The NFL season has arrived in the midst of complete bedlam at Indianapolis, with news the Peyton Manning could be looking at a season on the sideline, following a delayed recovery from neck surgery back in May.
Former Tennessee Titans veteran Kerry Collins, is set to become the first quarterback to start at Indianapolis since Jim Harbaugh back in 1997, alas, ending Manning’s streak of 208 regular season games.
For all those entangled in this Manning fairytale, his third trip under the knife in 19 months will serve as a reality check. It does appear the very best of Manning is now merely history.
To say that Manning is responsible for the better part of the Colts’ achievements would be unjust to his teammates, but the correlation between his own successes and in turn, that of the team’s is no coincidence.
When Manning is on song, Indianapolis rarely falters. For the first time in over a decade, we get the chance to see what happens when the binding piece to the Indianapolis puzzle, is momentarily removed.
The Colts now, must focus on weaning Kerry Collins off the Titans’ run centred playbook. Ignoring the sceptics for one moment, I believe, much can derive from a season minus Indiana’s favourite son.
Kerry Collins is not one to shy away from adversity; in fact, he’s made a living out of it.
Smeared by various off-field incidents, Collins battled constant criticism from the media and fans during his time at no less than five different franchises.
So, on arriving in Indianapolis – in doing so, coming out of a short stint as a retiree – it was no surprise that Kerry Collins would be burdened by the belittling comments of Colts’ fans and media alike.
Opinion aside, Collins is only one of two quarterbacks still playing, to have thrown for more than 40,000 yards, the other being his now teammate, Manning.
In fact, the similarities between the two are not only restricted to statistics; their styles and approach to the game are very much alike.
Both Collins and Manning are perceived as textbook quarterbacks, in the way that both like to stay in the pocket and work under a more conventional playbook. Where the two are different lies in the product itself.
Collins plays with a high element of risk which has all but removed any consistency from his game. Peyton, on the other hand, works with precision, and you match that with a bullet-like arm and you have got yourself a superstar.
Evidently, Manning is a more polished quarterback, however, depending on which Kerry Collins shows up, the Colts may yet have some hope going into this season.
The biggest issue that the Colts face is keeping their throw-heavy playbook intact.
At Tennessee, Collins had one of the game’s great running backs in Chris Johnson standing behind him, happy to take a chunk of the workload. Joseph Addai is no dud, but then again, he is no Chris Johnson.
The expectation would be that Collins can complete 70% of the workload, preventing the opposition from getting accustomed to a constant run game.
Regardless of Manning’s status, Collins will still have complete access to the Colt’s repertoire; big names including Wayne, Garcon, Collie and Clark are sure to offer Collins an outlet when it comes to the throwing option.
I’m not underplaying the significance of Manning’s absence; it may well have dampened the Indianapolis Colts chance of winning another Superbowl.
However, adversity goes hand in hand with opportunity, and that’s exactly what the Colts have, a great opportunity to prove they are not simply a one-man outfit.
Jared
Roar Pro
3 years on and life sucked without Manning for a season, but it did give the Colts the number 1 draft pick and thus Andrew Luck which began the new era.
hunter
Guest
How is life without Peyton manning not so bad? Unlike most other teams where the quarterbacks just make the plays for the team, Peyton actually lead the team mentally, they relied on him way more than teams normally should with a quarterback. They adapted their whole style of play around him. They've never had a really good running game either, so it's just going to hurt them that much more, as opposed to say the packers or eagles. They were already looking at a disappointing season with him since most of the colts players are old and on the decline, but now it's gonna be a train wreck. Kerry Collins is old and on the decline too, not exactly a stellar backup. They will be lucky to go 8-8, more likely 6-10.
