Vorstellung » two interceptions, one of which was ret

INDIANAPOLIS - Mike Adams spent his first 10 NFL seasons developing his own perception of the Colts.He bought into the theory that Indianapolis needed a high-scoring offence to win games. He also realized the Colts needed a better defence to win championships.Now, the Colts starting strong safety and his teammates want to show the rest of the league image isnt everything.Were good enough to win, and thats what you need to do at this point in the season. Stats dont matter, Adams said Monday. But to win games like this, at Denver, our defence has to step up.The defence has done that before.During their 2006 title run, Indy held Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson to 32 yards on 13 carries in a wild-card round win, limited Baltimore to two field goals in a divisional-round win, closed out the AFC championship game victory with Marlin Jacksons interception and sealed their previous Super Bowl win with a 56-yard interception return from Kelvin Hayden. All that came after the Colts had allowed 375 yards rushing in a Week 14 loss to Jacksonville.Could it happen again? Perhaps.Since allowing 244 yards rushing in Week 11, the Colts have buckled down.When Andrew Luck and the offence were plagued by turnovers and a rash of drive-killing penalties over the final six regular-season games, the defence played well enough to help the Colts (12-5) win five of the six.When Luck protected the ball in Sundays 26-10 wild-card win over Cincinnati, the defence held up again. Indy limited Cincinnati to five first downs, 98 total yards and four straight three-and-outs in the second half.Sure, detractors will contend the Bengals top two receivers, A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham, were inactive because of injuries. But the Colts also limited the NFLs top rookie rusher, Jeremy Hill, to 47 yards on 13 carries. And after allowing a 23-yard end around on Cincinnatis first offensive play, the Bengals ran 20 more times for 87 yards.Defensive tackle Cory Redding liked what he saw Sunday, but he knows the Colts must play even better this weekend to survive against Peyton Manning at Denver (12-4).I think we did enough to do what we needed to do (against Cincinnati). We got the win, Redding said. So weve got to keep the same mojo, the same mindset this week.It was Mannings release in March 2012 that spurred a major change in the Colts plans.Team owner Jim Irsay, general manager Ryan Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano agreed that Indianapolis needed to be more than a point-scoring machine to be a contender. They invested in a bigger, more physical defence and stronger special teams.Three years later, that investment appears to be paying off.Kicker Adam Vinatieri and punter Pat McAfee are All-Pros, long snapper Matt Overton played in last years Pro Bowl and Indys coverage units were ranked among the leagues best this season.Adams, who played with the Broncos in 2013, shared the league lead with seven takeaways. Linebacker DQwell Jackson, who signed as a free agent last winter, led Indy with 111 tackles. Both are Pro Bowl alternates.Linebacker Jonathan Newsome finished with 6 1/2 sacks, the second-highest total among rookies.And over the past nine games, the Colts have allowed 4.2 yards per carry, matching the league average. Excluding Tennessees 142-yard performance in the regular-season finale, when the Colts subbed more freely than usual, and the number drops to 4.1.Meanwhile, Indy spent most of the season ranked in the top half of the league in pass defence and finished in the top 10 in sacks (41) — despite losing 2013 NFL sacks champion Robert Mathis for the entire season.Were getting there, defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois said when asked to compare this defence to the stout units he was with in San Francisco. There are a few things were still looking to improve. But I think were getting closer and closer, and I think well get above that standard this post-season.Perhaps just in time to change their reputation.Even though we love No. 12 (Luck), we dont want to put all that on his shoulders, Adams said. We want the defence to have an identity, we want the defence to go out there and make plays.Notes: The only significant injury from Sundays game, Pagano said, was to backup centre Jonotthan Harrison. He was diagnosed with a concussion after an extra point attempt and will go through the leagues protocol. ... Backup offensive lineman A.Q. Shipley (ankle) is expected to practice Wednesday after sitting out against Cincinnati. ... Right guard Hugh Thornton (shoulder) is still listed as week to week. ... Pagano also confirmed Colts offensive co-ordinator Pep Hamilton met with Oakland Raiders officials about their head coaching vacancy. Pagano said he was unaware of any other teams seeking permission to speak with Hamilton.