NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Can you write about Peyton Manning every time the Indianapolis Colts play?
Yes, you can.
But I won't here.
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| He might not be the most likable guy, but everyone respects what Bill Polian has done with the Colts. (Getty Images) |
Nearly everyone expected the Colts to take a step back this season, even with their glamour-boy quarterback who is now on a pace to set all kinds of single-season passing records. Manning's sick numbers -- it was his fifth consecutive 300-yard game and his 12 touchdown passes lead the league -- are the main reason why the Colts are 5-0, and are staking a claim as the best team in the AFC.
But look deeper into this team and you'll find another big reason why the Colts are so good, the man who made one of the biggest hits of Sunday night, even though he isn't even 6-feet tall.
That hit was his fist banging the desk in the press box -- rattling my computer some five seats down -- that happened to be the loudest thud of the night.
That fist belonged to Bill Polian.
The sometimes hot-headed Colts president and personnel man, whose press box theatrics are some sort of entertainment when his team isn't going well and the yellow is flying against the Colts, knows how to put together a roster around Manning.
Polian finishes second to nobody when it comes to evaluating talent, which is why the Colts have won 11 or more games in six straight seasons and appear to be on their way to doing it again.
Based on what the Colts did to the Titans, Polian didn't do much of that fist banging or bitching, but instead could sit back and watch a roster loaded with the gems he found dominate the Titans.
Tony Dungy is gone as coach, retired and replaced by Jim Caldwell. As long as Manning is there to run the show and Polian is there to find the pieces to fit around him, the Colts will be fine.
"We have a hell of a scouting staff," Polian said after the game.
No, they have a future Hall of Famer making the picks. I once had to listen to a Polian explosion firsthand when he reamed me over the phone a few years back, so this isn't a column praising somebody I know all that well. We've moved past that in large part because I respect what he does as a football man. Consider this: The Colts started five players Sunday night who Polian signed as undrafted rookies and two others who were signed after they were cut by other teams as undrafted players. That means seven of the 22 who started against the Titans didn't hear their names on draft day.
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Postgame report: IND |
And they're 5-0, with a three-game lead in the division heading to their bye next Sunday. In the free-agency era, with a cap that makes building a team and keeping it winning far more restrictive than it used to be, Polian keeps the Colts winning.
Because of injuries to projected starters Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden, the Colts were forced to start two rookies at corner against the Titans. One was third-round pick Jerraud Powers, who has been a real find, while the other was Jacob Lacey, who is one of the undrafted gang.
"A lot of credit has to go to our coaches," Polian said. "They get them ready to play. They have the trust to play those players."
In addition to the seven non-drafted starters, the Colts started six other players who were drafted in the fourth round or lower.
"It doesn't matter what round you're drafted in or where you come from," center Jeff Saturday said. "This team always plays the best players. Period. This isn't a team that gets caught up in what round you were taken. That's a good thing to know. I always tell the guys who come in that weren't drafted that they have a chance here. You see how that works."
Saturday is one of those guys. Baltimore cut him as an undrafted player in 1999 and the Colts signed him. He's developed into a Pro Bowl player and his ability to make line calls is a big reason why the Colts offense clicks.
Lacey wasn't drafted out of Oklahoma State, yet impressed during the summer enough to earn a roster spot. The injuries forced him to get his first start against the Titans and he responded with a solid game. Playing two rookies on the corners, the Colts limited Tennessee to 155 passing yards.
The core group of the Colts is made up of Manning, Saturday, receiver Reggie Wayne, tight end Dallas Clark, defensive end Dwight Freeney and safety Bob Sanders, who missed Sunday's game. Those six take up a big chunk of the salary cap, which is why the Colts rely on Polian's football acumen to fill in the holes at the other spots.
Without Manning, none of it matters. He's the proof that a great quarterback helps to cure ills. You find that guy, and the rest will work its way out around him.
The Colts have won three road games this season, all three at night, which is tough to do. Manning's hot start is the biggest reason why. His five-game streak of 300-yard games to start the season is the second longest ever, behind the six of Steve Young and Kurt Warner.
For a time, it didn't look like Manning would get to 300. But he came back out with the offense for the final series of the game and reached 301 on a 7-yard completion to Wayne with just over four minutes left.
Manning, who dinged his left knee in the second quarter on a hit that was flagged for a personal foul, said he wasn't trying to get 300, although some wondered if he was.
"I have never been about that or tried to do that in the middle of the season," Manning said. "A couple of times in the last game of the season, I have tried to help a receiver. I will admit that. I like to do that for other people. I have never tried to do something for myself."
Manning is on a pace to throw for 5,264 yards, which would break Dan Marino's single-season record for passing yards of 5,084. His 12 touchdown passes puts him on pace for 38, which would be the second-highest total of his career.
What's even more amazing is who's getting those TD tosses. Reggie Wayne has four of them, one against the Titans. Rookie Austin Collie had two touchdown catches against the Titans and three for the season. Not bad for a fourth-round pick.
"His [Wayne's] presence allows Collie and those guys to get open," Manning said.
Collie is playing more because Anthony Gonzalez is out with a knee injury. Pierre Garcon and Collie have done a nice job in his absence. Of course, Manning could make me look good if I was catching passes from him.
"Sometimes I have to pinch myself and be like, "wow, I'm actually playing in the NFL and playing with guys like Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark," Collie said. "I'm like a little kid in the candy shop."
Catching passes from Manning is a receiver's dream. Getting the chance to play as a rookie is the Colts way.
Some teams don't like playing them, but the Colts don't care. You contribute and you play, no matter where you were picked.
"I've seen linebackers picked ahead of me long gone," said Colts linebacker Clint Session, who was taken fourth round in 2007.
So next time you watch the Colts play, awed by Manning's star power, think about that red-haired gentlemen who put this team together, the man who picked Manning over Ryan Leaf.
Bill Polian, who built winners in Buffalo and Carolina before coming to the Colts, isn't considered the most likable guy to some, but there is no denying that he knows talent -- and where to find it. Someday, you'll hear all about it in his speech at Canton.
