The End of an Era?

CBS Sportsline writer Clark Judge is dead on when he says that the problems of the floundering Indianapolis Colts start with Payton Manning. Prior to this year, anyone watching the Colts could not help but be impressed by the incredible timing and pinpoint accuracy of the Manning run offense. Because of the number of available weapons, the accuracy of the quarterback, and the sense that everyone was precisely in sync with everyone else, the offense seemed at times unstoppable.

This year, and particularly last night, they looked very average, at best. Maybe last night the wind was an issue, but the passing game simply did not look crisp. When Mr. Manning had open receivers, he frequently just missed them. That was not the case before.