Colts vs Broncos: Behind Enemy Lines

The Indianapolis Colts host the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Colts are hoping to right the ship after a week of turmoil but facing the undefeated Broncos with their top ranked defense isn’t an ideal situation.

We spoke with the editor of Predominantly Orange, Sayre Bedinger, to get some inside information on this week’s opponent.

Here’s what Bedinger had to say:

1. Before coming out of their shell this week, what has been the primary problem with the Broncos offense? Is it a problem with the line, Peyton Manning, or the philosophies of Gary Kubiak?

I’ll give a few reasons to answer this question:

A. Youth — the Broncos are starting a first-year player at center in Matt Paradis, they are starting a 2014 3rd round pick in Michael Schofield at right tackle who was a ghost in his rookie season. They started a left tackle in Ty Sambrailo projected at guard/right tackle who was a 2nd round pick. Max Garcia is a rookie 4th round pick and playing a key backup role for the interior spots.

B. Injury — Guys are getting banged up in there. Evan Mathis has struggled with a hamstring, Louis Vasquez has been dealing with some tweaks, Ty Sambrailo had the shoulder, Ryan Clady had the ACL, and guys are just generally getting whacked around in there.

C. Cohesiveness — These guys haven’t played a lot together, and they are still working on getting the communication side of things down. Couple that with a new scheme for everyone, and you have a lingering problem well into the season. When you lay out all the reasons, it’s definitely justifiable.

2. Is there a key to attacking the Broncos defense? Does a struggling Andrew Luck have any chance of success Sunday?

Boy, this is a tough one because I haven’t seen it. The weakness of the Broncos’ defense right now is its own success, because they’ve had so many penalties that have cost them on a few drives where they’ve given up touchdowns. They are aggressive, and some teams could take advantage of that if they just continually take what’s given.

The problem is, the Broncos aren’t giving an inch. They are elite at every level. But this is Andrew Luck we’re talking about. I don’t care if he’s having a down season. He’s capable of fitting the ball in tight spots and finding holes in coverages, or beating pass rush. You have to play your best ball to beat this guy, hurt or not.

3. Who is someone that will be a difference maker Sunday that we might not have heard of?

Have you heard of Shaquil Barrett yet? He’s the best defensive player in the NFL that nobody is paying attention to. I would go so far as to say — the Broncos have a young James Harrison on their hands. He’s an incredible pass rusher, third in line behind Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, but he sees the field a ton and is absolutely phenomenal.

4. Manning has a shot at setting two records in his old home this week: most wins and most passing yards. Do you think he still has enough left in the tank to take the Broncos to the Super Bowl?

I have been getting this question since the preseason and my answer has always been this — heck yes I think he has enough in the tank. We saw against Green Bay that this guy is capable of playing at a high level, and his arm’s not as dead as people want to think. He was slinging the ball all over the Packers’ banged up secondary and absolutely killed it.

He’s mentally as sharp as ever, and with the defense he has behind him, he’s got to have a renewed confidence in himself to be able to make mistakes and recover later on.

5. What is your prediction for Sunday? Who wins and why?

Ultimately, and I say this with the utmost respect because of how much the Colts have killed the Broncos through the years, I don’t think the Colts are good enough to beat the Broncos unless Denver makes a ton of mental errors in this game. The Colts’ offensive line is going to have a really tough time with the Broncos’ defensive front. Running the ball on this group is nearly impossible. The Broncos are incredible in the secondary, and deep everywhere. The offense is finally clicking.

It almost feels like too many things are going right for the Broncos but if they play like they did against Green Bay, then, well…

I’m taking the Broncos, but I think the Colts will give ’em hell.