Nothing seems to throw off Colts' Peyton Manning
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Sunday 10-11 release () —
By Rick Gosselin
The Dallas Morning News
(MCT)
The Indianapolis Colts have been blessed to have Peyton Manning taking their snaps these last 12 seasons. And Manning has been blessed to have some great receivers.
Manning played with Marvin Harrison every season of his career — all 11 of them — until 2009. Harrison ranks second on the NFL's all-time receptions list with 1,102, having caught a pass in all 158 games he played with Manning.
From 2001 through 2008, Manning had Reggie Wayne along with Harrison on the flank. Both were first-round draft picks. Harrison led the NFL in receiving yards in 2002 and Wayne did so in 2007. They went to a combined 11 Pro Bowls.
From 2003-2006, Manning had Brandon Stokley in the mix as his third wideout, and in 2007-08 Anthony Gonzalez became the third receiver. Stokley joined Harrison and Wayne with 1,000-yard seasons in 2004, and Gonzalez caught 57 passes in 2008.
So Manning has always had options when he dropped back to pass in Indianapolis. But even when he didn't have options, Manning has had options.
Harrison became a salary-cap casualty during the off-season. That paved the way for Gonzalez's promotion to the starting lineup. But Gonzalez suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of the first game of the season before Manning could throw him a pass.
You'd think the absence of two of his best receivers would slow Manning down. Harrison and Gonzalez represented 32 percent of both Manning's completions and yardage in 2008 and 33 percent of his touchdowns.
Au contraire.
Manning is off to the best start of his brilliant career, having passed for 300 yards in a franchise-record four consecutive games. He is completing almost 71 percent of his passes and is averaging a staggering 9.8 yards per attempt. The Colts lead the NFL in passing and sit atop the AFC South with a 4-0 record.
Ever hear of Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie? Garcon was a sixth-round pick in 2008, who caught one pass from Manning as a rookie. Collie was a fourth-round pick in 2009.
Manning knows who they are. Watch him in training camp. Watch him in practice. Watch him after practice. During offensive lulls, he'll gather up a few receivers, take them to an adjacent field and have them run routes.
Manning wants to familiarize himself with all the receivers on his roster because you never know when you may need one in a key moment of a game. Sure he's had Harrison and Wayne — but E.G. Green, Jerome Pathon, Torrance Small and Terrence Wilkins also have hooked up with Manning for 100-yard receiving games through the years.
Manning threw a 48-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Garcon with 3:18 left in a victory over Miami in the second week of the season. Then he threw a 53-yarder TD strike to Garcon the next week against Arizona. Last week in the victory over Seattle, Collie caught six passes for 65 yards, including his first NFL touchdown of 21 yards.
Manning makes it look easy. But he works at it. So do his receivers, whatever their names may be.
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AROUND the NFL
NFC
The story line in the NFC East this week is quarterbacks. Eli Manning of the New York Giants is hurting and Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles is not. Manning was forced out of last week's game against Kansas City because of a swelling of his plantar fascia. Manning hopes to continue his streak of 82 consecutive starts Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. His availability is expected to be a game-time decision. He just loves to play and wants to play," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "As the quarterback and the leader, he wants to be out there. We want him out there." If Manning can't go, David Carr will draw his first start for the Giants. Down the road in Philadelphia, McNabb is expected to return after a two-game absence with a broken rib. The Eagles went 1-1 while he was away and sit 2-1 coming off their bye. They play Tampa Bay on Sunday. "I think everybody is excited to have Donovan back," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "When it's all said and done, he'll be one of the all-time greatest to play that position, so it's always good to get that kind of a player back in there."
AFC
New England visits Denver on Sunday and Patriots QB Tom Brady said he does not expect to challenge Broncos CB Champ Bailey as much as the Cowboys did last week. Tony Romo was in double-digits in his throws at Bailey, including the final two plays of a 17-10 loss, both in the end zone, both incompletions. "I was watching that game (tape)," Brady said, "and I think there's a reason Champ's been to eight Pro Bowls. He makes those plays. He takes advantage of any mistakes by the offense. He's one of the very best in the history of the league at playing cornerback. It's not like you go in saying, 'Let's figure out if Champ can beat us' — because he usually can." . . . The New York Jets have developed a top 5 defense under Rex Ryan. New York held explosive New Orleans to just 10 offensive points on the road in a 24-10 loss. And that was against one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Drew Brees, who failed to throw a touchdown pass. Monday night, the Jets face a quarterback making just his second NFL start — Chad Henne of the Miami Dolphins. His head could be spinning from all the blitzing he'll see from the Jets.
