Game 10: Colts at Patriots

By Chad Finn

November 21, 2010

4 minutes to read

Wes Welker does the cover honors on the Patriots GameDay program. But the story of the day is of course the matchup of the two premier quarterbacks of their era.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning meet for the ninth time in the regular season and the 12th time overall today. Brady is 5-3 against the Colts and 2-1 in the postseason since taking over as the Patriots’ starting quarterback on September 30, 2001 — a 44-13 victory over the Colts.

Manning, who made his NFL debut in 1998, is 6-9 against the Patriots and 1-2 in the regular season, but he has enjoyed the last laugh, not only leading the Colts to a 35-34 come-from-behind win last year at Lucas Oil Stadium, but also winning their last matchup at Gillette Stadium, a 27-20 Colts victory on November 5, 2006.

This is the eighth straight season the Patriots have played the Colts, and this year there is a milestone at stake. With a Patriots win today, Brady will tie Brett Favre’s record of 25 consecutive regular-season victories at home. It couldn’t come against a more appropriate opponent.

We’ll have updates throughout the night in Extra Points from the Globe’s team of reporters. To get you ready for some football, here’s a quick preview:

Kickoff: 4:15 p.m.
Records: Patriots 7-2; Colts 6-3
TV/radio: CBS (Ch. 4); A familiar crew handles the call for CBS as the network’s top broadcast team of play-by-play voice Jim Nantz and analyst Phil Simms are in Foxborough for the marquee game of the afternoon. As always, Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti will handle radio duties on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Line: Patriots favored by 4 points

Projected starting lineups (based on depth charts):

Patriots offense: WR Wes Welker, LT Matt Light, LG Logan Mankins, C Dan Koppen, RG Stephen Neal, RT Sebastian Vollmer, TE Alge Crumpler, WR Brandon Tate, QB Tom Brady, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB Sammy Morris.

Colts offense: WR Reggie Wayne, LT Charlie Johnson, LG Kyle DeVan, C Jeff Saturday, RG Mike Pollak, RT Ryan Diem, TE Brody Eldridge, RB Donald Brown, QB Peyton Manning, HB Jacob Tamme, WR Pierre Garcon

Patriots defense: LE Gerard Warren, NT Vince Wilfork, RE Mike Wright, OLB Rob Ninkovich, ILB Jerod Mayo, ILB Brandon Spikes, OLB Jermaine Cunningham, LCB Devin McCourty, RCB Kyle Arrington, S Brandon Meriweather, S Patrick Chung

Colts defense: DE Robert Mathis, DT Dan Muir, RT Fili Moala, DE Dwight Freeney, LILB James Farrior, SLB Pat Angerer, MLB Cody Glenn, WLB Tyjuan Hagler, LCB Kelvin Hayden, FS Antoine Bethea, SS Aaron Francisco, RCB Jerraud Powers

Patriots inactives: RB Fred Taylor, G Stephen Neal, WR Taylor Price CB Jonathan Wilhite, S Jarrad Page, OL Rich Ohrnberger, OL Mark LeVoir and DL Myron Pryor.

Colts inactives: The Colts announced Saturday that running backs Joseph Addai (neck) and backup Mike Hart (ankle) are out, as are starting linebackers Gary Brackett (toe) and Clint Session (elbow) and cornerback Justin Tryon (foot). Two notorious Patriots pests are also sidelined, safety Bob Sanders, the former NFL defensive player of the year, and tight end Dallas Clark, who is out for the season with a wrist injury. The status of wide receiver Austin Collie, who suffered a concussion two weeks ago on a vicious hit against the Eagles, remains uncertain but will become clear when the Colts reveal their other two inactive players at approximately 2:45 p.m.

Update: DT Ricardo Mathews and G Jaimie Thomas are out for the Colts, meaning Collie is active. It will be interesting to see how much he plays and how effective he is, particularly with nickelback Jonathan Wilhite out for the Patriots. Darius Butler, inactive a week ago, is active today.

The Colts are limping:

You probably gathered that much from the medical report in the previous paragraph, but it does bear repeating, particularly given how it might affect their defense. The Colts are 29th in the league against the run, allowing an average of 133.2 yards per game. The Patriots have had their ups and downs with the running game this season — they’re 17th in the league at 106.7 yards per game. But they’re coming off an impressive performance against the Steelers, running for 103 yards against a defense that allowed an NFL-low 58 yards per game on the ground entering the game. With the dependable Brackett and Session sidelined for Indy today, it makes sense for the Patriots to emphasize the run, particularly with the added benefit of keeping the ball out of Manning’s hands. With Fred Taylor inactive again with a toe injury, much of the burden will likely fall on BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who gained 87 yards against Pittsburgh.

Will the kicking game come into play?: It’s a question we asked last week when Shayne Graham — not to mention new long snapper Matt Katula — made their Patriots debuts against Pittsburgh, replacing the injured Stephen Gostkowski and Jake Ingram, the second-year long snapper who was let go. Graham hit a pair of field goals against Pittsburgh (from 31 and 36 yards) but missed an extra point. The Colts kicker needs no introduction to Patriots fans. At age 37, Adam Vinatieri is still going strong, having hit 17 of 19 field goals this season with a long of 48 yards. If the game comes down to a last-second field goal, the Colts have the advantage.