The Indianapolis Colts finally started showing signs of life last weekend against the Steelers.  The Buccaneers have won 2 games in a row, and they are likely to be sky high as they will be playing on Monday Night Football for the first time in quite a while.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are likely to start Curtis Painter at QB this week.  With that in mind, I look for the Colts to really try to get the running game going.  Joseph Addai and Delone Carter will probably have succes in moving the ball against a Buc’s D that is allowing 114.0 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Buccaneers also have had issues with stopping the passing game as opposing teams are averaging 270.7 yards per game in the air.  I’m not so sure that the Colts are confident enough in Curtis Painter to let him throw the ball down the field to Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon.  Look for TE Dallas Clark and WR Austin Collie to get a lot of work in the short passing game this Monday Night.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Colts need to be physical in this game as the Bucs are a young and big team.  LeGarrette Blount is going to be a challenge for the Colts’ D as he is likely going to be fed the ball early in the game.  DEs Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney are going to have to get to Josh Freeman, or they are going to be in deep, deep trouble.  TE Kellen Winslow and WR Mike Williams are likely to be Freeman’s favorite targets in the passing game this Monday Night.

PREDICTION:  BUCCANEERS 23, COLTS 9

The Colts have waived 27-year old cornerback Justin Tyron.  Tyron played in 3 games for the Colts this year and he had 7 tackles.  Tyron played in 15 games in his two years with the Colts and he had 51 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 7 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  The Colts need more production out of the corners and that’s why Justin Tyron is looking for a new job.

The Colts have signed 24-year old linebacker A.J. Edds off the Patriots’ practice squad.  Edds missed his rookie season in 2010 due to injury.  He played in 2 games for the Patriots this year and he had 1 tackle.  The Colts are hoping that Edds can help them out on special teams while also providing some depth at linebacker going forward.

The Colts have placed 26-year old strong safety Melvin Bullitt and 31-year old linebacker Gary Brackett on the Injured Reserve List ending their seasons because of shoulder injuries.  Bullitt played in 2 games for the Colts this year and he had 11 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 50 games in his first 5 years in the NFL and he has 193 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 13 passes defensed and 7 interceptions.  The Colts are going to miss Bullitt going forward.  Gary Brackett played in 1 game for the Colts this year and he had 6 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.  Brackett has now played in 116 games in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has 709 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 29 passes defensed and 12 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Pat Angerer should do a solid job in Brackett’s old spot.

24-year old linebacker Pat Angerer burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2010 with the Colts.  He played in all 16 games for the Colts last year and he had 88 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  Angerer has taken his game to a higher level so far this year and that is very impressive.  Angerer has played in all 3 of the Colts games so far this year and he has an amazing 42 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  The Colts hope that Angerer can keep up the good work as they are going to have to play good defense if they want to win some games this year, because the offense has been awful.

The Colts have re-signed 28-year old QB Dan Orlovsky, who was let go by the team in the final cutdowns.  Orlovsky has played in 13 games (7 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 150 of 272 passes (55.1%) for 1,679 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 INTs (71.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 7 times for 29 yards (4.1 ypc) in his career so far.  But, Orlovsky is 0-7 as a starting QB in his NFL career.  With Kerry Collins suffering from a concussion, Orlovsky could very well find himself as the #2 QB behind Curtis Painter in next week’s Monday Night Football Game in Tampa Bay.

The Indianapolis Colts showed their pride last night as they took the fight right to the Steelers, before coming up a tad short.  Kerry Collins wasn’t very effective last night as he completed 13 of 29 passes for 93 yards without a TD pass or INT before leaving the game with concussion like symptoms.  Curtis Painter actually didn’t look too bad as he completed 5 of 11 passes for 60 yards without a TD pass or INT.  He did lose a fumble when he was hit hard in the back by OLB James Harrison, then Troy Polamalu returned it 16 yards for a TD.  That gave the Steelers a 20-13 lead, then Painter led the Colts on a long TD drive to tie the score at 20 apiece.  Joseph Addai ran really well for the Colts last night as he carried the ball 17 times for 86 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Delone Carter pitched in with 11 yards rushing on 4 carries (2.8 ypc) in this game.  WRs Pierre Garcon (6 rec, 82 yards), Austin Collie (5 rec, 29 yards) and Reggie Wayne (3 rec, 24 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Colts last night.  The Colts finished up with 97 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 40 passes (45%) for 144 yards as they had possession of the ball for 26:02.

The defense brought the fight to the Steelers’ offense in this game.  LB Pat Angerer led the way for the Colts last night with an amazing 21 tackles!  LB Kavell Conner (4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 3 QB hits and a forced fumble) also had big games for the Colts last night.  DE Jamaal Anderson (fumble recovery with a 47-yard TD run), DE Robert Mathis (fumble recovery) and safety Joe Lefeged (interception) also made big plays for the Colts last night.  The Steelers finished up with 67 yards rushing on 28 carried (2.4 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 37 passes (67.6%) for 341 yards in this game.  The Colts are now 0-3 on the year.

The Indianapolis Colts are reeling right now after a blowout loss in the season opener at Houston and the loss to the Browns in the home opener last weekend.  Not too much has gone right for the Colts this year and the last thing they needed right now was a visit by the Steelers on National T.V. this Sunday Night.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts should try to run the ball at the outset of this game.  Joseph Addai and Delone Carter could have success against a Steelers’ D that is allowing 100.5 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so far this year.  Kerry Collins is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly against a Steelers’ team that loves to blitz.  With that in mind, Austin Collie, Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai will likely be the guys he targets the most in the passing game.  If the Colts get the running game going, look for Collins to take some deep shots off of play action for Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are likely going to run the ball a lot more than usual in this game, so the front seven better be ready to deal with Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman.  The Colts are going to have to get after Ben Roethlisberger with DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, and they should be able to because the Steelers’ O-Line sucks at pass blocking.  The Steelers might decide to throw shorter passes this weekend to guys like Hines Ward and Heath Miller.  They will still take some shots down the field to Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 27, COLTS 13

The Colts have signed 24-year old cornerback Stevie Brown.  Brown played in 15 games for the Raiders as a rookie last year and he had 30 tackles and defensed 2 passes.  Brown will help the Colts on special teams and they need all of the help they can get after watching Josh Cribbs run wild on them last weekend.  Brown will also give the Colts solid depth at safety.  I like this move for them.

The Colts have two solid RBs but they continue to air the ball out in the passing game like they think Peyton Manning is still taking snaps.  That just isn’t smart football.  28-year old RB Joseph Addai has been really effective so far this year as he has carried the ball 22 times for 103 yards (4.7 ypc).  He has also caught 6 passes for 50 yards (8.3 avg) for the Colts.  Rookie Delone Carter has pitched in with 71 yards on 18 carries (3.9 ypc) for the Colts so far this year.  The Colts need to hand the ball to Addai and Carter in an attempt to control the clock, as Kerry Collins just doesn’t seem to be up to the challenge of throwing the ball all around the field.