Joseph Addai

Manning, Colts Struggle Against Chargers 36-14 At Home, Fall To 6-5

by Josh Dhani on November 29, 2010

By Josh Dhani

 

Not even Peyton Manning could save the Indianapolis Colts in this game. Last week, we know it wasn’t all his fault. But this week, it was just a struggle and a sign of frustration from the four-time MVP. Manning has been struggling with interceptions, now having nine of them in his last four games and seven in his last two. This is not the type of Manning we are accustomed to. Manning threw two touchdowns, but yet four interceptions, for 285 yards and he also went 31-of-48. He finished with a 59.8 rating. Wow. Manning was 28-33 for 219 yards with two touchdowns and one interceptions and a 101.9 rating on passes of ten yards or shorter. But the passes of eleven-plus yards killed him, as he was three-of-15 for 66 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions, ending with a 5.8 rating.

He has had a bunch of problems against the San Diego Chargers, and the Colts lost again, falling to 6-5 in a 36-14 loss at home. This was the worst loss at home for the Colts in Peyton Manning’s history with the team. The Colts started out the game well, as Manning helped drive down the field with solid passes. He found Jacob Tamme open for the score to put the Colts up seven. The Chargers would drive down the field, but Indy would make a strong red-zone stand to hold the Chargers within three points. It was now 7-3. But Manning would throw an interception right to linebacker Kevin Burnett, and he would take it all the way back for the score, leading to a 10-7 lead. After another pick, the Chargers would be up 16-7. But Manning would help the Colts get back in the game with a touchdown to Blair White to put the Colts within a two-point deficit, 16-14.

After that, the game was over led by more picks by Manning. Mike Tolbert would bull-rush all over the Colts, having 26 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown. Phillip Rivers was 19-of-23 for 185 yards with a 100.2 rating. The Colts were shutdown completely in the rushing game, having 14 carries for 24 yards. Javarris James had two carries for zero yards, and helped commit one of the five turnovers on the Colts’ offense, as he fumbled the ball in the third quarter.

The Chargers are now making late strides like they usually do in the season. They started out the year 2-5 and now here they are at 6-5 and are almost within the division lead, only trailing the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.

“At 2-5, a lot of teams would have thrown in the towel,” Rivers said. “We’ve got a group of resilient guys, tough guys that really play together and really believe in one another. We weren’t going to let this thing get away from us. Now, we’re right here in the hunt.”

And now the Colts have fallen inside the hunt now with this two-game losing-streak. If the season ended today, the Colts would be out of the playoffs due to the Jacksonville Jaguars loss earlier in the year. The Jags lead the division technically then with a 6-5 record. Indianapolis should be a bit worried now. They will face the much more improved Dallas Cowboys next at home, and if Indy blows it, it’s going to be tough for them to win games. They need to beat Jacksonville and the Tennessee Titans to make the playoffs. So basically, every game is a must-win.

The Colts hope to get their players back next week now with Joseph Addai and Austin Collie. Bob Sanders may be returning sometime in December. Brody Eldridge hopes to make his return as well. The injuries are what really are hurting the Colts. And if they played like they did last night, you can kiss a good-bye to this season. This will be the first season in nearly a decade that the Colts haven’t won twelve games. Now the best they can do is win eleven. Winning at least ten games could help win the AFC South. And once the playoffs roll by, the Colts will be healthy enough to win the games.

“San Diego did a good job,” Manning said. “Offensively, we didn’t do a real good job. I didn’t do a real good job. Everybody needs to play better, I need to play better, our execution needs to improve.”

And it needs to improve next week. The Colts need to go back to being the old Colts. Reggie Wayne struggled, dropping some key passes that could have brought the Colts back in the game. Wayne was hurt towards the end of the game and let’s hope he is ready to go for next week, because losing a guy like Wayne could change the whole year.

“I think all of our guys understand now that you’ve got to protect the ball,” coach Norv Turner said. “You’ve got to be sound in the kicking game and we can’t give up big plays on defense.”

Kelvin Hayden and Wayne, like mentioned earlier, left the game shaken up. Indy needs to get healthy, and fast. They got Manning, where’s the rest of the supporting cast? At 6-5, the Colts need to start winning.

Let’s see what they can show next week.

