Game of the Century: New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts Preview

The Patriots and Colts are indisputably the two best teams in the NFL. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are also the two best quarterbacks in the NFL, regardless of which order you place them in. Whether we like them or not, Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy are just plain geniuses. The Patriots may be the best team ever assembled. The Colts are defending Super Bowl Champions, and since last year they just got better. This game is the first time in NFL history that two teams with a 7-0 record or better have faced each other in a regular season game.

You've probably heard all of this on NFL network and other such media outlets, but for this article let's at least scratch the surface on the actual on-field matchups and the strategical implications on this game.

Patriots Passing Game vs. Colts Pass Defense

Tom Brady is the best in the game right now, whether or not you like that fact. Notice I say RIGHT NOW. Peyton Manning might be the best quarterback on Monday, but as of this moment, Tom Brady is the best in the game. After observing what he did to the Cowboys and Redskins, there is no doubt in my mind that the Patriots will win this battle. In fact, not only will they win this battle, they will utterly demoralize the Indianapolis secondary.

The Colts are a team about speed, not size or strength, and the Patriots receiving corps is excellent in all three. Let's go over speed first. The Colts have a defense oriented around quick tackles and preventing the long play instead of short gains. Their two starting cornerbacks, Kelvin Hayden and Marlin Jackson, are both 6'0 and pretty quick in terms of tackling but can be a bit slow off the initial snap. That's bad news for Colts fans. Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker are lightning off the snap, and if they can get the first step consistently, the Colts secondary will be shredded in every facet of the passing game. Safeties Bob Sanders and Antoine Bethea are extremely talented safeties, but there is no way that they will be running step for step with Moss, Stallworth and Welker all game should those three break free of the cornerbacks.

Another reason the Patriots have the strong upper hand here is the same reason that they've completely wrecked every secondary they've faced thus far. How do you cover those receivers? You have to double cover Moss. Every team knows that. There is not one single defensive back in the NFL... including Champ Bailey... who can win a one-on-one with Randy Moss. So Moss automatically takes 2/11... or 18%... of the defense with him everywhere he goes on every single play. But at the same time, you can't one-on-one Stallworth either. He's one of the top 5 fastest players in the NFL, and as we saw against Dallas and Miami, this guy is a BEAST after the catch. He is much stronger than people give him credit for. He will win a one-on-one with every single defensive back on the Indianapolis roster. So if you have to double Moss, what do you do with Stallworth? Many teams have not been doubling Stallworth, and they've been paying for it dearly. And while teams are worrying about how the heck they'll keep Randy and Donte out of the paydirt, Wes Welker and Ben Watson are tearing the field in the slot. Welker has 47 catches, third in the NFL, and he is also a tough job to drag down after he makes a catch. He might only be 5'9 and 185 pounds, but he is so quick it's ridiculous. He's a pretty fast runner, but just in terms of his cuts and how quickly he pivots and turns and can make a dash, he's every linebacker's nightmare.

Did I just talk about a linebacker's nightmare? Ahhhh, yes, let us turn out attention to Beastly Ben Watson. The 6'4, 253 pound hulk of steel is terrifyingly strong (he bench presses 600 pounds) and he can out-muscle every linebacker in the league. He's extremely fast for a tight end as well. There are a few problems with his route running and he drops a couple balls he should catch, but let's put it this way: When he's lined up with the Big Three in Moss, Stallworth and Welker, you won't shut him down unless he shuts himself down with mistakes. This point leads into size. Big Ben is... well, big. Huge. Formidable. The Colts linebackers are dweebish. Let's examine that unit. The starting three are Freddy Keiaho at right linebacker(5'11, 226 lbs), Gary Brackett in the middle (5'11, 235), and Tyjuan Hagler on the left (6'0, 236). Ask any of those guys to try to cover Benjamin Watson, and you'll have a big pancake before the play is over. These linebackers are pretty fast for a linebacker corps, but Wes Welker as I said before is extremely fast and can outwit/outjuke any of them.

There is still one unit on the Colts defense that we haven't appropriately analyzed in how well they will fare against New England's pass attack. That unit are the safeties. I briefly touched on them, but now I will go into more detail. Bob Sanders, the All-Pro safety that is the heart of the Indianapolis defense, is good but he won't do much to stop Tom Brady and his receivers for a couple reasons. First of all, he's only 5'8 and 206 lbs. 5'8!!! The Patriots thrive off playing with their size. If they send 6'4 Randy Moss on a deep post, all Brady will have to do is what he's been doing all year. Toss up a fat turkey, because there's no way anyone will beat Moss on a jump ball. Secondly, he is always trying to be a linebacker as well as a safety. He always creeps up to the line of scrimmage to be a run-stopper, because the linebackers and front four aren't good enough to do it on their own. He excels in that role, but that won't work too well in this game because the Patriot offense can and will take advantage of that. All three of the Pats wide receivers are capable of beating triple coverage (just watch Moss against the Jets, Stallworth against Miami, and Welker against Dallas), and if Sanders leaves Bethea to cover one of those guys one-on-one, he'll get scorched. Bethea is a good safety, but the Patriot wide receivers are more than good. They are simply incredible. And Tom Brady is the best in the game, as aforementioned. There are simply not enough men on defense to stop this passing attack, and the Colts will find that out on Sunday. EDGE: PATRIOTS

