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Last week I dreaded writing the recap of the game against the Texans, as it was just painful to look at the defensive numbers. This week, however, I was itching to see just how well the Colts played, on both sides of the ball, against the Giants. If somebody asked you to describe the 2003-09 Colts, you could point to this game, and it would tell you everything you need to know. Opening drive touchdown, force a couple 3 and outs, Peyton Manning throws the ball perfectly for a long TD, strip sack, 2 minute drill TD, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis just pin their ears back and make pretty good OTs look like college freshmen, and the secondary just plays the Tampa 2 defense while they nurse a big lead. The stereotypical Colts game over the past 7 seasons, and it was great.
From Paul Kuharsky's recap on ESPN.com (emphasis mine):
The Colts' 23 first-half runs were the most before halftime since 1991. They haven't had a run-pass discrepancy as big as this (17 more runs) since 2006. The 160 rushing yards were their most since 2007. The Colts' 43 rush attempts were the most in a game since Manning joined the team in 1998.
Wait, did I read that right? The most rushes in the Manning era? Holy cow. I wonder if the 3 kneel downs at the end pushed it over the top, since those are counted as rush attempts too. Either way, it's nice to see a beatdown without Manning throwing the ball 40+ times. Speaking of that, Manning has thrown at least 43 passes in a game 38 times. Big discrepancy there, but very predictable.
Let's get to the numbers, where it was total domination on both sides of the ball:
Here are your Winning Stats for Week 2:
| Statistic | Offense | Rank | Defense | Rank | Off/Def Above | Off/Def Below | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSR | 80.0% | 5 | 57.7% | 7 | Y | N | 5-3 |
| ANPY/A | 11.481 | 1 | 4.714 | 14 | Y | N | 8-1 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 10 | 3 | 7 | Y | N | 11-1 |
| Yds/Drive | 37.27 | 9 | 19.77 | 6 | Y | N | 4-3 |
| ToP/Drive | 3:11.5 | 6 | 1:54.9 | 3 | Y | N | 4-2 |
| Yds/Play | 5.857 | 10 | 4.849 | 11 | Y | N | 3-3 |
| First Downs/Drive | 2.18 | 9 | 1.00 | 3 | Y | N | 4-3 |
| 3rd/4th Down | 36.4% | 19 | 25.0% | 7 | N | N | 5-1 |
| Avg Start Pos | 29.5 | 12 | 22.8 | 6 | N | N | 7-2 |
| 3 and Outs | 3 | 10 | 7 | 2 | Y | N | 4-2 |
| RZ Eff | 85.7% | 6 | 0.0% | 1 | Y | N | 7-2 |
| Plays/Drive | 6.364 | 8 | 4.077 | 2 | Y | N | 5-5 |
| Penalty Yds / Play | 0.786 | 18 | 0.472 | 28 | N | N | 4-4 |
| RB Success | 46.5% | 16 | 45.8% | 16 | N | N | 6-5 |
| Yds/Carry | 3.72 | 15 | 4.80 | 26 | N | Y | 3-4 |
| Net Punts Yds/Game | 40.40 | 17 | 41.17 | 20 | N | N | 4-3 |
| Ranking - Week (32) | 5 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Ranking - Season (64) | 8 | 7 | 2 | ||||
Some thoughts:
- Top 10 on offense in the top 7 categories, including tops in ANPY/A for the week at 11.5. Much can be written how the Colts ground game tore up the Giants, but Peyton had the best QB week in the league. Ho-hum.
- On defense the Colts finished in the Top 7 in 10 of 12 best categories (!?!), including Time of Possession/Drive and Yds/Drive, two stats that the defense has rarely been good in. That's how unbelievably good the defense played.
- All 7 of the best categories had the Colts Above Average on offense, and Above Average on Defense. Total Domination in everything important.
- So far this season, this was the 2nd best game played, only behind the Falcons killing the Cardinals on Sunday. Numbers wise, the offense in Week 1 was better than in Week 2, but that makes some sense. Remember, the Colts didn't do much in the 4th Quarter Sunday.
- Not to be a Debbie-Downer, but the 3rd/4th Down Conversion % is still low for the Colts, which is a little concerning. This definitely needs to be fixed, as it is key to the Colts success. They've been tops in the league for years now.
Season Totals through Week 2:
| Statistic | Offense | Rank | Best | Defense | Rank | Best | Record | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSR | 80.0% | 1 | Colts | 72.4% | 23 | Ravens | 8-4 | 0.667 |
| ANPY/A | 9.174 | 2 | Bears | 4.362 | 11 | Titans | 15-4 | 0.789 |
| Turnovers | 1.00 | 5 | Redskins | 2.00 | 11 | Steelers | 15-3 | 0.833 |
| Yds/Drive | 41.57 | 1 | Colts | 27.82 | 16 | Titans | 9-6 | 0.600 |
| ToP/Drive | 3:03.5 | 5 | Broncos | 2:32.1 | 13 | Steelers | 10-4 | 0.714 |
| Yds/Play | 6.281 | 3 | Chargers | 5.368 | 22 | Titans | 9-7 | 0.563 |
| First Downs/Drive | 2.33 | 4 | Texans | 1.64 | 19 | Ravens | 10-4 | 0.714 |
| 3rd/4th Down | 37.5% | 16 | Patriots | 41.7% | 22 | Ravens | 12-3 | 0.800 |
| Avg Start Pos | 28.7 | 19 | Bears | 26.8 | 10 | Saints | 14-3 | 0.824 |
| 3 and Outs | 2.00 | 4 | Cowboys | 4.50 | 8 | Titans | 7-3 | 0.700 |
| RZ Eff | 83.7% | 5 | Bills | 81.0% | 26 | Dolphins | 14-3 | 0.824 |
| Plays/Drive | 6.619 | 4 | Broncos | 5.182 | 11 | Ravens | 10-7 | 0.588 |
| Penalty Yds / Play | 0.921 | 20 | Dolphins | 0.658 | 24 | Ravens | 10-7 | 0.588 |
| RB Success | 47.2% | 12 | Cowboys | 63.6% | 31 | Panthers | 9-8 | 0.529 |
| Yds/Carry | 3.85 | 17 | Cardinals | 5.63 | 31 | Bears | 7-8 | 0.467 |
| Net Punts Yds/Game | 34.10 | 27 | Raiders | 40.63 | 22 | Jaguars | 6-8 | 0.429 |
| Overall | 2 | Texans | 17 | Steelers | ||||
Couple things here:
- The Colts are in the Top 5 in 10 different categories offensively, including all of the most important 7. Need to keep up the pace.
- Week 1 left the defense in with the dregs of the league defensively, but the Giants game certainly helped bring it up a lot, especially at the top of the table. One bad game + one great game = Average Defense. You can see that in the Overall number.
- So far this season, Turnovers are the most important stat, followed by Avg. Start Position and Red Zone Efficiency. Unsurprisingly, Yards/Carry is under .500
- I'm going to wait another couple of weeks to post full rankings, but right now the Colts are #4, behind the Falcons, Chargers, and Packers. Not too bad, especially considering how bad the Colts defense played against the Texans.