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap San Francisco 49ers Gear . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. Cheap San Francisco 49ers Jerseys Online . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. http://www.cheap49ers.com/. -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A. Custom 49ers Jerseys . Best has been bothered by concussion problems and hasnt played since Oct. 16, when the Lions lost to San Francisco. After starting 5-0, Detroit has lost four of six, beginning with that game against the 49ers. San Francisco 49ers Jerseys China . With Bernard hurt, the second-round pick has emerged.Hill ran for 152 yards during a 27-10 win at New Orleans on Sunday, his second big game. He also ran for 154 yards against Jacksonville earlier this season.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- All those records, all for naught. Peyton Manning couldnt cap the greatest season any NFL quarterback ever had or secure his legacy as the best QB in history because his Denver Broncos came down with a case of the yips Sunday night. They lost to Seattle in the Super Bowl 43-8 by falling behind right from the start and never recovering. The bumbling Broncos trailed before Manning ever got his hands on the ball because Manny Ramirezs bad snap went for a safety 12 seconds into the game. "It was a crazy start," Manning said, "not the way you expect to start the game." It only got worse for the leagues most prolific point producers who scored 606 of em in the regular season, then dominated the AFC in the playoffs but mustered only Demaryius Thomas 14-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. "We couldnt get it to swing, man," left tackle Chris Clark said. "We tried, but they just played better than we did today. It didnt shift. We didnt play Broncos football today. When you got a good thing going, you want to finish it off and we didnt do that today." Dominated in every way, the Broncos (15-4) trudged through the tunnel trailing 22-0 at halftime, then watched Percy Harvin return the second-half kickoff for a TD. "Youve got to play well in this game to win it," said Broncos boss John Elway, who lost Super Bowls by scores of 39-20, 42-10 and 55-10 during his Hall of Fame playing career before winning his last two. Elway returned to rescue his beloved Broncos in 2011 after the franchise foundered and his biggest coup was luring Manning to Denver. Over his two seasons in Colorado, Manning engineered the greatest comeback in NFL history: recovering from neck fusion surgery that weakened his throwing arm to win his fifth MVP award this season when he set records by throwing for 55 TDs and 5,447 yards. But he couldnt match that with the greatest comeeback in Super Bowl history after falling behind 36-0.dddddddddddd "I will tell you this: its hard to get things turned around against a great defence like that," Elway said. "They are a great defence. So, thats why you cant afford to lose the momentum because to try to flip it on a great defence is always hard." This was easily Mannings worst day since trading the blue and white horseshoe of the Indianapolis Colts for the orange-mane mustang of Denver. He was sacked for the first time in the playoffs, threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, lost a fumble and turned it over on downs. The bumbling Broncos finally found the end zone when Thomas made a leaping, twisting grab of Mannings 14-yard pass -- his 100th TD toss for Denver. But he needed a lot more of those to keep up with the efficient Russell Wilson, who didnt commit any turnovers and kept plays alive with his legs and pinpoint passes. "They outplayed us in every facet," tight end Jacob Tamme said. Thomas caught 13 passes for 118 yards but he also had a fumble as Denver was driving in the third quarter. Denver was missing five defensive starters who are on IR that might have made this a fairer fight -- Von Miller, Rahim Moore, Kevin Vickerson, Derek Wolfe and Chris Harris Jr. "We just didnt play like were capable of," Elway said. "Its disappointing. But we had a great year. And hopefully well learn from this. But it started tough and we just couldnt seem to get it going. "Its one of those nights. We had a tremendous year and well hopefully learn from this and were going to go at it again next year." Terrance Knighton, who helped hold Marshawn Lynch to 2.6 yards a carry, was already looking forward to that. "Itll be the 2014 season before you know it," he said. "Itll sting for a little bit tonight and maybe for a few more days but well have to bounce back." 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