Indianapolis Colts: Brett Favre, Bad Defense and Keys for Packers Game

Who would have thought that one little intriguing tweet from Jim Irsay could touch off such a firestorm? Colts owner Jim Irsay's Twitter feed seemed to imply that he was in Brett Favre's hometown, looking for a QB to provide insurance in case Peyton Manning couldn't start the season.

As others on Bleacher Report (and elsewhere) have noted, the idea that the Colts would sign Favre is ludicrous.

I've been known to have a contrarian streak. I considered coming out with an article in favor of signing Favre, if only as a way to kick Curtis Painter to the curb once and for all. But not even my strong desire to come up with an alternate argument to prevailing sentiment could cause this rumor to make sense in my mind.

The first part of this article will provide a few quick reasons why signing Favre would be a deplorable idea.

As Colts fans try to shake off the stench of their team's rotten showing last week against the Washington Redskins, I'd like to forecast some keys for their third preseason game this weekend.

I'll also explore a few reasons why their defense has been so bad thus far.

Top 5.5 Reasons Why Signing Favre is a Farce

5. Favre is no longer a top-tier quarterback and wouldn't be a substantial upgrade over other guys they could get. A veteran QB like Kerry Collins would be a better option, if only because the drama wouldn't be as great with him.

4. Favre doesn't want to play second fiddle to Manning. Favre would only see the field if Manning's neck injury kept him out of the first few games of the season. Manning is clearly the better quarterback, and it's highly doubtful that Favre and his mammoth ego would stand for taking a seat on the bench.

3. The Colts don't make a habit of big-name free-agent signings. In fact, the Polian's are risk adverse when it comes to free-agent signings. While they did sign defensive tackle Tommie Harris this year, and Adam Vinatieri was a big name a few years back, the Colts tend to stick with their own. The Corey Simon deal in 2005 was a tough lesson, and the Colts are unlikely to make that same mistake again.

2. Jim Irsay was probably just fed up with the backup situation. My guess is that Irsay (who has been known for occasional sarcastic and humorous tweets) wrote that tweet in a half-joking kind of way.

Curtis Painter has been wretched and Dan Orlovsky has been uninspiring so far in preseason. Irsay, like the rest of us, is tired of watching horrible QB play.

This tweet may have been his way of tweaking the current QBs on the roster not named Manning and riling up the fanbase for a few days.

1. Manning is a tough guy. He cares about his place in NFL history. He has played on a bad knee before and he's persevered through numerous smaller dings and scrapes. He'll be out there for the first game, despite all the fevered anxiousness about his return from Colts faithful. 

1/2. Favre would look horrible in a Colts jersey. Really. I can't imagine it. As a Colts fan, every fiber of my being would shudder in horror if it came to pass.

4 Reasons Why the Colts Defense Looks so Wretched

1. The Colts are playing a stripped down and tastelessly vanilla Tampa 2 this preseason. Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer called many more blitzes and unique defensive combinations during his first year as the coordinator in 2009.

Last year (due to the deluge of injuries to the secondary), Coyer was forced to simplify the defense. This preseason, Coyer and Jim Caldwell have played it safe. The cornerbacks have been giving good-sized cushions to receivers, which has led to big plays in the passing game for opposing teams.

Once regular season games begin, Coyer will revert to the interesting play-calling that made the defense a more exciting and effective squad in 2009.

2. The Colts are getting a read on the undrafted free agents and borderline guys. The Colts aren't alone in using the preseason as a way to figure out who should make the roster. But with their propensity for giving undrafted free agents a fair shake against drafted guys, the Colts play their backups and borderline players even more than most teams during the preseason.

3. Preseason wins mean virtually nothing to the Colts. By using the preseason as a primarily evaluative tool, the Colts greatly diminish their chances of winning games. Their record in the preseason (with only four wins in their last 28 games) is atrocious. But regular-season records are the only ones that count, and the Colts have been able to turn it on every year since 2005. They are 75-21 during that span, good for best in the NFL.

4. Most of the first-string defensive players seem to be holding back. The Colts have an undersized defense. They excel at getting to the quarterback from the ends and their linebackers are generally solid in pass defense. They try to "fly around" (as a short digression, I think the term "fly around" is the most overused and half-baked expression that players employ) to make plays on the ball.

All of this flying around from light-weight guys can lead to injuries. Last year, injuries were devastating to the defense, with Melvin Bullitt, Gary Brackett, Bob Sanders and Jerraud Powers all missing significant time.   

The Colts know that they can't survive that type of rash of injuries in 2011, and so they're intentionally playing it safe this preseason. Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers in particular have seemed to play at a slower speed. The linebacking play doesn't seem as crisp as normal, either.

Expect the Colts defense to turn it around when the games matter. Their defensive tackle group looks to be the strongest and deepest that it has in years. Drake Nevis will be a beast, Tommie Harris can play a good backup and rotational role and Mookie Johnson will continue to play hard and solid at the point of attack.

Of course, Freeney and Mathis will be excellent and I expect Jerry Hughes will flip a switch and become a decent player at defensive end this year. Despite being fairly thin at cornerback, and unproven at safety (after Melvin Bullitt and Antoine Bethea), the defense should be much better in 2011.

3 Keys for the Colts-Packers Game this Friday

1. Avoid injuries. While it's frustrating for fans when their team is thoroughly embarrassed like they were against the Redskins last week, the fact that they escaped without any serious injuries counts as a win for the Colts. Antoine Bethea was injured early in the game, but it doesn't seem serious.

Hopefully the Colts will be able to head into Week 1 at full strength (especially with regards to No. 18).

2. Score some points with the first-team offense. Colts faithful would feel much better if the first-team offense was able to get a touchdown or two off the stout Packers defense. Painter or Orlovsky needs to lead some successful drives. I don't think either of those two would win many games if Manning had to miss any due to injury, but we could at least cling to some small hope if Painter or Orlovsky were able to move the ball against the Packers.

3. Evaluate the second- and third-tier guys. There are still a couple of backup positions that are up for grabs. The offensive line and the backup safety positions seem to be most wide open. Third-string running back is also a question mark.

On offense, watch Javarris James (running back), Devin Moore (running back/kick returner), Mike Pollack (guard/center), Joe Reitz (tackle), Jeff Linkenbach (tackle) and Taj Smith (receiver).

On defense, watch Adrian Moten (linebacker), Joe Lefeged (safety) and Al Afalava (safety). These guys are very much on the bubble. How they perform this week may determine if they will play a role on this team in 2011.  

After their face off with the defending champions on Friday, we'll have a better idea of what the Colts will look like this season. The third preseason game is always the most serious, with the first team playing more minutes than any other outing. The last preseason game is always a sleep-walk, with bottom-feeder guys and practice-squad junkies playing major minutes.

As long as we don't see Brett Favre trot his ancient carcass onto the field, we have good reason for hope as the regular season speeds ever closer.