Broncos once again look to stop Manning, Colts

Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 26, 2007 at midnight

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ENGLEWOOD — Three straight weeks of watching teams lean on the run against the Broncos nearly has lulled their secondary to sleep.

Hello, it's 2:15 p.m. Sunday, and this is your wake-up call.

The Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning and Co.

Time to throw down(field) at the RCA Dome — again.

The prospect of Indianapolis matching this season's average of 36 carries against the Broncos? Not all that likely, even with Colts running back Joseph Addai a dangerous offensive weapon.

"I think Peyton will do it more than he has, but he's going to pass the ball," Broncos All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey said. "He's going to put up 30 passes. I think that's a given."

Give and take is another matter.

Manning has dominated the Broncos defensive backfield in recent meetings, with 12 touchdowns and only one interception the past three games in which he has played more than one series.

Only 17 of his 98 passes fell incomplete during that span, which includes two AFC wild-card playoff wins, while the Colts averaged 41.3 points.

And he has done it mainly by staying away from Bailey covering his favorite target, Marvin Harrison, and locking in on other receivers.

Harrison has only 14 catches for 122 yards and one touchdown against the Broncos since Bailey's joined the series.

But Reggie Wayne has been every bit the Broncos killer as Manning with 28 catches for 492 yards and seven touchdowns the past four times he has played against the Broncos.

And Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark and Brandon Stokley, formerly the Colts' third wideout and now in a similar role with the Broncos, each have had games with 100-plus receiving yards during recent matchups.

"When I first got here, that was the first question I was asked: 'Do you think you were drafted to try and stop Peyton Manning?' " said Broncos nickel cornerback Domonique Foxworth, who didn't play much in last year's meeting while the Colts employed extensive two-tight end sets. "And whether I was or wasn't, it's important."

Manning, almost in aw-shucks fashion, scoffed at any notion he has discovered some kind of secret to strafing the Broncos secondary despite single-game totals of 345, 377 and 458 yards in his past three full games against Denver.

"We've just had really good execution the past couple times we've played them," he told Denver reporters on a Wednesday conference call. "But it's certainly been on a year-to-year basis and it has nothing to do with the year before and the year before. We've just gotten hot at the right times and been able to click pretty well in the passing game. But there's no real explanation to it."

The Broncos' search for answers this year landed the team cornerback Dré Bly in a trade.

He'll get to test his previous Pro Bowl credentials in a likely matchup with Wayne and publicly is embracing the challenge.

"It's just another game for me," Bly said. "They've got Marvin on one side and Reggie on the other. But I was brought here to help make more plays in the secondary and try to get this team to the next level. And with the Colts being the defending champs, it will be a good test for us secondarywise because we haven't faced a quarterback of his caliber so far or a passing attack like the Colts."

The Broncos are the No. 1-rated pass defense, allowing 88.3 yards a game. But the Broncos also have faced a league-low 58 pass attempts, with their first three opponents running nearly twice as often as passing.

"It's Peyton Manning. He's going to throw at you," said Broncos cornerback Jeff Shoate, who has covered the slot receiver in recent weeks while Foxworth nursed an injury and has witnessed the series up close since 2004. "I've never seen him not throw at anybody. Even last year, when Addai was having that great year and they were running the ball at people more, he was still slinging the ball around the field. That's their offense."

Manning has completed 66-of-101 attempts in averaging 291 passing yards a game. He has a new weapon this season in first- round draft pick Anthony Gonzalez.

"It's nothing we're backing down from," Bly said. "We're looking forward to Peyton airing it out and giving us an opportunity to make plays. That's what we want."

The Broncos should benefit from the return of Foxworth from a sprained right ankle.

Dime-back Karl Paymah also is healthy after a preseason concussion, if needed. But Foxworth might be pressed into action at safety with John Lynch sitting out practice with a groin strain suffered Sunday against Jacksonville. Curome Cox also could fill in for Lynch.

But being short-handed, or even beat up, in the defensive backfield is nothing new to the Broncos when it comes to playing the Colts. Safety Nick Ferguson's broken arm and former cornerback Kelly Herndon's giant Q-tip cast over a broken hand in the past have only deepened the Broncos' frustrations when playing the Colts.

"It's the luck of the draw, huh? It always seems to be that way," Ferguson said of the spate of bad luck with injuries when the Colts come up on the schedule. "But this is football and there are no excuses."

The Broncos were as healthy as they have been against the Colts in October, limiting them to six first-half points. Yet Manning rallied for 28 second-half points in a last-second, 34-31 win by targeting Wayne at the expense of the late Darrent Williams.

"The one thing about Peyton is he adjusts better than anybody," Bailey said. "So we have to adjust on the run as well."

The Colts quarterback finished with his ninth straight 3,000-yard passing season in 2006. And while he and Harrison remain the league's top quarterback-receiver tandem with 107 touchdowns, Manning and Wayne have crept into third with 38 scores through the air, demonstrating their offensive potency.

"They are the best passing offense in the league, maybe ever," Foxworth said. "They've broken a lot of records and Peyton's as good as it gets as far as quarterbacks, and their receivers and tight ends are as good as they get, too. . . . We feel we have the best pass defense. So we're looking forward to matching up."

Air campaign

Peyton Manning has shredded the Broncos defense in recent meetings, and in the past six contests, he has engineered five wins in six games in which he has been at the helm almost exclusively. (A one-series appearance in the 2004 season finale, in which Manning completed 1-of-2 passes for 6 yards, is not included below. Indianapolis had clinched a postseason berth by that time, limiting Manning's snaps.)

rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com

Numbers game

Peyton Manning has done just fine in his career outings against the Broncos.

**Manning vs. Denver**
Date	Com - Att	Yards	TDs	INTs	Sacked	Result

Jan. 6, 2002	16-of-30	191	2	1	1	Won 29-10

Nov. 24, 2002	27-of-44	229	0	1	2	Won 23-20 (OT)

Dec. 21, 2003	12-of-23	146	0	0	2	Lost 31-17

*Jan. 4, 2004	22-of-26	377	5	0	0	Won 41-10

Jan. 2, 2005	1-of-2	6	0	0	0	Lost 33-14

*Jan. 9, 2005	27-of-33	458	4	1	1	Won 49-24

Oct. 29, 2006	32-of-39	345	3	0	0	Won 34-31