Colts May Be Ripe For Upset As Manning Trudges Along
DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Every week, a player from the opposing team does a conference call with the media on Wednesday. So when the Colts play anybody, that duty always falls to....that guy. Peyton Manning is so good as a quarterback, that he is even early with the media. Talk about dedicated. To talk to us? Seriously?
So Manning discussed what has been a difficult season to this point for the Colts, who come in to this one at 6-5. Manning's take:
"At 6 and 5...it's really surprising and not fun coming in off Mondays after a loss. We had many a season where we didn't have many of those at all. It's a hole we put ourselves in and its a tremendous challenge and a tremendous opportunity. We have to find a way to dig out of this hole. You just have to keep sawing wood and find a way to win."
Yes, Manning and the Colts, who've been decimated by injuries are in a fight to make the playoffs. They obviously benefit from being in a win challenged division, but Manning says his approach is still the same. "I try to maintain the same routine. There are tweaks that I've made, but I try to stay in the same routine from an off-season and in season standpoint."
Manning on how long he wants to play: "I haven't really thought about it a lot. I always believe in the one season at a time approach. I have no timetable, no goal to play a certain number of years. Once you do that you gotta be careful about hanging on to play to a certain age.
The Colts have problems. Mainly because of the fact that they have no running game with Joseph Addai and Mike Hart injured among others. Manning is on pace to throw more passes than any quarterback ever. "It is more than I'd like to be throwing. Our goal USED to be to go three dimensional....run, pass, and mix in play action. Some weeks we've done it better than others."
Says Coach Jim Caldwell, "Peyton can't do it all by himself so we have to find ways to get better."
As for the here and now, The Cowboys have as good a shot as anyone to beat them, even with the Colts still sporting the NFL's #1 offense in total yards. It is hard to imagine Manning having three straight sub par games, but with 7 interceptions in the last two, and 11 for the season, the time might be ripe for the Cowboys to make some noise against a struggling team come Sunday.
Wally Lynn covers the Dallas Cowboys for 105.3 The Fan