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COLLECTING Jets
Now that Pro Bowl WR Braylon Edwards has been traded to New York, new Browns coach Eric Mangini hasexpanded his collection of former Jets. Cleveland acquired WR Chansi Stuckey and LB Justin Trusnick in the deal. Both played for Mangini last season when he was head coach of the Jets. That gives Mangini 11 of his former Jets on the 2009 Browns, who are off to an 0-4 start.
Ball security
With Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers throwing his first interception Monday night, the NFL's only four-game starter at quarterback without a turnover is Denver's Kyle Orton. Which helps explain why the Broncos sit atop of the AFC West at 4-0. Orton has thrown 117 passes without an interception and has a combined 13 rushes and sacks without losing a fumble.
Time to catch up
With an October start to his season, how far is former Texas Tech All-America WR Michael Crabtree behind? He did not participate in any of San Francisco's minicamps, off-season program and training camp. So he missed 65 days of practice: 17 in the off-season program, eight in minicamps, 28 in training camp and 12 after the 49ers broke camp and started the season.
He also has missed eight games — four in the preseason and four in the regular season. So Crabtree has missed 73 chances to improve himself as a football player. He has some catching up to do.
Looks bad for Titans
The Tennessee Titans opened the 2008 season 10-0. Since then, they have lost eight of their 11 games. They went 3-3 to finish up the 2008 regular season, 0-1 in the playoffs and now 0-4 in the 2009 season.
With Indianapolis and New England looming before Tennessee's bye, the Titans will be hard-pressed to snap out of their losing ways before November.
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UPSET OF THE WEEK
The San Francisco 49ers are the best team in the NFC West and, with the signing of first-round draft pick Michael Crabtree last week, getting better. They sit atop the West with a 3-1 record and are 8-3 since Mike Singletary took over as coach last November. The Atlanta Falcons are 2-1 this season and 13-6 since Mike Smith took over as coach in 2008. The 49ers have the home field Sunday against the Falcons and are a field goal favorite. But the Falcons have an aspiring franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan. I'm not buying into the 49ers just yet. I'll take the quarterback over the home field. Go with the Falcons in an upset.
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A Bad route
Receivers taken 10th have history of dropping the ball
Forget Jerry Rice. The San Francisco 49ers are hoping Michael Crabtree can be the next Herman Moore . ... but live in fear that he could be the next J.J. Stokes.
The 49ers selected Crabtree in the 2009 NFL draft six picks higher than they took Rice in the first round of 1985. Rice became the NFL's all-time leading receiver and touchdown maker. San Francisco took Crabtree with the 10th overall selection of the draft.
But there are no guarantees that a top-10 pick is going to make it in the NFL — especially when he's the 10th overall pick and plays wide receiver.
Since the AFL and NFL merged drafts in 1967, there have been eight wide receivers taken with the 10th overall pick. Crabtree becomes the ninth. There's not a Hall of Famer in the bunch.
The best was Moore, who was selected by the Detroit Lions in 1991. He struggled as a rookie, catching only 11 passes, but became a four-time Pro Bowler. He led the NFL with 123 catches in 1995 and led the NFC with 104 catches in 1997.
But the Lions also drafted Mike Williams with the 10th overall choice in 2005. He caught 29 passes as a rookie but caught only 15 more passes over a three-year career. He also played with Oakland and Tennessee before washing out.
Stokes was selected by the 49ers at No. 10 in 1995 and was expected to be an offensive bookend with Rice. But Stokes became expendable a year later when the 49ers drafted Terrell Owens in the third round. Stokes played with three teams over nine seasons, catching 342 career passes.
Crabtree played only two seasons at Texas Tech but won two Biletnikoff Awards as the NCAA's best receiver. He caught 231 passes in his career and scored 41 touchdowns. He finally signed with the 49ers last week.
First time around
Wide receivers taken with the 10th overall pick since the AFL and NFL merged drafts in 1967, listing their receptions as a rookie, career receptions, number of seasons and number of Pro Bowls:
Year . . . .WR . ..........Team ....Rookie.....Career...Seasons.....Pro Bowls
1969 ....Jim Seymour ...Rams ......6 .........21 ..........3 ..............0
1970 ....Ken Burrough ...NO .......13 ........421 ........12 .............2
1981 ....David Verser .....Cin ........6 ..........23 .........6 ............0
1985 .....Al Toon ..........NYJ ......46 ........517 .........8 ............3
1991 .....Herman Moore...Det .......11 ........670 ........12 ............4
1995..... J.J. Stokes .........SF .......38 ........342 .........9 ............0
2000 .....Travis Taylor .....Balt .......28 .......312 ..........9 ............0
2005 .....Mike Williams .....Det ......29 ........44 ..........3 .............0
2009 ....Michael Crabtree .....SF—
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(c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News.
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