Eagles-Colts Scouting Report
How do the Eagles stack up against the Colts? What can they do to slow down Peyton Manning, and what weaknesses can the Birds exploit?
Eagles-Colts Scouting Report
Jonathan Tamari
So you may have heard of this Peyton Manning guy. He’s been known to throw a touchdown here and there, and you also may have seen him in the occasional TV commercial.
Everything the Colts offense does well starts with him. And here are the Eagles who, in their last game, gave up 276 yards passing and three touchdowns to Kerry Collins. How do they prevent a repeat -- or worse? What weaknesses can the Eagles exploit? And what key match ups could determine the game's outcome?
Eagles strengths
Kevin Kolb. Michael Vick. Kevin Kolb. Michael Vick. It’s Vick’s turn to drive again, but whoever has been behind the wheel, the offense has moved. The Eagles rank ninth in the NFL in points per game and in the top 10 in rushing, passing and total yards per game.
With Vick they regain another weapon to go along with Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson. They can throw, run, and, with so many playmakers, use a variety of formations to confuse defenses.
Vick’s running adds an element few teams can prepare for.
The defense -- and particularly the secondary -- spent the bye week as a local whipping boy. But the defenders have excelled at creating quarterback pressure and are able ball thieves, with at least one interception every game and 11 total. Led by Trent Cole, the Eagles 21 sacks are tied for eighth best in the NFL. Pressure and turnovers might be the best ways to slow down Manning.
The run defense has been strong lately, though the Colts don’t rely on that phase as much as other teams. Andy Reid is 11-0 after bye weeks. He gets his teams ready, and these Eagles are eager to erase the memory of the Tennessee loss.
Eagles Weaknesses
Anyone who saw Kenny Britt’s outburst knows the first place to look for weakness: the secondary. Regular starting cornerback Ellis Hobbs is hurt and will be replaced by Dimitri Patterson, who has never started in his five years in the league.
Rookie safety Nate Allen is coming off his first big down moment and will have to show he can rebound.
The offensive line appeared to stabilize for a few weeks, but allowed steady pressure to the Titans and face a tough pair of defense ends this week. Jason Peters has missed the past two games with a torn meniscus and Vick, who suffered a rib cartilage tear, hasn’t played since week four. Do they have rust to kick off? And if the Colts sit back in their typical Cover-2 defense -- as the Redskins did -- can Vick find the holes?
Colts Strengths
It all comes back to Manning. The Colts rank second in the NFL in passing yards per game and touchdown passes. Despite their reliance on the pass, they have given up a league-least seven sacks and Manning has thrown just two interceptions.
They are among the best in the red zone and on third-down.
Basically: the offense rolls.
The Colts wide receiver corps is banged up and tight end Dallas Clark is out for the season, but Manning has still thrown for plenty of yards and completions. Case in point: with Clark out, third-year backup Jacob Tamme caught six passes last week, doubling his career total. He was one of five players who caught at least three passes last week
Defensively Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis provide a menacing pair of defensive ends.
Colts Weaknesses
At least the Eagles don’t have to worry about the run. The Colts rank 23rd in the league in rushing yards per game and are picking up less than four yards per carry. The Colts backs, though, do factor into the passing game.
The Colts defense is only OK. They rank 12th in points allowed per game and the rushing defense is soft: 28th in the NFL. They are giving up 4.9 yards-per-carry. LeSean McCoy might have some openings. If so, the running game could increase the Eagles’ time of possession and help keep Manning off the field.
Key Match Ups
CB Dimitri Patterson vs. QB Peyton Manning
The first start of Patterson’s career comes against the best passer of this generation. It doesn’t matter which receivers are healthy: Manning will find them and you can bet he will find Patterson. The special teams ace plays a physical style and had an interception while covering Michael Crabtree earlier this year. He will need to show his cover skills for the Eagles to slow down the Colts receivers, whoever they are on Sunday.
Sean McDermott vs. Manning
Manning is so important to the Colts he figures into two of our pairings. The Eagles defense will try to throw different looks at Manning to keep him from dissecting the game plan. As great as the quarterback is, he’s even better in the fourth quarter: his passer rating in the final 15 minutes is among the best in the league and he’s thrown five of his 15 touchdowns in the quarter. If the Eagles have a late lead, can McDermott’s D finally slam the door?
DE Trent Cole vs. LT Charlie Johnson
The Colts have allowed seven sacks, fewest in the league. Tough to stop Manning when he’s that comfortable. The Eagles will need Cole -- with his six sacks -- to create pressure. Expect them to move Cole around the defense, but his primary obstacle should be the Colts left tackle, Johnson. The Eagles will be hoping the front four can force pressure themselves, since blitzing extra men could leave the secondary vulnerable to another strafing.
LT Jason Peters and RT Winston Justice vs. DE Dwight Freeney and DE Robert Mathis
The Colts don’t blitz much, but with these two ends, they don’t have to. Mathis and Freeney are numbers one and two in the league in strip-sacks over the past eight years, according to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. Freeney has five sacks this season and faces Peters, who is returning from knee surgery. Welcome back. Mathis has 5.5 sacks. With the lefty Michael Vick quarterbacking, Justice will be protecting the blind side, making his play even more crucial.
