Career Maker

What a game Peyton Manning had, or at least what a half plus one drive. There was so much pressure on him you could almost feel the frustration he had after the Patriots recovered the fumble in the end zone. This was a play that the defense should make. More importantly, this was a play that the Patriots would make. Peyton knew that he might need a little but of luck to get the monkey off his back here, and this was one of those plays. Then he throws the pick six to Assante Samuel and it seemed like it was over. Then, it seemed he relaxed. I think the pressure actually lifted a bit. He was supposed to do this. He was supposed to choke, at least according to his detractors. Then he took complete control of the game. He takes the ball, makes all the plays he needs to, and watches his defense seal the deal for him. He finally gets to enjoy the post game celebration. He gets to be the one to thank people. Gets to be the one to do the interview out on the field while holding the trophy. It is about time.

Now I see that many people are taking away from his game. I just watched the 1st and 10 program on ESPN and they went with the "Brady lost the game, not Peyton won it" approach. To me this is not only wrong, but it is a back handed slap at Peyton. Why is it that when the "experts" get things wrong they have to give excuses, basically saying that they were right, they just got unlucky. There are "experts" out there giving more credit to the coaches, other players, the defense, etc. It almost seems that people want Peyton to be that lovable loser guy, and now that he has won this game, they want to make sure that he stays that way. To me, this was the game that will forever prove that Peyton is one of the 4 best quarter backs ever. Now, bare with me as I attempt to prove to you why this win was due to Peyton's brilliance, with some help when he needed it.

My best friend John, who is extremely knowledgeable about the Colts, has the opinion that the player of the game was Dallas Clark. I disagree, but to me if it wasn't Peyton, it is Clark. Here is why I disagree. Clark had 6 catches for 137 yards, a great game. However, to me there are 2 issues with him being the player of the game. First off, he dropped an easy touchdown at the end of the first half. Now, I know that the DB had his hands between Clark's hands and his body, but Dallas missed the ball himself. The ball hit him squarely in both hands, and bounced off. Clark will tell you that this was a drop by him.

The other reason is that on 3 of his receptions for 86 of his yards, Peyton actually made the play, or put the ball in the exact spot it had to be. Lets look at those. The first one was earlier in the drive at the end of the first half. it was a very similar play to the 3rd and 6 reception at the end of the Ravens game. Clark was blanketed. He had no more than a half step on his defender. The window to put the ball was almost impossibly small, yet Peyton puts the ball exactly where it has to be so only Dallas can make the catch, at full speed mind you. Now, I tip my hat to Dallas for making the catch, but if Peyton puts that ball anywhere else, it's batted down, or just incomplete. Noone else in the NFL, and that includes Brady, could have made that pass.

The next play was a huge play for 52 yards to Clark down the middle. This play, however, was made by Peyton before he even threw the ball. Clark was wide, wide open on this play and that is because the Patriots brought almost everyone on a blitz. Peyton, supposedly an immobile pocket passer, avoided 2 Patriots, moved up in the pocket and threw a strike, as he was drilled from his right. Clark should catch this ball. He was open by 5 yards and Peyton, even with getting hit, put the ball right on his hands, in stride. Dallas barely had to even lean to catch the ball. He wasn't even touched for 50 yards.

The final play was on a field goal drive early in the 4th quarter. Clark had come open on a deep slant headed towards the side line and Peyton hit him, once again in stride right on the hands, for 23 yards. Not only this, but he put it in a spot where Dallas could only catch it, and would still be able to keep his feet in bounds. Again, there are very few quarterbacks that can make this pass, and Peyton makes it consistently.

On another similar play, on the final game winning drive, Peyton hit Brian Fletcher, again after evading a blitz, for a key 32 yards. Keep in mind, Fletcher was only out there because Ben Utecht was hurt, so there is even more pressure on Peyton to put the ball perfectly on his hands, since he is not completely into the game yet. Again, only a handful of guys could make this play.

Then, the final play I will discuss was the two point conversion. The throw was nothing short of perfect. It was so perfect, it might have even been a little bit lucky. The Colts surprise NE by lining both Harrison and Wayne up on the right side. At the snap, the safety shifts over to help. Peyton takes 4 steps, then throws the ball to a spot. The spot just happens to be the only hole in between two defenders. Now, obviously Harrison made a great play on the ball, turned his body around and made the catch, but it was Payton who put this ball in the tiny hole so Harrison could make the play.

The Patriots came into this game wanting to do two things. They wanted to pressure Peyton, and they wanted to take Harrison and Wayne out of the equation. They did both of these, yet Peyton still had 349 yards passing. He constantly had Patriots at his feet, or hitting him, and yet still made the plays when he had to. As for Harrison and Wayne, they were non factors. This was partly due to great defense by the Patriots led by one of the more under-rated guys in football in Samuel. However, neither guy took advantage of the opportunities they had.

Wayne tripped twice, by himself, including one in the end zone. He also dropped 2 balls that hit him in the hands, including a play on a third and long that would have been good enough for a first down. he had his defender on his back, and the ball hit him in both hands. He just missed it.

Then there is Marvin Harrison. For my money, the best receiver not named Rice in the history of the league. However, he drops a ball on the goal line on a deep post route. I know Samuel was there, but this is a ball that Harrison catches. Then there was a third and huge, in the first half, on the drive after the pick six, deep in their own territory that hits Marvin, deep down the field, right in the hands. What happens? The ball bounces off his hands then hits him in the head. Now, again, Samuel was there with him, but this is a Hall of Fame player that needs to make this play in these games.

With his two biggest weapons taken away, Peyton had to work that much harder to make plays. Also, lets not forget that they had to come back from an 18 point lead. Also, one of the reasons Peyton didn't have as many TD's as he might usually have is that the Colts ran the ball very well inside the 5. There were 3 TD runs (well, we'll count the fumble recovery by Saturday as a run since that is how it started), one by Peyton, in the second half. Peyton leads the league every year in TD passes inside the five, but if your running game gets into the end zone, then there is not real need to pass.

All things considered, Peyton played maybe the best game of his career, and it was in the most important game of his career. There was all the pressure in the world on him going into this game. He had his two biggest weapons taken away from him. He had a huge hole dug quickly, as much done by him as anyone else. With all this taken into account, he stepped up when he had too, made the plays that needed to be made, and won the game. This is a defining moment in his career. Now, lets hope that he has many more defining moments in the years to come.