Stoffy18
Roar Guru
Of course they were going to stack the box, that sort of goes without saying. Collins wasn't amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but Big Ben was all kinds of bad on the weekend. As for Tono Romo.. all i can do is laugh and suggest Jessica Simpson was the best thing Tony Romo could boast, and not his football.
mushi
Guest
Yep poor guys only got 400 yards out of him today. Maybe next year he might be able to put up some numbers :) Understand your point though, I just don’t really see what going to play in a development league that would lack NFL calibre players would really do for these guys. You need 32 “developmental” teams which would require both the players and owners to sacrifice revenue to pay for it. Then you set these up, are the players and coaches really going to be happy (and be rewarded) for putting developing pro offensive systems and defensive systems at the expense of actual stats and results? Then the knock is there aren’t enough good QB’s for each team as it is, relegating Flacco, Ryan, Bradford, Stafford, Dalton, Newton and Sanchez wouldn’t really strengthen the league.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
34-7. Owww. Collins wasnt inept, but 31 for 16 completions of 197 yards and Addai running 8 times for 39 yards says they stacked the box and Collins threw checkdowns to me.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
The problem is more kids out of college pistol/spread/option offenses going to going behind center in a pro-style offense ... as the poor bastards playing with Cam Newton are going to find out.
Stoffy18
Roar Guru
You raise a good point Ian, John Kitna at stages during last season showed he was very capable to hold his own at the QB positon. College ball is a good pathway for players, but maybe it's putting far too much expectation on the shoulders of it's stars. Another issue for a QB is adapting to a teams style and playbook. If your a QB fresh out of west coast offense and you get drafted to New York, regardless of the preseason, your gonna find it hard to fit in.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Stoffy18, Because it lacks a development league, the NFL simply doesnt have 32 game ready QBs, and Kerry Collins is just one of a number of third-rate starting QBs. Personally, the guy I'd have hired is the one I would have brought back to Seattle - Jon Kitna. He'll throw some interceptions and lose some games, but the ex-Central Washington, ex-Barcelona Dragons, ex-Seattle, ex-Cincinatti, current Cowboys player is, well, a player. Bring back NFL Europe, thats what I say.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Colts should try to get Shaun Hill from Detroit. Lions may be willing to deal him since Stafford looks set for a 4000yd year and Hill would want to go after starting all of last season and now a back up.
Stoffy18
Roar Guru
I beliver you'll find Ian that Indianapolis did not have any other choice really; Collins was the best option available at the time. Curtis Painter isn't fit to back up their team let alone start, and really the others, names being Marc Bulger, Drew Stanton, Matt Moore, Matt Lienhart, Todd Collins or Tyler Thigpen and the like, really don't cut it... Collins is a more experienced quarterback then any of those listed. People are being unrealistic, circumstances have not been favourable with this Manning saga, if anything, the Colt's should be thankful they went with a QB who is fresh out of season. I'm a huge Titan's fan, so I’ve been watching all of their games on Fox, One HD and online for years. You give him some time in the pocket, and you've got every chance of a big play. I'm not suggesting that Collins will come out and fit the shoes of Manning perfectly, not at all, I’m just saying not all is lost and that "Horrible World" is a gross over exaggeration. If anything they are due for an off season, anyone who thinks this is disasterous, take a walk past Seattle or Buffalo and see what copping the raw end of the deal looks like. In my opinion, the Colt's need to quit their winging, they need to learn that Manning isn't immune to injury, it's happened to most clubs over the years.. The difference being they move on with little fuss.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Any defensive coordinator will be willing to stack 8 men in the box against Kerry Collins, but wouldnt be willing to do that against Peyton Manning. Speaking as a suffering Seahawks fan, welcome to the horrible world of not having a quality starting quarterback - remember, Collins has had 33 TDs and 29 INTS for Tennessee, and a passing efficiency below 60%.
james rosewarne
Roar Guru
Great article! Despite how awful Manning's injury is, we're at least now gonna see exactly what lies at the heart of the Colts' franchise. We'll find out just how much their run game can handle as well as the exact mettle of the receivers. Its gonna be really intriguing.