wes_mantooth;943185 wrote:I actually thought Garcon looked pretty good...he is the only guy this year to give Haden some trouble.
But yeah, I get that their defense has always been suspect...but they did manage to get edge pass rush back in the day.
Garcon has ability. He has issues getting open. Bubble screens and slants are how he does most of his damage. He is very big and physical and that allows him to be a great #2, but not when he cant run routes. Peyton was really good at checking into plays where his route would find the hole in a zone, and if they went man he would run the bubble screens or a go route with him. He rarely had him run routes in man coverage. Garcon said that was what helped him so much his 1st two years, not having to worry about breaking a man down on a route. Said he could just concentrate on the ball.
As for the edge. They still have it. But it doesnt do any good when the QB doesnt have to take 5 and 7 step drops. When the opponent was playing catch up, Freeney and Mathis pinned ears back and ran. But when they dont have to have deep drop backs, and Freeney and Mathis have to watch for the rush, its trouble. Even when teams tried to check down or run to avoid the edge rush, it played into the Tampa 2 defense and to score on the Colts it would take 8 minutes. Analysts always said it was a bad thing and the defense was getting carved, but in reality, a long drive was what the Colts defense wanted. Just sometimes Peyton wouldnt score and they would lose, and it looked bad.
