tonight proves colts made best decision

[Dustin]

(35 points) - (14 Special Teams points) = 21 GROSS offensive points

 

(21 GROSS offensive points) - (7 BAL Defensive points off INT) = 14 NET offensive points.

 

That's a bad offensive showing; assign blame however you will. 

I blame everyone. The defense was terrible and the offense was terrible an all around terrible game for an overrated team.

[Coltsman1788]

you mean like giving up a long bomb for a TD in the closing seconds that lets the game get into OT in the first place? 

I expect the "GOAT" to want to throw on 3rd down and aggressively go after the 1st down to win the game in that kind of situation.  If he does that successfully then the D isn't even on the field to blow it in that situation because the game is over.  You better believe that Brady would have been throwing to close out the game in that situation.  Playing not to lose often gets you beat.  And before anyone says it was the Coach's call and not Peyton's...trust that if Peyton really wanted to throw in that situation he had the clout to do so.  We've seen him overide the coach's play calls plenty of times in Indy. 

[chad72]

(35 points) - (14 Special Teams points) = 21 GROSS offensive points

 

(21 GROSS offensive points) - (7 BAL Defensive points off INT) = 14 NET offensive points.

 

That's a bad offensive showing; assign blame however you will. 

 

You are forgetting a TD off his fumble and the game winning FG off his 2nd INT.

 

So, in essence, he gave Baltimore 17 points while scoring 21 points = 4 NET offensive points.

[Coltsman1788]

We go 11- 5 and lose on the road in Baltimore with a bunch of kids and a rookie HC too who had cancer most of the year.

Broncos go 13-3 and lose at home to Baltimore as 10 point favorites with a supossedly dominant O and D.

Stevie Wonder could see we made the right decision all year. We are developing quite a team here in Indy. Get on board and enjoy the ride. Peyton is the Broncos problem now. Luck is our future.

And stop putting down all our teams in the past too including the coaches for playoff issues. We can't always blame everyone but Manning. It gets old and it is an insult to all the other guys around him. Maybe Peyton just isn't a great playoff leader or performer........

There you go right there.  It is what it is.  Now that we can now view Peyton objectively from the outside there is just not much else to say than that.  The results speak for themselves.  Colts of the Manning era were often blamed as being the reason for holding Peyton back...well the whole Colts team of that era now deserves more respect for their accomplishments during that period.  Peyton had a strong Broncos team surrounding him and the results were the same...post season futility. 

[-JJ-]

Did he?  Or did he keep them in it while his defense was losing it in regulation?  Make no mistake that was a terrible pick by Manning but had his defense played like they had all season no way that game gets to OT in the first place.  I'd still like to know what in the world that defender was thinking on the last TD pass to get the game to OT. 

 

Also some of this needs to go at the coaches feet.  They got extremely conservative.  I can promise you that Peyton Manning with the Colts doesn't play for OT with time left on the clock and two timeouts only needing to get to the 40 to try a last second field goal.  Then the consent banging the ball into the line and then calling dump off pass plays for Manning was a flash back to the Tebow offense and isn't something you run with one of the best QBs in the game. 

 

Manning should get harmed for that INT and that's the play people will remember but it is far from the only reason Denver lost today. 

 

Also for all the hate Jim Caldwell gets looks like he makes a decent OC. 

Should not have gone to OT which is no man's land. I don't even blame Manning for the pick..although I'm sure he does;-)

[Knuckles79]

We all new irsay made the right call from day one .It has nothing to do with this game . It was best for both party's Peyton wouldn't last after 41 sacks. 4 maybe 5 years or 15 maybe 17 not really a hard choice if you have any business skills at all .

[GoColts8818]

I expect the "GOAT" to want to throw on 3rd down and aggressively go after the 1st down to win the game in that kind of situation.  If he does that successfully then the D isn't even on the field to blow it in that situation because the game is over.  You better believe that Brady would have been throwing to close out the game in that situation.  Playing not to lose often gets you beat.  And before anyone says it was the Coach's call and not Peyton's...trust that if Peyton really wanted to throw in that situation he had the clout to do so.  We've seen him overide the coach's play calls plenty of times in Indy. 

