He was hit while throwing on the first two interceptions, which altered the ball, and the third his receiver was pulled down from behind. I don't understand how those interceptions are a referendum on his decision making. He's not throwing the ball as he's being taken to the ground. The contact is simultaneous with his release.
As for Dallas Clark and the run game, it's simple. In Clark's case, the offense relies on him to play a role and attract attention, but his replacement has played well in a similar role. Tamme doesn't get as much attention as Clark, but that's okay because that reduced attention translates into passes caught for him. Look at Clark's production before he got hurt this season: He was getting doubled and tripled every down, and as a result, wasn't putting up numbers. That's fine, because he was opening the field up for guys like Austin Collie, who was on pace for a monster season before he got hurt. But when Tamme stepped in, he did nothing but get open and catch everything thrown his way. In fact, he was getting open faster than Clark because he wasn't getting as much attention. He's slowed down the past couple of weeks, but bottom line is the passing game is not hurting because Clark isn't there. Sure they'd love to have him on the field, but they can survive just fine without him.
And the running game... it's important to understand that the Colts run game has been substandard since 2008. Two and a half years now. They won 14 games last year with a poor run game. Everyone knows that Manning wants to throw the ball; he's thrown the ball 35 times a game for the past two seasons. That number is higher this season, but partly because they've been behind late in games, and partly because of the injuries to the running backs. But bottom line is that they've been one-dimensional for a long time already. The key is that, if you have to pass, you need to be able to pass protect. The Colts offensive line was completely ineffective at protecting the quarterback last night.
And then, when the passes were coming out on time and on target, receivers were dropping them, slowing down on go routes, and getting tackled while the ball was in the air. I can't put those interceptions on Manning, sorry.
Go back to last week, and sure, all three of them were his fault alone. Especially the last one. Wanna talk about decision making? Don't throw risky passes when you're down three on the road and in field goal range. Horrible decision making there. But last night wasn't the result of poor decision making or bad throws. It was simply the result of poor protection and a horrible missed call.
