The four most important Colts players for the remainder of 2008

In the wake of the Colts' third straight win, sports commentators of all sorts have tried to explain how the Colts have changed course so quickly.

Some speculate that Joseph Addai finally broke free. Others think that Marvin Harrison has finally returned to pre-2007 form. A few think that Peyton Manning finally healed from his pre-season injuries. The rest think that Bob Sanders' return to the lineup has sparked the Colts defense to rise above its early season mediocrity.

All good reasons. But no one has stopped to think about why these four guys have played better.

I can tell you why. Four guys on the 2008 Colts team will dictate whether the Colts make a run for Indy's second Lombardi Trophy or if the team will stumble and fail to make the playoffs.

The players, in no particular order:

• Charlie Johnson, offensive guard
• Mike Pollak, offensive guard
• Eric Foster, defensive tackle
• Antonio Johnson, defensive tackle

Let's start with Johnson and Pollak. They play left and right guard, respectively, on what I recently called the Colts' worst offensive line in a decade.

The film proves it. Pollak run blocked like a matador against the Steelers. He couldn't figure out who to block, and when he did, the defender was already by him. He usually finds himself in the backfield with Addai and Manning on run plays.

Charlie Johnson has played marginally better than Pollak this season, but he hasn't filled Ryan Lilja's shoes the way we hoped.

Both guys have contributed to the Colts' offensive woes more than any other player. When Johnson and Pollak can't run block, Joseph Addai can't find a hole in which to run. When they can't pass block, Manning gets the "happy feet" that so many dopey Indy fans like to rail on him for (they don't understand why Manning has happy feet. All I can say is "you would too").

It's that simple folks. Without quality guard play, the Colts can't get out of their own way on offense. DVR a game and watch it frame-by-frame. The evidence speaks for itself.

Now, do you know how Johnson and Pollak played in the 3rd quarter against the Texans? Great! They were awesome. Pollak had guys blocked 3- to 5-yards downfield before Manning had the football in Addai's hands. All Addai had to do was follow his blockers. Same with Johnson; he consistently blew guys off the line of scrimmage. It's not a coincidence that Addai broke the 100-yard barrier for the first time all year and Manning threw for well over 300 yards. The offensive line played well, and most of the credit for improvement goes to Pollak and Johnson.

Now what about Eric Foster and Antonio Johnson? Same thing applies here. They make the defense go. In an ideal situation, these guys fill the A gaps in the opponent's offensive line and occupy the center and both guards. This prevents them from blocking linebackers downfield. When linebackers can play unblocked in a cover-2 scheme, they can maintain their gap discipline and force the ball carrier to either run right to them or to run laterally so someone like BOB SANDERS can come in and make the hit. When those guys fill the gaps, the defense gets to the ball carrier FAST.

And when they don't? Bad things happen. Generally when these two guys get outclassed they find themselves about 5 yards downfield. This does two things: 

1. It potentially frees up other linemen to block linebackers
2. It takes away the linebacker's ability to take an angle towards the line of scrimmage that forces the ball carrier to run laterally.
   

These guys make things happen for Bob Sanders. That's why the Colts acquired Corey Simon in 2005, Booger MacFarland in 2006 and took a chance with Ed Johnson in 2007. And think about this: the Colts starting defensive tackles for 2008, Quinn Pitcock and Ed Johnson, no longer play football professionally. It's no wonder the Colts have had issues with the run this year - they have effectively played with second-, third- and fourth-string defensive tackles all season.

And what makes Eric Foster and Antonio Johnson so important (as opposed to Keyunta Dawson, Daniel Muir and others)? These guys are big bodies. When Pittsburgh tried to score from the goal line late in the game two weeks ago, it was Foster and Johnson trying to plug the holes. These two guys will face more critical run situations than anyone else from here on out. The Colts will count on them to make big plays.

When these four guys play well, Manning, Addai, Harrison and Sanders play like All-Pros.

When they don't, Manning and the gang don't.

Pollak, Johnson, Foster and Johnson will hold the keys that will unlock Indy's chance at another Super Bowl. If they can't figure out how to play consistently within the next 6 weeks, it will be a very long winter for us.