The Tuesday Tango

Let us not get carried away with the San Fran game. By no means did they expose us like some say.

So then what happened?

Its simple. The NFL is full of teams that use gimmicks and gadgets to win games. Hell, even the Colts use a gadget to win with J. Addai's halfback pass to R. Wayne. But what the 9ers did was a gimmick to confuse the offense, which at times it worked great for them, but just like the Phins game gimmicks CANNOT beat the elite teams.

What was the 49ers gimmick for the game?

The main gimmick that stood out was when they were on defense. There were many downs where all defenders were in a standing position before the snap. This created confusion in the sense that it was unclear not only who was in a pass rush, but also it takes away the quick slant routes the Colts love to use; because with the defense standing you cannot simply throw over them especially on the short routes. It definitely made the lanes more narrow even for an accurate passer like Big P, and as a consequence he struggled a little bit; many throws were either over or under thrown, which is not characteristic of Peyton. Big P was either confused at times or just fighting one hell of a Halloween hangover!? Been there Peyton.

Even with this defensive gimmick, the Colts were moving the ball up and down the field and traded many opportunities for TDs for field goals. However, it did seem to work at times, so I would not be surprised to see other teams later this year try a similar gimmick, especially the Pats, they love trying new things to confuse Manning.

But, again like everything else give Manning a week to watch the tape and he will have mastered this gimmick as well. I would have loved to see P get another TD, but I am more than satisfied for another season starting 7-0.

Enjoy it; this will be a special year.