It's his call: in the Colts' offense, Peyton Manning selects the play at the line. This system isn't without flaws, but it usually gives Indianapolis an edge over opponents - NFL - Indianapolis Colts

Communication is a big @%&!# problem!

It takes too darn long to get a play called, and the Colts can't get in a rhythm!

The defense gets the last move!

Defenses are stealing the signals!

The offense is allowing itself to be controlled by defenses!

Maybe now that the Colts finally whipped the Titans, some of these complaints will be muted. But the next time the Colts slip, the rants will return about the Indianapolis offense, which calls for quarterback Peyton Manning to choose the play at the line of scrimmage with a check or audible.

There was a time when most quarterbacks called all their own plays at the line, but it has become a dying art. Until Manning came along, Jim Kelly of the Bills was the only quarterback who called his own plays at the line through the 1980s and '90s.

Now, the Colts' system is a focal point and trigger for criticism because it's different from every other offense in the league. But the truth is it usually gives Indianapolis an advantage over opponents, as it did against Tennessee in a 33-7 victory Sunday. Though there is a modicum of validity to some of the complaints, others are entirely off base.

THE COMPLAINT Communication is a big @%&!# problem!

The first thing you should know about Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore's system is this: There is a lot less communication going on at the line of scrimmage than there appears to be. This isn't the beauty salon on a Saturday morning.

Most of the communication happens in the huddle. There, Manning presents his teammates with two to four options that might be called at the line, depending on the defensive alignment. All the Colts should know that if they see their opponent lined up in front "x," Manning will call for play "y."

"The week leading up to the game, he says, 'When I see this happen, this is what I'm going to do,'" Colts center Jeff Saturday says. "So I kind of have an idea before I get up there what he's going to switch to."

It's not as if Manning is doing a lot of creative thinking at the line. "I don't ever really surprise my teammates out there with an audible," says Manning, who in a typical game calls only four or five audibles that are not discussed in the huddle. "I'm not allowed to audible to the double-reverse throwback to the quarterback. That's not in the repertoire. If I change a play, it's to something we practice. Tom Moore gives me good freedom, but he tells me, 'Don't surprise me out there.' A lot of times when it looks like I'm checking off, I'm really not. I might be just taking it from the right side to the left."

That said, Manning still must let 10 players know what the play will be at the line. He makes the call on run/pass, then communicates the pass routes (if applicable) and the direction of the play. Saturday calls the protections and blocking assignments for the line. At times, both are verbalizing at once.

Crowd noise on the road can necessitate that the communication is done mostly through silent signals. But the Colts also have a system in place in which they pass along the information from one player to the next. Saturday says they've never had any problems getting the play communicated.

Amount of water the Colts take on because of communication problems: about what you'd get from a gentle squeeze of an eye-dropper.

THE COMPLAINT

It takes too darn long to get a play called, and the Colts can't get in a rhythm!

The Colts typically try to break their huddle with 20 or so seconds left on the play clock. That gives Manning ample time to get to the line, change the play multiple times and get the play off. Against the Titans, the Colts used a lazy no-huddle offense, which gave them more time than usual.

Critics contend the Colts' offensive linemen are in their stance for so long that they can't fire out with force on a running play. "I think that's overrated, personally," says CBS broadcaster and former offensive lineman Randy Cross. "It's not like they're in a three-point stance for 20 seconds. It's maybe 5 or 6 seconds at the most:' Saturday points out the Colts' linemen practice the way they play, so they are trained to stay in their stances longer than offensive linemen from other teams.

If Manning changes from pass to run or vice versa, that could impact the offensive linemen's ability to take the most effective possible first step because most blockers don't line up in an entirely balanced stance. They are prepared to either fire out for a run, or step laterally or backward for a pass.

Amount of water the Colts, take on because they're taking too long to get plays called: less than a defender would spit in disgust after an Indianapolis touchdown.

THE COMPLAINT

The defense gets the last move!

Smart defenses will wait until the play clock is about to run out before getting into their preferred alignment against the Colts, which won't leave Manning enough time to check to another play.

"Most teams would like to call plays at the line, but defenses can screw with you, and as the clock runs down the quarterback can cause uncertainty with his own teammates right before the snap," says Jaguars offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who was Manning's backup with the Colts in 1998, Manning's rookie season.

There is a reason more offenses don't ask their quarterbacks to do what the Colts ask Manning to do. Manning is outstanding at avoiding the last-second panic. "If anyone can do it, it's Peyton," Musgrave says. "He can handle anything a coach gives him."

If Manning sees himself running out of time because the defense is playing pre-snap games, he will use a timeout. He did it twice in the second half Sunday, but it didn't come back to bite the Colts because their defense wouldn't allow the Titans back in the game. "I hate to do that," Manning said afterward, with one of his deep brown crocodile-skin cowboy boots propped up on a folding chair. "I hate quarterbacks that call timeouts. But it's better than a delay."

Though the defense usually can react last to what it perceives Manning and the offense are doing, the defense doesn't always have an accurate perception of the play that's about to be called. Manning probably makes dummy checks as often as he makes real checks, so at times a defense is reacting to nothing.

Even when the defense guesses right, it must get all 11 players in accordance, which isn't easy. "Communication on defense is harder than communication on offense," says Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who has had success against Manning's offenses. "On offense, communication all comes from one central point, the quarterback. If he says 'Red 88,' theoretically, everybody can run Red 88. On defense, you've got three different levels. Sometimes those (defensive) audibles are a lot harder to hear, and for all 11 guys it can be tougher on the communication end. If you can do it, it's good, and when you go into a game like that (against the Colts), everybody is expecting it. But if you're going into a game where you're not expecting that, and your players aren't geared for it, it's not as easy."