RB LeSean McCoy vs. LB Clint Session
McCoy has been the Eagles most reliable weapon and is averaging 4.5 yards-per-carry while adding a team-best 38 catches. The Colts defense, meanwhile is fifth worst in rushing-yards-allowed per game. If the Eagles want to keep Manning off the field, running behind McCoy makes sense. If he’s healthy, expect Session, the Colts’ active outside linebacker, to try to contain McCoy. Few have.
To save everyone the waste of time of every single hater that posts on here, I will give readers a sneak peak at what they will see on here after an Eagles victory "Mike conVICK lead the birds to a win over a Colts team that had more injuries than Big Red had cheeseburgers in a sitting. Bernard Hopkins, Bian Baldinger, HOF Ray Diddy, all say they Colts had too many injuries and anyone could beat them. Mike conVICK has no heart, like mcNOheart, the CHAMP BHOP said so....KK could have led this team of young guns to a SB in 2010, 2011, 2012, he was also a plessure in bed lastnight. Wolf - OUT."— EaglesBleedMoney- Peyton Manning DEVOURS blitzes...not sure that "pressure and turnovers might be the best ways to slow down Manning."— hotelguy
- After Vick stinks up the place with inteceptions, fumbles , and sacks maybe A.R. will reinstall the future of the eagles as the QB---but then again it would ruin the matchup of the century next week between BOZO the CLOWN and BIG BUBBA's bunk mate.— jwatson
- kolb is another sub standard weakling he is NOT a starter in the nfl eagles only chance is with vick a real qb with intimidating skills. manning is overrated he will duck like a coward as many players and former players have mentioned put a few hits on him and he will throw the ball up for grabs put pressure up the middle he can't move and he slower than molasses. use vick on a couple of draw plays and run the football.— only 9
@only 9. You are a J-A. Any QB in the league struggles when people put pressure on him. Manning is a beast. You, however are just a 9-5 nobody that tries starting trouble on internet forums. I moved from Philly to Bedford Indiana and see Manning on a week to week basis and the guy is straight AWESOME. Which stinks because I root against him game after game after game and he does nothing but take lessor talent and make them into stars. I second Skip Bayless when he says TAMME? Really? He made Jacob Tamme an overnight star.
Comment removed.- Vick vs Peyton - enuff said— jhjack
Perhaps Reid's biggest problem is that he analyzes an opponent and comes up with 3 strategies to beat them. In the game, he gets locked into these 3 things, and keeps rotating them, never bothering to evaluate whether method #2 is being very effective and staying with it. Manning is the exact opposite. He comes into a game with general trends and indicators. When he finds something that works, he keeps using it, forcing the defense to react to him, and observing that reaction, and then taking advantage of that. If Patterson is not up to the task, you will see Manning endlessly return to him. Also look for 10,000 double moves in A.Samuel's territory, and at least one cheap touchdown thrown his way.— Nuutron- The best way to slow down Manning is to keep him off the field.— BigLadd
- Kolb has all of, what, four starts in the NFL. Isn't it a bit premature to declare him a bust?— alwaysanotherview
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- Vick has been know to shock, the colts d-fence stinks worst than the eagles. You know nothing about football if your blaming the coaching, Big Andy that is. Big red is offensive minded, anyone know their stats on offense with two different QBs, Mcgreat, Aj and Koy? Yes it's good. Now, if you want to sound smart on the internet your going to need to talk about the D and O-line. Thats the problem, the Dts are bad. They have cole and stew that's it. Cb's bad. Lb's a mess. You can put three guys from kutztown at wr and peyton will still throw for over 300 and most likely not get sacked. Vick will run cause the o-line is horrible. They drafted guys who had trouble starting in college at o-line. Reid's problem is that he picked a bad D coach and has to deal with it till the end of the year. Does anyone remember 10 years ago? Do you really want to go back to knowing your not going to make the playoffs. At least we have a shot every year with Reid. They need a Defense like they had when they where good. I miss you B-dawk. You just sound dumb when you talk about reid, your lucky your friends don't call you stupid more. I wish i knew who klob was he sounds bad. Your welcome.— DKMWOOD
- Vick has been know to shock, the colts d-fence stinks worst than the eagles. You know nothing about football if your blaming the coaching, Big Andy that is. Big red is offensive minded, anyone know their stats on offense with two different QBs, Mcgreat, Aj and Koy? Yes it's good. Now, if you want to sound smart on the internet your going to need to talk about the D and O-line. Thats the problem, the Dts are bad. They have cole and stew that's it. Cb's bad. Lb's a mess. You can put three guys from kutztown at wr and peyton will still throw for over 300 and most likely not get sacked. Vick will run cause the o-line is horrible. They drafted guys who had trouble starting in college at o-line. Reid's problem is that he picked a bad D coach and has to deal with it till the end of the year. Does anyone remember 10 years ago? Do you really want to go back to knowing your not going to make the playoffs. At least we have a shot every year with Reid. They need a Defense like they had when they where good. I miss you B-dawk. You just sound dumb when you talk about reid, your lucky your friends don't call you stupid more. I wish i knew who klob was he sounds bad. Your welcome.— DKMWOOD
