Sep 14, 2007, 18:06 GMT
- If you listened hard enough last Thursday night, it seemed, you could almost hear the angry words of Eminem buzzing around in Peyton Manning's head.
'Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got somethin' to say.
But nothin' comes out when they move their lips.
Just a bunch of gibberish.
And (insert defamatory expletive here) act like they forgot about Pey.'
After all, following an offseason in which every 2006 pretender - New England, San Diego and Dallas, to name a few - was given a consensus nod to rise past his own reigning championship team in Indianapolis and into the 2007 driver's seat, the returning Super Bowl MVP was understandably irked.
So, with modified hip-hop lyrics perhaps still resonating, he and the Colts hit the turf against another flavor-of-the-month favorite of the cognoscenti - the New Orleans Saints - and came away with a 41-10 exclamation-point win before 57,361 true believers at the RCA Dome.
Manning threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, hitting Reggie Wayne seven times for 115 of those yards through the air while turning and handing off to new feature back Joseph Addai for 118 more on the ground in 23 carries.
As statements go, it was delivered loud and clear.
Still, with this week comes another similar test.
The Tennessee Titans, with former college phenom and current Madden '08 cover boy Vince Young directing traffic, are perceived by some as the next visible threat to the Colts' dominance of the AFC's South Division, especially after they finished last season with six wins in eight games - including a 20-17 downing of Indy last December in Nashville.
The Titans got started successfully as well last week, winning 13-10 at division foe Jacksonville in a game controlled not by Young and Co. on offense, but instead by a defense that limited the host Jaguars to just 272 total yards, forced one turnover and helped the visitors to a mammoth 36:55-23:05 edge in time of possession.
Indianapolis and Tennessee are the only teams to win the South Division since it was created in 2002. The four-pronged group's remaining entry - the Houston Texans - also won last week, defeating Kansas City, 20-3.
SERIES HISTORY
Indianapolis holds a 14-10 lead in its all-time regular season series with Tennessee, but had a seven-game win streak in the series snapped with a 20-17 loss at LP Field in Week 13 of last season. The Colts were 14-13 home winners when the teams met at the RCA Dome in Week 5. Indy swept home-and-homes against the Titans in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
The only postseason meeting between the two was in a 1999 AFC Divisional Playoff, when Tennessee scored a 19-16 road victory en route to a Super Bowl appearance.
The Titans' Jeff Fisher has a 4-7 record against Indianapolis, including the aforementioned playoff victory. The Colts' Tony Dungy is 7-5 against both Fisher and Tennessee all-time, including an 0-2 mark during his tenure in Tampa Bay.
WHEN THE COLTS HAVE THE BALL
As prefaced earlier, Indianapolis has nothing short of an embarrassment of riches on offense. Manning and his mates were held to just 10 points in the opening 30 minutes against New Orleans, then busted loose for 31 - four TDs and an Adam Vinatieri field goal - in the final two quarters. Aside from relative youngsters Wayne and Addai, the corps also includes veteran star Marvin Harrison, who caught four balls for 83 yards and a touchdown. In 10 career games against the Titans, Harrison has averaged 93.3 yards per outing. Also, little-used tight end Bryan Fletcher has an 11.3-yards-after-catch average in four lifetime games against Tennessee.
Truth told, the Titans used opportunism on defense and special teams every bit as much as Young to engineer their last 2006 flourish, and that trend continued last week in northeast Florida. Ends Antwan Odom and Travis LaBoy had a sack apiece of Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard and the entire unit muffled backs Maurice Jones-Drew (32 yards rushing, 28 receiving) and Fred Taylor (16 rushing) while holding them to 76 combined total yards. Ex- Colt Nick Harper had six unassisted tackles and forced a fumble in his Tennessee debut, while lineman Albert Haynesworth - known mostly for his spikes-to-the-face suspension last season - chipped in with five tackles.
WHEN THE TITANS HAVE THE BALL
Young will run a lot. Young will throw some. And he will be fun to watch. That much is a given. But this season, it seems he has a few more toys to play with as well. Running back Chris Brown dashed for a league-best 175 yards on 19 carries against Jacksonville, while former USC standout LenDale White finally broke through for a career-best 66 yards on 18 carries. Wide receiver Justin Gage's two catches were a paltry team-leading total, but veteran wideout Eric Moulds is also in the mix for 2007 and needs 343 receiving yards to reach 10,000 for his career. Elsewhere, tight end Bo Scaife has 15 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in four career games against the Colts.
Indianapolis faced the league's reigning MVP in Drew Brees and a pair of premier running backs in Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister last week, but didn't allow an offensive touchdown by the Saints. McAllister and Bush combined for just 76 yards on the ground, and Brees managed just 192 through the air and was intercepted twice. Defensive end Dwight Freeney has 10 sacks in 10 career games against the Titans, while second-year linebacker Freddy Keiaho recorded his first career INT last week. Cornerback Marlin Jackson's only 2006 pick came against Tennessee in the December game between the teams last season.
FANTASY FOCUS
Anyone holding any of the Colts' weapons would be a fool not to use them, regardless of weekly opposition. Manning is, well...Manning, which more often than not is a guaranteed good day for either Wayne and Harrison. And, with Dominic Rhodes off to Oakland, Addai will get the bulk of the carries against defenses trained to look for the pass. For Tennessee, Young is a proven point- producer, while Brown could be a chic pick-up if he adds a second straight 100-yard game to his 2007 resume. Defensively, neither team is a gem, though they are both improved from last season.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Barring a catastrophic injury to Manning, the Colts will be deservedly favored to win perhaps all but one game on their schedule this season. That's not to say there won't be challenges, however, and this could be one of them. Look for Young to create some problems, as he always does, with big plays and improvisation. But, when push comes to shove, it's still Indianapolis. And, over four quarters, that should be good enough against a foe that's gaining ground, but not there yet.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Colts 30, Titans 20
© 2007 The Sports Network
Your Talkback on this Story