Colts are one-dimensional, but what a dimension that is

Colts are one-dimensional, but what a dimension that is
December 19
Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz
"Maybe he is the MVP, after all. Maybe after a season that started slowly and uncharacteristically, Peyton Manning is the MVP of this football season.

How could you watch what unfolded here Thursday night -- a 31-24 playoff-clinching victory for the Indianapolis Colts over the Jacksonville Jaguars -- and believe otherwise?

Manning wasn't great Thursday night; he was sublime. He was as close to perfection as a quarterback can be, lifting a team that couldn't run and couldn't defend onto his shoulders and willing it into the playoffs for the seventh straight time.

"Those people who are wondering who the MVP is and saying Peyton Manning is quietly sneaking up on the field, this was an MVP performance for sure,'' said Colts coach Tony Dungy.

Make no mistake, he is the reason the Colts are back in the playoffs for the seventh straight year. Before this night, his numbers weren't through the roof, at least not by Manning standards, but his competitiveness, his raw will, have never been on such ample display.

His team had no right to win this game, down 14-0 before the offense had a chance to break a sweat. The defense couldn't get Maurice Jones-Drew under control, which comes under the heading of "what's new?" They couldn't get off the field on third downs. And offensively, they couldn't run the football, finally realizing the folly of the concept and abandoning it.

Down 14-0 early. Down 17-7 at halftime. Down 24-14 late in the third quarter.

Still, Manning and the offense, specifically the receiving corps which didn't seem to suffer without Marvin Harrison, kept coming. And coming. Who needs to run? Who needs balance? Why even run that damnable stretch play, which hasn't worked in about three months?

Manning was a master, completing 29-of-34 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns. He completed his first 17 passes. He had a quarterback rating of 140.7, which is just a little short of perfection (158.3). It makes you wonder what else he was supposed to do -- cure cancer?

He was a pitcher working the black, as inside the zone as he has ever been. Receivers caught balls, but too, balls caught receivers. There was one ball thrown to Dallas Clark in the seam deep over the middle that was so perfect, so deftly thrown, Clark had no choice but to bring it in.

How good was he?

At halftime, Manning asked assistant coaches Clyde Christensen and Jim Caldwell, both up in the coaches' box, "Did you guys see anything?''

They told him, "Well, you haven't thrown an incompletion (13-of-13), so we don't really have a lot of coaching points for you. Just keep doing what you're doing.''

He kept doing what he was doing. With a running game that was laughably inept -- again, and this will be an issue in the playoffs -- Manning knew it was all on him and his receivers and his offensive line, which didn't allow a sack.

"Really unbelievable under the circumstances,'' Dungy said of Manning's
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