Raiders at Colts
RCA Dome
Indianapolis, Ind.
Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001
AT A GLANCE: Two potential Super Bowl contenders square
off on Sunday night in a battle of upper-echelon teams. The Raiders hold a 7-3 record
against the Colts all-time and have won the last three meetings.
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| OVERVIEW: The Colts are coming off their bye week,
during which they had plenty of time to think about their last game, an embarrassing 44-13
loss handed to them by the Patriots in Week Three. The Colts want to quiet the criticism
that has cropped up since that lopsided loss. The Raiders would have been off in Week
Four, but their Week Six game against the Cowboys was rescheduled because of a potential
conflict with Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics, who could have a home
playoff game Oct. 21.
The Raiders beat the Cowboys 28-21, though the score was not very indicative of the
game. The Raiders were able to hammer out three scoring drives of more than 70 yards and
blocked two Cowboys field-goal attempts to secure the victory.
When the Raiders have the ball:
The Raiders won’t disguise head coach Jon Gruden’s affinity for the running
game, even though their offensive line is quite banged up.
The Colts’ defense has showed improvement against the pass after making a few
additions during the offseason. However, they were torched in Week Three by Patriots RB
Antowain Smith and have been quite ineffective against the run, despite signing
run-stopping DTs Christian Peter and Mike Wells before the season. Second-year MLB Rob
Morris is still learning on the job, but he and OLB Marcus Washington have given the Colts
an up-and-coming set of linebackers.
The Raiders lost C Barret Robbins (knee) for the season in Week Two, and ORG Mo Collins
(calf) missed Oakland’s Week Four game. Collins was probable for that game, so check
his status. Add to that the fact that ORT Lincoln Kennedy has been bothered by a sore
shoulder, and one would think the prospects for the Raiders’ offense are
questionable. |
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|
| RCA Dome |
| Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Date: Sunday, October 14, 2001 |
| 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Type Of Turf: Artificial |
| Meeting Of The Year: Only |
| Season Record: |
| |
Oakland |
3-1-0 |
| |
Indianapolis |
2-1-0 |
| Season Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Oakland |
1-2-1 |
| |
Indianapolis |
2-1-0 |
| Home/Road Record: |
| |
Oakland (R) |
1-1-0 |
| |
Indianapolis (H) |
1-0-0 |
| Home/Road Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Oakland (R) |
0-1-1 |
| |
Indianapolis (H) |
1-0-0 |
| Record On Artificial Turf: |
| |
Oakland |
0-0-0 |
| |
Indianapolis |
1-0-0 |
| Record On Artificial Turf Vs. Spread: |
| |
Oakland |
0-0-0 |
| |
Indianapolis |
1-0-0 |
|
| But the offensive line is strong and deep, and the injuries that the unit has suffered
haven’t seemed to hurt the offense much. C Adam Treu and ORG Frank Middleton have
done a quality job in relief. The Colts have used Washington as a pass rusher often, and
that could come back to hurt them against the Raiders since QB Rich Gannon is very good at
reading blitzes, reacting to them and picking them apart. The Colts must not overpursue
when chasing Gannon since he is a dangerous passer on the run.
The passing game will pit a very experienced trio of Raiders against a very
inexperienced Colts secondary. Gannon and his two key receivers, Tim Brown and Jerry Rice,
have so much experience that they often seem to know what each other is thinking on the
field.
They will face a starting secondary with two youngsters. CB David Macklin is a
second-year pro who earned the starting job opposite veteran Jeff Burris in the preseason.
FS Idrees Bashir was the Colts’ second-round pick in the 2001 draft. He and Macklin
have played well but are still raw.
When the Colts have the ball:
The Colts’ suddenly high-flying offense was grounded in Week Three by the
Patriots, who outmuscled the Colts and were in their heads the entire game. If the
Raiders, a traditionally intimidating team, can rattle Indianapolis and pressure QB Peyton
Manning, they could have success.
Oakland’s defensive line has been ravaged by injuries, and since the loss of
pass-rushing DE Trace Armstrong, the Raiders often have used disguised blitzes by the
linebackers and CB Charles Woodson.
The Colts’ offense must come out of the blocks running the ball with RB Edgerrin
James to keep its defense off the field. James rushed for over 100 yards in each of the
Colts’ two wins but was held in check in the loss to the Patriots. When James is
running well, the Colts’ passing game becomes especially tough to defend.
