Can the Colts get this thing done?

Unlike the majority of American sports fans these days, football is not my first love in sports. Don't get me wrong, I great enjoy fall Saturdays and Sundays spent watching football, but I just am not as passionate and excited about it as I am baseball. I know that makes me a throwback in today's society, and I'm perfectly fine with that. The result of that fact is that while I can speak pretty intelligently about various players and teams, I can't break down a football matchup with much detail. I can talk about the game in broad terms, but when it comes down to the serious X's and O's, I get left in the dust. And again, I'm fine with that.

So, what all of that means is that, as I go to talk about this week's big matchup between the last two undefeated teams in the NFL, the Patriots and the Colts, I can't really spend a lot of time discussing scheme's and formations, and why the Colts will or won't be able to slow down the Pats offense, and all that good stuff.

What I can tell you is that, through their first 8 games, the Pats have put on the most impressive display of football I can remember seeing in my lifetime. The closest thing I can remember might be the 49ers of the mid-80s, but in the days before the salary cap, there were other similarly great teams that were obvious rivals. If the Colts can't get job done on Sunday, or at least make a game out of it, I'll have to concede that these Patriots are peerless in today's NFL. They have a Super Bowl caliber defense, a staggering array offensive weapons, and probably the best coach out there at preparing a team for a game. The chip they have on their shoulder as a result of the "SpyGate" controversy at the beginning of the season doesn't hurt them either.

None of this is to slight the Colts. They are the defending Super Bowl champions, and in my opinion are better than they were last year. They are undoubtedly better on the defensive side of the ball. They too have been exceedingly impressive in compiling their perfect record. They've not put up the kind of blowouts that the Patriots have, but they've beaten up a significant number of very fine teams. They have finally assembled a defense to go along with an offense that, prior to the Patriots early season display, was the class of the NFL. Tony Dungy may not be Bill Belichick, but he's one fine coach in his own right.

And so I ask, can the Colts get this thing done? I believe they definitely can, but find myself far from certain that they will. The Patriots have yet to be challenged for an entire game this season, and so if the Colts can stay with them from the beginning, I believe they will plant some doubt in the Pats minds for the first time all year. The simple reality, from where I sit, is that the Colts have to find a way to make Tom Brady uncomfortable in the pocket. He's had all kinds of time back there this season, and with the arsenal of receivers he has, that's trouble for anyone. Here's to a great game, and the Colts playing well enough to keep us believing that the rest of the season isn't just a formality.