The development of parity in the National Football League has encouraged a concomitant stress upon the importance of late season momentum.  It is crucially important to have your team peak, both physically and emotionally, around the time the playoffs begin.  The attempt to level the distribution of talent in the league makes the emotional intensity of each team an enormously important factor. Just look at the last 3 years for example.  In 2005 the Indianapolis Colts reeled off 13 straight victories to start the season, only to be knocked off by the burgeoning Pittsburgh Steelers, the eventual Super Bowl Champs.  The Steelers produced a middling 11-5 regular season record in 2005 earning them the 6th seed in the playoffs.  Despite their inauspicious start, the Steelers won 3 straight road playoff games (an NFL first) and beat the Seahawks to claim the Lombardi trophy.
  In 2006, the Indianapolis Colts roared out to a 9-0 start only to lose 4 of their next 5 games as their defense floundered.  The Colts won their last game, however and secured a Wild Card spot.  This victory combined with the return of their defensive spark-plug, Bob Sanders, helped the team regain momentum as the Colts soundly beat Kansas City and Baltimore on the road before clinching a Super Bowl berth with an electrifying 38-34 victory over their arch-enemies, the New England Patriots.  Their rainy Super Bowl victory seemed like an afterthought as the team's emotional high helped them carry the day against the Bears.
   2007 was no different.  The Patriots absorbed all the sporting news ink throughout the season as they went undefeated in the regular season and won their two playoff games to run up to 18-0.   It is hard to deny the Patriot's momentum, but the they had been hammering the opposition in the regular season, but barely escaped with victories in their last few games, particularly against the Ravens and in the playoffs against the Chargers.  Meanwhile, the New York Giants took the wild card route, struggling to even make the playoffs with a 10-6 record before stealing 3 upset playoff wins before vanquishing the Patriots in the greatest Super Bowl upset of the 21st century.
  My point?  This season's Indianapolis Colts are looking a lot like the last few Super Bowl Champions, their 6-4 record notwithstanding.  Struggling to stop the run and recovering from a nasty rash of injuries to their offensive line, the Horseshoes look like they are ramping up for another late season drive.  In the last 4 weeks the Colts have beaten the Patriots, Steelers, Chargers and Texans.  Earlier this season they laid a beating on the Ravens unlike anything Ray Lewis and his pals have seen before, with the Colts prevailing, 31-3.
  All this despite the fact that Peyton Manning is just now finally rounding into shape.  After undergoing two surgeries in the off-season to clean out an infected bursa sac in his knee, Manning didn't play or even practice for the entire pre-season. He lost over 25 pounds and seasoned observers recognized that the impeccable timing Peyton shared with his receivers was not yet in synch.  Even Sunday in San Diego, Manning was unable to hit a streaking Marvin Harrison on a post pattern, leaving the ball short and ripe for a Charger interception.
   Make no mistake, however, in assuming that Peyton Manning will accept an under thrown pass or a split second of errant timing.  This guy is simply the Hardest Working Man in Throw Business. No other quarterback in the history of the game has approached the game with the combination of natural ability, work ethic and game situational analysis that Manning provides week in and week out.  Interviewed on the Academy of Achievement  website in September, Peyton was quoted:  "You better work harder in college than you did in high school to make it in college, and if you get to pro ball, you better work harder than you did in college...you better be burning some hours and putting in the time in order to accomplish your goals.  That's one thing that can never be sacrificed, your preparation and your work ethic, keeping yourself in shape, staying sharp mentally and working with your teammates to improve yourself as a player."
   What other quarterback from any era could master or even manage the complex and intensely focused Lightning Offense?  Peyton often conducts the entire game as though it were a two-minute drill.  Opposing teams are forced by the Colts hurry-up offense to forego defensive huddles, gaining a modicum of advantage.  In addition, Manning is continually aware of his opponent's attempts to make personnel changes, and calls for quick snaps that often penalize the defense for having too many men on the field when substitutions can't be made quick enough to escape the QB's attention.
  Watching Peyton Manning at the line of scrimmage is like watching a combination traffic cop and symphony conductor as he barks signals and last-minute changes to blocking assignments or simply audiblizes a new play.  He shifts players, spontaneously sends men in motion or points out defensive players likely to blitz who need to be blocked.   All this while minding the play clock which Manning plays like a Stradivarius: either using all of the seconds available to him and securing the snap on the final second available, or ramping up to warp speed to move the team rapidly down the field.
  Back in 2005, the USA Today recognized Manning as the No. 1 ranked NFL player in the league in their top 50 ratings, noting: "Manning has forged his success in the things we don't see, including tireless preparation for every imaginable detail before ever taking the field."  Quoting Jim Caldwell, heir-to-be-named-later for Tony Dungy as Colts head coach, the paper noted: (Manning) has an extraordinary ability to concentrate and focus on getting better....One thing about him, he's never satisfied.  And he wants to keep getting better."
  When all this is considered, what becomes abundantly clear is that Peyton Manning isn't likely to rest on his laurels and settle for that single Super Bowl championship.   He has held this team together when the rushing game has been non-existent, passing the Colts to victory even though his opponents continue to dare him to pass.  He has sharpened his already quick release to avoid taking sacks behind the Colts' makeshift and inexperienced line.  It's clear to this observer that Manning smells blood and senses that these Colts may well be another Super Bowl contender.  The relentless determination that carried the Colts back from 2-4 to 6-4 won't dissipate now that Indianapolis has finally reached the soft spot in their schedule.  Watch for the Hardest Working Man in Throw Business to turn it up a notch, if that's possible.

All contents Copyright