Passing Offense:
Good news first. Peyton Manning leads all quarterbacks in passing yards
with 1,645 and is also averaging and gaudy 9.1 yards per attempt with a passer
rating of 114.1, which represents one of the best starts to a season of his
storied career.
It's impressive that the Colts and Manning have
accomplished this level of production without starting receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who was injured in the first quarter of Week 1 and has yet to return.
What is more impressive is how well young receivers Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have stepped up given that Indianapolis does not have a safety net in
place if they fail — Taj Smith and Sam Giguere are the only other options at
receiver and they're both on the practice squad, so Collie and Garcon could have
tanked or not given maximum effort and still retained their roster spots.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the transition to the post-Marvin Harrison/non-Anthony Gonzalez era has been Dallas Clark, who leads the team in
receptions and is second in targets and yards to Reggie Wayne, who has fully
established himself as the alpha dog of this group. Given that Collie,
Garcon, and Clark have stepped up, it is possible that Gonzalez may find himself
out of a job by the time he gets back, especially considering the strides that
Collie has made so far in his rookie campaign.
But, regardless of
whether Gonzalez retains his spot in the starting lineup or not, Indianapolis
is going to need to throw an awful lot — they currently rank seventh in the
league in total pass attempts — in order to get everyone the balls and targets
that they have become accustomed to.
What's interesting is that this is the third-most passing attempts that
Manning has had in his career through the first five games. The only
occasions where he had more than his current 181 attempts were 2000 and 2008.
It's interesting to note, though, that the fourth-most attempts he made through
the first five games was in 2006, when the Colts went on to win the Super Bowl.
However, personal and team success during the regular season seems to be tied to
fewer pass attempts by Manning — as he only attempted 497 passes in his
historic 2004 season, 453 passes in 2005 and 515 passes in 2007, which were the
two most recent 13-3 seasons of his career.
The common thread in regular and postseason success seems to be balance,
which Indianapolis has not found yet this season.
Running Offense:
If the seven carries for minus-three yards by Manning are taken out of the
equation, the Colts have run the ball only 111 times for an average of 3.6
yards, numbers that rank 28th and 28th, respectively.
Joseph Addai leads
Colts in carries with 62 and has averaged only 3.4 yards per carry with three
touchdowns, but rookie Donald Brown has not fared much better, with 44 carries
for a 3.5 average and two touchdowns. The two backs will likely split time
throughout the rest of the season, with Brown slowly gaining more and more
carries as the year rolls on in order to keep Addai fresh for the postseason.
The issue with the running game so far this season has not only been the
distribution of pass plays versus run plays — it currently stands at 61.9
percent passes and 38.1 percent rushes — it breaks down to a particular point
of consternation from last season, being that Indianapolis could not gain two
yards on third and two in the Wild Card Round of last year's playoffs. The
fact that the Colts have held considerable leads in the second halves of the
last three games makes the run-pass numbers that much more difficult to swallow.
It makes no sense to run the ball instead of throwing it when you are
averaging 9.1 yards per pass attempt — really to all levels, there is no part
of the field and no depth to which Indianapolis has been stopped consistently —
and averaging 3.3 yards per rush attempt, but, later in the season, it will make
a difference. As the yards become harder to gain, the competition becomes
stiffer, and it becomes necessary to gain three yards on third and tow, the
running game will become more and more critical.
In October and even November, there is very little to worry about. By
the time December, January, and, hopefully, February roll around, balance will
be key, just like it was in 2006.
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