--QB Peyton Manning practiced Wednesday and Thursday after jamming his right thumb into the helmet of OT Tarik Glenn in the third quarter of last Sunday's AFC championship game with New England. Manning underwent an x-ray examination on his thumb, but the results were negative. He is expected to start next week's Super Bowl XLI matchup with Chicago.

--CB Nick Harper continues to nurse a sore right ankle after suffering a sprained ankle in the first quarter of last week's AFC title game with New England. Harper did not return to the game and has yet to practice this week. His availability for the Super Bowl matchup with the Bears won't be determined until sometime next week.

--TE Ben Utecht is expected to play next week against Chicago in Super Bowl XLI despite a sprained right knee. Utecht was injured in last Sunday's AFC championship game with New England. He has seen limited work in practice this week.

--DT Darrell Reid experienced leg cramps during last week's AFC title game with New England but should be fine for the upcoming Super Bowl XLI game with Chicago. He practiced Wednesday and Thursday.

--WR Ricky Proehl has practiced the last two weeks and may be able to play in next week's Super Bowl XLI matchup with Chicago. Proehl has not played for the past five weeks due to a hamstring injury. He returned to practice last week but was inactive for the AFC title game with New England.

REPORT CARD VS. PATRIOTS:

PASSING OFFENSE
A -- QB Peyton Manning completed 27-of-47 passes for 349 yards and a touchdown, a one-yard flip to DT Dan Klecko. Manning spread the ball among nine different receivers in the game. His only blemish was an interception that was returned 39 yards for a touchdown by Patriots CB Asante Samuel. TE Dallas Clark had a game-high six catches for 137 yards, a career high for yardage.

RUSHING OFFENSE
B-plus -- The Colts averaged 4.2 yards per carry as RB Dominic Rhodes had 69 yards in 14 carries while rookie RB Joseph Addai added 56 yards in 14 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown with a minute remaining in the game. Indianapolis' yards on the ground came tough, but the Colts were able to do enough to keep the Patriots defense honest.

PASS DEFENSE
B-minus -- Not a bad performance by Indianapolis although it allowed 232 yards passing by QB Tom Brady. Brady connected on 21-of-34 passes with a touchdown. He was sacked once by DT Raheem Brock, the first time the Colts had sacked in three postseason meetings. CB Marlin Jackson's interception with 16 seconds remains iced the win, but S Bob Sanders just about had one in the previous offensive series for Indianapolis.

RUSH DEFENSE
B-plus -- Indianapolis limited the Patriots running game for most of the evening, especially in the second half, allowing Corey Dillon 48 yards in seven carries, Kevin Faulk 27 yards in four carries and Laurence Maroney 13 yards in eight rushing attempts. New England averaged 3.9 yards per carry.

SPECIAL TEAMS
B-minus -- Three field goals by PK Adam Vinatieri and a good punting performance by Hunter Smith (four for a 52.8 yard average) were the highlights. The Colts struggled a bit on kickoff coverage, allowing 231 yards on eight returns and 39 yards on three punt returns. Smith did a pretty good job holding the ball for Vinatieri, coming up with a couple low snaps. KR-PR Terrence Wilkins had 92 yards on five kickoff returns and 40 yards on three punt returns.

COACHING
A-plus -- When a team is down 21-3 at one point in the second quarter and then rallies to score 32 points against the league's No. 2 scoring defense, that's a pretty good night of work. Tony Dungy and his group of assistant coaches didn't panic despite the early deficit, went into the locker room at halftime, made the necessary changes and then let the team play. Not many coaches have handled a team with as much moxy as Dungy and his assistants have done with the current Colts squad.

Copyright (C) 2007 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.