I am not sure Peyton calls the plays in Denver like he did in Indy.  The way the end of that game was played from the fourth quarter on was not how I would picture Peyton calling a game.  I think the coaches were making those calls.  Also even if you are Peyton Manning there are only so many times in ones career one can disobey the coach.  Fox also doesn't strike me as forgiving as Dungy was and even Dungy was clearly upset when Manning did that to him.  If you notice Peyton never did that again after the Steelers playoff game.  My guess is Dungy and him had a chat about it afterwords. 

 

Also with all that said it still does NOT excuse how the defender played on that play.  Just like that defender doesn't excuse Peyton's pick in INT.  However, people trying to say the defense played clutch when it matter most need to go back and look at that long bomb for a touchdown in the closing seconds.  Plunty of blame to go around after this one.  Coaches, defense, and Peyton. 

[Stephen]

i agree that the broncos secondary messed up but if manning had took care of the ball they would have won

[Cynjin]

i agree that the broncos secondary messed up but if manning had took care of the ball they would have won

 

Based on what?  If the D had not been burned multiple times they would have one.  Manning throws one very bad pass and suddenly some forget what a bad game the Broncos D had.

[dw49]

We go 11- 5 and lose on the road in Baltimore with a bunch of kids and a rookie HC too who had cancer most of the year.

Broncos go 13-3 and lose at home to Baltimore as 10 point favorites with a supossedly dominant O and D.

Stevie Wonder could see we made the right decision all year. We are developing quite a team here in Indy. Get on board and enjoy the ride. Peyton is the Broncos problem now. Luck is our future.

And stop putting down all our teams in the past too including the coaches for playoff issues. We can't always blame everyone but Manning. It gets old and it is an insult to all the other guys around him. Maybe Peyton just isn't a great playoff leader or performer........

 

 

 

What do you mean by "Manning is the Bronco's problem now ? Are you trying to say that 20 mill a year for a 37 year old that has very "iffy" arm strength is not the cat bird seat ? I was a huge PM fan but I guess I'm just a pure Colt fan as I kind of see things in a different light now. Fact of the matter is that he is 9-11 in playoffs. He just doesn't come up big and carry a team in January. Not saying the 9-11 is "all his fault" but geez , 9-11 is just that 9-11. Let the Broncos spend the next couple of weeks defending his critics. We are through with that and it appears that our new guy is pretty clutch... I guess we'll see.

[ell_chrisso]

Such a predictable thread and reaction...

Yawwwwwn

[chad72]

i agree that the broncos secondary messed up but if manning had took care of the ball they could have won

 

Could have won, Stephen. If they punt and Flacco wins it with a FG, Peyton would still be blamed. That is just how it is.

 

Taking a sack and punting is better than trying too hard and throwing an INT or fumbling the ball. Eli threw 50+ times vs the 49ers last year, got sacked and hit several times, yet did not throw an INT. Brady is the same way, will take a lot of sacks but wont throw INTs. Those QBs do take less chances if the pocket collapses around them and take the sacks.

 

On the other hand, objectively speaking, Peyton cannot extend plays with his legs like a Rodgers or Big Ben or even Andrew Luck, does not do QB sneaks like Brady, so he has to take more chances, IMO. Thus, his playoff loss record and SB record (1-1) identical to that of Favre because both of them are gun slingers to an extent, they had their longevity, their glory days but had their limitations and lived and died with the chances they took.

[Coltsman1788]

I am not sure Peyton calls the plays in Denver like he did in Indy.  The way the end of that game was played from the fourth quarter on was not how I would picture Peyton calling a game.  I think the coaches were making those calls.  Also even if you are Peyton Manning there are only so many times in ones career one can disobey the coach.  Fox also doesn't strike me as forgiving as Dungy was and even Dungy was clearly upset when Manning did that to him.  If you notice Peyton never did that again after the Steelers playoff game.  My guess is Dungy and him had a chat about it afterwords. 

