Last modified: Sunday, November 15, 2009 2:16 AM EST New Colts' head coach Jim Caldwell is no stranger to the Patriots' rivalry. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Pats take on 8-0 Colts BY MARK FARINELLA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF FOXBORO - Tony Dungy is gone, moving on to new duties as an NBC studio "expert" and spiritual mentor to troubled Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick. But the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts did not leave his team without a thread of continuity. He turned the reins over to long-time assistant Jim Caldwell, so the natural assumption is that the Colts' current 8-0 record is the product of the team's familiarity with the coach and the coaching philosophy that was in place. Well, maybe. "People think I know Coach Caldwell so well - I mean, he's been my position coach - but I think I'm kind of getting to know him like the rest of our team is as a head coach," Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning told New England reporters via conference call last week. "I think it takes time when you kind of learn something about the guy, just like he's probably learning about our different players. He was just focused on the quarterbacks for so many years." The process of adaptation seems to be going well, however. The Colts will welcome the 6-2 Patriots to Lucas Oil Stadium tonight (8:20 p.m.; Ch. 7, 10) as the last unbeaten AFC team and the odds-on favorites to represent the conference at the end of the season. "I think the team is responding to his coaching right now," Manning said. "I think we'll continue to learn more about him and he'll learn more about us. But (he's) a very hard-working coach, very disciplined, very detail oriented, and obviously he's had his influences in his coaching career." Caldwell, of course, has a complete dossier on Manning. It's a built-in advantage to take over a team with such a leader in place, and a bonus when you've coached that individual for a large portion of his career. Caldwell admitted that he considers himself fortunate to be coaching a player with Manning's pedigree. "When you look back in terms of the way he grew up, he was in a household where leadership was very, very important," Caldwell said. "And not only that, his dad certainly exuded leadership in the role he played in the National Football League. Certainly that had a lot to do with it (as well as) his mom, Olivia. "But then also, he's a guy who works extremely hard at what he does," Caldwell continued. "He is dedicated to making certain that he does not leave a stone unturned. It's kind of cliched, but he's a guy who works extremely hard to be as good as he possibly can. He has the respect of his teammates and all those that have ever worked with him. So I think all those things are very, very important." For much of this week, the "easy" storyline has pitted Manning head-to-head against his New England counterpart, Tom Brady, even though neither of them will be on the field at the same time. Those with a better understanding of the challenges involved in tonight's game are more concerned about how the coaches and players plan to attack the players whose job it will be to stop them. For Caldwell, it means finding a way to get his defense in a position to stop Brady. "He's a tough guy to get to," the coach said. "That's proven and shown week after week. He's one of those guys that gets the ball out of his hands quickly. He knows where he's going with it most often, prior to the ball being snapped, because he recognizes so quickly. "He keeps the rhythm of the game changing," Caldwell added. "He'll play-action and hold it a little while and throw the ball deep down the field to (Randy) Moss, or he gets it out of his hands really quickly to (Wes) Welker or out of the backfield to (Kevin) Faulk, or his number of other receivers that he works with. He's tough to handle because he changes the rhythm on you, so that's going to be a real challenge." For Manning, the challenge will be trying to find ways to counter how the Patriots' defense will attack him. "I haven't played them in person yet," the veteran quarterback said, "but every time you play these guys, they're always impressive to watch on film. I think people might say that they're faster because they've got some younger guys, but I thought they were a great defense when they had some of the guys that aren't there any more. "And from what I've seen on film, they seem to be playing excellent defense right now," he continued. "They've not given up very many points, very stingy against the pass, and always have been capable of creating turnovers. So they look to me like your typical Patriots' defense - just very solid, and we know it's going to be a tough battle against them." Manning isn't alone when he says that tonight's game will be a benchmark moment for both his Colts and the Patriots. It can prove that the Colts are true contenders instead of pretenders, or it could prove that the Patriots are back in their accustomed position of beasts of the AFC East. "Certainly, everybody knows how good of a team the Patriots are," Manning said. "This will be an unbelievably good test for us here kind of at the halfway point of the season. Our focus each week has been trying to get better each week. "We certainly have had some injuries we've had to deal with," he added, "but we haven't made any excuses along those lines and some guys have stepped up, and that's what we'll continue to have to do throughout the season, just try to step up and hopefully make the plays at the right time." MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.