Colts stick Thanksgiving message inside victory

By Anthony Bialy  |   Monday, November 26, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Indianapolis Colts
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Sharing prosperity with those around you is a noble Thanksgiving tradition. Or maybe that's Christmas, I don't know, but the truth is that Peyton Manning turned a 10-point deficit into a comfortable 18-point victory on the holiday by spreading the offensive opportunities among as many teammates as possible.

The story of the Colts' season has become not only whether they'll get core injured players back but also whether they can overcome those losses in the meantime. Distributing the ball profusely is one way to ensure that this team can be without, say, Marvin Harrison again and still win against a squad like Atlanta.

Four players scoring four total touchdowns summed up Indianapolis' night. Reggie Wayne's 23-yard scoring reception came before tight ends Dallas Clark and Ben Utecht managed to get in the end zone after 8 and 5 yards, respectively. It was capped by Joseph Addai rushing in a third quarter-touchdown; add a field goal near the end of the same stanza, and you have a picture of both balanced scoring and balanced allocation over the game's course.

Addai ended up with only 10 carries, as his early neck injury led to him missing some time, preventing him from reaching his typical work load. In true Colt fashion, this just meant that a complementary player, backup Kenton Keith, had an opportunity to shine briefly, as he stepped in and picked up 74 yards on 17 attempts. They combined to gain 4.4 yards per try on their way to piling up 118 yards, an effort where their work together benefited the depleted passing game.

But even some important losses didn't truly slow Manning, who only missed 10 of his 32 passes as he got to 272 yards for the night. Particularly, rookie Anthony Gonzalez returned from injury gloriously, catching six passes for 105 yards. He wasn't the quarterback's only beneficiary: Wayne and Clark each had five catches, Utecht got himself four, and Addai had a pair as the passer democratically got everyone into the game with the star wide receiver still sidelined.

Manning was sacked four times, an inordinate total for someone adept at getting rid of the ball before a defender can bring him to the field. It can be explained by noting that tackles Tony Ugoh and Ryan Diem both missed the game. Ugoh's backup, Charlie Johnson, left with a hurt hamstring in the second half, while the pride of the University of Calgary, reserve lineman Daniel Federkeil, missed the entire game. That's quite a bit of starting and reserve bulk relegated to the sideline.

It's much tougher to insert blockers and have them pass protect effectively than run block, which explains the relatively high sack total despite the fact only one rushing play ended in a loss for the Colts. But slight lapses can't take away from the reality that this team eventually got rolling by getting many offensive players involved roughly evenly. Everyone chipping in to achieve a common goal is a good holiday message no matter how clichéd.
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