Steve Serby

Steve Serby

NFL

Former foes expect Brady to air it out against Broncos

The Colts played each of the four teams who will be fighting Sunday to get to the Super Bowl. So The Post asked two Colts — Andrew Luck’s tight end, Coby Fleener, and former Patriots cornerback Darius Butler — for their expert insight on the key players and the combatants in the AFC Championship Game.

Butler witnessed LeGarrette Blount gashing his defense for 162 yards and four touchdowns last Saturday night, but he expects more Tom Brady Sunday in Denver.

“With Chris Harris being hurt, Von Miller being out, I see them probably passing a little more,” Butler said.

And that is never a bad thing in a big game with Brady under center.

“It won’t be new to him,” Butler said.

Fleener can’t wait for the Peyton Manning-Bill Belichick chess match.

“That’s probably what should be written about more so than the Brady-Manning saga,” Fleener said. “That to me is about as cerebral as it gets in regards to football. I’d like to kind of sit in both rooms and be a fly on the wall to see what each is doing to win the chess match.”

Butler likes Belichick and the Patriots to win the chess match.

“He’ll have a good game plan and exploit whatever weaknesses there are to exploit,” Butler said. “I just trust him. I would rather ride with those guys before Denver.”

Fleener is reluctant to go out on a limb, but gives the nod to the Patriots’ defense over the others since the Colts lost to the Pats, 43-22.

“You see Tom Brady mentioned in every article, and you don’t necessarily see their defense,” Fleener said. “It’s not the ’85 Bears defense, but at the same time, they probably don’t get the credit that they deserve.”

Asked specifically what impressed him about the Patriots, Fleener said, “I think that the Patriots are notorious for getting the most out of guys that maybe aren’t the superstars, and aren’t the most notable or have the most notoriety, and I think that’s huge in camaraderie and team-building. There may be more talent on some of these other teams, and to be honest, they’re all really impressive defenses. There’s not one where you kind of say, ‘Oh, well I hope their offense can carry it.’ ”

The Colts beat the Broncos, 39-33, in October.

“Losing Von Miller I think is tough,” Fleener said. “He’s a guy that you have to account for on every single play to make sure that, you get chipping him, or somebody helping. That’s going to obviously hurt them. Other than that, I would say they have some pretty darn good players at every level. … I think their defense would also be underrated.”

Both defenses figure to be tested, given the nature of the legendary quarterbacks.

“It seems like they’re always getting their teams in the right play,” Butler said. “That’s what makes it so difficult to play against guys like that.”

Manning would seem to have more aerial weapons at his disposal than Brady. Demaryius Thomas will be Aqib Talib’s problem.

“[Thomas is] big, physical, does a good job attacking the ball in the air, really stretch the field, and he’s dangerous with the ball in his hands,” Butler said. “They run a lot of those quick screens where Peyton just gets him the ball, gets a couple of blockers in front of him, I’ve seen him take a few of those, you know, big plays. He’s a guy that brings a lot of different challenges to a defensive back.”

Then there’s his former teammate Wes Welker. “Probably the most successful at his position ever,” Butler said. “He’s always in space, usually working from the slot, he’s a small guy, it helps him get in and out of cuts. Especially against bigger, longer defenders, it’s a little tougher to guard him unless you get your hands on him.”

Brady’s go-to-guy in the post Aaron Hernandez-Rob Gronkowski world has been Julian Edelman. “Edelman is a strong runner,” Butler said. “I would compare him to Golden Tate, they’re pretty much the same receiver. He’s been a security blanket this year, he’s another great guy with the ball in his hands. Punt returner type, strong runner.”

It was the injury-prone Danny Amendola who was supposed to fill Welker’s shoes. “I would say he’s kind of like another Wes Welker,” Butler said. “He does a little more down the field, intermediate, I would say, than Wes does, but they’re pretty similar guys.”

Running back Shane Vereen is a dynamic matchup problem out of the backfield for linebackers.

“It’s basically what Kevin Faulk was to them six, seven years ago as far as creating that mismatch on the outside,” Butler said. “He’s like another receiver for them, basically.”

Blount will try to keep Manning on the sidelines (with help from Stevan Ridley).

“He’s a bruiser, but the thing about LeGarrette, he has surprising speed,” Butler said. “He’s a load to handle in that hole also.”

Meanwhile, Knowshon Moreno will try to keep Brady on the sidelines (with help from Montee Ball).

“Dependable,” Butler said of Moreno. “Peyton trusts him.”