Colts Head Coach Frank Reich Knows What to Expect from Bill Belichick and the Patriots
For many years during the 2000s, the games between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots were must-see TV.
Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady. Tony Dungy vs. Bill Belichick. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne vs. Ty Law and Rodney Harrison.
The battles brought about some of the best games of the 2000s. A true rivalry commenced between two of the best teams of the decade. However, these faceoffs haven’t been much of a rivalry as of late.
The Colts haven’t beaten the Patriots since 2009, the famous “4th and 2” game. Since then, the Patriots are 8-0 against the Colts, including two victories in the playoffs.
Fast forward to 2021, the Patriots come in as the current top seed in the AFC, with the Colts sitting sixth and looking to stay in playoff position. And while the Colts don’t want to get too caught up in the past, they know how much this fanbase loathes the “Evil Empire.”
“Having been here before as an assistant coach you really feel how important it is to this organization and to our fans that the history of this rivalry with New England is real, it’s palpable,” Colts head coach Frank Reich said before the bye. “I don’t want our players to get too caught up in the past. I do want them to understand that it is a big deal here.”
Reich knows the importance this game holds not only for the fan base but for their playoff chances. The Colts are one of five teams in the AFC with a 7-6 record, holding the top spot in the standings amongst those teams because of their 6-3 record against AFC opponents.
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The Patriots at 9-4 share the top spot in the conference with the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs. Head coach Bill Belichick wants to make sure they stay atop the conference in pursuit of the lone first-round bye.
The Colts are well aware of Belichick’s tendencies when it comes to opposing offenses. They saw it for years as Belichick tried to take away Harrison and Wayne so Manning would have to find another target. Whatever you do best, the Patriots will try to take it away.
“Coach Belichick has always done an outstanding job of … he’s earned the reputation for being able to take away what you do best,” Reich admitted. “He’s done that for a lot of years. He’s very good at – each game plan is specifically designed for what the team does. He has the flexibility to use his players and his schemes in order to take away what you do best. That’s how he’s made the reputation for being one of the greatest coaches of all time.”
For this matchup, it’ll be all about stopping running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor’s fantastic season has made him the top target for opposing teams. When you run for 1,348 yards and 16 touchdowns in 13 games, that’s bound to happen.
The Patriots are giving up an average of 114.5 yards a game on the ground this season, 19th in the NFL. While the Patriots have only allowed two teams to rush for over 100 yards during their current seven-game winning streak, they are still giving up nearly five yards a carry during that span. The Colts will have their opportunities but need to be prepared if the run game can’t get going.
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“I think it’s a combination of always having your core stuff ready,” Reich said. “Having some things in our back pocket, knowing the different ways that he might try to attack us. That’s unpredictable to some extent. It probably is helpful to us that it is later in the year so that we have a lot of accumulated reps on offense so if we need to make adjustments in the course of a game, we can go to things that we’ve run and have a lot of accumulated reps on.”
The Colts are confident that if they need to rely on their aerial attack they will be able to get the job done. Quarterback Carson Wentz has had success against the better pass defenses Indy has faced this year. By not worrying about feeding specific players, Wentz has been making the correct reads and getting it to his open receivers.
“As you guys know, we take a lot of pride in how we spread the ball around. Sure, (Michael) Pittman Jr. is the leading receiver. Sure, we like to get T.Y. (Hilton) involved and so on and so forth. But it really varies. You guys know this as well as anybody, it varies from game-to-game, week-to-week for us. We go into the game thinking we’re going to spread the ball around to start. So, this game will be no different.”
Reich and the Colts know what to expect from Belichick and the Patriots. The question will be, can they execute and overcome it?
Have thoughts on the chess match between Frank Reich and Bill Belichick this weekend? Drop a line in the comments below and let us know what you think!
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