Know Your Foe: Indianapolis Colts vs New England Patriots

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The AFC Divisional round of the AFC Playoffs begin on Saturday night, with a renewed rivalry between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. for more opinions from the New England side of things, I reached out to Tim Dillon, from Musket Fire.com.

Naptown’s Finest – How impressed have you been by New England’s ability to succeed this season, despite all the drama and injuries?

Musket Fire – It’s been incredibly impressive. I’ll be honest, my expectations for the  season tanked pretty hard after the injuries piled up, but I’ve learned to never  count out the Patriots. While I don’t think they’ll win the Super Bowl, the fact  that they were able to go 12-4 and clinch a first-round bye after all the key  injuries is very impressive. The success should merit the Coach of the Year  award for Bill Belichick, but we’ll see about that.

NF – What is your impression of the 2013-14 Indianapolis Colts?

MF – The 2013-2014 Colts are an impressive group too since they have overcome  their share of injuries. The loss of Reggie Wayne was huge considering the  limited offensive weapons Andrew Luck has without him, but they’re back in the  playoffs. Andrew Luck has played his best against the toughest opponents and the  Colts were able to beat excellent teams like Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.  They are very resilient and could be dangerous riding the momentum of the  comeback win over Kansas City.

NF –  What about the Patriots should the Colts be most concerned about?

 MF – The Colts should be concerned with the one thing the Patriots have that  almost no other team has, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the  game. Tom Brady may not be having the best year statistically, but the way he  has rallied an offense of mostly inexperienced receivers is worthy of  recognition as one of his best seasons as a leader. The Patriots may be leaning  more on the running game now, but make no mistake that the offense revolves  around Brady.

NF –  What was your prediction for the Patriots at the start of this season?

MF – Before the season started, I was expecting Tom Brady’s fourth Super Bowl  ring in 2014. The defense had grown and added the necessary pieces to continue  growth, like Tommy Kelly and Adrian Wilson, while the offense may not have  looked the same, it was still under the control of Brady. Obviously, a Super  Bowl win is still not out of the question, but the Patriots would have to get  past excellent teams like the Colts and possibly the Broncos in order to get  there. No matter the outcome of this season, I will count it as a successful  year considering all of the turnover the team has experienced.

NF – What is your prediction for Saturday’s game?

MF –  Saturday’s game is a tough one to predict. I think the Colts will play  very well, but in the end I think New England will prevail at home, 34-27.

I would like to thank Tim Dillon for his time and input.