With QB Peyton Manning performing as well as ever despite a relatively new array of weapons, a high-powered offense continues to be the Colts' featured attraction.

But it would be a grave mistake not to give equal credit for the team's success so far this season to a surprisingly stingy defense that has performed way above and beyond the call of duty.

While newly hired defensive coordinators Mike Nolan and Gregg Williams have been receiving rave reviews this season for their stellar work with the Saints and Broncos, respectively, Colts new defensive coordinator Larry Coyer has been doing an equally excellent job — without nearly as much fanfare.

Despite the absence of star SS Bob Sanders — who is finally expected to make his season debut in St. Louis this Sunday after sitting out the Colts' first five games while continuing to recover from offseason surgery on his right knee — Indy's defense has more than held its own, ranking seventh in total yards allowed entering Week Seven.

In his 45th year as a coach at the pro and college level, Coyer is at the root of the team's success.

"He is a true professional, one of the finest teachers I've ever been around," Colts head coach Jim Caldwell told PFW. "He is a taskmaster with a great conceptual understanding of defensive football, and he has been great at getting our guys to buy into his ideas.

"He has been tremendous in terms of getting everybody headed in the same direction and believing in what he is trying to accomplish, and he reinforces his goals day in and day out, minute by minute. He's done a great job of blending the skills of our players."

One thing Coyer has clearly done is utilize his unit's speed and versatility in such a way to create more pressure, particularly from DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis (combined 10½ sacks), who have benefited from more one-on-one situations.

"We have a fairly versatile bunch of guys defensively, who can do a number of different things," Caldwell said. "Larry has been able to utilize the athleticism of Dwight and Robert and (backup DE) Raheem Brock and move them around a little bit so the opposition can't always tell where they will be lined up.

"That movement along the line has helped create more one-on-one matchups."

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