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Colts QB
Peyton Manning
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There is a saying that quarterbacks get too much credit when their team wins and too
much blame when their team loses.
With the Colts struggling to live up to the enormous expectations that existed for them
before the season began, I have had fans and fellow media members ask me if Colts
franchise QB Peyton Manning is at all to blame.
Unless you want to criticize Manning for not playing both ways in an effort to do
something about the Colts’ leaky defense, the answer is a resounding no. Manning not
only is as good as ever, he is better than ever.
What has impressed me most about Manning is the way he has continued to improve in all
the nuances of his position despite facing a first-place schedule.
I asked Jets head coach Al Groh not too long ago if there are areas in which Manning
has improved since a year ago. Groh, roaring with laughter, said, "Boy, I hope not.
We had some pretty difficult afternoons with him. If he’s improved significantly
beyond what he did last year, he might be beyond our reach."
Here’s the bad news for the rest of the NFL: Colts head coach Jim Mora claims
Manning has, in fact, improved at everything he does. If you think this is nothing more
than the Peyton Manning hype machine spinning out of control, I beg to differ.
It has been amazing how much and how fast Manning has improved since he first came into
the NFL. There was a school of thought that when Manning first turned pro, he was so smart
and so poised in college that he was almost as good as he could get. He has proved that
line of thinking to be ridiculous. Manning is bigger, stronger and faster and is throwing
the ball with a lot more velocity than when he first turned pro.
Maybe you thought Manning would run out of ways to improve after he earned a Pro Bowl
berth last season, but he has rendered such thinking off the mark.
He’s more mature this year, sees the field a little bit better and continues to be
a great play-faker. Best of all, Manning is never satisfied. One quality that you see in
the truly great is that they are never satisfied and are constantly striving to find ways
to get better.
"I want to be a really good player every single year," Manning said before
this season began. "I don’t want to be someone who comes in, has success and
then struggles. That’s not my style."
It is often said that if you don’t move forward, you move backward instead.
Heading into the season, Manning decided that the way to move forward was to spread the
ball around better. Last year Marvin Harrison was his first option an inordinately high
percentage of the time. Although no one from the trio of Jerome Pathon, E.G. Green or
Terrence Wilkins has grabbed ahold of the No. 2 WR spot with any true conviction this
year, that spot has been more productive as a whole. Part of the reason is that Manning
has made a concerted effort to get off his primary receiver more quickly when he is
covered and look for the second and third options. Still, more productivity is needed at
the No. 2 WR spot, but progress has been made.
I’ve often thought the intellectual part of playing quarterback is overlooked in
the NFL. Everyone always talks about arm strength and accuracy, but you don’t hear as
much about what goes on between the ears.
In the case of Manning, his brainwork has improved every bit as much as his footwork.
It’s not by accident, because he works at it, devouring film like a Weight Watchers
dropout gorging himself at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The result is a quarterback wise
beyond his mere three years in the NFL.
"He’s a guy who has fly eyes — he sees everything," Bears defensive
coordinator Greg Blache said. "He’s got one of those great minds. His brain
computes like a Pentium processor. I think the guy is the next great one. He’ll take
over for Brett (Favre). He’ll be the chairman of the board of this next class.
He’s special."
Put a stopwatch on Manning’s brain, and the result is Deion Sanders-in-his-prime
speed. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss something.
"Our whole plan against Peyton was to not let him know what was coming until the
last second if at all possible because if he had any clue, he was changing the play on you
at the line of scrimmage to one that was beneficial to him," said Blache, whose Bears
faced the Colts in Week 10.
Bears rookie LB sensation Brian Urlacher said, "He gets the ball away in a hurry,
and he’s so smart with the ball. It’s amazing because you watch him on TV and
you think, ‘Can he really be that good?’ Then you get out there, and he makes
decisions so quick."
The last area of tremendous improvement on Manning’s part is his leadership. His
rookie year, he didn’t say a whole lot, preferring to earn the respect of his
teammates. As he’s accomplished more, he’s become more vocal, but he’s
mature beyond his years and knows not to go too far.
"I’m not out there trying to embarrass players," Manning said. "I
always know where those (TV) cameras are, and I try to have my back turned to them and I
get my message across that way."
Colts OG Steve McKinney said, "That is a good quality for a quarterback,
especially if you’re going to be a team leader, because you don’t want to be the
kind of team leader that yells at someone, gets in their face in front of everybody else
trying to embarrass them, looking like you’re the top dog. He’s the kind of guy
that will pull somebody aside and do it one-on-one and not embarrass the person and get
his massage across better than he would if he embarrassed him."
Manning the leader has been the picture of calm to his teammates during this trying
season of unmet expectations for the Colts. He’s been a great communicator with the
offense. He’s been the guy always one step ahead, telling everyone on the sideline
what to get ready for.
Blame Peyton Manning for the Colts’ stumbling season? You’ve got to be
kidding. It’s amazing how much he’s continued to grow during the red-hot glare
of his team’s bumpy, uneven season.
Ron Pollack analyzes the Colts' season to date and why they have failed, thus far, to
live up to preseason expectations, all in the print edition of Pro Football Weekly,
now on sale at newsstands and bookstores across the country. Or you can subscribe online to
PFW's print edition, or subscribe by calling 1-800-FOOTBALL (366-8225) and charging your
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