Three to Focus on – Browns @ Colts

| September 16, 2011

The Colts’ first venture into life without Peyton Manning didn’t go well for them. Many have surmised that without Manning they wouldn’t even be half the team they are with him. After Sunday, that may have been underplaying it.

They struggled to establish anything on offense and without Manning keeping them on the field and working the clock, the defense looked more exposed than ever. There were still glimpses of good performances; Reggie Wayne got 100+ yards to go along with a TD and Robert Mathis generated some good pressure as expected. However without Manning the package was incomplete and looks incapable of winning a game right now.

Even against a Browns team that was surprised to lose out in the battle of Ohio, the Colts look as though they will be in trouble. The Browns will be eager to rebound and how do the Colts tackle Peyton Hillis? Can Dwight Freeney shake off a poor Week 1 and get pressure against Joe Thomas?

The Browns were optimistic this season that they’d make positive strides; they need to pick up a win here if they are to realize those hopes. With that in mind here are three things to focus on as the Browns look to push the Colts further in to the abyss and the Colts look to pull out of their free fall.

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1. Marquee Matchup – Joe Thomas vs. Dwight Freeney

Arguably the best LT in the league against arguably the best pass rusher in the league; does it get better than this? Freeney was disappointing in Week 1 against the Texans as he failed to exploit Duane Brown. His performance typified the Colts’ display and now he must raise his game as he faces off with a man who has earned our seal of approval in currently being the best LT of his generation.

Thomas was perfect in pass protection last week against a fairly blunt Bengals’ pass rush (from the right side at least), so can expect more of a challenge in Week 2. This matchup doesn’t need many words so I’ll just put it in context with our grades for pass rushing/pass protection over the last three seasons for these two. Thomas’ total pass pro grade since 2008 is +40.9, Freeney’s total pass rush grade over that same timespan is +101.8. Now our grades aren’t don’t compare across positions but those are amongst the best for their positions in that time frame. This duel makes this game watchable all by itself, go football.

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2. Bringing the pain to the middle – Peyton Hillis vs. Pat Angerer

With the news that Gary Brackett is likely to miss this game due to injury, the Colts are now in the unenviable position of having to bring in a backup to one of the worst run stopping MLBs in the NFL. Hillis’ style of running, straight up physicality and aggression, is something that the Colts do not cope well with and Pat Angerer will have his hands full trying to cage Hillis this weekend along with his fellow starting LBs. Hillis forced two missed tackles last week against the Bengals, after forcing 31 last season. Angerer meanwhile missed two in Houston against a Texans’ backfield missing their star in Arian Foster. If the Browns’ offensive line can manage to control the Colts’ defensive line (not the toughest task they’ll face this season) Hillis could find himself set loose against Angerer and the Colts’ LBs, which could go some way to getting Hillis closer to last seasons’ figures.

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3. Can he repeat that week one performance? Colts’ Interior O-line vs. Phil Taylor

In a week where rookies like Cam Newton stole the headlines for the NFL’s new collegiate intake, one of the finest debuts came in Cleveland where Phil Taylor looked outstanding for the Browns. In Cleveland’s new 4-3 defense he outshone Ahtyba Rubin and crushed the Bengals’ offensive line. Taylor registered five defensive stops, all in run defense, making fellow rookie Clint Boling’s NFL start one to forget. In Houston the Colts’ offensive line was struggling to establish the run and if players like Ryan Diem, Jeff Linkenbach and Jeff Saturday don’t raise their game then Joseph Addai and Delone Carter will be in for a long, painful day.

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So there’s your three to focus on? Feel free to let us know what you’ll be focusing on in the comments section, or at our Official Twitter account.

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  • Levelsobe99

    Be careful to gush too much about Joe Thomas and Phil Taylor.
    While Thomas showed some great smarts and awarenss, he was far from perfect:
    -Gave up tackle for loss the Fanene(2nd stringer) in 1st QTR – just blew by him off the line, Fanene forced no gain in 3rd qtr on him too
    -then followed with false start against Fanene
    -Michael Johnson penetrated on 3 hole, shed Thomas, made tackel for 2 yards, and tipped 3 Colt passes. In fact, Thomas dominated Johnson 2009, first game of 2010…but last two, Johnson has really made penetration and life tougher for Thomas on the run and pass. Johnon’s int was more a result of Colt, but he had beaten Thomas…Johnson has some pressures against him, including an almost swipe fumble of Colt. And one no call hold.
    -Colt’s 3 best passes were rolling right away from Thomas…not Thomas fault, but it is indicative that Thomas and whole line really have to be on top of pass block to get dimunitive Colt passing lanes, and the fact he is a littl jumpy in the pocket. With the high number of roll-outs, is also puts Thomas in less positions of really being open one-on-one with DE

    Taylor does show some nice potential at the point of attack and good penetration(although did get pancaked by Bolling once) but:
    -Struggles with sideline to sideline pursuit. Bengals constantly ran away and he was not a factor on those runs. Often being cut or out run by Bolling to the spot
    -his tackle of Gresham screen was Gresham slipping and less big play
    -sat out 4 Benglas Offensive series, came out on several 3rd and 5 or mores, was pulled in the middle of another showing fatigue…back to back 6 yard plus runs through Taylor in 3rd Qtr with Cook beating him one-on-one
    -His hit on Dalton came on a mis-read by Andre Smith, not Bolling
    -He lacks a consistent “motor” on pass rush, almost appears to take some of those downs off…but may be due to endurance.
    -Needs better endurance. Gave little push on pass rush after run plays away.

    Since it appears the Browns will scheme with roll-outs throughout to take advantage of McCoy’s most effective play, Mathis will be a big part of this game. AND how well Feeney might “run him down” from the backside.

    I actually find this one of the most compelling games of the week.

  • http://www.profootballfocus.com Sam Monson

    Yea Joe Thomas actually didn’t have a great week by his standards in Week 1, but he remains one of the best LTs in the game, so it’s worth keeping an eye on.

    As for Phil Taylor, I think you’re being a bit harsh on him. He was a beast at the point of attack and nobody expects a 330+lb nose tackle to be making plays sideline to sideline on stretch plays. The fact that the Bengals were taking to the perimeter is a testament to how stout the Browns were right up the middle.

    The guy isn’t supposed to be a pass-rushing phenom either. He’s there to shore up the D against the run, and he does that extremely well on Week one’s evidence.

    • Levelsobe99

      Good point on Taylor.
      The Bengals did run away from him on purpose. This should make the Browns front office happy, as they may have solved the interior run game problem with Taylor.

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