Colts and Manning excel no matter who is out there

When Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw the game sealing interception to propel the New Orleans Saints to the Super Bowl championship last February, there were whispers in the media that the mistake under pressure might have moved Manning down on the list of all-time greats.  When the 2010 Colts’ campaign started at 2-2, with the two losses coming against division opponents the talk of the Colts’ demise increased.

Since a week 4 three-point loss on the road to Jacksonville the Colts have won three in a row and look to be back on track.  The fact that Indy seems to have righted the ship is not a surprise.  They have been able to rack up a string of twelve plus win regular seasons, have been to two Super Bowls and have one championship.  What is a surprise is how they have done it.  As the wins mounted, especially on the offensive side of the ball, so did the injuries.

Starting running back Joseph Addai is out with an injury.  His back up Mike Hart is on this week’s injury report.  The team’s leading receiver through seven weeks, Austin Collie, has been and likely will still be out this week.  Wide outs Pierre Garcon and Anthony Gonzalez have missed time and are just getting back into the offense.  Center Jeff Saturday missed some time early in the season and now tackle Ryan Diem could be out.

That list doesn’t even include the most well know missing Colt.  In years past, when Manning would need to get a big first down or was under pressure, he often would look to tight end Dallas Clark.  Clark has been one of the top tight ends in the league, but was lost for the season after Week Six.  More than ever, Manning has had to put this offense on his back.

The defense has had its share of injuries too.  They lost arguably their best player early when safety Bob Sanders went down, like Clark, for the season.  This week they have just as long of an injury report as the offense, but through it all the one constant has been Manning.

The early season struggles were not only a result of injuries, but also the consequences of the team figuring out how to play with all the new guys in new spots.  The team took some time figuring out how to play with each other, especially on the offensive side of the ball.  During the winning streak they ground out a hard-fought game against the up and coming Kansas City Chiefs and then put up 27 points against the Redskins.

After the bye you could see the offense starting to get its act together.  Granted the Houston Texans have one of the worst defenses in the league, but the old offensive rhythm was back in Indy.  Manning was using the running game and was spreading the ball around to all his receivers.  His best weapon – Reggie Wayne caught a touchdown pass in the win, but was not in the top three as far as catches go for the Colts.  Manning found Garcon seven times, Clarks’ replacement Jacob Tamme six times and Gonzalez four times.

Where the offense still looked vulnerable was finishing drives.  They kicked way too many field goals for a Colts offense against an overmatched defense.  That is where Clark, along with third downs, is going to be missed the most.  The more time that goes by, the more you have to believe Manning and the Colts will get that corrected too.

The AFC South might have missed a great chance to de-thrown the reigning AFC champs.  At 2-2 the Colts were down and were struggling to find their identity with all the injuries.  Four weeks later they are back on top of the division and have their offensive groove back.

Watching Manning direct that offense on Monday night proved if given some time, he can get his offense into positive situations seemingly regardless of who he lines up with.  If given enough time, like former NFL coach Bum Phillips said of Don Shula “he can take his and beat yours and he can take yours and beat his”.  Manning has been that type of guy virtually his entire career.

Writing off the Colts after a bad early start will never be a good idea as long as number 18 is upright – no matter who is on the field with him.