Around the Indianapolis Colts blogosphere, Week 10 | at Baltimore Ravens (part two) - Indianapolis Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning (center) / Darron Cummings/AP Photo

Around the web/blogosphere with the Indianapolis Colts as they prepare to visit the Baltimore Ravens Sunday at 1 p.m M&T Bank in Baltimore, Md. . . .

PART TWO OF TWO. PART ONE HERE

Not Much Chance?

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun doesn't give the Ravens much of a chance, and for that matter, few national analysts do, too. See the lede above why the Colts' consistency means historically Schmuck and the others are probably right.

Still, Schmuck does a good job outlining the Ravens' concerns, saying the Colts are the best team in the AFC, and that the Ravens' coming off a short practice week won't help. He also points out Baltimore's secondary is struggling, which plays into what I'm figuring as the most intriguing part of the game -- i.e., will the Ravens try to attack and confuse the Colts the way they did under longtime defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, now the head coach of the New York Jets.

The Ravens for the last several years attacked the Colts as they did most of their opponents -- with a variety of blitzes, changing fronts and pre-snap movement designed to confuse QB Peyton Manning and force mistakes. Typically, blitzing plays right into Manning's strengths, but from 2004-2006, the scheme actually worked for the Ravens against Indianapolis -- to a point. Baltimore in 2004, 2005 and 2006 -- the latter of which was the 15-6 Divisional Playoff victory actually played in '07 -- really made Indianapolis' offense work and grind. Although the Colts won each game, the offense -- especially Manning -- was exhausted afterward, and Manning talked at times before and after those meetings of the intense mental challenge of facing those Ravens teams.

Whatever challenge the Ravens presented seems to have waned a bit in the last two seasons. Indianapolis beat the then-fading Ravens 44-20 in Baltimore in prime time in 2007, then last season -- a season in which the Ravens made the AFC Championship Game -- an Indianapolis team that at the time was struggling to score points on anyone beat the Ravens comfortably, 31-3, in Indianapolis in October.

Manning nor the Colts would never, ever say this -- especially with Ryan and the Jets still remaining on the schedule this season -- but you got the idea in recent season that while they considering the Ravens' defenses under Ryan a challenge, they also had a great deal of confidence it was a challenge that, if met, could yield easy touchdowns. Curious to see how that changes under the new regime.

A Firepower Issue

Schmuck also wonders if the Ravens, who struggled to score 16 points in a victory over a mess of a Cleveland team Monday, can score with the Colts. A legitimate concern.

The Colts haven't lost, so it's hard to discuss a blueprint for how to beat them, but two of the teams that have come closest -- Miami and New England -- have scored 23 and 34 points, respectively. The Texans also had a legitimage chance, and the reason was after falling behind 13-0, the Texans were a legitimate threat to score the rest of the game.

"The Ravens executed just one really big offensive play on Monday night," Schmuck writes. "So, what are we supposed to think as they prepare for a Colts team that boasts one of the greatest clutch passers in the history of the game and just scored 35 points against the New England Patriots?"

Schmuck concludes: "I know what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that the Ravens just lost [Terrell] Suggs and Haruki Nakamura and just released kicker Steve Hauschka and now have about the same chance of ending above .500 as next year's Orioles. But that might just be a knee-jerk overreaction to the way they have declined over the past seven weeks."

Tough to Maintain

"There are no better teams today than New Orleans and Indianapolis, so, naturally, the expectation is that they meet in the Super Bowl," CBSSports.com's Clark Judge writes. "Only I'm here to tell you they won't. One of them won't make it, and maybe neither gets that far. . . . Teams that are white-hot at midseason often lose that momentum as the season winds down, and for good reason: It's difficult, if not near-impossible, to maintain a peak level of performance -- as well as to avoid key injuries -- for four months. The season is simply too long."

Judge warns Colts and Saints fans not to "Get dazzled by what's going on nine games into the season. Yeah, it's terrific that Indianapolis and New Orleans haven't lost, and, no, I don't see anyone out there that is superior. But I also know there are seven weeks left in the regular season, and that's a long, long time to maintain breakneck speed."

Judge has an interesting point, and it can be applied to recent Colts history. The Colts have started 5-0 or better four times since 2003, and only once reached the Super Bowl. They were passed in the race for homefield by New England in 2003 and beaten out in that race in 2007. They earned it with a 13-0 start in 2005, but lost to Pittsburgh in the postseason. They lost the AFC Championship Game in 2003 and in a Divisional Playoff in 2007. Even the year they won the Super Bowl -- a year they started 9-0 -- they lost momentum to finish 12-4 before regaining it in the postseason.

At the same time, there's certainly nothing wrong with starting 9-0, either, particularly considering the Colts have done it two other times this decade. The danger in a 9-0 start is letting the whole undefeated thing overwhelm you, or distract you. Considering the history of this team's ability to focus, that's one thing that shouldn't be an issue in the coming weeks.

PART ONE

WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT THE COLTS. SUBSCRIBE TO JOHN OEHSER'S EXAMINER STORIES ABOVE

COLTS FANS OWE RB JOSEPH ADDAI AN APOLOGY. HERE

PATRIOTS-COLTS 2009 VERSION SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT CURRENT STATE OF RIVALRY HERE

*** CATCH UP WITH ALL THINGS COLTS ON INDY FOOTBALL REPORT. HERE

REVIEWING BILL POLIAN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW

Bill Polian’s weekly radio show | Part One | “If we run this way . . . we’ll be perfectly fine”

Bill Polian’s weekly radio show | Part Two | Defense executed when it mattered against Patriots

Bill Polian’s weekly radio show | Part Three | Victory over New England garantees nothing

< RECENT COLTS STORIES >

CALDWELL: "STILL A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE" | HERE

COLTS, 35, PATRIOTS 34: GAME STORY. HERE