Colts Get Praised, But Solder Gets Hurt
By Gregory Hunt
The 4-0 New England Patriots will look to stay undefeated when they face the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. New England has a high regard for the Indianapolis offense, but its own offense will need to deal with the loss of veteran tackle Nate Solder.
Belichick, Brady heap praise on Colts
In an era in which sports figures are particularly quick to engage in trash talk, the New England Patriots prefer to take the opposite route. On the surface, it would seem the Patriots have plenty of reasons to tease the Indianapolis Colts. After all, New England crushed Indianapolis 45-7 in last season's AFC Championship Game, and this year the Colts have struggled to a 3-2 record while the Patriots have cruised to a 4-0 record. Yet, both head coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady had nothing but nice things to say about the Colts at a separate press conferences on Wednesday.
"They led the league in time of possession last year," Belichick said about the Indianapolis offense, which has been without starting quarterback Andrew Luck for the past two games. "I don't think they're up there quite that high this year, but they're going to run it, they're going to throw it, they're balanced – they do a good job in all phases of the game."
Belichick isn't taking the Colts offense for granted, even though they are currently ranked 23rd in the NFL in total offense and 24th in points scored.
"They won their last three games, two without Luck," Belichick said. "Good run defense, good specialists, explosive offense, so we've got a lot to get ready for. They're explosive offensively and they can grind it out."
Including two playoff games, Brady has defeated the Colts six consecutive times, but he isn't taking the Colts for granted, either.
"I'm always pretty motivated so it will be an exciting game," Brady said. "They've got a good team, they've won three straight, they've made some changes this offseason so they're a confident team. It will take a great effort to beat them."
Brady says he won't be approaching Sunday's game differently from any other game, and he resisted questions that he may be extra motivated to beat the Colts for initiating the Deflategate scandal that dominated headlines this past offseason.
"I try to be a professional with how I approach every week," Brady said. "We put a lot into it every week no matter who you're playing because all these games are important, all of them are hard to win, all of them have good players, they're all pros – they have pro coaches with good schemes so you put a lot into every week."
Report: Solder out for the year
According to a report in the Boston Globe, starting left tackle Nate Solder is done for the season thanks to a torn bicep muscle he suffered in last week's 30-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Solder, who struggled to contain Dallas pass rusher Greg Hardy in the first half of that game, did not play in the second half due to the injury. At the time, the Patriots announced that the injury was to Solder's elbow.
The loss of Solder means that Sebastian Vollmer will likely move to left tackle with reserve lineman Marcus Cannon getting to start at right tackle. The injury hurts a lineup that is already missing starting center Bryan Stork, who has dealt with a concussion this season, although rookie center David Andrews has played well at that position in Stork's absence. Additionally, guard Ryan Wendell has not played a game this season due to an undisclosed illness, although he did return to practice last week.
Second-year offensive lineman Cameron Fleming is currently on the New England practice squad, but he played seven games with the Patriots last season, so he may get added to the active roster to replace Solder if Solder is placed on injured reserve.
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.