King on Clark

MMQB has some great inside dope on the Colts’ passing game

Before the snap, Wayne went to offensive coordinator Tom Moore and told him that two Dolphins were going with him wherever he went; let me run a deep clear-out, Wayne said. Moore told Manning, and Moore called for Wayne to do as he said, and Manning went to the line knowing that if the Dolphins did what Wayne said, he’d clearly have to go to another receiver.

Clark was lined up to the right of the line, and his assignment was to run a corner route across the field. On this play, there’s no defined depth to the pattern. “Peyton’s got to know, and I’ve got to know,” Clark said. “My landmark depends totally on the defenders.”

Clark has to find the midway point between the linebacker in shallow coverage and the safety or safeties downfield. For Clark, on this play, the soft spot was about nine yards downfield, and he cut left and ran diagonally across the field. Manning hit him near the left hash, and Clark sprinted out of bounds. Twenty-yard gain. Two seconds left. Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal ended the half.

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