Patriots Running Game vs. Colts Run Defense

Unlike the Patriots passing game, this could actually be a contest. It really depends on whether Sammy Morris is playing or not. Morris is a smashmouth runner, who consistently puts his head down and drives for extra yardage. If he plays, then his style will quickly wear down the Colts' diminuitive front four. As previously stated, the Colts are a defense about speed, not size or strength. I would even daresay their front four is pretty weak. 6'1, 268 pound Dwight Freeney is a bolt of greased lightning at right end, but he's not the strongest or biggest guy in the world. Left end Robert Mathis is similar in strengths to Freeney, but even smaller and weaker at 6'2 and 245. Some linebackers are bigger than that (Patriot linebacker Adalius Thomas is the same height, but 25 pounds heavier). Patriot tackle Nick Kaczur should have no problem toppling him over. The Colts defensive tackles aren't much better. Ed Johnson (6'2, 296) and Raheem Brock (6'4, 274) don't even scare my grandmama when is comes to stuffing a runner. Morris will be able to run over them like a freight train. In the previous section, I went over the linebackers, who are similarly little and weak. The theme throughout the Colts' front seven is clear: Speed. They try to do it faster than you can. That doesn't work against Tom Brady in the passing game, and it won't work against Morris. However, it could work against Laurence Maroney. Maroney is a good talent, but is constantly bashed for his dancing and lack of north-south running. If he can't put his head down and drive for some extra yardage, and if he does his usual thing where he dances and tries to run outside too much, the Colts front seven (really front eight, with the addition of run-stopping freak Bob Sanders) will have Maroney's number. The Colts run defense is just plainly and simply too fast and too up-tempo to leave room for east-west running. Maroney will have to learn that quickly, or else he'll get popped in the backfield for losses. So this matchup depends on whether Maroney or Morris plays more of the snaps. Morris did not practice on Thursday, and his gameday status is unknown. EDGE: EVEN

Colts Passing Game vs. Patriots Pass Defense

Peyton Manning is a great quarterback, one of the best of all-time. But you know what else? Reggie Wayne is a MAD GOOD wide receiver. I'll be honest with you, I'm more scared of Wayne than Manning. As much as I love the Pats secondary, they'll have a bit of trouble covering Wayne, and Dallas Clark will also be a problem. This battle will be a very close one, and it will be interesting to see who wins. Asante Samuel is extremely good, and he'll be the one up against Wayne most of the time. Here's the trick for the Colts: They need to keep it a one-on-one with Wayne and Samuel, because if Wayne tries going over the middle, he'll be a pile of blood and guts at the end of the day with mega-hitter Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson (remember that hit in the 2004 AFC Championship game?). Marvin Harrison also excels on the perimeter, and that will be where the Colts need to exploit the Patriot secondary. Just in terms of the wide receivers, they'll lose the battle over the middle, but they have a good shot if they stay on the outside. Dallas Clark, the tight end, is a ball-catching superstar and is a huge cog in that Colts offense. If the Patriots can shut him down, then Peyton Manning will be in for a beating. Adalius Thomas is one of the most freakish athletes in the game, and his number will be constantly called upon to shut down Clark. At 6'2 and 270, Thomas is so fast he played cornerback sometimes in Baltimore (remember that week 2 interception return TD against San Deigo?), and he's mega strong, not to mention really big. Clark should have some trouble separating himself from Thomas, as well as Rosevelt Colvin, Mike Vrabel, and newly-discovered interception threat Junior Seau. If that prediction is correct, then Manning will have to rely on the run game more than he wants to. EDGE: EVEN

Colts Running Game vs. Patriots Run Defense

Joseph Addai has been running extremely well, but in my eyes, the Patriot run defense is tops in the league hands down. Name all the names you want. Tedy Bruschi. Junior Seau. Adalius Thomas. Richard Seymour. Ty Warren. Vince Wilfork. Mike Vrabel. Jarvis Green. Rodney Harrison. These guys are run-stuffing masters and I have yet to see a runningback in this league who can get by them. Even LaDanian Tomlinson couldn't do it. The Patriot's front three of Seymour, Wilfork and Warren are freakishly strong. Seymour and Warren are pretty fast for guys over 6'4 and 300 pounds, too. And with Thomas, Vrabel, and veteran Seau plugging holes in between. Addai will have nowhere to run. There really isn't much analysis needed here, because the names and statistics speak for themselves. Expect a nonexistent running attack from Indy. EDGE: PATRIOTS

Time of Possession

This stat will be one of the most important in the entire game. Both teams have potent offenses, and both are capable of taking a game over. Because of my prediction that the Colts run game will fail, I'm going to go with New England here. New England's run game might not be necessarily good, but their passing game takes up a lot of time, a lot more than Indy's passing game does. EDGE: PATRIOTS

Here's the final statement: The Patriots are more talented, bigger, stronger, more experienced, and better coached than the Indianapolis Colts, and I expect that to show on the field on Sunday.