5 storylines for Colts vs. Saints: Time for Frank Gore's 100-yard day?

Here are five storylines to keep an eye on ahead of the Indianapolis Colts (3-3) hosting the New Orleans Saints (2-4) Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium:

1) Thin at safety: Mike Adams? He’s out. Clayton Geathers? He’s doubtful. Colt Anderson? He’s up.

For the season’s first stretch, it was the Colts cornerbacks fighting off the injury bug. Now it’s the safeties. Adams, tied for the league lead in interceptions, will miss his first NFL game in five years with a sore hamstring. Geathers, dealing with a sore knee, was listed as doubtful but did see his first practice time of the week on Friday.

That means Anderson is next in line. Typically a special-teamer, Anderson filled in after Geathers went down in the first half of Sunday’s game. He finished with five combined tackles. Backing up Anderson will be Dewey McDonald, who hasn’t played a defensive snap all season and is best known for dropping a too-easy pass on a fake punt last year in Dallas.

Needless to say, it’s not ideal to be facing a Drew Brees-piloted offense with a depleted secondary.

“Trust and count on our guys, no matter who it is,” said coach Chuck Pagano. “They study. They work extremely hard. Next man up, there’s nothing we can do about it. We happen to be playing another great, great quarterback that poses a great challenge for anybody, let alone guys that are stepping into the lineup in bigger roles.”

2) Saints D: Ripe against the run? New Orleans enters Sunday’s game ranked 30th in the league against the run, allowing 138.2 yards per game and 4.7 per carry. That’s music to the ears of Colts running back Frank Gore, who has been trying, trying, and trying, to snap the team’s most embarrassing current streak. It’s now 46 games —dating to late in the 2012 season —the Colts have gone without a 100-yard rusher, the longest such streak in the league.

This could be the week. Gore’s averaged just 14.8 carries per game the first six weeks of the season. A big day against this defense seems possible, pitch count or no pitch count. If the Colts are going to achieve the sort of offensive balance they constantly speak of, Sunday would be a good time to start.

3) The Brees Factor: Former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees will make just his third career start in the state where he played college football, and just the second as a member of the Saints. He enters Sunday’s game averaging 323 passing yards per game, second in the NFL to New England’s Tom Brady. Despite missing one start, Brees already has 1,616 yards and seven touchdowns.

Behind Manning and Brady, aging stars nearing their 40s, Brees is next in line in quarterbacking seniority. He’s in his 15th season and 10th with the Saints.

“There is not a day that goes by that you take that for granted or don’t realize some of the things you’re able to do because of his skill set,” Saints coach Sean Payton said this week.

Brees, likewise, holds Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in high regard.

“In my times around him, he’s got a great demeanor, great poise,” Brees said. “He’s a big-time player. I’ve seen him win a ton of big games and play really well doing it. He’s got the opportunity to make big plays with his arm in the pocket and also running the football, which is a rare combination for a guy as big and strong as him, to be that athletic. He’s just a competitor, so I respect a lot of things about him.”

4) More Mathis? Both Pagano and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky were adamant this week that outside linebacker Robert Mathis will see more snaps on Sunday. After playing 33 downs in Houston (43 percent of the defensive snaps), Mathis’ total sunk to just 19 Sunday against the Patriots (28 percent).

Brees would be wise to expect a lot more Mathis come Sunday afternoon.

“I think every week we’re just keeping on trying to grow with him,” Manusky said. “Sometimes in that situation, if they’re no-huddle or moving the ball and stuff, it’s hard to get them in. But from that standpoint, we’re just going to try to up and up (Mathis) each week and every week (get him as many snaps) as he can. The more he can handle, the better it is for us. But that’s just a process right now.”

5) Bad, bad memories: The Colts and Saints have only met 12 times. The past two have been memorable – and not a good memorable for the Colts. The two squared off in Super Bowl XLIV, also known as The Hank Baskett Game, also known as the Saints’ 31-17 victory. The Colts led 10-6 at the half but the game swung, swiftly and decisively, after New Orleans engineered a successful onside kick to open the second half. The Colt with the best chance to corral the football was reserve wideout Baskett. Needless to say it didn’t go well.

It was far uglier more than a year later, when the Colts visited New Orleans for a Sunday night date with the Saints in October 2011. By this point, Peyton Manning was stuck on the sidelines, recovering from neck surgery, and Curtis Painter was under center. The Colts lost 62-7. It was the most points the Colts have given up in a game. Ever.

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.