It's the Tom Bradys vs. the Andrew Lucks.
All the talk and pageantry will center on how Andrew Luck stacks up against Tom Brady, but this one should be interesting for a variety of other reasons. Aqib Talib will make his debut at cornerback for the Pats, and we could also get a look at wide receiver Greg Salas after Deion Branch was released Saturday.
Exciting times all around.
We already went over some of the bigger themes and provided a preliminary list of what to watch for during the game. We’ll soon know the inactives, and this post will be updated with that information once it becomes available.
For everything else, check back after the game for our typical coverage. For everything else, follow me on Twitter @Nick_Underhill.
UPDATE:
Colts inactives: CB Vontae Davis (knee), LB Mario Harvey, OL Bradley Sowell, DT Josh Chapman (knee), DT Martin Tevaseu, OT Tony Hills, TE Coby Fleener (shoulder).
Patriots inactives: DE Jake Bequette, DL Justin Francis, TE Daniel Fells, G Logan Mankins (calf/ankle), TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle), G Dan Connolly (back), S Patrick Chung (shoulder/hamstring).
No real big surprises here. We knew that Hernandez was going to miss the game a few days ago. Mankins was listed as doubtful, though there seemed to be an outside chance for Connolly to play after returning to practice Friday. Looks like Nick McDonald and Donald Thomas will serve as the guards today.
Chung's absence is a little more confusing. It looked like he was on track for a return and he posted in a quickly deleted that "you gotta love business" after news came out that he wasn't playing. Have to wonder if he's unhappy about being benched.