The Raiders’ mammoth run-stuffing tackle, Grady Jackson (shoulder), isn’t
playing at 100 percent, but he hasn’t seemed to be limited by the injury.
While the Colts averaged 43.5 points in their first two games, downfield passing may
come at a premium against a very good Oakland secondary. But Woodson, who will be matched
up with Colts WR Marvin Harrison, was burned a few times by Cowboys WR Joey Galloway last
week.
Manning will want to prove the three interceptions he threw in Week Three were a fluke.
The Colts like to use James and their well-rounded TE duo, Ken Dilger and Marcus Pollard,
extensively in the passing game.
All game previews and depth charts were compiled as of Oct. 7. |
|
Offense |
| WR |
81 Brown, 83 Knight |
| OLT |
65 Sims, 74 Stinchcomb |
| OLG |
76 Wisniewski, 73 Middleton, 65 Sims |
| C |
62 Treu, 74 Stinchcomb, 69 Graham |
| ORG |
79 Collins, 73 Middleton, 65 Sims |
| ORT |
72 Kennedy, 77 Ashmore |
| TE |
86 Williams, 89 Fulcher, 87 Brigham |
| WR |
80 Rice, 84 Porter, 88 Dunn |
| QB |
12 Gannon, 14 Hoying, 8 Tuiasosopo* |
| RB |
47 Wheatley, 25 Garner, 28 Jordan, 42 Kirby |
| FB |
40 Ritchie, 32 Crockett |
Defense |
| DLE |
91 Upshaw, 99 Taves, 95 Grant* |
| DLT |
90 Jackson, 75 Cooper*, 92 Ioane |
| DRT |
57 Coleman, 75 Cooper*, 99 Taves |
| DRE |
94 Bryant, 70 Mickell |
| OLB |
59 Thomas, 50 Barton |
| MLB |
54 Biekert, 55 Brooks |
| OLB |
58 Alexander, 53 Smith |
| LCB |
24 Woodson, 20 James |
| RCB |
21 Allen, 20 James |
| SS |
49 Pope, 26 Gibson* |
| FS |
33 Dorsett, 37 Harris |
Specialists |
| PK |
11 Janikowski |
| P |
9 Lechler |
| H |
12 Gannon |
| PR |
88 Dunn, 84 Porter |
| KR |
88 Dunn, 42 Kirby |
| LS |
62 Treu |
* Rookie |
|
|
Offense |
| WR |
86 Pathon, 87 Wayne*, 84 Haddad* |
| OLT |
78 Glenn |
| OLG |
76 McKinney |
| C |
63 Saturday, 64 DeMulling* |
| ORG |
50 Moore, 71 Diem* |
| ORT |
73 Meadows, 74 Jackson |
| TE |
85 Dilger, 81 Pollard, 49 Dean Davenport*, 48 Snow |
| WR |
88 Harrison, 80 Wilkins, 83 Insley |
| QB |
18 Manning, 16 Rypien |
| RB |
32 James, 33 Rhodes*, 43 McDougal |
| H-b |
81 Pollard, 36 Finn, 44 Ours* |
Defense |
| DLE |
99 Scioli, 91 Nwokorie, 90 M. Thomas |
| DLT |
96 J. Williams, 95 Wells |
| DRT |
62 Johnson, 97 Peter |
| DRE |
92 Bratzke, 93 Barnes |
| LOLB |
53 Washington, 55 Harris |
| MLB |
94 Morris, 98 Sword |
| ROLB |
52 Peterson, 51 Morton |
| LCB |
20 Burris, 21 T. Smith, 26 Brooks, 42 Walls |
| RCB |
27 Macklin, 25 Harper*, 31 Crosby |
| SS |
37 Cota, 41 Bird*, 47 Hampton* |
| FS |
28 Bashir*, 34 Doering* |
Specialists |
| P |
17 H. Smith |
| PK |
13 Vanderjagt |
| H |
17 H. Smith |
| KR |
80 Wilkins, 33 Rhodes* |
| PR |
80 Wilkins, 86 Pathon, 84 Haddad* |
| KC |
48 Snow, 85 Dilger |
* Rookie |
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