I've actually been thinking about this lately. I think it ultimately comes down to the fact that Peyton Manning was the center of the system that the Colts had in place. On the offensive side, it's obvious that Manning was by far the most important person, but I think the presence of Manning changed the way the defense played as well. With Peyton leading the offense, any opponent had to assume that the Colts could essentially score points at will as they needed to, and thus they were under pressure to score, and to score a lot. This led to a lot more pass plays, which were stopped by an effective pass rush with the very fast but not very big D-line of the Colts and the fairly competent secondary, especially when Sanders was healthy. The reason the Colts lost so often in the playoffs was the fact that the teams they played against, especially the Pats and Steelers (which accounted for almost every playoff loss) didn't run their offense to score points. They ran their offense to keep Peyton off the field, which meant that as long as they could put up a few points against the below average defense (which both teams were more than capable of), they had a very good shot at winning by only giving Manning a couple drives to work with.
I think the QB position is very similar to the PG position in basketball. Look at how the UNC Tar Heels did last year when they had a sub-par PG versus how they did when Kendall Marshall stepped in. Their system demands a very skilled PG able to direct the offense, and when that isn't present, everything else begins to collapse. Other systems don't depend on the PG as heavily and can get by regardless of who is in that position. Ultimately, the Colts kind of set themselves up for this by creating a system that revolves around the QB, but it really has been pretty successful, regardless of those who say differently. Other than those of you who expect the Colts to win the Super Bowl every year, the Colts have been widely regarded as one of the most successful teams of the past decade, and always a Super Bowl contender, more than can be said of probably 80% of the other teams in the NFL. However, now with Manning injured and most likely starting a slow decline in his career, the system needs to be fixed. I don't think it was broken, but it certainly is now, and this season is more than enough evidence for that.
How Can A Peyton Manning Make Such A Difference?
in Colts Football
Posted
I've actually been thinking about this lately. I think it ultimately comes down to the fact that Peyton Manning was the center of the system that the Colts had in place. On the offensive side, it's obvious that Manning was by far the most important person, but I think the presence of Manning changed the way the defense played as well. With Peyton leading the offense, any opponent had to assume that the Colts could essentially score points at will as they needed to, and thus they were under pressure to score, and to score a lot. This led to a lot more pass plays, which were stopped by an effective pass rush with the very fast but not very big D-line of the Colts and the fairly competent secondary, especially when Sanders was healthy. The reason the Colts lost so often in the playoffs was the fact that the teams they played against, especially the Pats and Steelers (which accounted for almost every playoff loss) didn't run their offense to score points. They ran their offense to keep Peyton off the field, which meant that as long as they could put up a few points against the below average defense (which both teams were more than capable of), they had a very good shot at winning by only giving Manning a couple drives to work with.
I think the QB position is very similar to the PG position in basketball. Look at how the UNC Tar Heels did last year when they had a sub-par PG versus how they did when Kendall Marshall stepped in. Their system demands a very skilled PG able to direct the offense, and when that isn't present, everything else begins to collapse. Other systems don't depend on the PG as heavily and can get by regardless of who is in that position. Ultimately, the Colts kind of set themselves up for this by creating a system that revolves around the QB, but it really has been pretty successful, regardless of those who say differently. Other than those of you who expect the Colts to win the Super Bowl every year, the Colts have been widely regarded as one of the most successful teams of the past decade, and always a Super Bowl contender, more than can be said of probably 80% of the other teams in the NFL. However, now with Manning injured and most likely starting a slow decline in his career, the system needs to be fixed. I don't think it was broken, but it certainly is now, and this season is more than enough evidence for that.