What I think the Colts are thinking

<p><em>Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky<img align="right" alt="" height="80" src="http://assets.espn.go.com/i/teamlogos/nfl/med/ind.gif" width="80" /></em></p> <p>What I think they're thinking at the indianapolis Colts headquarters this afternoon:</p> <p>Wouldn't it have been great if Denver had somehow pulled an upset Sunday night? We could have shredded that defense, even in a blizzard. But San Diego it is. We fought tooth and nail there to win during the season, and we owe them for last year when they came to Indianapolis and upset us, 28-24, in the divisional round.</p> <p>We rested <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=3539" shape="rect" target="_new">Dwight Freeney</a>, <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=4596" shape="rect" target="_new">Robert Mathis</a> and <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=5569" shape="rect" target="_new">Bob Sanders</a> against Tennessee and those three guys will be huge in our defensive effort. <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=5529" shape="rect" target="_new">Philip Rivers</a> has been quite good recently, but we'll count on Bob Sanders to help hold <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=2553" shape="rect" target="_new">LaDainian Tomlinson</a> in check. If we can put the Chargers in some third-and-longs, Freeney and Mathis will have time to chase Rivers down, knock him around, maybe knock a ball or two free.</p> <p>The regular season win at San Diego was just Game 4 of this nine-game winning streak we're on, and we're primed to play better now than we did then, when it came down to a field goal at the end. Finding a way to run the ball somewhat effectively is key, because if the Chargers get a feeling they can stop our ground game early, they could lean pass on play-action and hinder <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=1428" shape="rect" target="_new">Peyton Manning</a>'s ability to make things happen downfield.</p> <p>Nobody hits the playoffs with any more confidence than we have, now let's get to work on one of those top-flight preparations weeks Peyton Manning talked about after Sunday's win.</p>

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