What to Watch For: Patriots vs. Colts

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Joe Calabro, GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

This was supposed to be the game in which Brady returned from suspension

The New England Patriots (4-0) visit the (3-2) Indianapolis Colts tonight on Sunday Night Football in a rematch of last season's AFC Championship game. The Patriots have won the last six games against the Colts, their last loss coming in 2009.

"It'll be an exciting game. I know they've got a good team. They've won three straight. They made some changes this offseason, so they're a very confident team. So it's going to take a great effort to beat them," said Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady earlier in the week.

The Colts started the season 0-2 and have since won three straight games, two of those without Andrew Luck, who is expected to return in this game.

"We didn't play good as a football team period, week 1 and week 2. We caught fire at the right time to get a win in week 3, and we've been getting better ever since and everybody has. We're a team, we're a family. We win as a team and we lose as a team. I have to coach better. We have to execute better. We have to play better. A lot of things have to happen, it just doesn't fall on one guy," said Colts head coach Chuck Pagano.

Deflategate Revenge

The major storyline coming into this game is the Patriots seeking revenge on the Colts for their part in starting the deflategate scandal that saw the Patriots lose draft picks, get fined $1 million, and Tom Brady get suspended for four games before winning his federal court appeal and getting his suspension was overturned.

Remember, this was supposed to be the game in which Brady returned from his suspension.

However, as much as the media and fans want to talk about deflategate, the players and coaches pretty much stayed away from it this week.

"Well, like I said, I'm always pretty motivated regardless of the opponent, regardless of the team or the week, whether it's a preseason game, whether it's a regular season game. They're all important because there are so few of those where you get an opportunity in your life, so I don't take it for granted. I think it's exciting to go out there and do something that I love to do, to go out there and do it with teammates who I love to play with. We all put a lot of effort in, the coaches, players, so it's another opportunity for us to go out there and see if we can be a good football team," said Brady when asked about extra motivation for this week.

While Colts head coach, Chuck Pagano, also stepped around any and all deflategate questions, former Patriot, Adam Vinatieri said,"I expect them to come in well-prepared with their hair on fire ready to play hard. So we just have to match their intensity, and I know our crowd is going to be wild and crazy and trying to help us out on that too. It's going to be an electric atmosphere and hopefully we play well."

Rivalry Renewed

The Indianapolis Colts are arguably the biggest rival that the Patriots have in the AFC. The rivalry started in the Manning era and has transitioned almost seamlessly to the Andrew Luck era.

Other Patriots rivals like the Jets (Rex Ryan years), Dolphins and Bills have had years where they have been the Patriots primary rivals, but not consistently. The Broncos are a rival, but only recently, and that rivalry is really fueled by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Through all of that, the Colts have been there the whole time, other than one season when Manning was hurt, the Colts have been a threat to the Patriots every season .

Colts defensive end, Kendall Langford, summed it up this week when he said,"It's a big rivalry and it's one of the biggest across the league."

Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

Related Slideshow: 5 Things to Watch For: Patriots vs. Colts

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Andrew Luck

This is a big game for the Patriots, no question. But this might be an even bigger game for the Colts and Andrew Luck.

Luck is 0-4 in his career against New England and has gotten blown out in all four games.

In those four games, Luck has six touchdown passes and ten interceptions with a regular season rating of 75 and a post season rating of 39.

Luck has missed most of the last two games (he started one game) with injury, this will be his first game back.

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Running Game

If the last three games are any indication, expect to see a lot running and a lot of LeGarrette Blount.

In last season's AFC Championship game, Blount ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

Blount was not yet back with the Patriots for last season's regular season game, but the Patriots ran for 246 yards with four touchdowns in Indy. Jonas Grey (remember him?) had 201 yards rushing.

In the 2014 playoff game, Blount ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns.

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Jerod Mayo

Linebacker Dont'a Hightower has already been ruled out for the game with a rib injury suffered last week against Dallas. That means Jerod Mayo will be called upon to play a much bigger role.

Mayo's play time has been inconsistent so far this season after coming off two straight seasons, in which he suffered major injuries.

How will Mayo look being back in a much bigger role?

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Cornerback

With cornerback, Tarrell Brown, being placed on injured reserve, the Patriots are short at the cornerback position for this game and the rest of the season.

New England's current cornerback depth: Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, Justin Coleman

If you remember, we saw Devin McCourty playing some corner in the preseason, both in games and in camp.

There is a chance that we see McCourty slide over and play some corner in this game, especially if Logan Ryan is struggling.

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Left Tackle

Nate Solder was ruled out for the season earlier this week, which means there will be a new left tackle protecting Tom Brady's blindside.

When Solder went out in the Cowboys game, it was Marcus Cannon who filled in for him and was alright. Expect Cannon to get the start, but if he struggles, Sebastian Vollmer could move over and see snaps there.

Expect more quick throws from Brady in this game, especially early on if the offensive line is having protection problems.