PAT ANGERER ADJUSTS AGAIN, A DUAL-THREAT OFFENSE AND TUESDAY QUOTES
'EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FASTER'At the beginning of the season, Colts rookie linebacker Pat Angerer became accustomed to the speed of the NFL game and talked about how much quicker the speed of play was compared to college.
The first-year linebacker adjusted quickly to the pace and broke into the starting lineup in Week Six against the Washington Redskins, filling in for then-injured middle linebacker Gary Brackett.
Following his performance at Washington, which included a team-high 11 tackles, his first career sack and two passes defensed, Angerer's playing time increased, and he earned a starting position.
Angerer finished the season ranked second on the team with 75 tackles and led the club with 16 special teams tackles. Some work for the second-round draft choice out of Iowa who played sparingly in the first five games of the season.
"I learned so much during this season, it is unbelievable," Angerer said. "Simple stuff, like the more you are out on the field, the better you get."
So after 16 games and a full regular season behind him, Angerer said he does not think of himself as a rookie anymore. However, he also understands Saturday will be his first playoff experience, and with that brings a different type of intensity.
"I think everything is going to be faster," Angerer said. "I think the key is not to go out there and think you have to do anything extraordinary. Like I said before, just do your job and play hard."
Heading into his first playoff game, Angerer said he would do what he has done all season, and that includes listening to the veterans.
"Obviously it is intense, but I think we have a mature group that is going to go out there and play ball and do their job," Angerer said. "You do not want to get too hyped up and think you have to go out there and be Superman. You just have to go out there and do your job."
DUAL THREAT
With the addition of Santonio Holmes, the Super Bowl XLIII MVP with Pittsburgh, the Jets bolstered their receiving corps in 2010, adding more depth to go along with Braylon Edwards and tight end Dustin Keller.
"Santonio, he's a great receiver," Colts safety Antoine Bethea said. "He has good hands, runs good routes, he's really good with the ball after the catch. So of course it's going to make it a little different, but at the same time we can't just let one player dictate what we're going to do in the secondary or with the calls. So we just (have to) go out there and play ball and just do what we do."
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez does not lack receiving threats. Keller leads the team with 55 receptions, while Edwards is second with 53 and Holmes tied for third with running back LaDainian Tomlinson with 52. Edwards leads the group with 904 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
And with Tomlinson and running back Shonn Greene anchoring the fourth-best rushing attack in the NFL, averaging 148.4 yards a game, Colts' defenders said they know they must be wary of committing too many players to the run.
"I think that's going to be tough," Colts linebacker Gary Brackett said. "Obviously, we have been playing more eight-man fronts with one of our safeties down in the box to help solidify that run, but when you do that, there is always give and take. I think you have to mix up both coverages, keep the offense off-balanced as far as what you are calling."
TUESDAY QUOTES
"Obviously, that remains to be seen, but it certainly does give a team an opportunity if a team goes down and kicks a field goal. You have an opportunity to get the ball back and go score one way or another. So that is going to change the dynamics a little bit. It will make you think about whether you will go for it on fourth down in some situations or try a long field goal. So some of those things will come up, but I think depending upon how the game has been going, how you feel about your team, what the situation may require, I think it will make it rather interesting."-Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell on the new overtime rules for the playoffs and the impact it may have.
"We sort of got briefed on them again. I kind of forgot that it just applies to field goals on that first series. I'm glad Coach Caldwell kind of briefed us on it because anything can happen in these playoff games. I've been in overtime playoff games before. I think it kind of applies to your thinking in the first four quarters that when we get down there we want to try to get touchdowns. Field goals, while you take them all day, you want to try to get touchdowns. We've been good in the red zone most of the year. The past few weeks we have had to settle for some field goals. We would love to get back to scoring some touchdowns and putting seven points on the board."-Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on the new overtime rules for the playoffs.
"They are almost veterans right now they have been playing for so long. They have a lot of starts under their belt and they are really coming into their own. It has been a long season for those guys, but they have been concentrating and focusing. They have been meeting early with the coaches and staying a little late watching film, preparing themselves and practicing well. Those guys have been doing a great job, and we are going to need them to continue to do that to get where we want to go."-Colts linebacker Gary Brackett on how rookie linebackers Pat Angerer and Kavell Conner have grown up.
"It is a whole lot of movement, and they do as much as anybody. That's why I say it is a big week of preparation because they, as much or more than any team in the league, try to confuse you and try to give you different things. So, it kind of makes it fun, and it will be a fun week."-Tight end Jacob Tamme on New York's defense giving a lot of different looks and lots of movement pre-snap.
