Former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin was interviewed on the Dale & Holley Show on Wednesday afternoon. He broke down several facets of this coming Sunday’s Patriots-Colts game, among them the changes in the Colts this year, how to wage psychological warfare against the Colts, and why he believes Tom Brady is a better quarterback than Peyton Manning, and the subtle distinction for Manning between being “a sissy” and playing smart when taking sacks.

Highlights are below. To listen to the complete interview, click here.

What do you see from Indy heading into this game?

As I’ve been able to see Peyton Manning and the Colts play every Sunday here in Indianapolis, they’re still doing the same things. They’re doing what they do, but they’re doing it a different way because they don’t have Bob Sanders – he hasn’t been a mainstay – Dwight Freeney has been banged up even though he’s performing on a high level. The linebacking crew is banged up but they still go out and make plays.

They’re playing better on defense. You can see that significantly week-in, week-out. They’re going out and doing things that, in the past, they hadn’t been doing.

It helps that you have No. 18 playing quarterback. Even when the defense was terrible, which we saw for years, they were still winning ballgames. It’s a benefit for Peyton now to have a defense that’s playing well.

Would you take Brady or Manning?

I am sort of a bit biased. I would take Tom. My only reason for saying that is just because if I have Tom Brady in -2 degree whether or if I have Tom Brady in 108 degree weather, same guy. If I have Tom Brady when it’s raining or inside or outside, same guy.

If I’ve got Peyton, and it’s raining and sloppy, there’s a chance he might get a little frustrated, a little upset at his offensive line, start saying things that he shouldn’t say, and then you’d have an issue on your hands. You can’t take that Peyton has a great mind and is a great player. I think the one thing he definitely benefits from is playing indoors, or being able to control the weather. With the dome they have down here, they figure out what the forecast is going to be, and him and Jim Irsay get together and decide whether they want the roof open or not.

Tom, whether rain, sleet or snow, hot or cold, he’s the same guy. That’s been the knock a lot of times on Peyton. You get him in a cold weather game…They’ve got to have home-field advantage. That AFC championship game, they turned up the heat up on us in the dome. So I’m taking Tom, long story short.

When you play against Peyton, what stands out?

Obviously, he can make all the throws. Give him an opportunity and he’s going to take advantage of it. He’s wise enough and savvy enough as a veteran quarterback in this league to know how to take a sack. Some of these guys stand back there, they know they’re going to take a hit, and they take it on the chin and are out two or three weeks. You look at Peyton, you can say that he’s a sissy or he’s soft the way that he goes down, but it’s the conversation they used to have a few years ago with the Rams receivers. When they were catching all those balls, instead of taking the hit, they would either run out of bounds or go down.

At some point, you have to say these guys are smart. They’re just going down because they know they’re going to take a hit. They might as well go down and get up for the next play.

Peyton has gotten to the point where, when he’s taking a sack, you can tell he’s taking a dive. He has enough tools in his repertoire that he goes out on a daily basis and makes sure he’s able to function, that he takes advantage of what the defense gives him. Then when he has a chance to take his shot and gamble, he does that as well. The majority of the time over the last six or seven years he’s been very successful. He’s very, very difficult to play against. The one thing that’s been very, very beneficial is that he has those guys around him. That’s the other reason why I’d take Tom.

Tom has done it with Randy Moss and Wes Welker and all-Pro wide receivers, and he’s also done it with – not to knock a guy’s talent level – but guys who were released and street free agents that are role players, but very good role players. Guys like Jabar Gaffney, who are in the league for eight or nine years, or a guy like Reche Caldwell. He still goes out there and produces. He puts up the numbers regardless of who the receiver is.

Did you pay attention to Manning’s pre-snap stuff?

You pay attention to the last, I would say you pay attention to the last four or five seconds before the ball is snapped. All the mumbo-jumbo before that, he’s trying to figure out what defense you’re in with the help of his offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. The hurry-up offense is to get to know what you’re going to do.

If you have a veteran defense that can disguise well enough and still be in position to make plays, then you have a benefit. But if they get you to show your hand, it makes it easier for him to figure out what coverage you’re in or whether he needs to check to a run or a pass.

A lot of times over the year, those things can run together. The one thing I used to do is watch the TV copy of the previous two or three games, especially the home games, because you can pick up the wording.

I’m telling you – I’m telling Gary Guyton and all of our defensive linemen – start repeating everything Peyton is saying and those offensive linemen get confused sooner or later.

You never know what it can buy you if a guy thinks he’s heard one thing and heard another. You’re not yelling out the snap count, which is illegal in the NFL, but if he yells out Blue-32, Check-49-50, and you yell, “All-check 52, 51,’ the offensive lineman who’s not looking at Peyton doesn’t know who said that.

You begin to play mind games. It’s all about making the game more mental than it does physical, which I tried to do a lot because I wasn’t a physical specimen like Junior Seau.