Smart QB + Young Players Stepping Up x Overperforming Run Defense = Florida, baby!
Darrelle Revis and the Jets secondary have been shutting down the best receivers all season. Andre Johnson, Marques Colston, Randy Moss have all come up short against the NFL’s number 1 Defense. And the Jets pulled it off once again on Sunday, keeping Peyton Mannings favourite target – number 1 receiver Reggie Wayne quiet as a doormouse, grabbing only 55 yards.
So how did Manning – ranked the number 1 QB in the postseason btw – overcome this? By using Wayne’s lesser known partners, rookie Austin Collie and 2nd year player Pierre Garcon – who shared 18 catches, 274 yards and 2 TD’s between them – Manning was able to pick apart Rex Ryan’s formidable backfield. Often, Manning was calling audibles to passing plays as opposed to the running plays originally called by Coach Moore, because he liked what he saw from both his young receivers.
Receiver is one of the hardest positions in the NFL to acclimatise as a rookie – and Garcon only caught 4 balls in his first year so to all intents and purposes is as raw as they come – so the duo’s performance was remarkable. As Colts head coach Jim Caldwell pointed out – “its unusual for guys that young to really perform” – but perform they did.
So too did the Colts unfashionable defense. In the regular season they were ranked 24 (out of 32) against the run and Sunday went up against the NFL’s number one rushing attack. Sure, the loss of rookie Shonn Greene was a major factor but it was a combination of Manning going to plan B, and Colts D Co-ordinator Larry Coyer forcing Sanchez and the Jets to rely on passing more than they had all season, that enabled the Indy to book their flights to Florida.
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