of the best at that game. He has made a habit of waiting until the last possible second to change a play, so as not to allow the defense time to adjust.”
All of which should make for a very entertaining game Monday night. From the Steelers perspective, it could be more frightening than entertaining.