November 15th, 2014
by Dakota Antelman
Two weeks after a long awaited matchup between old and old, the Patriots and Colts will face off in a game that features a matchup of old and new.
The Patriots and Colts are two teams fresh off of BYE weeks. They are two teams with a wide array of receiving targets as well as powerful running backs that they use to move the ball up the field. But their biggest calling card is both their quarterbacks.
Tom Brady, New England’s 15th year star has been playing brilliantly since a Week Four loss to Kansas City while Andrew Luck, Indianapolis’ third year starter Andrew Luck has been playing brilliantly since he was drafted in 2012.
The two are of great value to their respective teams and have also been compared heavily to each other. In this their 3rd NFL meeting though, the stakes are higher as it seems that Luck is having a career year.
Patriots linebacker Dont'e Hightower glowed about Luck’s abilities after last Thursday’s practice in Foxboro.
“Luck is definitely one of the premier quarterbacks in the league,” he said. “He can do it with his arm. He can do it with his feet. He’s a smart guy, so he’s definitely again one of the premier quarterbacks in the league.”
Luck’s mobility was something that was noted almost controversially this week when Brady spoke frankly of his soon to be opponent.
"He's a great player, in his third year, and he's had a lot of success," Brady said at Wednesday’s Patriots press conference. "Their offense is doing a great job this year; they score a lot of points [averaging a league-high 32.2 per game], especially at home. He's kind of the ringleader. He does a lot of things I wish I could do."
Luck has thrown for almost 700 more yards than Brady has to this point in the season while also rushing for over 100 more.
Beyond Luck however, the Patriots will have their hands full. A vast onslaught of highly capable tight ends has the Colts positioned as the team with the most points per game in the NFL (31.8). Their last game, a 40-24 demolition of the Giants, featured touchdowns thrown to four different receivers.
Patriots corner-back, Darelle Revis recognized the huge threat that Colts tight end T.Y Hilton poses. He caught one of those Luck passes two weeks ago.
“He’s very fast and very explosive. He makes big plays,” Revis said. “I think he’s a No. 1 receiver at making big plays.”
Revis spoke similarly of Hilton’s teammate, Reggie Wayne.
“He’s just an elite receiver,” Revis said. “He’s been doing it for 14-plus years now. You never see any downfall. I never see a downfall in his game, so that tells you something.”
Beyond the receivers, the Patriots understand the need to prepare for the Colts ability to run the ball. Running back Trent Richardson has a history to beating up on the Patriots and will stop at nothing to do the same on Sunday night.
But the Patriots are prepared and wholeheartedly willing to utilize their top talents in new ways. Earlier this week, the Patriots practiced in their domed Dana Farber Practice Facility to simulate the conditions in the similarly enclosed Lucas Oil Stadium.
If the past is any indication, Brady will excel in the climate controlled game.
Earlier this week, CSN Patriots insider Tom E. Curren published an article detailing Brady’s supreme excellence in his 19 games played in domed stadiums. The piece revealed that Brady had thrown 39 touchdowns and an average of 284 yards per game. He is 14-5 in dome games.
“[It’s a change] to have [a week] where the weather is not a factor and we’re not talking about what the conditions may be because it seems like all season Coach [Belichick] has had meetings about what the weather is going to be and how the wind is going to affect the game and if it rains how the rain is going to affect the game,” Brady said in an attempt to extrapolate the trend to this game. “It is a little bit of a breather where you’re playing in a dome where everything is controlled. Like I said, ultimately it’s going to come down to how well you play and execute, but yeah, it’s nice to be indoors today.”
The Patriots and Colts face off at 8:30pm Sunday in a long awaited quarterback duel. Brady will be looking to extend his streak of dominance while Andrew Luck will be looking to achieve his first ever win against the long tenured Patriots legend.
The game will be one stocked with talent and will likely produce a final score that dictates each team’s scouring well past 30 points.
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