Below are the links to my radio interview yesterday on AOL's Sports Bloggers Live radio, via AOL. Thanks again to Jamie for inviting me on the show. This link is to just my sement, while this link has the whole show. I think you need Quicktime to run the audio files.
I encourage you to listen to the whole show because I was preceded by Mike Florio, the guru behind Pro Football Talk (and mortal enemy of Kirkendall over at CincyJungle). Mike stated that teams have "figured out" how to stop Manning: blitz him senseless. He's "slow footed" and can't get around the pass rush, according to Mike. That's how you stop him.
Now, I like Mike. He's a smart guy and he runs a great site. Mike deserves a lot of credit for the on-line sports journalism that is usurping the fat cat print journalists. But on the subject of the Colts, Mike has absolutely no friggin' clue what he is talking about.
If you blitz Manning senseless, the game will be over by halftime. Manning carves up blitzes Montana-style. Always has. However, like any QB, if his line doesn't do its job, it doesn't matter if he's got Road Runner legs. The line MUST pick up the blitz, and give the QB at least two seconds to throw the ball. This is true of Brady, McNabb, and even Manning.
Against Pittsburgh and San Diego, the line didn't do that.
Now, as we all know, last year the league had "figured out" Manning by using New England's defense: drop 8 into coverage. Manning responded by checking to the run, and the Colts ran off 13 straight. So, if teams think that just blitzing Manning is going to work, then I enthusiastically encourage them to take Mike's advice and blitz. Blitz till you're blue in the face.
And when you're done, and Manning has opened up a 4 TD lead on you, you'll understand why I say Mike Florio knows nothing about the Indianapolis Colts.