The NFL preseason often consists of teams taking it easy and not unveiling their full look to opponents because it will provide less film and preparation to the early foes in the regular season, so when you hear that a team is ready to unveil a new look it makes perfect sense.
For the Indianapolis Colts, that will come on the defensive side of the ball when they show off their new and improved defensive aggression for the season-opener against Oakland.
"For years, the Colts were criticized for not being big enough, tough enough or aggressive enough on defense. Times are changing.The Colts signed six veterans in free agency, and five are expected to start – defensive tackles Aubrayo Franklin and Ricky Jean Francois, linebacker Erik Walden, cornerback Greg Toler and safety LaRon Landry.When the starters played during the preseason, they looked fast and aggressive – two components coach Chuck Pagano knows he must have in the 3-4 defense he brought from Baltimore.But, as Pagano noted, the Colts kept their defense pretty basic in August. So today will be the first time Colts fans will get to see the whole defensive package."
If the Colts defense is as successful as they believe it will be, they should come away with a big win to start the year.
The Raiders are bad enough that a vanilla offense could probably slow them down, so a fast attacking defense could be a nightmare for the team.