The Tantalizing Ten: Saints Edition
Each week, we will take a look at 10 players that will have a big impact in the game. Who are the "Tantalizing Ten" when the Colts (3-3) play their first NFC South game of 2015 against the New Orleans Saints (2-4) on Sunday?
The gauntlet of elite, elite quarterbacks on the Colts schedule has arrived. That means the Indianapolis pass rush becomes even a bigger priority against Drew Brees this week. The Colts are going to raise with their 25-30 snap count for Mathis this weekend, in an effort to create more of a pass rush. Brees does a tremendous job of firing the ball out quickly and getting the ball into their playmakers hands before the opposing pass rush can get revved up.
With the Saints 30th ranked run defense, Frank Gore should be wide-eyed this week. Gore continues to be an extremely productive back for the Colts and is on pace to be the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since Joseph Addai in 2007. Is this the week Gore gets over the 100-yard plateau and ends the Colts league-long drought in that department?
The greatest quarterback in Purdue football history returns to the state where he led the Boilermakers to a Rose Bowl appearance on Sunday afternoon. Brees is having another Brees-like season even though the turnover in his pass catching group has been immense. The Colts know that Brees prides himself on premium accuracy and finding his playmakers early in his progressions, making a pass rush difficult for the opponent.
The representative of the offensive line group this week is the Colts left tackle. Since the re-shuffling of the Colts line down in Tennessee, the unit has played much better in both the pass and run games. The next step for the group is to eliminate the drive-killing penalties that seem to more often than not negate big plays.
After four straight seasons of at least 11 wins, the Saints are just 9-13 in the last two years. Payton is in his 10th season at the helm of the Saints with the team in a bit of a rebuild mode. Rumors are rampant about Payton's future in New Orleans, where he led the Saints to Super Bowl XLIV back in 2009.
Andrew Luck's return to game action last week was his best performance of 2015. While Luck acknowledged that me missed some second-half throws, the franchise quarterback did not commit a turnover in 50 pass attempts. Luck was a full participant at practice all week, which is the first time that's been the case since Week Two.
New Orleans does a tremendous job of having all their skill guys "live" on each play. By that, Drew Brees raraely locks into his top one or two targets pre-snap. Don't expect a shadow role for Vontae Davis this weekend. This is the first week of the season where no Colts cornerback has appeared on the injury report.
Against New England, we saw Jackson and the Colts linebackers involved in trying to disrupt intermediate crossing routes from the Patriots. That's likely to be the case again on Sunday with how New Orleans likes to operate their passing game. After six weeks of the season, Jackson leads the NFL in tackles with 71 (12 more than any other player).
T.Y. Hilton hauled in his first touchdown catch of the 2015 season last Sunday night. There were a few other plays in that Patriots game where Andrew Luck and Hilton had mistiming or else it could have been a 100-yard evening for "The Ghost". Do the Colts feel completely comfortable with Luck's arm to take some shots deep to Hilton against New Orleans?
The Saints are one of two teams in the NFL with five players having at least 200 receiving yards this season. Watson joined that group with a 10-catch, 127-yard (career-high) outing last Thursday in the Saints home victory over the Falcons. With Jimmy Graham traded away this offseason, the 34-year old Watson has been the main tight end threat for the Saints.
