With Manning, Blockers, Colts Have Pocket Money

Of all the remarkable numbers associated with Manning's NFL career, one of the more impressive is this: He has played all 156 games the Colts have had in the regular season and playoffs since they drafted him with the top pick in the 1998 draft. (Reuters)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 31 -- The Chicago Bears are going into Sunday's Super Bowl saying the things that defensive coaches and players always say when they're readying to face the Indianapolis Colts: The key is to get in quarterback Peyton Manning's face, knock him around and make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket.

Good luck.

Of all the remarkable numbers associated with Manning's NFL career, one of the more impressive is this: He has played all 156 games the Colts have had in the regular season and playoffs since they drafted him. That says something about Manning's toughness and his quick release, and about the prudent approach taken by Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore. It also says plenty about the quality of Manning's blockers.

"I've had outstanding protection my entire career," Manning said. "Of all the things I'm thankful for, one of the big ones is [offensive line coach] Howard Mudd and Tom Moore. Their first priority is protection. They've allowed me to stay very healthy. I really don't feel the way a lot of quarterbacks would feel in their ninth year, with the few number of hits that I've taken."

Manning was sacked only 14 times in 16 regular season games -- the fourth straight season in which he was sacked fewer than 20 times. Tarik Glenn, Manning's left tackle for his entire stay with the Colts, said Manning's durability has resulted from a combination of good play and good fortune.

"The good Lord has had his hand on him, I think," Glenn said. "All it takes is one hit."

Glenn and right tackle Ryan Diem will have to deal Sunday with Bears defensive ends Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown, who combined for 13 1/2 sacks this season. Rookie backup Mark Anderson had 12 as a pass-rush specialist.

The Colts' offensive line was shaky in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last season in an AFC semifinal. The Steelers managed to actually do what all those opposing defenses aim to do. They hit Manning often and, as a result, kept the Indianapolis offense bottled up until late in the game. The memory of that game remains vivid in the minds of Manning's blockers.

"To feel like you're a big part of why your team loses, that's tough," center Jeff Saturday said. "We talked about it all offseason. We said let's be the best we've ever been."

Said Glenn: "I worked harder than I ever worked in the offseason. Experiences like that help you to get to this point."

Manning made public comments immediately after the Steelers game that were taken by some observers as being critical of his offensive line. But that never was an issue in the Colts' locker room because the offensive linemen were their own harshest critics. Saturday said it will take a terrific outing in the Super Bowl to make amends.

"We'll see on Sunday," he said. "That's the measuring stick. It's what you do in your last game. You can measure it against Pittsburgh last year. We didn't show up well in our last game last year."

Manning took all his offensive linemen and some other teammates to dinner Monday night in South Florida, and he and Saturday have enjoyed teasing one another all week through their comments to reporters. When Manning was asked about the Colts running the ball for the winning touchdown in their victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC title game, he managed to include a good-natured barb aimed at his center.

"Saturday's block on [Patriots defensive tackle] Vince Wilfork on that third down, to me, is one for the ages," Manning said. "In fact, he would like it to be known as 'The Block,' like 'The Drive' and 'The Catch.' In truth, I thought it might have been 'The Trip.' "

When those comments were relayed to Saturday, he laughed and said: "He's full of it. That's Peyton right there."

To set the record straight, Saturday said, it was Manning and other Colts players who were pointing out Saturday's block of Wilfork on rookie tailback Joseph Addai's three-yard touchdown run while Saturday was giving credit to the entire offensive line.

"It was a great block for everyone on the line," Saturday said. "I'm glad we got the touchdown."

But he got his revenge when the subject turned to Manning's contention earlier this week that he'd gotten his offensive linemen parts in one his commercials and they'd ruined things by bickering over their air time. Saturday was quick to point out that Manning's Patriots counterpart, Tom Brady, got his blockers speaking parts on one of his TV commercials.

"He acts like he did a great thing getting us in the DirecTV thing," Saturday said. "But he didn't get us a speaking part. We're looking for the focus to be a little more on us and a little less on him. Tom Brady did a good job, I think."