|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Standing around is no fun Manning wants to play more in preseason games
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) -- Peyton Manning loves to play football and the Indianapolis quarterback is no fan of inactivity during exhibition games. As he starts his third season, Manning has been used sparingly in his team's first two exhibition games. He's thrown only 11 passes, completing seven for 98 yards with one touchdown. He's hoping to see more action Saturday night when the Colts (0-2) play New Orleans (1-1) in West Lafayette. "I know it's preseason, coaches have to make their decisions. I understand everybody needs to play. But I like to play. I certainly want to be healthy for the regular season," he said Tuesday. Especially annoying to Manning is that he hasn't moved the ball as much as he'd like when on the field. "When I am out there, I like to do well. Anybody being a competitor, if you have 12 plays, you want to be perfect. That's something you should shoot for," he said. If his first two seasons are an indication, he'll see plenty of playing time once the games start counting on Sept. 3 in Kansas City. The No. 1 overall draft pick of 1998 has taken nearly every offensive snap while accumulating league marks for a quarterback in his first two seasons. Manning directed a unit that led the AFC in total yardage and passing yardage last season. It averaged 357.9 yards per game, including 254.1 passing. Both marks were the fourth highest in the league. The entire starting offense is back, although the Colts have been experimenting on the offensive line. And when Manning took the field to start last Saturday's 28-16 loss to Seattle, he was without his two major weapons as coach Jim Mora elected to not play running back Edgerrin James or wide receiver Marvin Harrison -- both Pro Bowl starters with Manning following the Colts' 13-3 finish last year. And if Manning had his way, he'd like to see tight end Ken Dilger on the field most of the time. "I really feel comfortable with Kenny in there. We could go with four wide receivers, but I'd rather have Kenny out there," he said. "I feel comfortable with our receivers, starting with Marvin." Mora has no fear of a decline in the success of Manning, who has more completions (657) and passing yards (7,874) than any other quarterback in league history for his first two seasons. His total of 52 TD passes is second only to future Hall of Famer Dan Marino's 68 over the same time span. "Peyton gets better every year. I don't know if you'll see that [big] mark in improvement from year two to three that you saw from year one to two. It would be pretty tough to surpass that," Mora said. "He's progressing. He works hard. As hard as he prepares, and as much work as he puts into it you're bound to get better." His teammates see little change by Manning. "Peyton does a great job of getting rid of the ball," said offensive tackle Adam Meadows. "He really knows this offense well enough to be proficient at it. ... Looking at the film, the little time he has been in there he really hasn't missed a beat." Notes: The Colts held their final two-a-day practice Tuesday and several players were kept out of the morning workout as a precaution. The list included linebackers Cornelius Bennett and Marcus Washington. Both linebackers returned to the practice field Monday after missing more than 24 sessions since camp began July 13. "Cornelius came out of it in great shape," Mora said of the 13-year veteran, who had been on the physically unable to play list until Monday. "Marcus was a little sore." ... Mora said he did not plan to have Bennett, defensive end Chad Bratzke, wide receiver Isaac Jones, defensive end Mark Thomas, wide receiver E.G. Green, defensive back Mustafah Muhammad or running back Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar to play Saturday due to injuries.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