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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Manning, Colts Set To Shake Off Loss Last Week, Set Things Straight Against Chargers

by Josh Dhani on November 28, 2010

By Josh Dhani

The Indianapolis Colts were in the red zone, looking for a touchdown to win the game or possibly tie the game to go into overtime with the New England Patriots. Peyton Manning dropped back, got hit from the side. It looked as if he was aiming for Pierre Garcon in the end zone, but the ball was intercepted. Game over, Patriots win, 31-28. But this shows Indianapolis can win games despite being totally banged-up. Just think how good they could be if all their players were there. If Gary Brackett, Joseph Addai, Bob Sanders, and all those guys who are looking to return sometime this year were there. I have all confidence in Indianapolis in the playoffs now if they face New England somehow.

But now, the Colts are at 6-4. They need to avoid another loss as they host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night. The Colts are 4-0 at home and they are looking to stay undefeated. While the Colts struggled, the Chargers are looking hot since beating the Houston Texans. Now at 5-5 and back in the race for the AFC West title, can they get the Colts? There has been a great rivalry between these two teams. Sunday Night will be the battle of the offenses and which quarterback can perform better. Is it Peyton Manning or Phillip Rivers? We’ll see.

The rivalry all started between these two teams in the 2005-06 season. The Colts were 13-0 entering the game, but lost to the Chargers, 26-17, and fell to 13-1. They would finish up the season 14-2. Then they would face the Chargers in the 2007 season. They lost 23-21 in the regular season, as Manning threw six interceptions. Indy came back, but Adam Vinatieri missed a possible game-winning field goal. Then the Colts lost to the Chargers in the playoffs, 28-24, after Manning failed to get a touchdown inside the ten. Indy would face San Diego in 2008, winning off a game-winning drive set up by Manning. But Indy would wind up losing in the playoffs, 23-17, off a game-winning score by Darren Sproles in overtime.

“They are a team that creates problems for you just in terms of matchups,” coach Jim Caldwell told the Colts’ official website. “It’s been a real battle with them throughout the years as well.”

Manning has struggled versus the Chargers, having a 77.5 overall rating against them since 2005. The Colts are 1-4 in the last five match-ups against San Diego. The Chargers have played solid defense in each game. But with the way Indy has been playing this year, Manning is paying a lot closer attention to see how the Chargers are going to play.

“I think that the 3-4 defense helps us defensively. I think that we’ve done a good job giving them a lot of different looks so we’ve been able to get pressure,” Chargers’ head coach Norv Turner said. “And then we’ve been able to score points and keep the ball and that’s a big part of playing good defense.”

The Colts are tied in the AFC South with the Jacksonville Jaguars while the Chargers trail one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs. The Colts plan to get the Jaguars back at home in a few weeks after losing by a 59-yard-field goal by Josh Scobee to give Jacksonville a 31-28 win. The Chargers got killed by the Chiefs in Week One of the regular season.

Manning has struggled in his last three games. It started in Philly when Manning threw two picks. The Colts had a chance to win, down 26-24. But Manning threw an interception to Asante Samuel to end the game. Although the Colts won against the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-17, Manning kept struggling offensively as there were many three-and-outs in the second half. Manning failed to do anything and he was lucky his defense stepped up in that game. Against New England, Manning threw the interception in the final minute of the game. Manning can’t commit these mistakes anymore.

“Peyton knows we’re behind him 100 percent because we’ve seen him time and time again win games for us,” cornerback Jerraud Powers said.

Manning will be without two of his favorite targets. Austin Collie will be out, though he played last week against the Patriots. Collie would leave the game during the second half as it was not safe enough for him to play. And, of course, tight end Dallas Clark is out for the year. Rivers will have Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates, however, returning. But Manning will find ways to win as he still has Pierre Garcon, Reggie Wayne, and Jacob Tamme to rely on.

Another good thing for the Colts is that Joseph Addai may finally be returning. Addai’s last game was a 128-yard performance in the Colts’ 27-24 win over the Washington Redskins. Addai is 600 yards away from cracking the 1,000-yard milestone, something he hasn’t cracked since the 2007-08 season. But if he gets at least 800 yards for the year, that’s good enough. It’s Week Eleven, and he has a lot of time. Addai has also shown he is a fierce in the passing game, which will also help Manning.

The Colts have an advantage here, as they are 4-0 at home while the Chargers are 1-4 on the road.

