Colts looking to free up T.Y. Hilton

INDIANAPOLIS — One of the most memorable images from the NFL Films recap of last January’s AFC Championship game was Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton looking miserable while sitting on the bench, getting soaked by rain and commiserating with tight end Coby Fleener.
Fleener said he was having trouble because the Patriots were double teaming him.
“Welcome to my world,” Hilton quipped.
Hilton’s nickname is “The Ghost” because of his ability to escape defenses, but he’s been “The Ghost” against the Patriots because they have taken him out of games.
Bill Belichick always tries to take away an opposing offense’s top option, and Hilton was the lucky winner in two matchups last season. Darrelle Revis played Reggie Wayne one-on-one and Brandon Browner handled Fleener, and the Patriots devoted two defenders to stopping Hilton — cornerback Kyle Arrington underneath, and safety Devin McCourty over the top.
Hilton had just three catches for 24 yards in the Patriots’ win last November, and only one catch for 36 yards in the AFC Championship game, as the Patriots rolled to wins each time.
As the Colts prepare to host the Patriots Sunday night, they know they have to figure out a way to get Hilton involved.
“Without giving away too much information,” offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton said Thursday, “we need to find ways to position T.Y. so that he can win his matchup.”
Hilton had a breakout 2014 season, other than the two games against the Patriots. He finished sixth in the NFL with 1,345 yards and chipped in seven touchdowns as the Colts’ deep threat, averaging 16.4 yards per catch. His yardage numbers are similar this season — with 382 yards in five games, he’s on pace for 1,222 for the season — but Hilton has been kept out of the end zone this season as the Colts’ offense has struggled with Andrew Luck.
But Hilton, who was limited in Thursday’s practice with a groin injury, remains confident in the Colts’ offense — they’ve won three games in a row, the last two behind backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck — and believes that the Colts have better weapons this year that can help him get open.
Wayne is gone, replaced by veteran receiver Andre Johnson. Frank Gore has boosted the running game, and Donte Moncrief is shining in his second season, with 24 catches for 278 yards and three touchdowns this season.
“We’re way better,” Hilton said. “I think we’re more experienced now, added a lot of pieces that really can help me help this team. I feel like this year will be the year.”
Hilton is expecting similar attention in Sunday’s matchup, but it won’t be Arrington shadowing him all game, since Arrington is now with the Ravens. Tarell Brown has generally been the Patriots’ slot cornerback, but he sat out Thursday’s practice because of a foot injury.
“I know what they’re going to do, but I just don’t know who’s going to stick me, so I’ll find out the first drive,” Hilton said. “You’ve got two guys on you, one underneath and one over the top, so how can you win? But for me I’ve just got to find a way to make plays.”

Job well done

It would be understandable if Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri didn’t have warm and fuzzy feelings about Patriots counterpart Stephen Gostkowski, given that Gostkowski assumed Vinatieri’s job starting with the 2006 season, even after Vinatieri booted three Super Bowl-winning field goals for the Patriots.
But Vinatieri gushed about Gostkowski on Thursday. Gostkowski has been perfect this year, on 17 extra points and 10 field goals, including a Patriots-record 57-yarder at the end of the first half in last Sunday’s win over the Cowboys.
Gostkowski is third in the NFL in scoring, but only because the Patriots have played one fewer game than most teams. His 11.8 points per game lead the NFL, with Giants kicker Josh Brown second at 10 per game.
“Oh, he’s awesome,” Vinatieri said of Gostkowski. “He’s put 10 great years together. I’ve got the utmost respect for him. I think he’s unbelievable, and I think he’s one of the best that’s played.
“That’s a weapon that they have, knowing that any time they cross the 50-yard line they’re dang near field goal range, and he doesn’t miss often.”
Vinatieri, in his 10th year with the Colts after spending 10 years with the Patriots, tried to downplay the significance of Sunday’s game, the first time the Patriots will face the Colts since Deflategate.
But Vinatieri chuckled when asked if he expects the Patriots to keep their foot on the gas pedal even if they’re winning big.
“I remember coach Bobby Bowden 15 years ago, I remember him saying, ‘It’s my job to score points and it’s the other team’s job to stop us from scoring points,’ ” Vinatieri said. “So why would I expect anything less from them, or from us, or from any team?”

Choosing sides

The Colts and Patriots rivalry has spanned 15 years, since Peyton Manning and Tom Brady began dueling back in 2001, and the teams are supposed to hate each other even more now that the Colts were the whistleblowers for Deflategate.
But tight end Dwayne Allen, the Colts’ union representative, said he was happy to see Brady defeat the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell in federal court last month, getting his four-game suspension wiped out for violating the collective bargaining agreement.
“Any and every opportunity that our union gets to stand up to the NFL is a success,” Allen said. “We weren’t necessarily going out to prove Tom Brady’s innocence. It was to defend our collective bargaining agreement, and whenever we’re able to go up against the NFL and do that, yes, it is a success.”

Sore spots

The Colts had two significant changes to the injury report: Hilton was listed as limited with a groin injury after not appearing on Wednesday’s report, and pass rusher Bjoern Werner did not practice because of a hamstring injury after being a full participant on Wednesday. Luck once again was listed as limited because of a right shoulder injury.