Colts defense impressive in win over Saints
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis defense just wanted a fresh start in 2007.
The Colts did far better than that.
A year after becoming the butt of leaguewide jokes, Indy's rebuilt defense was dominant Monday night in the NFL season opener, even outscoring last year's top-ranked offense in a 41-10 rout of New Orleans.
"Who cares if they were the No. 1 offense, this is a new year," former Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders said of the Saints. "That's what we've been saying all along. This is a new defense, a new offense and we did what we had to do. We played physical, smart and fast."
Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning and his teammates looked like they were in championship form — thanks in large part to the good field position and scoring opportunities the defense provided.
Manning finished 18-of-30 for 288 yards with three touchdowns, and Joseph Addai carried 23 times for 118 yards and a TD. Pro Bowl receivers Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison combined for 11 catches, 198 yards and three TDs — all against Jason David, the former Colts cornerback who left the champions as a restricted free agent in April.
"It was just another day at the office," Wayne said. "I gave him (David) a free touchdown, so I guess that was the appreciation we gave him."
New Orleans (0-1) managed only 293 yards of offense and one field goal. The other score came on David's nifty 55-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
"You couldn't hold the ball against them," Deuce McAllister said after running 10 times for 38 yards. "There are not a lot of Dwight Freeneys or Robert Mathises on other teams that pressure you like that."
And New Orleans stumbled all night.
Most expected the Colts' defense to be the greatest obstacle to a repeat as Super Bowl champs, especially after losing four starters from a unit that was the league's worst against the run in 2006.
That certainly wasn't the case on opening night.
With Super Bowl towels and a championship banner waving above the field, the Colts (1-0) showed they are every bit as dominant as last year.
They played fast, aggressive and opportunistic football as they made Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints' vaunted running tandem of McAllister and Reggie Bush look ordinary.
Brees, last year's Pro Bowl starter for the NFC, was 28-of-41 for 192 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Bush, expected to become more of a focal point of the Saints' offense in his second season, carried 12 times for 38 yards and caught four passes for seven yards.
"I think disappointing is more the word for it," coach Sean Payton said. "Offensively, we struggled in a lot of areas in the first half and that carried over to the second half."
