Magnificent Seven XIV (part one):On Indianapolis Colts DE Dwight Freeney and the week's key matchup

Indianapolis Colts CB Jerraud Powers
Paul Sancya/AP Photo

Each week on Examiner.com, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser offers seven thoughts on all things Indianapolis Colts. Without further delay, the Magnificent Seven for Week 10 of the 2009 regular season, in which the Colts (8-0) will play host to the New England Patriots (6-2) at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis . . .

THIS IS PART ONE OF MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. PART TWO. HERE

7. The most-pressing matchup of all. We typically wait to address matchups until Friday morning's Indianapolis Colts preview, but circumstance and national attention have made one so obvious and so concerning to some Colts fans it felt OK to discuss it a day early.

That's because the New England Patriots are coming to town Sunday, which means WRs Randy Moss and WR Wes Welker will be catching passes from 2007 NFL MVP QB Tom Brady. Against that trio, the Colts will start two rookie cornerbacks, Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey.

This isn't too different than last week, when Powers and Lacey faced the Houston Texans and WR Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones -- except, of course, that Brady is one of the NFL's top two quarterbacks and that Welker is a more dangerous receiver than of Houston's non- No. 1 receivers. (Moss and Texans No. 1 WR Andre Johnson are pretty much a wash; if anything, Johnson is probably more versatile and more dangerous right now.)

The concern here isn't Powers. He has played at a high-enough level that the team feels as confident in him as they have any corner they have had in some time. Colts President Bill Polian said this week he is playing as well at the position as any player since his 1998 arrival, and that he should be a candidate for Rookie of the Year. Lacey, an undrafted rookie who has started twice this season, has played well and is very capable, but you can't help think the Colts would be more comfortable if 2007/2008 starter Kelvin Hayden wasn't out another 2-3 weeks with a knee injury.

"They certainly have played like I think they should play back there in the secondary, like riverboat gamblers that have a short memory," Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said. "The position they play will have ups and downs throughout the game. You have to get over it and go to the next play. They play with some maturity. They have also played quite a few games at this point. We expect them to play well and play well consistently. The challenge that they have is each and every week, it’s a brand now opportunity and you will always see a number of great players lined up across from you. You can always frame together a couple of good games, but can you do it back to back and week after week? That’s the real test.

"To this point I think they have played pretty well. They haven’t played perfectly, but they’ve done a good job. Like I said though, every week is a brand new test. They will face a great quarterback, one of the all-time great receivers in Randy Moss, and (Wes) Welker is tough to deal with as well.”

Bottom line remains the same as last week: the key matchup for the cornerbacks actually is up front, where the ability of DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to pressure Brady should offset any advantage of the Patriots' receivers.

6) The best there is. That's what Brady considers Freeney, and to hear him talk this week, it's pretty obvious Brady agrees Freeney may be a key Sunday. "He's the best pass rusher in the league," Brady said. "He has been that since the time he came into the league. And Robert Mathis, he's a great pass rusher, too. They complement each other. . . . Any time you're the quarterback, you know you don't have the time that you normally have to throw. You just have to make those decisions a lot faster than you normally make them. As a quarterback, you'd love to have as much time as possible, but with these guys, you hardly have any time." Sometimes when players ssay things like that, it's hard to know if they mean it or if they're just saying it, but Brady has played against the Colts enough to how critical it is to get Freeney and Mathis blocked. As experienced and poised as Brady is, it's probably not accurate to say any defensive end intimidates him, but I have this recollection of the Patriots-Colts game at the RCA Dome in 2007 -- for three and a half quarters, the best defensive game I've seen the Colts play in eight-and-a-half seasons -- and Brady early in that game making a few throws quicker than usual. Freeney reached him a few times, and it seemed that it was affecting Brady, that season on his way to an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes. Not to be redundant, but with the Colts' injuries in the secondary, Freeney is beyond key Sunday. Oh, yes, he also has 9.5 sacks this season and has a sack in the last nine regular-season games, one shy of an NFL record.

5. Closers. With eight games remaining, the Colts will make the playoffs barring a collapse, and a collapse isn't normally their mode of operation. The Colts since 2003 have started 5-0 or better five times -- 5-0 in 2003, 13-0 in 2005, 9-0 in 2006 and 7-0 in 2007. They won the division in each season, and the only season of those four in which they hadn't clinched the division title entering the final game was 2003, when they needed a come-from-behind victory in Houston in the regular-season finale to clinch it. In 2005, they clinched their playoff seeding with three games remaining and in 2006, they clinched the division in mid-December. Their final game in 2007 was meaningless, too. And incidentally, if the Colts are playing meaningless games in December, don't be surprised if they rest any player who is even remotely injured as they have done in the past. Fans and media can argue the wisdom all the want, but rest is always the most important thing in December. It will be interesting to see how first-year Head Coach Jim Caldwell approaches this, but the gut here he's a rest-them-in-December-if-everything-is-clinched guy.

4. A question of balance. A topic throughout the week has been the balance of the Colts' offense. This understandably is a topic, but it may be getting a bit overblown. The Colts this season have run 183 times and thrown 315 passes, and while they are ranked No. 4 in the NFL in total offense, they are No. 1 in passing and 29th in rushing. That's not a significant improvement from their 31st ranking in that area a year ago, and Colts QB Peyton Manning said this week the team would like to see the balance improve. "I do think that it is important to have some balance," Manning said. "You do not want a defensive line on every single down just teeing off and trying to stop the pass because they know it’s going to be a pass. You want them to be playing all three different phases every single snap, even on third down. We want to be able to run the ball some on third down. I think it’s always important to try to have balance, or at least have the threat that you’re going to run the ball.” At the same time, Manning said he doesn't feel as if he's calling more pass plays than normal because of any sort of lack of confidence in the run game. "Our plays are based on what we feel will be a successful play," he said. A case in point is the Colts' victory over Houston this past week. Indianapolis passed 25 times in the first quarter and 40 times in the first half, and although they scored just 13 first-half points, they were moving effectively. The Colts clearly saw something on film they wanted to attack by passing rather than being forced to pass because they weren't running effectively. If you can't run, that's one thing. If you're choosing not to -- and passing effectively -- that's quite another.

PART TWO. HERE

PEYTON MANNING: PATRIOTS IN 2009 AS GOOD AS EVER. HERE.

COLTS 2009 MIDSEASON REPORT: PART ONE. HERE.

COLTS 2009 MIDSEASON REPORT: PART TWO. HERE.

Reviewing Bill Polian’s Weekly radio show:

Part 1: Bob Sanders likely to return. Here

Part 2: “We are always going to want the football” Here

Part 3: Matchup with New England Patriots “One of 16″ Here

Part 4: Jerraud Powers Rookie of the Year? Here

RECENT COLTS NEWS

* S Bob Sanders placed on injured reserve. Here.

* LB Tyjuan Hagler on IR. Here.