The Indianapolis Colts came into the 2009 season with high expectations. Always a competitive team, anything short of a Super Bowl may be seen as a disappointment in their minds.

The Colts travel to Miami to face the Dolphins on Monday Night Football. The Dolphins, winners of the AFC East in 2008, opened up their season on a sour note with a loss in Atlanta to the Falcons and will look to rebound from their week 1 loss.

The Colts are loaded on offense with WR Reggie Wayne, WR Pierre Garcon, WR Anthony Gonzalez, TE Dallas Clark, RB Joseph Addai, RB Donald Brown and of course QB Peyton Manning.

While the odds makers have the Colts winning this game by three points, the Colts have a few things to worry about that may affect their chances of winning in Miami.

Peyton Manning looked great during the first week of the NFL season, there’s no doubt about that. He connected with Reggie Wayne like they did in 2007, and made use of the rest of his receivers too. However, Anthony Gonzalez, the team’s number two wide receiver, was forced out of the game with injury and will probably miss the remainder of the year as a result. Since the team no longer has Marvin Harrison, this is ample cause for concern.

While it goes without saying how good the Colts offense is, their defense will eventually decide the fate of their season. While the Colts defense has given up more yards then they would like, their opponents scoring is in the teens, which is very good.

Additionally, the effectiveness of Joseph Addai still comes under question after he followed up a great 2007 season with a disappointing 2008 campaign that saw him falling short of expectations and struggling.

The Monday night game at Miami is a must win for the Indianapolis Colts. Expect Manning to rise to the occasion, that’s usually what he does!

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