Run Must Be Stopped

The way Robert Mathis sees it, the answer is simple. The answer is not, as Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy is quick to tell you, newly-acquired Anthony "Booger" McFarland. It's not a change in scheme. Or philosophy. How do the Colts get teams to stop running so much against them?

Simple, Mathis said.

"It's the way it is till we stop it," the four-year veteran defensive end said as the AFC South-leading Colts (5-0) prepared to play the Washington Redskins (2-4) in the RCA Dome Sunday at 4:15 p.m.

The Colts' run defense, as has been the case much of the season, was a major topic as the team practiced this week at the Union Federal Football Center.

A week before the bye week, the Colts allowed 214 yards rushing in a 14-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans, and entering the game against the Redskins, the Colts are ranked 32nd in the NFL against the run.

The statistics have been repeated often this week. Last year, the Colts allowed 110.1 yards rushing per game. This season, they are allowing 166.1 yards per game, and in two games this season, the Colts have allowed more than 150 yards rushing in the first half.

On Tuesday, the Colts addressed the area by sending a second-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for McFarland, a defensive tackle and a starter in six of seven seasons since being the Buccaneers' first-round selection in the 1999 draft.

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