A quick look at some cornerback stats for the St. Louis Rams underscores just what losing Bradley Fletcher really means for this team.
Last week, the Colts threw at Fletcher 7 times and completed just two passes. The third round pick from Iowa spent most of his time last Sunday, before hyperextending his knee, covering Colts' WR Pierre Garcon, who caught a single 15-yard pass. Now, that might have looked a little different had the rookie been covering Reggie Wayne.
The Rams most senior CB Ron Bartell spent the day with Wayne and got beat on 5 of 7 throws for 70 yards. Manning completed a 27-yard TD pass to Dallas Clark against Bartell too, and for the most part the Rams secondary had trouble making the shift from the receiver to the ball, no easy task with Manning as it is. It's also important to consider the QB in judging cornerbacks. Peyton Manning is one of the best, but he's not infallible.
As for Quincy Butler, the Colts completed 1 of 3 passes thrown at him. Reggie Wayne made a 7-yard grab with 1 yard after the catch against Butler.
We don't know yet who'll be under center for the Lions, but Calvin Johnson can expect to see plenty of double coverage.
Housekeeping notes...
- I'll have the weekly pick 'em poll and results from last week up today.
- Turf Show Radio is on the air tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. Central time.