Yes, I’m being Ol’ Gloom and Doom
If the Colts can’t win the game Monday night, they don’t deserve to ever beat the Patriots. I’ve been a Pats fan since 1976 and I still expect the Colts to have an easy win:
- The rumblings in the press are that Seymour still won’t be able to play. Bye-bye any hope of a pass rush.
- It’s looking more like Dillon and Pass will be out. Can re-signing Mike Cloud be anything other than an act of “my god, we need to have at least one theoretical running back” desperation?
- To sign Cloud, they cut safety Arturo Freeman. Ought to be interesting to see who plays alongside Wilson.
So let’s see — the Pats will have no running game, will have no pass rush, and won’t be able to blitz because there’s no way their secondary will be able to cover the Indy receivers one-on-one.
I never bought into any of the hype the past two playoff seasons of how the Patriots had no chance against the Colts, because the facts of how the team was playing didn’t support the hype. But it’s different now — the Pats D is clearly and unrefutably much degraded. Now add two rookies on the left side of the OL and that the starting RB will likely be someone signed a couple of days before the game…
The most likely result is a Colts win by at least two touchdowns (something remiscent of the San Diego debacle). The only way I can see the Pats winning this game is in a shootout. Now, from what we saw from STL before Bulger went down, the Pats certainly could win in a firefight, but, sad to say, it’s not likely.
Hey — I fervently hope I’m wrong, but it’s hard to ignore reality.