Sporty Says...

“Toasted …and served”

                Four years ago Peyton and Eli matched up for the NFL’s version of a civil war. Manning v/s Manning, a family divided for one night in a good old fashioned NFL showdown! Even though back then the Colts came out on top 26-21, I was excited for the Manning Bowl to kick off Sunday night! I knew this would be the game to truly test our offense and defense.  When the Colts marched down the field 84 yards in the first quarter and Brown walked in, yes walked in untouched, for a touchdown, I knew it was going to be a long night.

Now, no way in the world did I think this game against the four time league MVP would be a walk in the park. I was just looking forward to some hard hitting football on both sides of the field. The Colts showed up ready to play, my Giants…*deep sigh* did not.  We couldn’t get our running or passing game off the ground, but the Colts on the other hand had a great night running and passing against our defense. Our defense couldn’t get to Peyton, except on one play by Kiwanuka, but Eli was sacked a total of four times by Freeney and Mathis. He was also rushed and roughed up all night! Side note: Freeney is a “freakin” beast!  Not to mention two turnovers which resulted in touchdowns for Indy, matched along with their hurry up offense left my defense bewildered and lethargic! Let’s also not forget to add in some sloppy tackling on defense and on the other side of the ball our porous offensive line.

On a brighter note, We did have the Manning to Manningham touchdown in the beginning of the third quarter. Did I mention we got shut out in the first half, well we did. The only other touchdown was a connection from Manning to Nicks with 1:46 left on the clock. I had and will always have the upmost respect for Peyton Manning, so Sunday night’s lost I saw more as a lesson for my squad to see what areas needed to be improved…all!  Different versions of the G-men seem to show up for each opponent, CONSISTENCY is the key to life and to winning games. So I’ll admit we got toasted and served by the Colts. Big brother Peyton and his squad taught his little brother Eli and my G-men a lesson. The question is how well was it learned.  We will soon see in week 3.