“They have disappointed us in a few seasons knocking us out of the playoffs,” Colts linebacker Gary Brackett said. “So definitely, the rivalry is starting to brew with San Diego, and they are picking it up like they usually do in the second half of the season.”

But now it is Indy’s turn to pick up. They need to step up in this game.

I look forward to a win in this one.

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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Manning-To-Marshall: Possible Chance Of Colts Pursuing Brandon Marshall?

by Josh Dhani on June 18, 2009


After watching NFL Total Access and SportsCenter, and reading a few articles on Broncos’ wide receiver Brandon Marshall requesting a trade, many people have said that he will go to the Ravens, Bears, or even the Buccaneers.

Some said that he won’t be traded at all!

But you know what? He will be traded. If they can trade a wimpy Jay Cutler, how can they not trade a strong guy in Marshall? See what mess you have made now, Josh McDaniels? But I am glad you are making this happen.

Soon, all of you Eagles fans will be happy with Brian Dawkins and Correll Buckhalter returning, or not. And then Knowshon Moreno will be the only player left on the roster. Nah, just fooling with you.

I don’t want to disrespect the Broncos because one of my favorite writers, Sayre Bedinger, is a Broncos fan and he is cool. I don’t want to hurt his feelings. We’re cool, right?

But sadly, Marshall will be traded. I can surely guarantee that he will not stay with Denver, especially with McDaniels saying that, “We can’t wait to see Marshall in training camp.”

No, not going to happen.

These teams have a possible chance of pursuing Marshall: the Baltimore Ravens, the St. Louis Rams, the Chicago Bears, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But wait.

There is one dark horse that can get Brandon Marshall, and after you’ve seen the title and the picture of two players that I wish could be teammates, you know who it is. For those of you who might have lost their eyesight and can’t read well, I will just say it in big bold letters:

THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS.

That’s right, you heard me. The Colts—a team who struggled with their running game last year and have now lost an important player in Marvin Harrison.

Now every time I saw the Colts lost Harrison, everyone says that it is not a big deal because he is turning 37 years old.

Well, who cares about age? There’s a 68-year-old who played 500 holes of golf for crying out loud! But that’s golf, so who cares.

But still, Vinny Testaverde played football until he was 44. Brett Favre can still throw those gunslingers at age 40. Have you seen Jeff Garcia?

Dang!

And what about Jerry Rice, Jimmy Smith, Joey Galloway, and all those other receivers who played when they were 36 years old or older?

Harrison made a huge difference with Indy and now that he is ogne, the Colts have a possible chance of struggling. And that’s not good at all.

Then, every time you will have people double-covering Wayne. But it’ll be hard for Gonzo (Anthony Gonzalez) to get the ball because the whole time he has been playing, he was a slot receiver. He’ll get moved up and it will be pretty tough for him in his first year to get promoted up.

The Colts do have a big chance of pursuing Brandon Marshall. Shut up about the salary cap, the Colts can do this. They will find a way to trade a player, and heck, maybe they’ll trade a future draft pick.

They’ll find ways to do it.

Some of you might then say that they don’t like Marshall’s character and the Colts aren’t that type of team that will welcome those kind of players. Sure, you may be right, but not entirely. There are some players on the Colts squad that have that type of character.

There is a guy on that team that has that.

And when you say Marshall won’t fit well, please take a look above. That picture says it all, and is why I put it up there so I can stop some of your guys’ yapping.

I can see Marshall in a Colts’ uniform with a number 16 or 14 (number 15 belongs to Pierre Garcon).

Just imagine what good could come out if Marshall was on the Indianapolis Colts. It’ll be heaven for Manning. Maybe Brandon Marshall will be the young Marvin Harrison for Manning. And then a new receiver tandem has emerged.

It’ll look exactly like the 2004 Colts. A rushing attack with two backs with Edgerrin James and Dominic Rhodes (now Joseph Addai and Donald Brown). Then a well quarterback in Peyton Manning. And then the three receivers who had ten touchdowns or more that are Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokley (now Brandon Marshall, Reggie Wayne, and Gonzo).

I can definitely see that happening.

That Manning-to-Marshall tandem will truly be exciting. Although, this may not happen, and I believe it won’t, it would be nice if this did happened. The great guys at Stampede Blue made it clear, so it probably won’t happen.

But hey, it’s a Colts fan can dream.

This article can also be seen at

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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