Indianapolis Colts 2004-05 Playoff Profile

Regular Season Record: 12-4
All-Time Playoff Record: 13-15
Previous Playoff Results: Click Here

Strengths
Peyton Manning and the Colts passing game has been nearly unstoppable this year, with the All-Pro QB tossing a record 49 touchdown passes during the regular season. Blessed with an incredible array of weapons, Manning takes advantage of everything defenses give him.

He has an uncanny ability to spot the open man, and is reading defenses possibly as well as anyone ever has. And with wide receivers like Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokely, along with tight ends Marcus Pollard and Dallas Clarke, he almost always has someone open.

With all the focus on Manning and the air attack,it's easy to overlook the fact that the Colts have a pretty darn good running attack as well. Edgerrin James finished fourth in the league in rushing with 1548 yards and second in yards from scrimmage with 2,032 total yards.

The other side of the ball is far less potent, but they improved throughout the season, and made a lot of big plays over the second half. The Colts defense led the league with 35 takeaways and a +20 turnover differential.

Weaknesses:
Tony Dungy's defense has become adept at making the big plays and creating the turnovers, but they still give up a lot of yards. Only three teams --the Raiders, Chiefs, and Saints-- allowed more yards per game through the regular season. Of particular concern is the pass defense, which allowed 243 yards per game. However, some of those total yards can be attributed to teams trying to play catch-up with the Colts high-octane offense, so they may not be quite as bad as the numbers indicate.

Overview:
There's no doubt the Colts have the offensive firepower to go deep into the playoffs. But the knock on Manning through out his career has been that he can't win the big one. If the Colts are going to win it all, Manning must continue to perform as he did throughout the season.

The key for this team to win it all this year will fall squarely on defensive squad. They must continue to create turnovers, or they most likely will find themselves in a series of shootouts... and each of the other division winners in the AFC --the Patriots, Steelers, and Chargers-- have the weapons to take advantage of the Colts' shortcomings.

In my view, this club may win a couple games in the playoffs, but with the strength of the AFC field, I believe they will be tripped up along the way by one of the better balanced teams. Also, the prospects of going into Pittsburgh and/or New England in January just doesn't bode well for the Colts.

Team Roster

Offense
5 Travis Brown QB
18 Peyton Manning QB
12 Jim Sorgi QB
32 Edgerrin James RB
23 James Mungro RB
33 Dominic Rhodes RB
88 Marvin Harrison WR
85 Aaron Moorehead WR
84 Brad Pyatt WR
83 Brandon Stokley WR
86 Troy Walters WR
87 Reggie Wayne WR
44 Dallas Clark TE
80 Ben Hartsock TE
81 Marcus Pollard TE
48 Justin Snow TE
56 Tupe Peko C
63 Jeff Saturday C
71 Ryan Diem OT
76 Makoa Freitas OT
78 Tarik Glenn OT
73 Jake Scott OT
64 Rick DeMulling OG
61 Trevor Hutton OG
65 Ryan Lilja OG

Defense
79 Raheem Brock DE
93 Dwight Freeney DE
98 Robert Mathis DE
99 Brad Scioli DE
90 Montae Reagor DT
75 Larry Tripplett DT
96 Josh Williams DT
58 Gary Brackett LB
51 Gilbert Gardner LB
59 Cato June LB
94 Rob Morris LB
57 Jim Nelson LB
55 Kendyll Pope LB
97 Nick Rogers LB
50 David Thornton LB
42 Jason David CB
39 Anthony Floyd CB
25 Nick Harper CB
27 Von Hutchins CB
29 Joseph Jefferson CB
26 Waine Bacon S
28 Idrees Bashir S
41 Cory Bird S
20 Mike Doss S
21 Bob Sanders S
38 Gerome Sapp S

Kicker/Punter
10 Martin Gramatica K
13 Mike Vanderjagt K
17 Hunter Smith P

Coaching Staff
Tony Dungy – Head Coach
Tom Moore – Offensive Coordinator
Ron Meeks – Defensive Coordinator