Hard to bring down

Kuharksy has a great piece on why it’s so hard to sack Peyton Manning

Covering for linemen: Colts left tackle Charlie Johnson said over the course of a regular game there are usually a couple of times when he thinks he might have been beaten only to discover that his fast-acting quarterback has erased the possibility of a negative play.

“You hear pass-rushers say it through the media, it starts to get frustrating when you get close but the ball is already gone,” Johnson said. “I think that has a lot to do with what we do as an offense, just as far we’re a timing offense and our guys get open fast. I’m sure it can get frustrating.”

Manning takes a great deal of pleasure when he’s able to catch a team with too many men on the field. He probably likes annoying a defensive end or blitzer as well, though he won’t expound on it much.

“I always say that I’m not trying to put anybody through a test out there as to how long you can hold your guy in one-on-one pass protection,” he said. “… I know those guys are doing whatever they can to give me the best chance to do my job. I’m trying to help them do their job well by being on time.”

Said Colts team president Bill Polian: “[Manning] and Tom Brady [and] a few others have an innate feel for where rushers are coming from because they understand the protections and where breakdowns may occur. Sometimes you think they have eyes in the back of their heads. Dan Marino was that way. They avoid the rush and still get a completion when sometimes you may have turned a rusher loose.”

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