You combine this with Peyton
Manning having his worse game of the 2013 season and even a worse game still
by Knowshon Moreno and it was too much to overcome.
A lot credit has to go the defense unit of the Colts they
shut down Moreno and got after Manning when he tried to throw downfield. The
Manning fumble that went into the end zone was a big play but I don’t see that
moment as the turning point. The real one came when Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase or maybe it was Manning
called 2 running plays up the middle on 3rd and short to Moreno and he couldn’t
convert either one. The Broncos had way too many quick 3 and outs and it never
gave the Broncos weak Corners and Safety’s a chance to catch their breaths against Andrew Luck who played a great game.
Up until this game Moreno had played well beyond anything he
has in his career thus far but in this one he played like the old RB that was on
the horrible Josh McDaniels teams
when the best he could do was pick up one or two yards per carry, showed zero
quickness, no cut back ability, no power and would go to the ground after the
first hit. Why Manning kept calling his number is a mystery. Not only was he totally
ineffective on the ground, he was even worse when Manning used him as a check
off Receiver in the flat and he still couldn’t make a play.
I don’t know how many times Manning chucked the ball to
Moreno but the play wasn’t working. I have a hard time believing that the
coverage was so good downfield that he couldn’t find either D. Thomas, Welker, Decker or J. Thomas open.
Manning was clearly feeling the pressure of the game early
and once the Broncos got behind in the first half the crowd noise and his emotions
hurt his ability to run the hurry up or get into any kind of a groove. In this
kind of environment I almost wonder if it wouldn’t be better to slow the game
down a little and huddle up to make sure the Receivers know exactly which routes
to run. When Manning was trying to change the play at the line of scrimmage it
had to be next to impossible for them to hear what play was being called.
Make no mistake after Manning coughed up the football and
was sacked 4 times his confidence was rattled. He was throwing the ball into
tight coverage and many of his balls had too much air on them without much zip.
The absence of LT Ryan Clady became
crystal clear because his replacement Chris
Carter had no answers for the hard charging Robert Mathis, he sacked Manning twice.
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"We've changed our model a little bit, because we wanted more than one
of these," Irsay says, flicking up his right hand to show his Super Bowl
XLI championship ring. (Tom) Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has
three of these," Irsay adds. "Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two,
Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated. You make the
playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You
love to have the Star Wars numbers from, Peyton and Marvin (Harrison) and
Reggie (Wayne). Mostly, you love this."
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As many of you know that regularly read my blog I’ve been
very cynical and skeptical about Manning’s ability to get the Broncos to a
Super Bowl and win it. The comments Jim
Irsay made about Manning this week have been the same ones I’ve been making
since they signed him.
This loss had to really have an effect on Manning's headgame; it gives
fuel to the doubters and naysayers that claim Manning buckles in big pressure
games and the playoffs. Can he recover; can he still lead the team to Super
Bowl win? Maybe, but now he and Broncos Fans can see he isn’t infallible or unbreakable.
The 2 immediate solutions seem easy. I believe they have to
get Montee Ball on the field as
their primary RB even if he isn’t as good a Receiver as Moreno he’s a better
power runner than he is and they need the threat of a running game to
execute the offense. More important still is John Fox and Jack Del Rio must
find a way to get better play out of the Defensive Secondary because without it
the Broncos cannot and will not go deep in the playoffs.
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