Gresh & Zo: Colts Can't Match Up With Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) - We're now midway through the work week and a tough test on the road awaits the New England Patriots in Indianapolis on Sunday night.
As we've drawn closer to the game, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak have done a little more X's and O's talk, and on Wednesday they dived right into the individual matchups we'll see this weekend.
The conclusion they reached?
Indianapolis simply can't match up.
Here's why:
"The more and more I watch the Colts there's two things I definitely think are in the Patriots favor. The Colts are a team that will blitz to generate pressure, and the Patriots blitz pickup is pretty good because you've got Rob Gronkowski out there," said Gresh. "You can't completely sell out [on the blitz] unless you think you have somebody to cover him one-on-one. Gronkowski sort of negates your ability to blitz effectively, because he'll beat you in an individual situation."
Gresh's second takeaway? The advantage the Patriots possess in the trenches.
"The more I look at the Colts defense on the interior, I come away saying they don't have even a Vince Wilfork-type presence in the middle of that defensive line. The Patriots can lean on them if they choose to," said Gresh, hinting at the run game.
Zolak has some thoughts about the matchup as well.
"I'm getting to the point where if the Patriots lose this game it'll be a bad loss, because I just think they match up that much better against them. It's basically the same [Colts] team [the Patriots beat] in the playoffs last year. It's the same team," said Zo. "To your point about blitzing. If they bring an extra guy, Rob Gronkowski is going to be one-on-one up the middle, and I pray it's Sergio Brown covering him."
Listen below for the full discussion!
Also on the Gresh & Zolak show Wednesday afternoon was the NFL Network's Albert Breer, who met up with the guys on-site at CBS Scene in Foxboro for their live broadcast.
When Breer showed up at 11am, their initial discussion centered around the Colts and how they've tried to evolve since the days of Peyton Manning.
When Manning left, the Colts were dead set on changing their pass-happy ways, and overhauled their roster to become a different team with Andrew Luck, now midway through his third season.
Breer believes the Colts will be contenders one day, but explained why they're not quite there yet.
Listen below!
The Patriots and Colts are two teams that don't have to worry about their quarterback situations (in the Patriots case, at least not right now anyways), but the quarterback situations around the NFL are always in flux.
With every passing day Jay Cutler's contract in Chicago becomes more and more of an albatross, and the same can be said about Andy Dalton in Cincinnati. Can A.J. McCarron one day take over for the Bengals?
Zach Mettenberger, while still a rookie, hasn't exactly taken hold of the Titans job. Tennessee appears to be done with the Jake Locker experiment. Then you have a contending team like the Eagles who may be faced with a quarterback controversy when Nick Foles returns from injury.
Sam Bradford in St. Louis, Ryan Mallett in Houston -- Breer discussed all that and more.
Listen below!
Albert Breer also weighed in on the future of the NFL in London, and what changes we'll see next year to the games at Wembley.
Is there an appetite for a full-time team overseas? What exactly are the details of this "15 Year Plan" for the NFL in London?
Breer explained some of the logistical issues the NFL plans to explore next season and beyond.
Listen below!
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