NFL Week 5: Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts have just been a treat to watch. The season so far for them hasn’t been just as good as we have come to expect from them. At 3-2 they are doing so much worse than last year when they were unbeaten for their first 14 games and it is
their second worst start since 2002. “I understand how it's easy to compare to previous seasons,” Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said after beating the Kansas City Chiefs. “That's one thing we really don't talk about that much, previous seasons.”
In the preseason the Colts lost every one of their 4 scheduled games. They opened the season against the San Francisco 49ers and immediately Manning’s pivotal role for the Colt became apparent. Manning started the game for the Colts and led them to an early
lead with a field goal and a touchdown in the first quarter. But as soon as Curtis Painter took over for Manning the Indianapolis offence crumbled. They didn’t score again till the 5th minute of the final quarter and that too after the 49ers muffed
a punt from the 14 yard line and then gave away 36 yards in a penalty. Without the muffed punt and the penalty, the Colts actually covered just 17 yards in that drive.
Manning is the core of the Indianapolis offense. The four times Most Valuable Player of the league has had an amazing season so far. Though the Colts could do better, Manning is on his way to a career high in yards and touchdowns if he keeps up the pace
he is moving with now. The quarterback has given up fewer interceptions this season than he has ever before in his career. It has been Manning’s season unquestionably.
All of Indianapolis’s match ups so far have had Manning leave his mark on them. In their latest contest the Colts beat the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs with a 10 points spread. The Chiefs have had a good run so far in the NFL but against the Colts they
looked nothing like an undefeated team. That said the Colts didn’t look like the offensively formidable team that they are either.
There were many mistakes on the offense. Manning missed many passes that could be considered easy for him and he also didn’t have a single touchdown pass in the game. The quarterback was not having a good day but one off game, a game the colts still won,
shouldn’t reflect poorly on Manning.
The Chiefs put a great deal of effort into thwarting Manning and they proved to be fairly successful, though in the end they still lost the game. “Division games are always going to be a fight because we know each other so well,” said receiver Austin Collie.
He added that teams that don’t know the Colts too well had a tougher time defending against them and weren’t as confident.
The statistics clearly agree with Collie. In the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts have winning record of a respectable 76 against 25. In the NFC that is bumped up to a phenomenal 25 – 6. Teams that don’t know the Colts and Manning well enough have a much harder
time. Kansas was an AFC opponent.
Against Kansas, Indianapolis had to play without their leading rusher Joseph Addai due to an injury in the game which gave the Chiefs an advantage. “The main thing, I think is you have to keep the threat of it,” Manning said. After Addai left the field,
that threat from the rush fizzled up to quiet an extent.
“You've watched games where you see a team has just given up running the ball. They are just throwing it every time. What does that do?” Manning inquired. “That really helps the defensive linemen teeing off. So I've always said it's about whether the threat
of the run is there.”
Manning would have that advantage back next week when the Colts go up against the Washington Redskins next on the 17th.
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