Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis, IN- The Indianapolis Colts‘ fans are about to witness a different kind of football game Sunday afternoon in Lucas Oil Stadium. Since 1998 Colts fans have been in the presence of an offensive first finesse type system. Then on defense it was a bend not break type Tampa 2 scheme that didn’t have big bruisers but smaller, faster guys doing just enough to get Peyton Manning back on the field.
Last year the Colts changed gears and wanted to move to more of a 3-4 hybrid with bigger players. They were shifting to more of a Baltimore Ravens/Pittsburgh Steelers bruising type smash-mouth defense. Last year they didn’t really have the personnel. The first two games of this season they weren’t clicking yet, but after the past two games that type of new era of defense for the Colts is in play.
The Seattle Seahawks play the exact same way as the Colts. They’re a run first team and are comfortable relying on their physical defense to make plays and win games. In the past with a team like Seattle coming to town the Colts would just try and outsmart them. Now, fans are about to witness the NEW Colts team in a new era.
This game Sunday is going to be very physical and very smash-mouth. The Colts’ defense ranks eighth in the NFL giving up 307.2 yards-per-game. They’ve given up only 12.8 points per game which ranks fifth overall.
The Seahawks are nearly identical. Their overall defense is sixth in the league giving up 300.2 yards-per-game and give up 11.8 points per game which ranks second.
Both teams are very physical on the ground as the Colts rank fourth overall and the Seahawks fifth. This is going to be a very close yet very physical game that will look like the Steelers vs. Ravens games. It’s going to be hard hitting, low scoring and the most physical team winning.
Welcome to the new era, Colts fans. This is going to be fun.
Eric Smith is the Colts Beat Writer for Rant Sports. He’s covered the team the past four seasons and is recognized as an accredited member of the media by the Colts. Follow him on Twitter @ericsportsguru
