30096, Whitlock applies for membership-calls Manning out
Posted by Nesta, Thu Jan-19-06 10:13 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whitlock/060119
Peyton shouldn't call all the plays
By Jason Whitlock
Special to Page 2
Here are your NFL Truths for this week:
10. The key to improving next year's Indianapolis Colts is the organization's willingness to take away Peyton Manning's offensive autonomy.
Indy's offense self-destructed against Pittsburgh because its primary play caller, Manning, was out of breath and dazed by several of the hits he absorbed. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's defensive play caller, Dick LeBeau, was never touched all afternoon.
Manning can't outthink a topflight defensive coordinator while trying to avoid Joey Porter. LeBeau's unit outsmarted Manning repeatedly. The Steelers consistently waited until the last possible second before deciding from which side to blitz. The Steelers waited for Manning to identify the strongside linebacker at the line of scrimmage, then decided whom to blitz.
The Steelers had blitzers run free because Manning often kicked his protection in the wrong direction. Yes, the "good teammate" created some of his own pass-protection problems.
No quarterback in the league is more bothered by pressure than Manning. His softness, combined with the pressure of calling plays at the line of scrimmage, caused Indy's offense to short-circuit.
Had an offensive coordinator been in control of the Colts' offense, Edgerrin James would've received 25 carries. He certainly would've carried the ball late in the game with the Colts needing 2 yards to pick up a first down.
The Colts should use their no-huddle offense 25 percent of the time and rely on their offensive coordinator to call plays the rest of the time, especially when Manning is afflicted with happy feet.
Manning enjoys having the responsibility of running Indy's offense, but it's too much responsibility for any one man.
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"That's why you never judge how you are going to play by how you warm up. Because out here tonight warming up I've never seen a player since the days of Larry Bird warm-up better, more efficiently, more productively than Finley"-The Great Bill Walton
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