After two regular season games, the Indianapolis Colts' offense looks similar to the preseason offense.
Drives ended in field goals instead of touchdowns.
It's obvious that the Colts' offense must improve dramatically when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers, if they want to avoid going 0-3. For the Steelers, the question will be which team will show up against the Colts Sunday night on NBC's Sunday Night Football national broadcast. Will it be the team that was embarrassed by the Baltimore Ravens 35-7 in Week 1 of the NFL, or will it be the team the scorched the Seattle Seahawks 24-0 last week?
Kerry Collins and the Colts offense will have to find the end zone against a physical Steelers' defense, or else they will remain in last place in the AFC South for another week. In last Sunday's 27-19 loss to Cleveland, they moved the football, but settled for three field goals in the first half. Their inability to score touchdowns resulted in a disappointing loss in their home opener at Lucas Oil Stadium, and an unfamiliar position in the AFC South Division. If and when the Colts get in the red zone, they will face a tougher defense in Pittsburgh, and Collins will have to use his tight ends, wide receivers and running backs inside the 20. The offense seemed too predictable in the red zone against the Browns. Indianapolis is 29th in the NFL in scoring and total yards, and 27th in passing yards.
On defense, getting pressure on Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is vital. Big Ben has made a career out of finding receivers wide open when he escapes outside the pocket. If Roethlisberger is given the time to throw, it could be a long and frustrating night for the Colts' defensive backs. He had a 115.7 passing rating last week against the Seahawks, completing 22-of-30 passes for 298 yards. After Houston piled up the yardage against the Colts in Week 1, the Indianapolis defense played better against the Browns last week. Containing Rashard Mendenhall and the Steelers' rushing attack, combined with keeping Roethlisberger inside the pocket as much as possible, will be the key components for the Indianapolis defense. Wide receiver Mike Wallace has big play capability, and already has 16 receptions for 233 yards in two games. The Steelers offense will put points on the board, but they have historically relied on their defense to create turnovers, and occasionally score touchdowns off those turnovers.
Under Collins, the Colts are still searching for some rhythm and consistency on offense. When the were able to move the football down the field against the Browns' defense, costly penalties by the offensive line, and long third down plays forced the Colts to settle for four Adam Venatieri field goals. Indianapolis is just 5-of-23 on third down conversions. In last week's loss to the Browns, two Colts' turnovers and a 10-minute time of possession deficit helped seal their fate. If this pattern continues Sunday night, they will likely remain winless. It will be the Steelers first visit to Indianapolis since their 21-18 playoff win over the Colts in the 2005 season, when Indianapolis was the top seed in the AFC.
Colts head coach Jim Caldwell remains optimistic, and states that the team must pay attention to detail in order to start winning games, but acknowledges that Pittsburgh will present a strong challenge.
"They're a very physical team," he said Wednesday after practice on the Colts.com website. "Our guys will have to match their intensity.
"If we do the little things right in practice and work extremely hard to get ourselves in position to handle the situations they are going to put us in, then I think we'll be fine."
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