Well that is something to consider..but I think a player of Peyton's stature has a certain amount of latitude in those situations.   I just think something in Peyton's makeup should have wanted to take the ball in his hands to close out the game.  It reminded me of the last time we faced the Chargers in the playoffs.  Peyton had an opportunity to close out the game by picking up a 1st down but went with a run play that was stuffed. Colts ended up punting and Chargers went on to score to tie the game and eventually won in OT.  Same movie just slightly different actors.

[Jules]

Andrew Luck comes in and takes over a gutted offseason team in a rebuilding project and is clutch as anything as a rookie leading us to an improbable 11-5 run and playoff berth........

 

 

Peyton........bye. Good luck in Denver. Best wishes for a healthy ending to your career before you retire. You will always be mostly remembered as a Colt anyway.

 

 

Andrew........Hello!!!!!!!!!!

[Brooklyn Colt]

3 TOs..that's all that needs to be said..need to take care of the ball better than that..still got love for Peyton though..

[manning04]

This game did not prove anything other than the fact PM is below .500 in the playoffs and that maybe we can't just blame his teams. The blame is not all on PM however his turnovers lead to points for the ravens. And most importantly the game winning points. Not sure how i felt watching the end of the game because i was expecting him to throw a INT.

[Esquire59]

Can y'all imagine how heartsick we'd be if we just watched that game if 18 was still a Colt, knowing we passed on Luck to keep him?  Phew.  We all know it was the right decision, but boy howdy....

[CantBeStopped]

All these threads about manning for one should not be in the colts forum. For two people soon forget what manning dis for this team. Without him we'd all be rooting for the LA colts. No superbowl ring. No continued success for 10+ years. Get over yourselves. And stop flooding the forum with this crap

[ColtsHappy]

Just need to vent a little....

 

Not really sure how the weather was affecting Peyton's arm but I don't think I saw him throw the ball much more than 20 yeards in this game. It saddens me deeply and I really feel badly for him -  I can't help but remember all those amazing bombs to Marvin over the years. I miss them and I am sure Peyton does too....

 

If you are Elway, you have to be at least considering the gamble he made this year and I am not so sure this game didn't knock him back in the "executive of the year" sweepstakes. In the final analysis what did he accomplish? He lost his first playoff game and last year he won his first playoff game with Tebow. Sounds like a step back in the big picture at the end of the day.

 

It's hard for me to look at this game and not see the Saints Superbowl, sorry. 

 

Having said that, my wish is that Peyton would just retire and come back to the colts next season as our offensive co-ordinator!

 

 

ColtsHappy

[Fx Stryker]

 we'd all be rooting for the LA colts.

 

Majority, I'd say above 75%, of the fans here would be rooting for someone else other than the Colts.

[GoColts8818]

Just need to vent a little....

 

Not really sure how the weather was affecting Peyton's arm but I don't think I saw him throw the ball much more than 20 yeards in this game. It saddens me deeply and I really feel badly for him -  I can't help but remember all those amazing bombs to Marvin over the years. I miss them and I am sure Peyton does too....

 

If you are Elway, you have to be at least considering the gamble he made this year and I am not so sure this game didn't knock him back in the "executive of the year" sweepstakes. In the final analysis what did he accomplish? He lost his first playoff game and last year he won his first playoff game with Tebow. Sounds like a step back in the big picture at the end of the day.

 

It's hard for me to look at this game and not see the Saints Superbowl, sorry. 

 

Having said that, my wish is that Peyton would just retire and come back to the colts next season as our offensive co-ordinator!

 

 

ColtsHappy

Someone asked about the voting after RG3 went down for rookie of the year and Peter King said those votes are already in.  You have to do it that way or it's not fair to players who have a great regular season and don't make the playoffs because people would forget what they did. 

[NewColtsFan]

Late to this very fun food fight....!

 

I'd like to take a different perspective....  Some food for thought.    Forget today.    Forget the game today.

 

Manning has shown he's likely going to play out his entire contract.   Another 4-years.    If he leads the Broncos to 2 more Super Bowls and wins one of them and Andrew doesn't take us to any Super Bowl's in the same time frame,  then this board will have many more of these same fights.

 

Irsay made a mistake!     No he didn't!      Less filling!     Taste great!!

