Players who must perform tonight: Defense Jason Taylor...first home game, national spotlight, he had a sack in Atlanta, but we need even more out of JT tonight. Joey Porter...if JT has a good game then JP will face single blocking, he must feast on that situation. Phillip Merling..Growth must continue..a sack in Atlanta and 4 hits on the Qb is a great stat line. Sean Smith and Vontae Davis, Peyton Manning has feasted on rookie Cb for a decade, they have a huge test in front of them tonight. Offense: Oline...topic has been beaten to death enough already. Chad Pennington...his last two games he has been atrocious, tonight he faces no different a situation this week then he will for the next 14 games he has to prove to Defensive Coordinators that if you blitz him he can burn you in the passing game. If cannot do that, Chad Henne is ready to step in and play. Anthony Fasano...he went from rising star to role player in a single game, not only must he not fumble, he also must make plays in the passing game. Special Teams: Brandon Fields...the punter...it is crucial we pin the Colts back with poor field position, Fields has a chance to compliment the defense by creating bad field position for the Colts inside their own 20 yd line. Ted Ginn...Colts are not a especially strong at covering kick offs, tonight Ginn will have his chance to show he can do that job, if not then put the consistent but less explosive Patrick Cobbs on kick returns. Against a good Colts team, the strength of the Phins has to be on display meaning each unit must compliment the other with strong play and discipline, the Defense creating turnovers or sacks and the Special Teams unit creating good field position for the offense while denying the same to the Colts Offense, with our defense then creating better punt return opportunities by forcing the Colts to kick to a longer field creating more return lanes.
We need to keep Manning and the Colts reigned in. If we let them score early and get a two score lead we're done. Recent history has shown us that we do not have the firepower to win a shootout. Just my 2 cents.
WEll, what happens is the "D" stands up for most of the game, the offense sputters, and the other team eventually breaks through against the Defense. Two thoughts: 1. Offense must get their shiite together 2. Defense has no excuses, shutting out the other team for 2.5 Qtrs is not good enough, they must be dominating for the entire game, 4qtrs with no let up.
I think after last week's embarrassing performance we'll see Sparano field a team with a different attitude this week.
And that brings up the largest disappointment from last week, we came out flat as a board, even JP the NFL leader in trash talking was quiet last week. And we don't know if Torobr is taking Akin Ayodele's place this week, to Torbor is more athletic, Akin A knows the defense better and has a nose for the football.
I will know in five minutes of watching our offense if we have serious problems or not. All I'm looking for is an offensive line that comes out with a chip on its shoulder ready to punch the Colts in the teeth. If they do we'll be fine. If they come out soft we got a very big problem
