Tag: Peyton Manning (Page 18 of 41)

      The Chiefs’ offense will continue to hold back an otherwise decent team

      October 10, 2010 /
      Indianapolis Colts linebacker Gary Brackett (L), Colts defensive back Kelvin Hayden (26) and Colts linebacker Phillip Wheeler break up a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (82) in the end zone during the first quarter of their NFL football game in Indianapolis October 10, 2010. REUTERS/Brent Smith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      This was supposed to be the day that we figured out whether or not the Chiefs are for real. Their 3-0 record spoke for itself, but with wins over the Chargers (who have struggled on the road), Browns (who have struggled closing out games) and 49ers (who have just flat out struggled), nobody could say for sure whether or not Kansas City’s record was a farce.

      And if you ask me now, I’d say I still don’t know.

      Teams usually don’t frustrate Peyton Manning the way the Chiefs did today and lose. Peyton completed 26-of-44 passes for 244 yards in the Colts’ 19-9 victory, but he was also picked off once and spent most of the afternoon being tormented by Tamba Hali. Romeo Crennel (who has always had success against Manning) put together an impressive game plan and held Peyton to only 5.5 yards per pass.

      But the Chiefs’ defense couldn’t overcome the stink that is Matt Cassel and the rest of KC’s offense, which includes receivers Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers, as well as offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.

      Cassel, who has struggled every week thus far, completed just 16-of-29 passes for 156 yards. The running game, which rushed for 84 yards in the first half, could only generate 30 yards in the second as Thomas Jones could only muster 19 yards on eight carries.

      The Chiefs’ defense is good enough to keep this team in contention every week. But unless they get a remarkably better effort out of Cassel and the rest of the offense, what transpired today at the RCA Dome will probably be the norm.

      External Sports, NFL

      Colts still suffering from issues at defensive tackle

      October 5, 2010 /
      GREEN BAY, WI - AUGUST 26: Head coach Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts watches as his team takes on the Green Bay Packers during a preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 26, 2010 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Colts 59-24. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      This past offseason there wasn’t a salary cap, but outside of the Bears that didn’t mean that teams broke out their checkbooks to sign free agents to lucrative deals. For the most part, things were business as usual in the NFL when it came to free agency.

      That’s why it’s not a surprise that teams like the Colts are still affected by decisions they made in previous years. Is Indy in decline? No, they still have the same issues this season as they did last year when they represented the AFC in the Super Bowl. But since they’re 2-2 now, those issues have become magnified.

      Those that were paying attention this summer knew that once again Indianapolis would have trouble stopping the run. GM Bill Polian has been ignoring the defensive tackle position for years and even when he tried to upgrade the position, he whiffed (’09 second round pick Fili Moala has yet to make an impact).

      The Colts are 2-2 not because they’re in decline, not because Jim Caldwell picked the wrong time to be aggressive with his timeouts last Sunday (seriously Jim, just play for overtime – you had all the momentum), but because they failed to address their biggest weakness in the offseason.

      The two teams that the Colts lost to were able to run the ball. In Week 1, somebody forgot to tell Arian Foster that he wasn’t Earl Campbell and he went off for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Last Sunday in Jacksonville, you knew if the Jags could keep the ball on the ground with Maurice Jones-Drew that they were going to have a shot in the end. Jones-Drew didn’t go Earl Campbell Foster on the Colts, but Jacksonville did rush for 174 yards and David Garrard actually resembled a starting NFL quarterback for the first time this season.

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      External Sports, NFL

      2010 NFL Power Rankings Week 5

      October 5, 2010 /
      JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 03: Quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts throws while taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on October 3, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

      Week 5 comes with a realization that there isn’t a clear-cut best team in the league right now.

      My top team in Week 4, the Colts, lost to the last-place Jaguars last Sunday thanks to a Josh Scobee 59-yard field goal. Despite their record, the Packers are a mess, the Ravens don’t give me that we’re-the-best-team-vibe and the Saints have injury issues.

      So while I’ve moved the Packers back into the top spot, just know I’m not entirely convinced they’re the top team in the league. Right now, no team has established themselves as the best.

      Let’s get nasty…

      Check out Week 4’s Power Rankings

      1. Green Bay Packers
      Previous Week: 2
      One would have thought that after their embarrassing loss to the Bears on Monday night last week that the Pack would come out and steamroll the Lions. But as fellow TSR contributor and Green Bay fan John Paulsen said to me after the game, this team lacks that killer tenacity. Regardless, they moved back into the top spot after a one-week hiatus.

      2. Indianapolis Colts
      Previous Week: 1
      I wrote it before the season and I’ll write it again now: the Colts are going to have issues stopping the run all season. They’re weak up the middle defensively and they’ll continue to struggle against any team that can establish the run.

      3. Baltimore Ravens
      Previous Week: 4
      It’s never easy to march into Pittsburgh and knock off the Steelers. It’s even harder to look good while doing it, so I’m not going to knock the Ravens for having to pull out a win in the final minute. This isn’t college football, where teams get style points for wins. That was a hard-fought win, Baltimore.

