Eagles vs. Colts: What Are Experts Saying About Indianapolis?
This week's Monday Night Football matchup features two high-powered offenses in the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Predictions of the outcome differ, but one opinion is universally accepted: There will be points.
A lot of points.
That's not the only thing experts are saying about the game, though. Here's what analysts are focusing on regarding Indianapolis.
Mike Wells: Colts Preparing for Eagles' Uptempo Offense
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As Mike Wells of ESPN wrote on Thursday:
"Eagles coach Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense is something the Colts aren’t familiar with. Philadelphia, according to Colts coach Chuck Pagano, ran its offense with an average of about 25 seconds on the play clock in its victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday.
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Philadelphia has given many teams trouble with their offense since head coach Chip Kelly joined the team before the 2013 season.
That being said, it's not entirely different than the offense the Colts just faced, the Denver Broncos.
Both offenses get to the line quickly, refusing to allow opposing defenses to substitute. This is the main factor and as the defense tires, the offense becomes progressively more difficult to stop.
The difference, of course, is that once the Broncos get to the line, Peyton Manning scans the defense, makes a laundry list of adjustments and snaps the ball with only a few seconds remaining on the play clock.
Philadelphia lines up as quickly as possible and just snaps it, no questions asked.
Each style comes with its own set of pros and cons, but the fact is that the Colts will already be accumstomed to playing entire series with the same personnel.
Pat Kirwan: Vontae Davis Will Limit Jeremy Maclin
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When previewing this game, CBS Sports' Pat Kirwan brought up the matchup between Vontae Davis and Jeremy Maclin:
"I was impressed with [Davis] last week. He had two passes defended. People are going after him but shouldn't be going after him. I think he's going to find himself on Jeremy Maclin. Maclin was targeted double-digit times last week by Nick Foles. I think Vontae Davis at home does a pretty good job in this matchup.
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No surprises here. Davis has blossomed with the Colts since leaving the Miami Dolphins via trade. While inconsistent at times in 2013, he gave the Colts a much better chance to beat the Broncos in Indy's first game of the 2014 season by completely shutting down Demaryius Thomas.
While Maclin is far from the physical specimen that Thomas is, Davis' assignment in Week 2 will be tantamount to last week's.
The Eagles' premier wideout was targeted 10 times in their Week 1 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If Maclin is going to receive that much attention from quarterback Nick Foles again this week, Davis will need to be at the top of his game.
With Indy no doubt working day and night to plan around LeSean McCoy, Davis will almost certainly get little help slowing down his opposite number.
Josh Wilson: The Colts Will Need to Blitz to Create Pressure
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During an interview with SB Nation's Brandon Lee Gowton, Stampede Blue's Josh Wilson answered some questions about the Colts' upcoming MNF encounter. When asked about the Eagles' offensive line injuries, he had this to say:
"The most intriguing part of the Eagles missing two linemen this week is with the Colts pass rush. Quite simply, it wasn't there against the Broncos and without Robert Mathis that will be a problem all season long. The Colts are going to need to blitz to try to get pressure, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them go after the left guard and right tackle spots with the injuries there.
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Without Mathis, the Colts are going to struggle to create pressure on opposing quarterbacks, it's that simple. None of the free agents brought in during the offseason by general manager Ryan Grigson are prolific pass-rushers, and it showed last week in Denver.
More discouragingly, 2013 first-round pick Bjoern Werner has not been impressive during his time with the Colts.
Granted, it's been only one week (and against the NFL's best offense), but Football Outsiders illuminates how bad the Colts defense was a week ago.
Indy ranked 23rd in yards surrendered per drive, 29th in points given up per drive and 29th in plays against per drive. All that despite having the 13th-best average starting position.
It's not time to panic yet, it was Denver after all. But Indy needs to show some life against Philly this week.
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Stephen Reed: Colts Need to Address Loss of Robert Mathis
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Unfortunately for fans of Indianapolis, news broke this week that suspended All-Pro outside linebacker Robert Mathis had torn his Achilles tendon and will miss the entire season. His injury has supporters and analysts alike thinking "where will the pass rush come from?"
Unlike his fellow Stampede Blue writer Josh Wilson, Stephen Reed proposed a more unique solution to Indy's woes.
"Another interesting thing I've brought up before is trading Coby Fleener to (the Miami Dolphins) for Dion Jordan straight up. It'd actually help both teams immensely and allow the Colts to place Cam Johnson on IR and sign Weslye Saunders to the active roster.
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Though I advocated for further involvement of Fleener in the offense earlier this week, this is a possibility that cannot be ignored. Dion Jordan's disappointment as a pass-rusher in the NFL is on par with Werner's, but they have one difference: Athleticism.
While Werner has struggled to beat offensive tackles in one-on-one situations coming off the edge, Jordan has the athleticism necessary to swim, club and spin his way past them. It's that very gap in physical talent that made Jordan a top-five pick in the 2013 NFL draft and saw Werner drop to 24.
Let's be clear, this scenario is fantasy. Neither team would be anxious to ship off a highly-drafted player so early in their career. Pep Hamilton, in particular, would be upset by the notion of deconstructing his ability to utilize two-tight end sets effectively. Not to mention the Dolphins already have a pretty good tight end in Charles Clay.
Fun to think about though, right?
Eliot Shorr-Parks: Colts Offense Spells Trouble for Eagles Defense
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In his review of last week's Eagles game, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com made note of several key plays that the Eagles secondary completely bungled. And that's not including the touchdowns given up to rookie receiver Allen Hurns:
"Upon review of the film, however, the reality is that the struggles extended way beyond the first two touchdowns.
Receivers were running free throughout the game this past Sunday, well into the second half and especially on key downs. The Eagles were lucky to have the combination of bad receivers and a bad quarterback in Chad Henne bail them out.
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Shorr-Parks goes on to detail a number of bad plays by the Eagles that the Jaguars failed to capitalize on; plays that can and would be made by Indy's weapons.
The Jaguars are a very young team with potential going forward, but the likes of Chad Henne, Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee cannot be compared to Andrew Luck, Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton.
Shorr-Parks went on to say as much himself:
"How would these plays have gone down against a more experienced team? The Eagles are about to find out as they travel to Indianapolis to face quarterback Andrew Luck and the Colts on Monday night.
The Colts tout an offense that has considerably more talent than the Jaguars. Receiver T.Y. Hilton was one of the best deep receivers in the league last season, and veteran Reggie Wayne finished with nine catches for 98 yards in the team's first game.
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If the Eagles can't figure out how to cover Colts receivers a lot more competently than they did just one week ago, Indy is going to put on quite the aerial display.
Fantasy alert: Start your Colts.
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