Four Days to Kickoff: 4 Views from Inside the Colts

The Green Bay Packers (7-2) play at the Indianapolis Colts (6-3) in a big Sunday showdown with looks at Philip Rivers, Jonathan Taylor and more.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers (7-2) play at the Indianapolis Colts (6-3) in a big showdown at 3:25 p.m. Sunday. Let’s get to know the foe with Phillip B. Wilson of Sports Illustrated’s All Colts.

1. Philip Rivers has destroyed the Packers in his four starts, averaging about 375 yards per game. Obviously, Rivers is getting up there in years and he doesn’t throw it like he did once upon a time, but how has he played and how has he fit this season? And as a follow-up, who has stood out, if anyone, from a tightly packed group of pass catchers?

When Rivers doesn’t throw an interception, the Colts are 4-0. That’s when he’s efficient, spreading the ball around and resisting the temptation to take risks. In the other games, when the Colts are 2-3, he has five TDs and seven interceptions. He still throws the inexplicable interception, most notably an incredibly bad pick-six at Cleveland in which the receiver wasn’t open and the ball seemed like it was thrown to the defender.

The Colts are coming off their best win at Tennessee, in which they utilized Rivers’ smarts in the no-huddle to exploit a Titans defense that has allowed yards in chunks and failed to generate a pass rush. Rivers gets rid of the ball quickly out of necessity because he’s immobile. That means defenses try to crowd the box to limit the short dump-off passes to running backs. The Colts have struggled to stretch the field and haven’t been good on third down and in the red zone, so it’s fair to question if Rivers was worth $25 million. If he gets the Colts to the playoffs, perhaps that answer is yes, but at 38 and in his 17th season, it sure doesn’t seem like he would be worth another year at that price. The Colts and Rivers have expressed the hope this marriage would last for at least another year.

Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is no longer the four-time Pro Bowl star most remember, although he has drawn seven penalties for 71 yards, so he can still get open with his route-running and force defenders to grab him. But because he’s not the No. 1 speed threat of the past, the Colts quickly resorted to using several different receivers. Rookie Michael Pittman Jr., a second-round choice, looks like the most talented. Although he missed three games due to surgery for leg compartment syndrome, he had his best game with seven catches for 101 yards as well as a 21-yard rush against the Titans. He’s a big target that Rivers likes, and has the size and speed to either elude defenders or run over them.

Zach Pascal leads the wide receivers with 28 receptions, and he quietly goes unnoticed, but he’s reliable and, like Pittman, is an excellent blocker outside. The fact that running back Nyheim Hines has a team-high 33 receptions speaks to how the Colts use those checkdown or dump-off throws like runs because the rushing game hasn’t been as productive as last year. Tight end Mo Alie-Cox has also emerged as a capable playmaker, although he doesn’t get as many touches as he should.

2. Jonathan Taylor will forever be a legend in Wisconsin. In my 30-some years of really watching football, there are two players who you just felt could go the distance every time he touched the football. One was Adrian Peterson with the Vikings. The other was Taylor with the Badgers. However, he’s played less and less as his rookie season has progressed. Can you give us a midseason report card on Taylor? Is there a sense of disappointment?

Thrust into the starting role after the Colts lost Marlon Mack for the season in the second quarter of Week 1, Taylor has shown flashes of potential. The Colts won’t say it, but they expect to see more. He has 428 rushing yards and averages 3.8 yards per carry with four TDs, and he’s added 22 catches for 203 yards. But the Colts sure haven’t treated him like a starter lately. Despite a promising start against Baltimore two games ago, his first lost fumble in the NFL was returned for a tying touchdown and got him benched. In the last three games, he has 24 carries for 61 yards. A lot of those were in predictable run situations with the box stacked.

The Colts have said they stuck with the hot hand with Jordan Wilkins at Detroit and Hines at Tennessee, but Taylor is the best rusher on this roster. Some are quick to criticize his lack of production, but again, the Colts haven’t put him in ideal situations too many times. This team has struggled in short yardage, regardless of who runs the ball. At some point, Taylor is going to prove he’s worthy of more touches and have the kind of game that reminds everyone why he was drafted in the second round. He’s hard on himself, but shouldn’t shoulder the blame for the Colts being among the worst in rush yards per carry.

3. The offensive line is supposed to be great. And to be sure, defenses have hardly laid a finger on Rivers. But the run game hasn’t really gotten going. What’s the story? That’s a big question because Green Bay’s run defense isn’t good.

The Colts adopted the “Run The Damn Ball” mantra last year, and it worked as the offense finished seventh in rushing yards, despite having a limited quarterback who didn’t throw the ball down the field. That still didn’t matter because the O-line was solid. A year later, with that line returning intact, it hasn’t been even remotely the same. Part of it is predictable play-calling, with too many runs in key situations designed to just follow All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson and Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly. Defensive coordinators expect it, and those plays get stuffed too often.

But perhaps the more revealing explanation is Rivers. Because the Colts have a quarterback who can’t move, a greater emphasis was placed on pass protection. As a result, the Colts lead the NFL in fewest sacks allowed. But the run blocking has suffered. Coach Frank Reich, who calls the plays, insists that running the ball is still this team’s identity. But based on the statistics and what he’s called, it’s obvious the Colts must pass more to set up the run. That means they don’t run the ball as much, nor is it as effective.

4. Defensively, Indianapolis is only No. 1 in yards allowed per carry and No. 1 in opponent passer rating. And yet, other than Darius Leonard and Xavier Rhodes, there’s really not anyone on the unit that a casual Packers fan would recognize. Can you give us two or three keys to the success of what will be the best defense the Packers have faced this season?

The No. 1 key to this significant defensive improvement has been the March acquisition of All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. As a disruptive three-technique defender, he leads the team in quarterback hits and demands so much attention that linebackers Darius Leonard and Bobby Okereke are freed up to make more plays. Teams that don’t double Buckner pay for it.

His position is vital to a triangle scheme that coordinator Matt Eberflus employs, which relies upon three key playmakers in Buckner, Leonard, and nickel cornerback Kenny Moore II. The Colts have lacked a player like Buckner on the D-line to make this work until now. The Colts have 11 interceptions largely because they’ve put enough pressure on quarterbacks to force mistakes. This team has been inconsistent in sacks, but pressures/hits have been the key in most games.

Countdown to Kickoff

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