Indianapolis Colts not blaming Peyton Manning for pair of blown fourth quarter drives
As quarterback of one of the best NFL franchises of the last decade, Peyton Manning has led the Indianapolis Colts to his fair share of fourth quarter comebacks. But for the second time in three weeks, Manning's efforts came up short while trying to lead
his team down the field, trailing in the fourth quarter.
Three weeks ago against the Philadelphia Eagles, Manning only managed a single first down in the team's final drive before being intercepted by Asante Samuel. Last week against the New England Patriots, Manning helped drive the team into New England territory,
and even into field goal range, before being intercepted by James Sanders.
In typical Manning fashion, the four-time league MVP took the responsibility upon himself but his team-mates have rallied to Manning's defence in an effort to shoulder the blame.
"Peyton knows we're behind him 100 percent because we've seen him time and time again win games for us," Colts cornerback
Jerraud Powers told reporters recently. "Look, people have their own opinions. But, at the end of the day, we're trying to win a game."
"That's part of football. We lost the game as a team, and, you know, he's won a million of them for us," linebacker
Tyjuan Hagler said of Manning who has in fact won 137 times as quarterback for the Colts – the fourth most all-time among NFL quarterbacks.
Head coach Jim Caldwell wasn't about to lay blame on his quarterback for any of the recent setbacks, or the fact that three of Indianapolis' four losses have been by a field goal or less. Caldwell has actually shown admiration for the 13-year veteran and
the leadership he has shown in handling recent criticism.
"I think often times what happens is that everybody wants to blame somebody," Caldwell said. "There were other factors other than just him. With a guy that's a great leader, he shoulders a lot of the responsibility, but there were other factors in there,
too."
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