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| | | | | | | |  Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Colts MNF outlook: Fate determined by the no-name D
By Marc Connolly
MondayNightFootball.com
Just three weeks after watching the scary offensive prowess displayed by the St. Louis Rams on MNF, here come the Rams of the AFC: The what's-that-thing-that-starts-with-a-'D?' Indianapolis Colts.
|  | | Marvin Harrison is one of the league's top wide receivers and the ideal target in a no-huddle offense. |
The Colts are a suitable model of the fantasy football-style NFL where the elite teams simply out-sling you with star-powered aerial attacks to bail out their mistake-prone defenses. They've got the type of brain surgeon it takes to run a complicated NFL offense in Peyton Manning, the do-everything back in Edgerrin James, and the explosive wideout with Elmer's hands in Marvin Harrison. Plus, they have the now-fashionable tight end tandem whose presence gives the team two entirely authentic looks with Ken Dilger and the versatile Marcus Pollard.
Now, if only that O-line would start playing more like the one that'll be on the other side of the field Monday night than the one up in Foxboro.
Though it's lining up against a ferocious group of Jaguars defenders, this unit could be helped tremendously if Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore decides to stick with the no-huddle offense they experimented with in the preseason and used sparingly in the team's first two games. If there is any quarterback capable of commandeering an offense sans huddle, it's the incredibly composed and wildly intelligent Manning.
"You give him an idea of what you want done, then he goes through the mental gymnastics of getting into the right play," said Moore on Wednesday. "It can change the tempo. Maybe the team's a little sluggish. Let's go no-huddle and get things going. And the other thing it gives you is the chance to get more plays in."
It certainly worked against the Raiders, when the Colts stormed out to a 24-7 lead at halftime. The braintrust in Indy won't say whether they'll stick with the no-huddle throughout the Jacksonville game. But based on past success and the fact that the game is at home so that Manning's mates can clearly hear his audible calls, points towards it.
Whether or not Manning runs this type of system with efficiency, the Colts will find themselves in dangerous Redskins country at 1-2 if the down-and-out defense doesn't pick it up against Mark Brunell, Fred Taylor and the league's premier -- yes, premier -- wide receiver duo of Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell. If the Raiders can explode for 31 points in one half of football against this defense, as they did in their 38-31 victory over an embarrassed Colts team in Week 2, just imagine what the serious pain the Jags can inflict.
In the defense's favor, it is a rested bunch after the bye week. They've already taken a beating in the press, since everyone in the Hoosier State expects a Super Bowl appearance this year. It's also a group of no-names who are talked about as much as the NHL during basketball season in Indiana. You don't need me to spell it out that the chip on their collective shoulders has bloated to the size of Bobby Knight's, if that's humanly possible.
That could mean that last year's leading tackler Cornelius Bennett, middle linebacker and No. 1 selection Rob Morris and last year's sackmaster Chad Bratzke could take charge in their usual zone-blitz packages. Put it this way: They can't play any worse. One sack in two games does not cut it, and neither does one takeaway (a Jeff Burris interception against Kansas City in their season-opening 27-14 victory). Perhaps the worst number to demonstrate the defense's lapses against Oakland was that Rich Gannon ran for three touchdowns.
Even in front of a home crowd and against a defense that somehow allowed Tony Banks to throw for five touchdowns two weeks ago, Monday night's juicy AFC affair will be won or lost on how Brunell is handled. If the Colts D cannot consistently pressure the strong-armed lefty on passing downs and stuff him on his forays out of the pocket, Jacksonville will undoubtedly torch this unit for even more points than the Manning-James-Harrison triumvirate is capable of posting.
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online.
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