Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

By Guerry Smith - Something is missing in all the talk about the Indianapolis Colts as an unstoppable juggernaut these past two weeks.

Namely, it’s a dose of reality.

Peyton Manning deserves all of the accolades he is getting as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, but the numbers for the Indianapolis offense this year do not match the mind-numbing hyperbole.

The Colts finished seventh in the NFL in scoring. That’s right, seventh.

New Orleans (510), Minnesota (470), Green Bay (461), San Diego (454), Philadelphia (429) and New England (427) all scored more points than Indianapolis (416).

The Colts finished ninth in the NFL in yards, behind three non-playoff teams in Houston, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants.

Manning was second in the NFL in passing yards, but breaking in new receivers, he hardly was a combo platter of Dan Marino, Kurt Warner and Tom Brady at their prolific best. His touchdown (33) to interception (16) ratio was worse than all but two quarterbacks among the top 10 in passing yards. His average yards per attempt (7.9) was better than only New England’s Tom Brady on the same list.

Manning is a winner, playing his absolute best when it matters most at the end of the fourth quarter, but statistically, he was nowhere close to having his best year.

The Indy-offense-as-invincible storyline stems from the condition I call onegame-itis. Football is the only major American sport where teams play only once a week, so the last game leaves a dramatic impression. With seven days (and in this case, 14) to discuss and dissect the previous outcome, analysts forget everything that happened earlier.

Manning and the offense played better than they have all year after falling behind 17-6 to the New York Jets in the first half of the AFC Championship Game. The Colts rolled up 461 yards and 30 points, shredding the NFL’s No. 1 defense and wiping the conceited look off of Jets coach Rex Ryan’s face.

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

The Colts have weaknesses and our coaches are good enough to find them. It's up to our players to go out and execute the plan that Payton and Gregg Williams have had two weeks to mastermind.

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

as usual,....Halo brings things into perspective....

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

Damn straight.

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

the voice of reason

god sometimes i love logic

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

Dear Guerry,

How in the hell can you compare Peyton to Montana? How can anyone call Peyton the greatest (one of) QB's of all time. Your comparing apples to oranges. Drop the QB protection rules and let Peyton have a stellar year and maybe "MAYBE" I may hear your argument.


This is what an unprotected (by the rules) look like during a game.

http://www.bpsd.org/IMS/Tech_Ed/8th%...y-bradshaw.jpg


NOT This

http://nbcsportsmedia.msnbc.com/j/ms...d_8p.widec.jpg

Notice with out the protection rules, a little more than sweat happens.

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

Good facts - I am so sick of the Manning-ites with their heads up his ass!!!

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

What we should be thinking every time one of those announcers betrays their ignorance.

Re: Indy offense not as dominant as it has been portrayed
 

Agreed, and great article