When two Pro Bowl players go up against each other, a pass-rushing defensive end and a sturdy left tackle, you will hear a lot about it during the broadcast. When those Pro Bowl players are a block-absorbing defensive end and a sturdy left guard, not so much. Watching the Patriots and Vikings play Monday night, I wanted to try to focus on the battle between Steve Hutchinson and Richard Seymour as much as possible.

Seymour suffered an elbow injury the week before so nobody knew how much he would play, but he clearly played a big role in Minnesota's game plan. In the first half, when Jarvis Green was in the game at right end, Hutchinson generally handled him by himself, with ease. When Seymour came in, elbow injury or not, the Vikings respected him enough to double team him with TWO Pro Bowl offensive linemen, Hutchinson and Matt Birk. There aren't a lot of guys Hutchinson needs help with, but Seymour is one of them.

Later in the game, the Patriots decided that the best way to deal with Hutchinson was to just go around him. They began to spread the defensive linemen out, shifting the defensive end over towards left tackle Bryant McKinnie right before the snap on a number of different plays. At the snap of the ball, Hutchinson would step forward and block ... nothing. While Hutchinson stood in empty space, Tully Banta-Cain or Roosevelt Colvin would be coming around the side. The whole night, the Patriots abused McKinnie and right tackle Marcus Johnson, and stayed away from the Pro Bowler standing between them.

The next day, I sat down to do game charting with the tape of Sunday's Indianapolis-Denver game. This time I didn't mean to focus on an offensive guard, but while watching the first half of the game, it happened to be an offensive guard who stood out: Indianapolis right guard Jake Scott.

Jake Scott dominated the Broncos in the first half in the same way that Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne dominated the Broncos in the second half. The second Colts drive of the game went 56 yards, from a touchback to a field goal. On that drive, Joseph Addai ran the ball seven times. And all seven times, Jake Scott just took the guy in front of him and pushed the guy right out of the play. Usually it was Mike Myers. Another play it was Kenny Peterson. That was a first-and-10 on the Denver 29, where Al Wilson penetrated up the middle and Addai somehow avoided the tackle at his ankles and gained six yards. While everybody was watching that, Scott was still pushing Peterson over to the right. On another play, Scott was on the second level taking out D.J. Williams as Addai gained seven.

What's strange about this is that Scott is considered to be the worst of the Indianapolis linemen. Last year he subbed for right tackle Ryan Diem in the playoffs and was terrible. Part of the issue is that he has power but not quickness. I didn't notice him doing anything spectacular on the passing plays. But I think Denver noticed, because by the end of the half they were dropping the defensive end over Scott into coverage on passing plays, rushing only three and leaving Scott blocking thin air even though it meant that Manning had all the time in the world to throw.

I don't think the Patriots are going to do that, of course. They won't give Manning that kind of time. But with a 3-4 defense, you don't need to drop a lineman into coverage if you want to leave a guard free. You just use your linebackers on the edges. That's what the Patriots did with Hutchinson -- and if it sounds familiar, it also should remind you of the strategy that Pittsburgh used to upset Indianapolis in last year's playoffs.

Post by Aaron Schatz