 

Irsay had no choice.   At the point he had to make a decision it wasn't clear what Manning's future would be.    QB's like Luck don't come along very often.    So, the choice was 12-15 years of Luck vs. 0-5 years of Manning.     In a strict business sense, there wasn't a hard decision to be made.    Irsay had to go with Luck.   

 

And even knowing what he knows now -- with Manning back to at least a playoff caliber form -- Irsay still had to make the choice he did.   3-5 years of Manning vs. 12-15 of Luck. 

 

Manning is great.   Flat out great.    Not sure if Luck will be reach that level.   But if not, I don't think he'll be far off either.

 

The choice was Luck.     The choice had to be Luck.    With hindsight,  or without it,   the choice was Luck.

 

I wish Manning all the best,  except when he's playing Indy.    Andrew is the future.    The short term and the long term future.

 

Without saying anything negative about Manning,  Andrew was and is the way to go......

 

Just my two cents....   

[deedub75]

Late to this very fun food fight....!

 

I'd like to take a different perspective....  Some food for thought.    Forget today.    Forget the game today.

 

Manning has shown he's likely going to play out his entire contract.   Another 4-years.    If he leads the Broncos to 2 more Super Bowls and wins one of them and Andrew doesn't take us to any Super Bowl's in the same time frame,  then this board will have many more of these same fights.

 

Irsay made a mistake!     No he didn't!      Less filling!     Taste great!!

 

Irsay had no choice.   At the point he had to make a decision it wasn't clear what Manning's future would be.    QB's like Luck don't come along very often.    So, the choice was 12-15 years of Luck vs. 0-5 years of Manning.     In a strict business sense, there wasn't a hard decision to be made.    Irsay had to go with Luck.   

 

And even knowing what he knows now -- with Manning back to at least a playoff caliber form -- Irsay still had to make the choice he did.   3-5 years of Manning vs. 12-15 of Luck. 

 

Manning is great.   Flat out great.    Not sure if Luck will be reach that level.   But if not, I don't think he'll be far off either.

 

The choice was Luck.     The choice had to be Luck.    With hindsight,  or without it,   the choice was Luck.

 

I wish Manning all the best,  except when he's playing Indy.    Andrew is the future.    The short term and the long term future.

 

Without saying anything negative about Manning,  Andrew was and is the way to go......

 

Just my two cents....   

 

To add to your point, Luck doesn't even have to be as good as Manning.  We need a complete team to win Superbowls.  We had Manning all of these years and only got to two Superbowls and winning one.  By ousting Polian, I think Irsay now realizes he needs to build a complete team on offense, defense, and special teams instead of the one trick pony that we had when Manning was here.   

[GuiltyFan]

Could have won, Stephen. If they punt and Flacco wins it with a FG, Peyton would still be blamed. That is just how it is.

This. It's always been this way for Manning. It's all or nothing. If he wins, he's as great as everyone thinks he is. If he loses for ANY reason, he's a choker, "can't win the big one," etc.

 

Such a predictable thread and reaction...

Yawwwwwn

Yup. Gotta love the Colts fan forum. Bunch of people patting themselves on the back about Peyton losing so they can feel better about letting him go. Peyton or no Peyton, when a player leaves your team, you should always wish the best for them(assuming they weren't a troublemaker or anything like that.). It was great to see the former Colts, Manning, Tamme and Stokley preform well. Sad to see them lose. I hope Manning can get one more ring before he's done assuming he doesn't cross the Colts in the playoffs. 

 

It's funny because on the Denver forums and many other none team specific forums, people are you know analyzing the whole game(I know, crazy.) and not putting all the blame on Peyton's game sealing interception. The 2 main points that I see being discussed is John Fox's conservative play calling and the secondary. The better team won tonight and I'll emphasize "team" as it certainly does require a team effort to make it to the Super Bowl.

[indy1888]

Based on what?  If the D had not been burned multiple times they would have one.  Manning throws one very bad pass and suddenly some forget what a bad game the Broncos D had.

