History Lessons: Colts and Jags have plenty of it

It seems fitting to call the rivalry between the Colts and Jaguars the "The Hatfields vs. the McCoys."

Every time these teams meet, the Jags are looking up at the Colts in the rankings. If not for an impressive come-from-behind win last week by Indy, both teams would be a stunning 0-2. As it stands, it's pretty incredible that these teams have one win between them.

The last time the Colts and Jaguars met was in Indianapolis, and Peyton Manning spanked the Jags for 288 yards and four touchdowns, the most he's ever thrown against them in his career. In fact, Manning has been good for at least 250 passing yards in six of his 10 regular-season meetings against the Jaguars since Jack Del Rio took over as head coach, including each of the last three meetings. But before that four-TD effort, Manning's last multi-touchdown game against Jacksonville came in 2005. Four of Manning's last six games against the Jaguars saw him throw one or no touchdown passes.

Maurice Jones-Drew has found paydirt every time he's faced the Colts. (US Presswire)

The other Manning trend that caught our attention upon further examination is that Jacksonville is starting to get to Peyton. In their last five meetings, Manning has been sacked nine times. When you combine that with Manning getting sacked four times through two weeks this season because of his porous offensive line, and the Jaguars spending their first two picks in the '08 draft specifically on pass rushers to get to Manning, you get the idea that this trend will continue, and it could cost the Colts statistically.

Manning's best receiver in the Indy-Jacksonville series has been Reggie Wayne, which should make Fantasy owners breathe a sigh of relief. Wayne has posted three-straight 100-yard games against Jacksonville, with a touchdown in his last meeting. The bad news is that Wayne's touchdown in '07 was his first against the Jaguars since 2003, so he's just now starting to get his groove back against his AFC South foe. As for teammate Marvin Harrison, he had a tremendous history against Jacksonville but clearly isn't the same player he was back when he was an All-Pro.

It's been Dallas Clark who has been beating up the Jaguars in the end zone, scoring three times against them in 2007, with two in their meeting at Indianapolis (126 receiving yards total). Clark has scored in his last three against Jacksonville, but he's got a partially torn ligament in his knee and is no lock to play. If he's out, then perhaps Anthony Gonzalez would inherit Clark's receptions, much like he did for most of the team's Week 2 win at Minnesota. Rookie Tom Santi is another candidate.

But perhaps the most important figure that Fantasy owners want the history book on is Joseph Addai. And it's not good: Addai has never scored against Jacksonville. He's never rushed for 100 yards against Jacksonville. He has one 100-total-yard game in his career against Jacksonville. And, he's averaging 2.4 yards per carry this season with one touchdown and no 100-total-yard games through two weeks, thanks in part to the Colts' O-line. Jacksonville's opponents are averaging 3.7 yards per rush this season.

If you own Addai, you've been warned.

What about the Jaguars? Well, start with the running backs, both of whom are the most important Fantasy options on the team. Fred Taylor has a pair of 100-yard games against the Colts, but has one TD in his last eight against Indianapolis. That dates back to before he was splitting carries with Maurice Jones-Drew, and it should come as no surprise that 'MoJo' has scored in every meeting he's had with the Colts. He also ran them over for a pair of 100-yard games in 2006 when the Colts were letting everyone run over them.

What's that? The Colts are letting everyone run over them again this year? And safety Bob Sanders is out for at least six weeks with a high-ankle sprain?

With Jacksonville's passing game still a work in progress (Garrard's history against the Colts is hit-or-miss anyway), expect the club to run as much as possible. Jones-Drew and Taylor should be good starts this week.

Cowboys see Rodgers again

The marquee matchup in Week 2 involved the Cowboys hosting the Eagles. In Week 3, it has the Cowboys again, but they'll be on the road at the Packers. And, lucky for us, the two teams have some very recent history -- they played each other in Dallas in Week 13 last season, and Aaron Rodgers took most of the snaps at quarterback for Green Bay after Brett Favre was knocked out with an injury.

The Cowboys weren't prepared for Rodgers to do well, but they were prepared to make him beat them as they stacked up against Ryan Grant once Rodgers entered the game (Grant's 62-yard touchdown run came while Favre was in). Rodgers had solid success, connecting with Greg Jennings and Donald Driver on all of their receptions (Favre didn't complete one pass to them). Jennings finished with 87 yards and a touchdown while Driver had 66 yards on seven receptions, his third-best total in all of 2007.

It was pretty much assumed after this game that Rodgers was ready for the NFL. And the Cowboys know now that they can't just play against the run with him under center.

Of course, Dallas had their typical offensive success in last year's meeting. Tony Romo threw four touchdowns and was well over 300 yards passing, Terrell Owens had 156 receiving yards and a touchdown and Patrick Crayton had two touchdowns. The only Cowboys that didn't stat well were tight end Jason Witten (67 yards on six catches) and running back Marion Barber (just 81 rush yards). The Packers' offense might be on fire right now, but their defense was exposed by the Lions last week until they started picking off Jon Kitna's passes late in the game (Romo was picked off once last year by cornerback Al Harris). Then again, the Cowboys' secondary got exposed a little bit by the Eagles in Week 2.

Because of the familiarity these teams have from their 2007 matchup, expect them to be prepared, especially since the personnel hasn't changed much on these teams (Favre's early exit makes him inconsequential to the film study for Dallas). But more importantly, both teams have developed incredible passing attacks. We might see another high-scoring game (when they played last year, they totaled 64 points).

History suggests ...

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