      4. Pittsburgh Steelers
      Previous Week: 3
      Even though the loss to the Ravens last Sunday stings, Mike Tomlin has to feel good that his team went 3-1 without Ben Roethlisberger. Even though everyone in Pittsburgh is excited for his return, it’ll be interesting to see how rusty Big Ben is next week. The Steelers’ bye couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

      5. Atlanta Falcons
      Previous Week: 5
      You could have seen that letdown coming from a mile away. The Falcons were coming off a huge emotional win over the Saints in New Orleans and were taking on a winless 49ers team at home. Thanks to Roddy White’s outstanding hustle, the Falcons were fortunate to walk out of the Georgia Dome with a victory last week.

      6. New Orleans Saints
      Previous Week: 6
      I thought about dropping the Saints down after they struggled last Sunday with the lowly Panthers, but this is one banged up football team right now and Carolina has always given them trouble for one reason or another. The Saints just have to get by with what they have until they can return to full strength.

      7. New York Jets
      Previous Week: 7
      The Jets are already making me look bad for predicting them to finish third in the AFC East. What a display of domination they put on in Buffalo last Sunday and who says L.T. is finished? It’s great to see him at the top of his game again.

      8. New England Patriots
      Previous Week: 11
      Holy special teams, Batman – what a performance in Miami. Congratulations to Tom Brady for his 100th career win. Even though it’s fun to root against the Patriots because of their success, let’s not overlook the fact that Brady is a self-made player.

      9. Houston Texans
      Previous Week: 9
      Considering the Texans were without Andre Johnson and benched Arian Foster for the first quarter, it was impressive that they still scored 31 points. I realize it was against the Raiders, but Bruce Gradkowski has breathed life into that team and it was good to see that Houston didn’t falter against an inferior opponent on the road.

      10. Chicago Bears
      Previous Week: 10
      I’ve been awfully hard on the Bears so I’m going to give them a mulligan this week. Even though they still probably would have lost given how bad Jay Cutler was playing, they didn’t have a chance once Todd Collins entered the game. And whom else am I going to put here? Dallas? The Giants? This is a worse spot than No. 1.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Josh Scobee hits chip shot field goal as Jaguars upset Colts

      October 3, 2010 /
      JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 03: Quarterback David Garrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars rolls out against the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Field on October 3, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

      The NFL – ha! It’s so predictable.

      Well of course the Jaguars were going to upset the Colts today. Why wouldn’t they? They were only coming off back-to-back losses in which their opponents outscored them by a combined 66-16 and posses the 29th worst pass defense in the league. Peyton Manning didn’t have a chance!

      And of course you knew that Josh Scobee would nail a 59-yarder right down the middle to win the game. That was easy to call.

      Seriously, what a freaking kick by Scobee. I’m sure both sidelines were saying, “All right, after this fool dribbles one to about the 7-yard line, we’ll head into overtime and see if we can’t get this thing done.”…Or Scobee will nail it and give the Jaguars an improbable 31-28 victory.

      The NFL – so predictable.

      Let’s give it up for David Garrard for a second. For the past two weeks, the guy has played like Joey Harrington on his worst day and he came out on Sunday and completed 17-of-22 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts’ pass defense played passive aggressive the entire day and Garrard made them pay. He may revisit the Harrington style next week, but for one day he was solid.

      As for the Colts, they were just outplayed. They allowed Maurice Jones-Drew and company to rack up 174 rushing yards and also committed two turnovers offensively. The Jaguars had to play a near-perfect game to win and that’s exactly what they did.

      As I wrote earlier in my predictions for this week, the Jags always seem to give the Colts trouble and that’s exactly what happened again today. Nice win.

      External Sports, NFL

      Example 948A that stats can be misleading

      September 26, 2010 /
      Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton throws against the Indianapolis Colts during the first quarter at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 26, 2010 in Denver. UPI/Gary C. Caskey Photo via Newscom

      If someone were to ask me before the games today how many points the Broncos would score if Kyle Orton threw for 476 yards, I probably would have responded with: “31.”

      Because you have to figure that Denver gets in the end zone at least four times if Kyle freaking Orton is throwing for 476 yards. I mean, there’s no way the Broncos are scoring less than 31 points if Kyle bowl haircut Orton throws for 476 yards, right?

      Thirteen. As in 13. As in 13 points the Broncos scored on Sunday in their 27-13 loss to the Colts.

      How does Kyle Orton throw for 476 yards and the Broncos only score 13 points? Matt Schaub threw for nearly 500 yards last week in Washington. Do you know how many points the Texans scored? Thirty. I realize that Houston has a much more potent offense than Denver, but the math doesn’t add up when a quarterback throws for nearly 500 yards, only turns the ball over once and his team only scores 13 measly points.

      Josh McDaniels is going to look at the film from the game today and puke. Peyton Manning threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns, but everyone knew he was going to do that. He’s Peyton Manning. When Kyle Orton gives you 476 yards, you have to at least be in position to win that game in the end.

      The Broncos ran nine plays inside the Colts’ 15-yard line in the second quarter alone and only came away with three points. The red zone offense was brutal the entire game and some of that is on McDaniels, some of it is on Orton, some of that is on his receivers, some of it is on the offensive line and some of it you just have to chalk up to good defense.

      Either way, Kyle Orton threw for 476 yards today and the Broncos only scored 13 points. I guess I could have just written that and saved myself 250-plus words, because it explains it all.

      External Sports, NFL

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