The Colts also can prevent defenses from getting the last move with quick counts. Coach Tony Dungy says the plan is to use more quick counts this year, and the Colts tried it against Tennessee, forcing the Titans to take an unwanted timeout in the third quarter. Getting a defender caught slightly out of position at the snap because he's messing around with a disguise as he's trying to cover someone such as wide receiver Marvin Harrison can be a terrific advantage for the Colts.

Amount of water the Colts take on because of defenses getting the last move: a bucket here or there.

THE COMPLAINT

Defenses are stealing the signals!

The Colts don't seem very concerned about defenses intercepting signals. Dungy says they don't change signals often. "I don't give defenses too much credit," he says. "When people tell us another team is going to do this or that on offense, our guys have enough trouble getting in the defensive huddle and figuring out what we're going to do. It doesn't always help to think you know something the offense is going to do. It still comes down to lining up and playing."

But in his book Won For All, which was about New England's 2001 Super Bowl season, Patriots linebackers coach Pepper Johnson says one reason the Patriots owned the Colts is the Patriots were stealing Manning's signals. Johnson wrote that Manning "tips some of the things he's going to do.... All Manning's audibles, checks and bluffs didn't matter. He was really hindering himself more than us."

Johnson explained that Bryan Cox, a smart, veteran linebacker on that team, gave the Patriots an edge. Cox, now an analyst on ESPN, says he used to listen through the first half to figure out the "hot" color in Manning's call, which would precede a live audible. By the second half, he knew it and tipped off his teammates that Manning was changing plays whenever he heard the color. Cox also said Manning's body language gave away secrets.

"I can't say I knew what he was changing to, but I knew when it was live or fake," Cox says. "When he was real animated, it was always fake. He wanted the defense to think it was a pass when it was really a run. He was trying to get the defensive backs to think he was coming up with a pick play or something. When he walked down the line and quietly gave his signals, that's when it was a check."

Amount of water the Colts take on because of defenses stealing signals: enough to have to change the carpeting occasionally.

THE COMPLAINT

The offense is allowing itself to be controlled by defenses!

Many offensive coaches prefer to force defenses to react to them, as opposed to coming up with a play that is a reaction to a front or coverage a defense is showing.

"If you do a good deal of checking like the Colts, they understand what they're doing," says Rams coach Mike Martz, who hardly ever has audibles in his game plans. "But you can't dabble in that stuff. When you rely on audibling, the defense is taking control of the game, and you're losing the pace of it offensively. It slows the tempo down. If there's something a defense does do against a particular play that makes the play no good, then you don't run the play. You throw it out of the game plan"

An offensive system such as Moore's also limits the amount of shifting and motioning a team can do. "You don't have any time to do it," Martz says. "You can have guys line up right, then you get a check, and then you're misaligned."

Reacting to the defensive look benefited the Colts on Sunday as Manning's audibles contributed significantly to Edgerrin James' 120 rushing yards. More than once, Manning came to the line and recognized the Titans were playing a "Bear" or "46" front, with cover 2 behind it. "They're trying to make you check to pass, but they're playing coverage," Manning says. "We were recognizing that, and getting into some runs. It's a great answer to that." The Titans then were forced to honor the run with a safety in the box and play man-to-man pass defense, and Manning subsequently was able to connect on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Harrison and a 42-yard pass to tight end Dallas Clark.

Because the Colts can be more reactive at the line than any other team in the league, they probably take fewer risks than most teams. "The smart defenses like the Eagles, Bucs and Titans, they do a great job with their disguises:' Manning says. "You say, 'I think he's going to come down, but I'm not sure, so maybe just run something I know is safe.' More than trying to get to the perfect play, you're trying to eliminate bad plays?'

Though this might deny the Colts an occasional big play, it denies their opponents big plays more frequently. Since he came into the league, Manning has been sacked on 3.7 percent of his pass plays, according to STATS Inc. The only active quarterback with a lower percentage over that period is Jim Miller (3.6). It also should be noted that Manning has been the NFL's second-most durable quarterback to Brett Favre, starting every game (82) of his career.

The reason isn't that Manning has the feet of an Irish dancer, or that he's playing behind an impenetrable offensive line. In fact, the Colts haven't had a single Pro Bowl lineman in Manning's career. The reason is that Manning sees blitzes coming before the snap and checks out of plays that will get him splattered.

The Colts' system also discourages opponents from devising risky game plans. So in a roundabout way, even a reactive offense forces the defense to play its game. "The Colts do a lot, so what you have to do is be real sound at what you do," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says. "They're always going to adjust and move. Defensively, you have to understand that and pick your shots and know how exact you have to be. I've tried to limit what we do playing against them."

Amount of water the Culls take on because of being controlled by defenses: about as much as you'd find on the tuff of the RCA Dome after a rainstorm.

The RANGE of audibles

To what extent does each team change plays at the line? To find the answer, we asked our team correspondents, "Which of the following best describes your team's general approach to allowing its quarterback to call audibles?" The results:

Almost never happens. The offense runs the play that's called on the sideline, with rare exceptions.

Teams (2): Dallas, St. Louis.

The team doesn't encourage its quarterback to audible, but he is allowed to if necessary, and it might happen once or twice a game.

Teams (10): Baltimore, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Jacksonville, N.Y. Giants, N.Y. Jets, Philadelphia, San Diego.

The team is comfortable with its quarterback calling audibles, and he might do so six or more times in a game.

Teams (19): Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Cleveland, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Minnesota, New England, New Orleans, Oakland, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington.

Audibles are a huge part of the offense. It's unusual when the quarterback doesn't select the play at the line.

Teams (1): Indianapolis.

E-mail senior writer Dan Pompei at dpompei@sportingnews.com.

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