Indianapolis Colts defense (AJ Mast/AP Photo)
The Indianapolis Colts are in Super Bowl XLIV largely because of a run defense that surprised many this past Sunday.
Colts President Bill Polian was not among those surprised.
The Colts, who entered the postseason ranked 24 defensively against the run, held the New York Jets – the league's No. 1 rushing offense – to 86 yards on 29 carries. The Jets had averaged 172.2 yards rushing a game in the regular season.
They had rushed for 170 yards in two postseason games.
“There should not have been a question about our ability to stop the run,” Polian said Monday on his weekly radio show on Hank 97.1 FM. “That was pretty clear throughout the season. If it wasn't clear after the Baltimore game, it never would be clear.
“I think there are simply people who exist on perception.”
The Colts, despite their regular season ranking, had improved against the run this season, partly because of the development of DTs Dan Muir and Antonio Johnson, as well as the continued emergence of third-year LB Clint Session as one of the NFL's hardest-hitting players.
The Colts in the AFC Divisional Playoff held the Ravens to 87 yards on 19 carries.
“There are people out there who say we're a 'finesse' defense,” Polian said. “I've heard people say, 'Well, the Colts are on the smaller side.' Our defensive tackles are 315 pounds and 330, respectively. Our two outside linebackers are 240. It's just perception.Why let fact get in the way of a good sound bite? We've been very good against the run all year and we were terrific against Baltimore against a very, very good running attack. We were nothing short of spectacular Sunday.”
Polian on Monday also discussed:
* The Jets' defense: “It's well-conceived. It's well-coached. It's well-thought-out. In broad, conceptual terms, they decided they were going to take away (TE) Dallas (Clark) and find a way to take away (WR) Reggie (Wayne). Some of it was with (Jets CB Darrelle) Revis one on one, but not nearly as much as people make it out to be. Revis Island isn't populated by just one person. Often times, there are two. It required: A, that we make the appropriate blocking calls, which (C) Jeff (Saturday) has to do in order to make sure we get all the various blitzes protected. Secondly, once we get that and get the one-on-one coverage or get zone coverage, you have to take advantage of those opportunities. (Colts QB) Peyton (Manning) and our receivers did a phenomenal job taking advantage of those opportunities. We were able once we got it sorted out to go ahead and do a good job with the football. What I was really impressed with was the fact that we kept our cool throughout. I said to the people I was sitting with, 'If we just get a field goal before the half, we'll be fine.' We ended up getting a touchdown and you could tell that was a huge momentum swinger. It was a gratifying performance by a bunch of guys who are good, solid pros who worked hard and prepared well. Faced with some adversity, they bored up well under it and went and made plays.”
* How often Manning changes plays at the line of scrimmage: “It's at least 50 percent of the time, because what (Senior Offensive Coordinator) Tom (Moore) will give him is this: Tom may give him a run, but in the game plan and in what they have practiced during the week, he will also have a pass that's a companion to that – or maybe passes – if he sees a different look. For example on Sunday, in the second half particularly, the Jets were giving us what we call a run look: a four down linemen, nickel alignment with two outside linebackers. But on early downs, they were backed off the line of scrimmage, playing pass. They were essentially trying to drop into zone coverage. So, we ran the ball. He checked into runs and we got big yardage. That's what we try to do. He tries to get us in the best possible play for every situation. That's very hard to do. There are a lot of coaches at the collegiate level and even at the pro level who will tell you that's not the right way to run an offense. There are some coaches who believe you go up there and run what's called regardless of what the look is. That's not quite the way it is in the National Football League. It's much more prevalent at the collegiate level and certainly at the high school level. But we don't do that at all. He (Manning) has enough command of the total offense to try to get us in the perfect play every time. He may call the perfect play 85 to 90 percent of the time. There will be times when we don't execute or we get beat by the opposition – as was the case with the quarterback sneak on the goal line Sunday – but by and large, you would be amazed how often he gets us in the right play.”
Reviewing Colts President Bill Polian’s radio show . . .
* Part One: DE Dwight Freeney likely to play in Super Bowl. Here.
* Part Two: “There should not have been a question” about run defense. Here.
* Part Three: “We got to our playoff games healthy and . . . intact.” Here.
* Part Four: WR Pierre Garcon and WR Austin Collie no surprise. Here.
SUPER BOWL XLIV: EARLY THOUGHTS ON THE SAINTS. HERE
SUPER BOWL XLIV: PREPARATIONS BEGIN. HERE.
COFFEE WITH THE COLTS: A NEXT-DAY LOOK AT THE AFC TITLE GAME. HERE.
COLTS 30, JETS 17. HERE
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