Well, it would seem that the last few weeks have proven what many coaches, players and fans outside of Indy have believed for a very long time: Howard Mudd made Peyton Manning an elite QB.
While Colts fans will point to the list of key players out with injuries as the cause for Mannings struggles this season, the rest of the NFL world can't help but notice that Howard "The-Best-In-The-Business-At-Stealing-Signals" Mudd is no longer roaming the sidelines and feeding info to Manning.
The media created this mystique about Manning and his uncanny ability to quickly recognize defenses and adjust the play at the line of scrimmage. All those years of watching Harrison, Clark, Wayne, James, Addai, etc. running free into wide open areas were just a product of Manning being told what defense was coming.
Now, in his first year without Mudd, Manning is looking more and more like an average QB and the last few games have dropped him into Favre territory. The INTs are coming at an alarming rate and he's cornering the market on "Pick-6's".
Injuries don't make the QB throw the ball to the wrong team. Not knowing the defensive coverage ahead of time will do that.
While Colts fans will point to the list of key players out with injuries as the cause for Mannings struggles this season, the rest of the NFL world can't help but notice that Howard "The-Best-In-The-Business-At-Stealing-Signals" Mudd is no longer roaming the sidelines and feeding info to Manning.
The media created this mystique about Manning and his uncanny ability to quickly recognize defenses and adjust the play at the line of scrimmage. All those years of watching Harrison, Clark, Wayne, James, Addai, etc. running free into wide open areas were just a product of Manning being told what defense was coming.
Now, in his first year without Mudd, Manning is looking more and more like an average QB and the last few games have dropped him into Favre territory. The INTs are coming at an alarming rate and he's cornering the market on "Pick-6's".
Injuries don't make the QB throw the ball to the wrong team. Not knowing the defensive coverage ahead of time will do that.