Quick Recap: Colts 35-Bengals 3
by Brad Wells on Dec 7, 2008 3:58 PM EST
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PrintWell, some here were hoping (almost praying) for the Colts to come out against an opponent and flex their muscles. Today, you got it. This is the Colts team we knew was there. This was the team we knew could come out and impose their will on an opponent. Some will demean the win, saying that the opponent was just the Bengals. Well, the Bengals tied the Eagles and almost beat the Giants in OT in the Meadowlands. So, they can play, but today the Colts had their number.
Defensively, the Colts put the clamps on Cincy's offense. Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney combined for 4 sacks (1 forced fumble), and Kelvin Hayden had two INTs, returning one for an 85 yard TD. Yeah, it was a good idea not to IR him after the first Houston game, wouldn't you say? Oh, and Bob Sanders did play, and had 8 tackles.
BEWARE THE BOB EFFECT!
On offense, Peyton Manning continues to remind people he is the 2008 NFL MVP, throwing for 270 yards and 3 TDs with no turnovers. And the one, the only Gijon Robinson caught 6 balls for 69 yards!
All in all, this was a dominant, and it was nice to see our team finally come out of their shell a bit. The bummer is this has to happen to Kirkendall's team. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy my guys beat his, but Kirkendall hasn't had much good news to blog about this year, and I hate seeing him down. Despite the score, Cincy's D is improved. They held Indy to only 57 yards rushing (2.8 a play). So, there are building blocks to improve, and they'll get there. Check out Cincy Jungle for a Bengals fan take on the game.
Despite the great win (Indy's 6th in a row), it looks like the Tennessee Titans will beat the Cleveland Browns. This means that unless the Titans screw up and utterly choke this game away, they have locked up the AFC South. This will be the first time since 2003 that a team other than the Colts has won the division. That is five straight years winning the division. The Titans totally deserve to win it, and we congratulate them.
For Indy, winning their 9th game this season means that for seven straight years, the Colts have had at least nine wins a year. That is remarkable, especially in the salary cap era. Since Peyton Manning and Bill Polian have come to Indy, the colts have won nine or more games in nine of eleven seasons. I believe the only other team with a resume like that is the Patriots.
So, while our team might not have won the division this year, they're still pretty damn good. And if you sleep on them, they'll burn you. Go Colts!
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Denver is such a joke
I have a feeling we’d draw them in the first round, that’d be excellent, since they suck.
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What about Marv
Anyone else wondering if he is that quick after the quick slant which he almost took to the house? He outran [beat] 2 defenders but got chased down because his angle wasn’t good and the other guy leapt forward like his life depended on it.
I think Marv
proved again today just how great is really is!
I wouldn't mind knowing..
what the “Bob effect” is. I have the game taped, have watched it twice, I don’t remember seeing a stop for a loss or really anything that demonstrated some sort of great overall presence.
Now, I’m not saying he didn’t have a good game, but the ‘Bob effect’? This was more like the ‘Freeney and Mathis’ effect. As in, the Bengals were so scared of getting their QBs killed by Freeney and Mathis that even when they were down by 3 and 4 scores, they continued to run standard handoffs. It was truly a dominating effort by the defensive line today.
Sanders did save a TD on a Benson run in the mid first quarter
Shonn Greene for Heisman
Big Ten's leading Rusher
144 yards per game
6.2 yards per carry
08 TDs per game > 06 GPA
But
This was no where near vintage Bob. First, the Colts were brining him WAY too close to the LOS on almost every cover 1/3 play, you could see the Bengals shifting the running play to the side opposite of bob (they were bringing him down on the strong side of the play) and Bob was getting sucked into the scrum.
Second, on C2 plays, he was playing a lot deeper than normal, and while he was making tackles, he seemed to react slower than normal.
Look, I get that bob is the greatest thing ever, but he was clearly rusty in this game, and I stand by my statement that the defensive domination in this game wasn’t Bob, but the defensive line. The Bengals were playing scaaaaaaaaaaaaared. Like ‘omg, they killed Ryan Fitzpatrick, bastards!’ scared. Remember when we played KC in the playoffs in 06, when Herm kept sayin ‘cant block em?’ Thats what Marv’ was doin on the sidelines yesterday. When they can play like that, they are scary good… which has been the past 5 weeks.
I think it was a combination of both
With Sanders on the field, it forces the defense to be aware where he is, sometimes changing their entire gameplan to try to minimize his effect. That means they are less focused on other players, such as the DL.
Without Sanders, they don’t do that. They don’t give a second thought to Bullitt/Giordano. Just having Sanders on the field changes the offensive gameplan.
I’d rather him be rusty against the Bengals and Lions, work out the kinks now, before the playoffs start. We need him on the field then.
wow..
Colts fans should cheer for the Maple Leafs. Every player is a hall of famer, every play they make is perfect, they walk on water (unfrozen), etc… Its amazing. I watched the game twice, as I said… I didn’t notice the wet marks on the bengals pants either time, maybe the third time around I will.:)
Which part did I embellish?
Or, which part makes you think every player is a hall of famer?
In other words, where am I wrong?
in the game thread after about his 3rd catch I called you bringing it up
You have to admit he hadn’t shown any of that, but you also said he hadn’t had a lot of time to show what he had.
I’m happy to be wrong about how good Gijon is. Still not convinced that (without considering salary) he’s better than Utecht, but it’s close.
Shonn Greene for Heisman
Big Ten's leading Rusher
144 yards per game
6.2 yards per carry
08 TDs per game > 06 GPA
by shake n bake on Dec 7, 2008 11:38 PM EST up reply actions
part of Gijon's greatness
Was the fact that on more than one play, the Bengals were playing defense out in noblesville. Like 40 yards deep on some plays, and that just allowed Peyton to throw a 5 yard pass to Gijon and he had 20 yards of green in front of him. Other than the TD to clark, I didn’t see Peyton force any balls yesterday, which was a good sign, since he’s gonna be seeing a whole lot more ‘different zip code’ defenses in the coming weeks.
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