FO breaks down playoffs

Interesting analysis as always

Faced with elite opposition, both these teams flinch stylistically. The Colts spent most of their time during the regular season encounter between these two teams in a two-tight end set, with two wide receivers split to one side of the field or the other. The goal there is to combine formations with motion before the snap to make reading the Ravens’ coverage before the snap an easier process. In response, a Ravens defender will occasionally sprint towards the line of scrimmage and feign like they’ve been caught in a forthcoming blitz by Manning before the snap, only to not rush once the ball’s been snapped. It’s a fascinating game of cat-and-mouse, even before the ball’s out of Jeff Saturday‘s hand.

Baltimore will spend most of their time against this base offense in a 4-2-5 set, with Carr as the nickelback in the slot when the Colts go with twin wide receivers on one side. The Ravens did not have Terrell Suggs in Week 11, so Jarret Johnson lined up with his hand in the dirt on the line; expect Suggs to play that role this week, and give hobbled left tackle Charlie Johnson more trouble than Jarret Johnson did. When the Colts split out Clark, the Ravens move back into a 3-3-5 and line up Carr directly over Clark, giving him help from the extra linebacker.

One player who had an unexpectedly big game when these two teams met was tight end Tom Santi, who played a key role throughout the day. His six catches for 80 yards came despite his failing to catch a pass in 2009 before the game while only catching two passes for 27 yards afterwards. It was a role dictated by matchups; Santi was being left uncovered and finding holes in the Ravens’ zones, with Baltimore too busy focusing on Wayne, Clark, Garcon, and Collie. That all came crashing down, though, when Santi caught a quick out at the five-yard line, turned upfield and ran for the endzone…and got waylaid by Reed and then Lewis, fumbling the ball away in the process. Back to the L.E.S for you, young man.