Not only is he the smartest quarterback in the game, Peyton Manning knows as much about football as any coach.
Players have said he can walk up to the line of scrimmage, take a look at the defense and point out what every player is going to do.
So the Colts need to let him do his thing, and they will. Nevermind the fact they have the 32nd-ranked rush offense; it is not a running team and makes no pretenses about that.
Being one-dimensional has worked just fine. If there’s an open man, the NFL’s only four-time most valuable player will find him. Question is, how often will the Colts be open against star cornerback Darrelle Revis and the No. 1 pass defense?
Former Ravens coach Brian Billick, now an NFL Network analyst, has seen plenty of Manning’s near-clairvoyant performances up close.
“There’s nothing on a football field that he hasn’t seen, or that he doesn’t remember,” Billick said. “So no matter what you do, he’s going to know where to go with the ball.”
Play keep-away
The Jets finished the season with the league’s 31st-ranked passing game, so they’re not a quick-strike team. That could all change, though, if they force a turnover and get a short field with which to work.
Against the Ravens on Saturday, the Colts hogged the ball and won the time-of-possession battle by almost eight minutes.
Of the Ravens’ 11 possessions, five netted 8 yards or fewer, and three more ended with turnovers.
3 is a magic number
The Colts need to maintain the third-down efficiency they had this season, when they led the league by converting 49.2 percent of those situations.
That won’t be easy against the Jets, though, who were the best third-down defense, limiting opponents to a paltry conversion rate of 31.5 percent.
Put it on Sanchez
The Jets finished the regular season with the top-ranked rushing attack. The Colts were 24th at stopping the run.
But Indianapolis has shown it can rise to the occasion in the postseason, as it did during its Super Bowl run a few years ago.
The Colts limited the Ravens’ formidable run game to 87 yards on 19 carries last weekend.
If the Colts can stonewall the Jets’ ground game — and do it without having to bring a safety up to help — that will heap more pressure on Mark Sanchez, looking to become the first rookie quarterback to win three playoff games.
Jets at Colts
2 p.m. Sun., WBBM-Ch. 2
