The Student of the GameGoing Beyond the Stats

Imagine this: You are an NFL QB. As the leader of your team’s offense, you are asked to score more than 20 points a game, week in and week out, in order for your team to have a good chance to win the game. That may sound tough enough, but then someone says, “WAIT! -- you can only have the ball for 14:53 throughout the game . . . oh and JUST to make it interesting, you are without Anthony Gonzalez, your second-best WR”. In an example of heroism greater than anything Tom Brady has achieved in recent memory, Colts QB Peyton Manning not only accepted the described challenge, but propelled his Indianapolis team over the Miami Dolphins 27-23.

While being short Gonzalez, Manning (14/23 61%, 303 yards, 2 TDs) wasn’t without help. TE Dallas Clark compensated for the Phin’s ‘D’ drowning the run game as well as concentrating on WR Reggie Wayne (3 catches, 37 yards) by going 7 catches for 183 yards and featuring an 80 yard TD strike that opened the contest. Also, Pierre Garcon recorded a 48 yard TD strike on the Colts drive to post what would be the game-deciding score.

Despite the exploits of these 3 players, the Dolphins weren’t without their high points as the defense held RBs Joseph Addai (6 carries, 32 yards, 5.3 per carry) and rookie Donald Brown (4 carries, 26 yards, 6.5 per carry, TD) to a relatively negligible role. It was giving up 2 scoring TDs in a combined 44 seconds (one at 12, the other 32) that was the major weak point on the stat sheet.

Despite a losing effort, the execution of the Miami offense was prolific. Managing an effort that held the ball for nearly 45 minutes in a game (the most ever in NFL history by a losing team) and a 3rd down percentage of an amazing 71% (15/21), QB Chad Pennington did what he could to keep his team converting and moving the chains, but couldn’t crack the endzone plane while going 22/33 (67%) for 183 yards and an INT on a Hail Mary to close out the game.

Contributing to the effort to control the ball was WR Ted Ginn Jr (11 catches, 108 yards). The running game also offered balance as Miami RBs Ronne Brown (24 carries, 136 yards, 5.6 per/carry, 2 TDs) and Ricky Williams (19 carries, 69 yards, 3.6 per carry) were foremost in a ground game that warranted Miami 239 yards while bouncing in and out of the Wildcat formation.

Despite the impressive stats on both offenses, the Phin’s were short in one crucial category -- number of TDs scored. 5 scoring drives for Miami, 3 relied on the leg of Kicker Dan Carpenter (not counting a 49-yard FG miss that would have made it 4/6 and still short of a ‘W’ by a point). However, in the final drive, Ginn Jr. did squander a game-winning opportunity where he had the ball touch both hands at the same time and it amounted only to a drop allowing Manning to break the Colts milestone previously held by legend Johnny Unitas for most wins.

Next week the Colts ‘D’ will have to improve to face a possibly dangerous Arizona Cardinals squad while the Dolphins will have to find themselves to compete with another potentially devastating TE threat in the form of Antonio Gates as they take on the San Diego Chargers.