DETROIT – Lost in the shuffle of Peyton Manning’s 2008 MVP season was how horrendous he looked in the early going, as he was still feeling the effects of offseason knee surgeries and a missed training camp.
If Saturday’s 18-17 exhibition loss to the Detroit Lions is any indication, though, there will be no slow start for Manning this year. He already looks to have regained his MVP form.
Manning completed 12 of 15 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown at Ford Field, and that was with his teammates dropping a couple of key passes. The best throw all day – for either team – came in the second quarter, when Manning flung the ball down the right sideline and just beyond the outstretched hands of cornerback William James, only to see Anthony Gonzalez let it slip between his palms.
Granted, this was against a Lions team that was winless last year, but Manning seemed to make it look all too easy.
His play-action pass to tight end Dallas Clark, who cut on a slant route for a 6-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead, was textbook stuff. And there were two other plays that stood out: A third-quarter fake reverse that Manning turned into a 21-yard screen pass to running back Joseph Addai, and a 23-yard pass to Clark that set up rookie Donald Brown’s 2-yard touchdown run for a 14-10 lead.
“Really, on the two drives on which (the first-team offense) did not get points, not to take credit away from (the Lions), it was more us kind of self-destructing,” Manning said. “It caused us to have a couple punts. We didn’t have a lot of possessions, but that’s just something we’ve got to deal with. When the Colts’ offense has the ball, we’ve got to score.”
Last year, Manning threw 10 touchdown passes and nine interceptions as the Colts started 3-4. The offensive line was a mess. What he did the rest of the way, though, was magnificent. He had 17 touchdown passes and three interceptions as the Colts won their final nine regular-season games.
This preseason, he has completed 23 of 31 passes for 296 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s good news because it will help ease the transition with a new head coach, Jim Caldwell, and because there are youngsters being infused into the offense.
Manning’s proficiency from start to finish will also be important because the running game has shown little improvement. Even for a preseason game, this Colts statistic jumped out: 2 rushing yards in the first half.
Ultimately, Addai and Brown combined for only 38 yards, and an 11-yard run was their longest.
They look better than last season’s No. 31 ranking but certainly not great.
“In the first half, we just didn’t take control of the line of scrimmage real well,” Caldwell said. “And I don’t think we got into a real rhythm. When you look at only 15, 16 snaps, that’s not enough to really get things rolling. In the second half, you saw maybe a little more of an indication of what we’re capable of doing.”
The Colts’ most thrilling play came on defense, when cornerback Marlin Jackson broke up what looked like a sure touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford, the top pick in last spring’s draft, to wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Jackson jarred the ball free just as the bigger Johnson was hitting the turf.
It was Jackson’s first action since suffering a knee injury in October, and he was held to only a handful of plays as a nickel back. But getting him back on the field is crucial because the Colts’ secondary is without injured starters Bob Sanders and Kelvin Hayden.
It should be noted that rookie cornerback Jerraud Powers had an interception on a deep Stafford pass down the left sideline.
Given all the injuries, the Colts are going to need that depth, and more heroics from Manning.
