Marshall goes to town, but Manning's the mayor of NFL records.
Brandon Marshall hauls in one of his NFL record 21 catches.
On a day where Brandon Marshall did all he could and more to lift up his team, the Colts set the mark that solidifies them as one of the best teams the NFL has ever seen. The problem today, was that Marshall couldn’t cover Manning’s receivers. He couldn’t put pressure on the QB. He couldn’t open up a hole for Moreno on 4th down. All he could do was catch and run – and catch and run he did, logging an NFL record 21 catches for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Can’t say he didn’t try. But a record-setting day wouldn’t be enough against a Colts team that has turned their offense into a display of surgical precision. The first 2 drives was like watching Manning’s agent pitch a new endorsement deal – there was no resistance.
After that, the defense held strong and actually managed an impressive effort, getting 2 lucky interceptions off of deflections, and another legitimate pick. But when you can’t turn your turnovers into points, you aren’t going to win games. Denver several times was inside Colts territory and came away with nothing but a meaningless figgie.
For my own part, I’m coming back down to earth and really feeling at peace with where this team is – not good, but not as hopelessly bad as we had feared. McDaniels has proved he can coach, and will get some time to turn this thing around. I’m ok with a team that goes 8-8 and doubles the win total I had projected. None of that, however, lessens the sting of watching the collapse of a team that started so strong that the old Mile High expectations started to well up again and visions of playoff fairies started dancing in our heads.
The problems are obvious – Orton can’t throw downfield, so the entire offense happens in front of the secondary. Knowshon Moreno cannot hit the hole with authority. He dances – a lot, which is uncharacteristic of Denver backs. He doesn’t have the speed burst he needs, and for now he doesn’t seem to really understand how to see the field, make one cut, and hit the hole all in one smooth motion like Buckhalter seems to. It’s a strong but overworked defense, and a mostly efficient but rather anemic offense.
I’m not really sure where this team is headed. It’s entirely possible but not guaranteed that they’ll make the playoffs, and will have to hit the road to play a tough wild card game. I don’t think anyone expects a win that weekend, regardless of who the opponent is. The real question is how does McDaniels and team finish the season, and how do they treat their first off-season? They have a lot to address, and Josh is not yet endowed with “coach for life” status, which apparently is good for about 12 years around here.
Next week the Raiders come to town a much improved squad over the unit that Denver faced early in the season. Look for a tough game that will probably tell as much about the soul of this team as anything.