Even with the D being burned, they had a 7 point lead early in the 2nd half. They had at least 2, possibly 3 posessions to add on and didn't do a thing. Manning had a stretch where he was like 1-8 passing during that time. Yes the D made mistakes, but lets not act like Manning played a great game. He didn't, he did what he did many years here and that was do enough to just come up short.

[Bubba]

Same old Peyton.

 

Torches everyone in the regular season...and takes a nap in the playoffs. As a result, he is now tied with Brett Favre for the most postseason losses by a starting QB in NFL history.

 

Just wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Agree.......huge Manning fan, but why in the world do you run it three straight plays at the end of the 4th to give it back to Flacco with 2 min left. It was like he was playing not to lose and scared to throw it. Same style play he did in Indy and it seem to always come back to bite us in the a**. Denver fans now know how we have felt many times. Denver got what they deserved tonight with there scared play and horrid defense.

[GoColts8818]

Yup. Gotta love the Colts fan forum. Bunch of people patting themselves on the back about Peyton losing so they can feel better about letting him go. Peyton or no Peyton, when a player leaves your team, you should always wish the best for them(assuming they weren't a troublemaker or anything like that.). It was great to see the former Colts, Manning, Tamme and Stokley preform well. Sad to see them lose. I hope Manning can get one more ring before he's done assuming he doesn't cross the Colts in the playoffs. 

I will probably get killed for this but I agree with this.  I have never understood why people feel the need to just wash their hands of ex Colts.  I could understand if a guy left and was a jerk about it but Peyton left about as classy as one could ask for.  This goes beyond Peyton though.  I remember when Dungy left and you couldn't even bring up his name without people saying "why are we talking about him he's not a Colt anymore." 

 

I've seen years of people wishing to have Sanders and Edge back and while I never agreed with it I understood why people felt that way they were fan favorites that people hated to see leave.  Yet a good chunk of people completely turn their backs on guys like Manning and Dungy who did more to help us win longer than Sanders and Edge did.  Heck to an extent I see it with Polian too.  A lot of people like to blame every problem in the world on him and hate having to give him any credit for anything that went right under his watch. 

 

I don't know I remember when this team was 1-15 and 8-8 was a good season and 9-7 and a shocking run to the AFC Title game seemed as good as it could get.  So I am beyond grateful for what all those men did for my team and I am willing to embrace the downsides that came with them.  Downside and all they gave me an era of Colts football that just about any fan would die to have.  Now I feel lucky to see signs that Luck, Grigson, and Pagano might be able to do it again.  Even if they do I doubt it's going to be at the level the previous guys did.  They won at a historic level and rather than look back and be bitter about it like some seem to be I choose to look back and feel lucky that they made it possible for my team to be able to say 8-8 was a bad season and yes even the Indianapolis Colts could win a Super Bowl. 

[runthepost]

Well, Luck is 0-1 in his young career in the playoffs. I just hope the one-and-done bug isn't contagious.

Also, who cares how Manning fares in his career from now on? He's not with the Colts anymore. I will care about Manning again when he retires and goes up on the ring of honor and hall of fame.

this right here

[shadefourfive]

So what's worse the manning haters or the Luck haters? Cause I don't know about you but Luck is a Colt. And many fans have had to defend our own player all year long. So yeah, it goes both ways

Both of them. Of course, we made the right decision with Luck but it was not because of Peyton's performance. His release was due to and only circumstance. I love Luck, the Colts and my home, Indianapolis. I'm moved on and did move easy. I just can't forget what 18 did for us. And never would I laugh or taunt him for losing. The 'Colts fans' that do should be ashamed.

[ConBro]

At least Luck and Peyton both lost to the same team. That way the "experts" can't make us out to be villains in any way.

[unitaswestand]

I am a big Manning backer.  No excuse for letting that last bomb by Flacco happen.  Nor for Mannings interception.   But something that does concern me is you take away the two kick returns, and the Broncos scored 21 points on offense.   I am not at all saying it is Manning's fault. But I do really wonder if all the shifting, changing plays, spread offense makes them too much finesse    I often think a team would be better off lining up and just playing ball.   For whatever reason, their offense disappeared. Their running attack was so-so.  They couldn't convert short yardage very well.  Basically, they became the Colts.

