05/08/24
January 17, 2010
Well-Rested Manning Leads Colts Past Ravens : The Indianapolis Colts probably will not hold up Saturday night’s game as a monument to avoiding rust during a playoff bye week, considering that Ed Reed improbably intercepted Peyton Manning twice on the same third-quarter drive. But after nearly a month at the center of the debate about whether teams should rest their starters in meaningless games — and whether their own history of shaky playoff performances suggested they made the wrong choice — the Colts provided the answer: this time, it worked for them, 20-3 over the Ravens.
posted by tommytrump to football at 10:00 AM - 7 comments
The Ravens lost this one more than the Colts won it, other than Garcon's terrific recovery after the INT and I don't expect Indy to be going anywhere after next week's game.
posted by billsaysthis at 01:54 PM on January 17, 2010
Thanks for posting the games. Watching Pierre Garcon hunt down Ed Reed and strip him of the ball was a thing of beauty -- the camera captured almost the entire thing, like a lion hunting down a gazelle.
He seemed to be running 3-4 speeds faster than Ed Reed. And did you notice him on Reed's 2nd pick? Almost the exact same thing..you seem him fly onto the screen like everyone else was standing still and tried to make a tackle. That kid was moving.
As good as Peyton Manning is, I'm surprised he doesn't take more grief for diving to the turf to avoid a sack instead of trying to evade pursuers
I'm ok with him avoiding the hit (he's not what you'd call a mobile QB), but on that one play I'm wondering why he didn't just throw it away. He was outside the pocket, had plenty of time to get rid of it as he was looking around for a place to slide, but for some reason just took the loss. All he had to do was throw it 50 yards out of bounds and they don't lose 5 yards, but he slid instead which didn't make sense to me.
posted by bdaddy at 02:19 PM on January 17, 2010
As good as Peyton Manning is, I'm surprised he doesn't take more grief for diving to the turf to avoid a sack instead of trying to evade pursuers
Did you see that hit on Warner? Manning knows he is worth much more to him team alive than preventing a few yards here and there by taking a hit. After the last two postseason games, I'm guessing his teammates agree, too.
posted by jmd82 at 02:39 PM on January 17, 2010
I do not think that this win closes the book on whether it was proper for the Colts to abandon a perfect season
Getting to the Super Bowl would close the book, IMO, if they have a good showing .
posted by kirkaracha at 05:27 PM on January 17, 2010
I'm still trying to figure out how the Ravens could call such awful plays right before the half to go 3-and-out and give the Colts the chance to go up 17-3.
posted by kokaku at 07:50 PM on January 17, 2010
As good as Peyton Manning is, I'm surprised he doesn't take more grief for diving to the turf to avoid a sack instead of trying to evade pursuers. It seems to me that he's become far more averse to taking a hit lately.
No one ever points out this stuff for stars until they start losing all their other skills. For years Marvin Harrison would step out of bounds to avoid the hit when taking the hit would earn maybe a couple of extra yards. Announcers never said anything about it.
posted by bperk at 08:37 PM on January 17, 2010
Thanks for posting the games. Watching Pierre Garcon hunt down Ed Reed and strip him of the ball was a thing of beauty -- the camera captured almost the entire thing, like a lion hunting down a gazelle.
Unlike the announcers and the intro, I do not think that this win closes the book on whether it was proper for the Colts to abandon a perfect season. But it definitely helps.
As good as Peyton Manning is, I'm surprised he doesn't take more grief for diving to the turf to avoid a sack instead of trying to evade pursuers. It seems to me that he's become far more averse to taking a hit lately. Though he avoids the risk of injury, most crushing quarterback sacks do not result in injury. He's sacrificing yardage and putting his team in a hole. That may come back to haunt him.