http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2004-12-28-week16-replay_x.htm
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Manning waves off punt team, then hello to mark
USA TODAY pro football writer Jarrett Bell serves up his impressions after Week 16:
Any snapshot that defines
Peyton Manning's career will include the Indianapolis Colt flapping his arms, pointing fingers or directing traffic in what he calls getting busy at the line of scrimmage.
In the crunchtime sequence Sunday that led to the NFL's season record for touchdown passes, Manning provided a twist: waving off the punt team.
Faced with a fourth-and-4 after an improbable flip to
Edgerrin James for an 11-yard completion, the Colts had all of their timeouts and the two-minute warning to work with when the punt team headed onto the field.
But the Colts and Manning defied conventional wisdom despite being positioned at the Indianapolis 26. Colts coach Tony Dungy said the mix-up occurred because he instructed the special-teams coach to be prepared to punt if the third-down pass was incomplete.
When asked for an explanation, a respectful and usually smooth Manning seemed embarrassed: "What did Coach Dungy say?"
Manning and
Reggie Wayne connected for 19 yards. Then Manning orchestrated the 21-yard pass to
Brandon Stokley, calling for an improvised corner-post route.
No player has as much freedom to take a game into his own hands. Maybe that's why he mentioned how Colts icon Johnny Unitas, who called his own plays a few generations ago, would've been proud.
"Right before the first series for 16 weeks, Tom Moore has told me, 'If you see something, go with it,' " Manning said of his offensive coordinator. "I appreciate him giving me that trust. That's how we've grown a lot. He'll call a running play for two plays, but if I've seen the safeties coming down, I just change it. ... Marvin (Harrison), Reggie and Brandon are good at telling me, 'I'll kill this guy with a slant.' So it's nice to have that flexibility.""
Now, I'm going to bed.