In an outcome that would resemble a Twilight Zone episode in the regular season, the Detroit Lions squeaked out a one-point win in their preseason game against the Colts on Saturday night, winning 18-17 on the arms of QBs Matthew Stafford and Daunte Culpepper.
For the Colts’ part, the starters played reasonably well, with Manning leading the Colts methodically down the field for touchdowns to open both halves. The first drive ended with a Manning to Dallas Clark completion inside the 10-yard line; the other featured backup RB Donald Brown scoring from two yards out.
“Both drives at the beginning of both halves were quality,” Manning said. “On the two drives where we did not get points it was more us than them. It was us self-destructing.”
Manning finishes 12-for-15 for 126 yards, putting up another stellar statistical outing in a career full of them. After partially blaming his lack of participation in last year’s preseason for the Colts’ early struggles - if this year’s preseason is any indication, the rest of the league should be wary.
Manning seems to be in midseason form already.
Of note - Manning threw a deep ball right into the hands of WR Anthony Gonzalez, who the Colts are hoping will step up into the departed WR Marvin Harrison’s role. However, Gonzalez dropped the right-on-the-numbers pass, and Manning did not look towards Gonzalez again for the night (a total of six pass plays).
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 11:10 pm by bryan
Peyton Manning believed that not playing in the preseason last year affected his game early in the season, as the Colts stumbled out of the gate to a 3-4 start before righting their ship and winning the next nine straight.
After pleading with new head coach Jim Caldwell for more action in the preseason, Caldwell relented and allowed Manning and the first team offense a full quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night in their second preseason game. The Colts won 23-15, scoring a surprisingly rare preseason win (although, remember, they did like to hold Manning out of preseason games almost entirely before today).
Manning did not disappoint, nor did he squander the opportunity, posting an incredibly effective 10-14 night for 167 yards and two TDs - one each to WR Reggie Wayne and WR Anthony Gonzalez (get your Fantasy Football radars out!).
Rookie RB Donald Brown did not fare as well against the Eagles’ run defense, only getting three carries for five yards and one reception for nine yards.
Injuries also started to pile up for the Colts, as safety Matt Giordano injured his groin, running back Mike Hart hurt his ankle and Chad Simpson left with a shoulder injury.
Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:16 pm by bryan
New Colts head coach Jim Caldwell didn’t start his Colts’ coaching career exactly how he had in mind, losing 13-3 to the Minnesota Vikings on Friday night.
Granted, it’s not like the Colts had all their first-line troops out there, as they kept a number of starters on the bench as has become tradition in the preseason in Indianapolis.
QB Peyton Manning only played six snaps, and the Colts benched five offensive starters total along with their top five defensive backs. Pro Bowl WR Reggie Wayne, 2007 NFL defensive POY Bob Sanders and TE Dallas Clark were all notables on the inactive list.
The Colts played ugly most of the game, with Manning getting sacked three times in his short time on the field. The Vikings outgained Indy 147-0 in the first quarter. Starters or not, those kinds of statistics made Coach Caldwell queasy.
One bright spot for the Colts was the performance of their top draft pick, RB Donald Brown. He gained 58 yards on only five carries, including a 38-yard scamper that set up Shane Andrus’ 42-yard field goal. That FG turned out to be Indianapolis’ only score of the night.
Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 11:34 pm by bryan
More bad news out of Indianapolis training camp today, as safety Antoine Bethea missed practice with a cracked bone in his right hand.
It’s going from bad to worse for a Colts team that’s already dealing with its most uncertain season in years following the retirement of longtime head coach Tony Dungy and the decision to part ways with wide receiver Marvin Harrison. And now a secondary that’s already missing Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders could be dealt another crushing blow.
It’s unknown when Sanders, who underwent knee surgery in the offseaso, will be back. But if he and Bethea are both out for an extended period of time, it’s going to put an inordinate amount of pressure on an offense that for years has already felt a lion’s share of it.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 8:23 pm by reggy10
Sports Illustrated’s excellent training camp coverage featured Don Banks writing from the Colts training camp last week. Banks reports that WR Reggie Wayne is ready to step up into the No. 1 spot Marvin Harrison left after playing 13 years for the Colts.
“Now he’s gone and I’m the next old head in the receiver room,” Wayne said. “I can feel comfortable saying stuff out loud in the offensive meeting room or even the team meeting room. That’s changed. My role and what’s expected of me, it kind of went up another power.”
Manning will count on Wayne continuing his increased production in the No. 1 receiver slot if the Colts have any hope of making the postseason this year.
On a lighter, more… theatrical note: On the first day of camp, Wayne arrived riding in a dump truck while wearing a hard hat and orange vest and carrying a lunch box. He came in with the attitude that the 2009 Colts are “under construction” and that he’s ready to get to work.
Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 11:42 pm by bryan