[indy1888]

Agree.......huge Manning fan, but why in the world do you run it three straight plays at the end of the 4th to give it back to Flacco with 2 min left. It was like he was playing not to lose and scared to throw it. Same style play he did in Indy and it seem to always come back to bite us in the a**. Denver fans now know how we have felt many times. Denver got what they deserved tonight with there scared play and horrid defense.

I'm more interested in the decisions to take a knee at the end of both halves with timeouts remaining. Part of me wonders if Manning's arm strength or grip issues figured into that decision. They had 2 timeouts left i think and about 30 seconds or so to get into FG range and win the game and took a knee?? That doesn't seem right to me.

[Jules]

What do you mean by "Manning is the Bronco's problem now ? Are you trying to say that 20 mill a year for a 37 year old that has very "iffy" arm strength is not the cat bird seat ? I was a huge PM fan but I guess I'm just a pure Colt fan as I kind of see things in a different light now. Fact of the matter is that he is 9-11 in playoffs. He just doesn't come up big and carry a team in January. Not saying the 9-11 is "all his fault" but geez , 9-11 is just that 9-11. Let the Broncos spend the next couple of weeks defending his critics. We are through with that and it appears that our new guy is pretty clutch... I guess we'll see.

 

Watching Denver at times this year I never thought Peyton looked like the same Peyton to me. Of course he did well, very well at times I cannot deny this. I don't see the same arm though and I am stunned at times so many deny this......

[Carlos Danger]

There is NO WAY #18 would have knelt down with 30 sec left in the 4th quarter in a Colts uni. He must have been overruled on that one... I was shocked! I thought "30 sec and 2 timeouts.... this game is as good as over. It's Manning Time" then he went to his knee and my jaw dropped....

[Stephen]

Based on what?  If the D had not been burned multiple times they would have one.  Manning throws one very bad pass and suddenly some forget what a bad game the Broncos D had.

I didn't forget how bad broncos d played. The fact is manning should not have thrown int regardless he forced that throw. Flacco didn't throw an int nor did he fumble and manning should have played similiar if he wanted to win

[GoColts8818]

I am a big Manning backer.  No excuse for letting that last bomb by Flacco happen.  Nor for Mannings interception.   But something that does concern me is you take away the two kick returns, and the Broncos scored 21 points on offense.   I am not at all saying it is Manning's fault. But I do really wonder if all the shifting, changing plays, spread offense makes them too much finesse    I often think a team would be better off lining up and just playing ball.   For whatever reason, their offense disappeared. Their running attack was so-so.  They couldn't convert short yardage very well.  Basically, they became the Colts.

More credit needs to go to the Ravens here as a whole (not just you).  They made plays and their defense is playing inspired.  Scoring 21 points on their D is a lot. 

[GoColts8818]

I didn't forget how bad broncos d played. The fact is manning should not have thrown int regardless he forced that throw. Flacco didn't throw an int nor did he fumble and manning should have played similiar if he wanted to win

The Ravens D had a little something to do with that.  They were getting to Manning a lot and his mistakes came as a result of pressure.  The Broncos D was not getting a lot of heat on Flacco there you go.  In today's NFL generally speaking the team that gets to the other teams QB more wins. 

 

With that said it was still a rookie mistake by Manning.  It's not okay but he should have never been in that spot to start with.  It doesn't make the INT okay but people need to not lose sight of the Broncos refusing to adjust their defense and letting the Ravens keep beating them over the top.  It's time people in this league start to respect Flacco's ability to go down the field.  He's killing teams with it. 

[houstonwhodat]

manning gave that game away

 

Fox gave that game away.  He's an *.

 

Should have never got to overtime.

 

One first down and its over.

[austriancolt]

you don't take a knee if you have 40 seconds left and PM as QB! That was a stupid decision by the Broncos 

[haseo15]

I can't believe how bad the broncos secondary played that deep bomb. Joe flacco is the luckiest QB on throwing deep bombs like 6times A Game and his WR either get DPI or come down with bomb passes at random.