Updated: Sep. 18, 2005, 7:32 PM ET
Colts defense beats up Leftwich
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Archive
Colts defense beats up Leftwich
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Archive
INDIANAPOLIS -- More than the numbers on the scoreboard, more than the statistical recap of a tense game, it was the heavily-bruised body of Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich that served up the most graphic representation on Sunday afternoon of how well the Indianapolis Colts defense has performed in its first two outings of the season. Swathed in more ice than the body of Ted Williams, bearing huge discolored splotches and limping noticeably, Leftwich settled in front of a locker stall following a 10-3 defeat, looking like one oversized 250-pound welt. Had the Colts been charged with assault and battery by the local constabulary, the prosecutor would have only had to present a naked Leftwich to the jury, and deliberations would have lasted maybe 30 seconds. Dwight Freeney drills Byron Leftwich during the Colts' 10-3 win. He was bloodied, bowed and beaten by the belligerent Colts' pass rush. If the Colts' two first games of the season are any indication, Leftwich likely won't be the last quarterback to be swatted around like a human piƱata. The Indianapolis Colts, a team synonymous with great defense, right? As incongruous as it sounds, people might actually have to get accustomed to it. "This is what we want to do, hit the quarterback, you know?" said Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, who collected one of the Colts' half-dozen sacks, and who absolutely planted Leftwich on several other occasions after he had released the ball. "Whatever it takes. I mean, I'll do cartwheels, back-flips, whatever I have to do to get to the passer. And with our group (of defensive linemen), once one guy gets a hit, then everybody else wants to get in on the action, too. Today, it was a like a heavyweight fight out there." That the Colts survived a close decision, the powerful Indianapolis offense held scoreless until the final nine minutes, was attributable far more to patience than potency. On the only touchdown drive of the game, Peyton Manning was essentially an expensive hitting tee for his tailbacks, holding the ball up for 14 runs on a 17-snap series. Facing a scheme divined by the Jacksonville coaches that usually dropped eight defenders into coverage, Manning completed just 13 of 28 passes for 122 yards. But on a day when the Colts' meager 10 points were the sixth-fewest that Indianapolis has scored since Manning arrived in 1998 -- and the second-fewest points in a victory during his 114-starts tenure -- the defense stepped up big. Usually because the unit kept stepping into Leftwich, who demonstrated remarkable courage in constantly picking himself up, inventorying his remaining body parts, and soldiering on. The bottom line, though, was that for all Leftwich's heart, the Jaguars scored just three points. So in two weeks, the oft-maligned Indianapolis defense, the component characteristically cited as being the element that has kept the Colts out of the Super Bowl, has permitted a scant 10 points. That includes the meaningless, last-minute touchdown Baltimore scored in the opening week after Ravens coach Brian Billick extended the game calling timeouts as the Colts tried to run out the clock. Continued... Updated: Sep. 18, 2005, 7:32 PM ET Colts defense beats up Leftwich (Cont.)
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