Colts vs. Giants: What Experts Are Saying About Indianapolis

Less than one week removed from a record-setting performance—against them—what do the experts think about the Indianapolis Colts now?

Having rattled off five straight victories before their embarrassing struggle against the Pittsburgh Steelers, national media had all but declared Indy the second-best team in the AFC, behind the Denver Broncos.

Post Week 8, the lights are a bit dimmer on the Colts' season.

It suddenly looks like Indy was beating up on inferior talent that was too inept to defend itself, let alone Andrew Luck.

The Steelers made the Colts look like damn fools, particularly defensively. Indy had been top 10 in rushing defense, passing defense, points allowed and a slew of third-down measures. Ben Roethlisberger and company must've thought that was a joke as they shredded every semblance of pride from a unit that had appeared to finally come into its own.

So what's next for this mercurial squad? The New York Giants.

Mike Wells: Vontae Davis and Trent Richardson Are Probable

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Trent Richardson looks to be good to go this week.

According to ESPN.com's Mike Wells, Indianapolis is looking like it will get a few key players back from injury ahead of the game with the Giants.

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Indianapolis Colts cornerback Vontae Davis is on his way to playing against the New York Giants on Monday after leaving last weekend’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter with a knee injury.

Running back Trent Richardson was not listed on the injury report, which means he should be back in the starting lineup against the Giants after being held out of the Steelers’ game because of a hamstring injury.

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Richardson will provide a fresh body to spell Ahmad Bradshaw, if nothing else. He's been decent in spurts this season, but statistically he still lags far behind his backfield partner.

Davis, on the other hand, is sorely missed whenever he leaves the field. He's having as good a season at corner as anybody in the NFL, and his absence last week was evident throughout the contest.

Having their top corner return to the field allows the Colts to return to their aggressive, attacking defense that has played so well this season without sacrificing as much in their man-to-man coverage.

Jon Gruden: Colts Defense Was Exposed

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Antonio Brown did whatever he wanted to the Colts' D.

Jon Gruden was watching as the Colts took on the Steelers. Per ESPN, this is what he saw:

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The Colts play a lot of aggressive, man-to-man defense... but when Pittsburgh got into these bunch formations, these stack formations, it was hard on the Colts to execute their man coverage. There were some natural picks and rubs and people got knocked off. Roethlisberger exposed them.

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Any time a quarterback throws for over 500 yards against a team, that team better figure out how to stop whatever that quarterback was doing in a hurry, because they are going to see the same offense every week until they do.

Eli Manning and the Giants will be running an offense straight from the Steelers' playbook until the Colts prove that it isn't going to work.

That is, if they can stop it.

They will certainly have a better chance with Davis back on the field.

Ebenezer Samuel: Ex-Giants Have Extra Fire for This One

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks will be practicing hard this week.

When players face their former teams, it's usually a sight to behold. Earlier this year, for instance, Steve Smith Sr. went off against his former squad, the Carolina Panthers, to the tune of seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

It's just human nature to want to get revenge and prove people wrong.

If Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks can replicate anything close to Smith's performance, the Colts are going to cruise this weekend. As Ebenezer Samuel of NYDailyStar.com says:

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The uniforms have changed for Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks, but the stars of the Giants’ miracle 2011 Super Bowl run are still much the same. On Monday night, they will return to MetLife Stadium and face Big Blue as members of the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts, and both players will bring a little extra something to the matchup.

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Too true.

For Nicks, this could be just the kick he needs to revitalize a career that has really come off the rails. He hasn't posted a 1,000-yard campaign since 2011, and he has only caught five touchdowns since the Giants won the Super Bowl that year.

With rookie wideout Donte Moncrief emerging and Reggie Wayne possibly returning from injury, Nicks may have to do his damage with efficiency, rather than volume.

Scott White: T.Y. Hilton Is a Top-10 Lock

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T.Y. Hilton has become an elite NFL receiver.

In case you haven't been paying attention, T.Y. Hilton is a top-five fantasy receiver right now. CBSSports.com's Scott White had this to say of Hilton:

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After catching six passes for 155 yards and a touchdown Week 8 at Pittsburgh, Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton now ranks fifth among wide receivers in standard CBSSports.com leagues. Though his 223-yard performance Week 6 at Houston was what really put him on the map, he has now gone for more than 100 yards in four of his last five games, averaging 136.0 during that stretch.

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Hilton has been remarkably consistent in 2014. The speedy FIU product seems to beat every corner that lines up opposite him each week. Regardless of scheme, Hilton simply makes plays when the Colts need him to.

And with Wayne at less than 100 percent, Hilton certainly won't be slowing down this week against an average-at-best Giants secondary.

Tom Rock: Giants D Wants to Prove a Point

LM Otero/Associated Press

The Giants want to get after Andrew Luck.

As Tom Rock of Newsday.com pointed out in his recent article, the Giants defense isn't what it once was. However, that doesn't mean they can't put together some solid football games.

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I think it gives us a great shot to prove to the world what our defense is capable of. When Atlanta came in they were number one [on offense] and we rose to the challenge ... Everybody's going to be surprised when we win, but at the end of the day we know what we're capable of. That's a good thing. We're going to rise to the expectation that everybody wants us to be at. I'm going to be ready so I know my teammates are going to be ready for sure.

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Jason Pierre-Paul, who supplied the quote above, is clearly ready to go. Players like him and others on the Giants D must be tired of hearing about the Colts' No. 1 offense, which nearly everybody expects to go buck wild against Big Blue.

Nevertheless, nobody expected the Steelers to do what they did against the Colts. Perhaps the Giants can surprise the country with an equally audacious and over-achieving performance on Monday Night Football.