Manning learning to sacrifice stats for wins
Peyton Manning's gaudy passing numbers of years past led to team success that often fell short of other teams whose QBs had more pedestrian numbers. This season, the Colts and Manning are undefeated and the quarterback's numbers reflect a change in priorities.By Lee Jenkins
The New York Times
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 29 -- When Peyton Manning walked off the field after Monday night's game, as usual the last player to leave, he paused to throw one final pass.
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (David Kohl/Associated Press)Manning took off his baseball cap and flung it high into the stands, where a pack of his followers scurried as if they were running fly patterns. It was a carefree and capricious move from a quarterback famous for choreographing every throw.
Eight years into his N.F.L. career, Manning now looks as if he is able to fully enjoy it. The Colts have started the season with 11 consecutive victories, and Manning still has plenty of strength remaining in his right arm to doff his cap and launch it deep.
Not long ago, Manning could not have wasted the motion, for he carried on that right arm the heaviest weight in the league. He had to throw about 40 times a game, toss five touchdown passes and still endure mild heart palpitations in the fourth quarter. But because of the Colts' balance on offense and their improvement on defense, he is now able to lead the team instead of define it.
"I sleep better on Saturday nights before games," he said. "I'm not going to lie. I don't feel like we have to go out and score 40."
The Colts' marketing slogan this season is "Make It Personal," an exhortation plastered on billboards across Indianapolis. But for Manning, this season has been about making it less personal. In 2004, he broke the record for touchdown passes in a season with 49. In 2005, he is nowhere near that mark, with 22, but the Colts are chasing more meaningful history, threatening to become the first undefeated team in the N.F.L. since the 1972 Dolphins.
Manning's performance Monday night against Pittsburgh illustrated his selfless approach. He threw only 25 passes. He spread the ball to five receivers. Although he changed plays relentlessly at the line of scrimmage, he mainly called for handoffs to tailback Edgerrin James. At the end of the game, a 26-7 Colts victory, James had made more plays than Manning, rushing for 124 yards on 29 carries.
"Peyton is happy doing it this way," James said. "And if he's happy, we've got to be happy."
Just as Michael Jordan had to sacrifice a few jump shots to win N.B.A. championships, Manning seems to understand the benefits of sharing. Last season, Manning looked like the football equivalent of Jordan in his early years, scoring with little conscience. He argued with receiver Reggie Wayne, sometimes abandoned James in his audibles, and even waved away the punting unit on occasion.
He now seems relatively at peace, having shaken a few demons off his shoulder pads. Manning won at New England for the first time. He beat the Steelers for the first time. He has yet to win a Super Bowl - the one failing that continues to dog him - but this is the first year that the Colts are obviously superior to their competition.
"There's not so much pressure on one person anymore," tight end Dallas Clark said. "We're not just sitting back watching one guy. We all have more confidence in each other, but he's just as in charge as he ever was."
The differences in Manning are subtle. He still has animated conversations with receivers, offensive linemen, even the water boys. He gestures wildly when he wants to change a play. He throws up his arms after incomplete passes. But he seems to realize that an incomplete pass, or even a punt, no longer spells defeat.
"We can play any kind of game," Manning said. "We can spread them out and throw it. Or we can run, run, run."
As Manning has become more comfortable with his team, he has also appeared more comfortable with his celebrity. This season, he is starring in another popular MasterCard commercial, in which he cheers a waitress and a grocery-store worker as if they were football stars. The commercial shows a lighthearted, self-deprecating side of Manning, one that is rarely seen.
In past years, Manning was generally portrayed as a football monk with a preternatural knowledge of opposing defenses. But as the Colts have added dimensions, so too has Manning. He wears suits with pocket squares to his news conferences. He monitors the progress of his younger brother, Eli Manning, from afar. He seems able to celebrate one game before moving on to the next.
After Indianapolis beat New England this month, Manning sounded unusually sentimental, saying that he wanted a slow flight home to savor the victory. Those who expected him to rush back to the Colts' headquarters and study film on the next opponent were shocked.
Maybe this business of winning games has indeed become more personal.
Story Produced by: Nick Weidenmiller
