cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who is expected back in another week or two

“Brackett is the Colts’ middle linebacker and a starter on one of the most unheralded, underrated and underappreciated defenses in football. "

Okay, isn’t a MLB generally gonna be a starter unless he’s a sub (and then it’s worth noting, but only if it’s something unusual)? So instead of “starter,” perhaps “captain” would have given that sentence a lot more weight. “Leader” or “X-year veteran” would have worked as well. But starter? That’s a lame plug-in term where he needed a noun and couldn’t come up with a better one.

editor hat off now.

He’s right about 58 of course. Big game. And where Addai juked Ray Lewis out of his underoos, Brackett came up solid in our goal line stand. (Anybody else notice that the LOS was the 1 but in the TV shot from the side, Matt “Hey, I Went To Harvard” Birk had the ball essentially placed at the 6-inch line? The tip up in the air was almost over the white of the goal line….. How the hell is that right?)

One thing I like about adding in a few more blitzes is the “negative space” that is created when we fake a blitz and drop into coverage, like 58’s INT play. There is a positive effect but it’s from the expectation of a blitz that does not arrive. A year ago a QB might see 55 and 58 on the line and say “they never blitz” but now enough doubt is there to make both effective—the blitz, or just the threat of it. Sweet. Flacco never saw 58 as Rice was coming from his right side but 58 was on the left.