Stop with the delusional thoughts of Peyton Manning donning the Silver & Black.

I’ve received several tweets and noticed quite a few fans desiring to have the hall of fame bound passer on the Oakland Raiders. Let me just say that, A) what could Oakland possibly give to Indianapolis to acquire such a talent? B) How could the Raiders make this work with Carson Palmer already on the roster and no wiggle room under the cap to improve a team that has many holes?

Plain and simple… it’s a pipe dream.

Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen gave enough indicators that all is well in Raider-land at the quarterback spot and that both are on the same page with Palmer.

“Carson Palmer is extremely excited about what we have going here,” Dennis Allen said. “He’s looking forward to the future and he’s excited about the opportunities here.”

“[Carson is] excited, and we’re excited for him,” McKenzie stated on Monday.

Yes, this regime inherited Palmer, and it left them with a light upcoming draft-class.

But what they have is a passer that will make loads of money and showed flashes of his Pro-Bowl past right out of semi-retirement, with no training camp or the valuable time needed to learn his teammates and playbook. Not to mention that he had no Darren McFadden when he took 100% of his snaps in 2011.

Oakland has greater issues.

Before they could even entertain the thought of bringing in Manning (something they aren’t), Oakland has to think about the monetary commitment that would take. Palmer earned $2.5 million in 2011 and has $12.5 million with $5 million guaranteed in 2012, $13 million in 2013 and $15 million in 2014 remaining on his contract.

And lets say they part ways with that expensive contract, why could they afford Manning?

The Colts have a deadline on March 8 to pay Manning $28 million. If they don’t pick up that option, which is likely, as they want to rebuild and start over with Andrew Luck, then he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

So any team trading for him would have to compensate the Colts. It may not be much if that contract is picked-up, but that sort of compensation are picks and players the Raiders cannot afford to give up, nor could they absorb due to Manning’s big cap hit, or Palmer’s sizeable deal.

If Manning is a free agent, believe me, Oakland would not be a destination of choice for the passer.

Why would it? Especially when teams such as the 49ers or Jets, who are playoff ready, on the forefront of that pursuit —  places that offer better chances at one last Super Bowl run in his final years as a pro.

Maybe, if the Palmer deal never happened and Oakland just had Terrelle Pryor under contract, then speculation would have been more feasible.

That would have left Oakland with important selections they could use as bait, a true need for a quarterback and not have Palmer’s deal on the books for the coming years.

The facts are… Palmer is under contract, Oakland has other free-agent issues that are more pressing that they need to address if they want to field a competitive team in 2012 and a new regime that wants to do it the right way.

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“The only way to do it is not to tell anybody,” said Manning of the 27-yard gain. “If you tell people they don’t block the same, and as hard, and it has more of an influence on the defense.”

“If I wanted to score, I would have scored,” the Indianapolis Colts passer said, going down to the turf to eat up the remaining seconds of their 31-26 win.

As for the Raiders, well, it was all admiration after the game, watching a master at work.

“He checks out on a lot of stuff. A mean a lot of stuff,” said Tommy Kelly.

“There’s not a quarterback I’ve played against that controls the game the way he does. He basically handles every situation and he’s a coordinator on the fly,” commented Nnamdi Asomugha, who had a solid game against Reggie Wayne.

Wayne’s lone catch versus the best cornerback in the NFL was for 14-yards on a screen that was blocked and executed perfectly. Asomugha has only 10 receptions competed on him for 156 yards and no touchdowns (27 attempts).

Jacoby Ford continued his magnificent rookie campaign, opening the contest with a 99-yard score on the opening kickoff. “When I get to the kicker I pretty much know I’ll get to the end zone every time,” Ford stated.

He was one of the few sparks on a dreary offensive afternoon, as Oakland leaned on solid special teams to stay in the contest.

The offense was abysmal, not sustaining drives, getting their first 1^st down in the second quarter and reaching the red-zone in the fourth quarter.

“That’s a heck of a running team. They do a good job; big strong offensive linemen, backs that can certainly run. Our guys did a nice job overall. They had six three and out, one four an out, weathered the storm, showed some poise,” Jim Caldwell after the game about the Raiders offense and the job his defense did.

Oakland did come within a score late and had a chance at an onsides kick. But the reality sunk when the Colts recovered and Manning orchestrated another game closing drive.

Another cold reality was that there would be no playoffs for the Silver & Black. The Kansas City Chiefs earned their divisional title by taking care of business at home and setting up a meaningless game next week at Arrowhead.

“It’s just tough because all through training camp, we knew that we had a team that could win the (AFC) West, make the playoffs and compete,” Michael Huff was quoted after the game. “I guess we’re not going to get the chance.”

“6-0 in our division. Shoot, I would think we’re going to win by 10 games. But it hasn’t worked out that way. It’s a learning experience. We can’t let it happen again. We can’t go undefeated in our division and let games like Arizona slip away. We got to have those,” said Kelly, who may have been forecasting a win next week, or confused, because the Raiders are actually only 5-0 within the West.

“Yeah, teams have built off of [numerous] years,” Asomugha said. “You want everything in one year. Obviously, we wanted it in one year. We wanted it right now but, I guess, this is kind of a reality check that you can build to something better in the future.”

What was inexcusable was the amount of touches, or lack thereof for Darren McFadden. Coming into the game, the Colts ranked 32^nd on offense running the football and 28^th stopping the run. Yet the out-gained the Raiders 191-80.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

QUARTERBACK

Jason Campbell’s first half statistics were respectable; 12-of-17 for 87-yards. But the offensive output for the team was horrendous. Zach Miller dropped a potential 1^st down on a 3^rd and 4, Campbell’s arm was hit as he released the football by Robert Mathis on a 3^rd and 9 and was pressured on another 3^rd and 9 when Jared Veldheer was beaten by Dwight Freeney. One of his best passes was a 10-yard strike to Louis Murphy on 3^rd and 6 in the 2^nd quarter and a 9-yard conversion to Chaz Schilens on a 3^rd and 5 on the same drive. Oakland was able to take a 13-10 lead four plays later on a field goal. He orchestrated a controlled right before halftime, spiking the ball with one-second remaining to give the Raiders another shot at a score. One of the few questionable decisions he had was on 3^rd and 9 in the fourth quarter, when he attempted to hits his tight end on a pass thrown behind him, instead of running for more yardage.

RUNNING BACKS/FULLBACK: C

The coaching and offensive line directly affected their lack of production. The speed of the Colts front-seven prevented big plays on screens and sweeps. Michael Bush had a 15-yard gain during the scoring drive in which the Raiders tied it at 10 and Oakland took the lead 13-10 on the strength of Darren McFadden’s 26-yard scamper to start that possession. McFadden only had six carries for 33-yards at halftime, not enough touches for the MVP of the team. Marcel Reece was ineffective, and his holding infraction negated a Bush 16-yard gain. McFadden ended with 45-yards rushing and 31-yards receiving.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: D

Chaz Schilens tallied his first two catches of the season for 16-yards. Darrius Heyward-Bey has some miscommunication with Campbell on a hitch on 2^nd and 9 in the 1^st quarter, but hauled in a nine yard pass to start their first drive in the 2^nd quarter. He almost broke away from a defender after getting his legs cut out from underneath him on a 11-yard catch. Jacoby Ford had two-catches, his best a 17-yarder early in the 4^th quarter during a drive that the Raiders cut into the Indianapolis lead to 24-19. Murphy had 36-yards on two receptions. Zach Miller’s score with 1:51 left in the game brought Oakland within 31-26. The tight end ended with nine catches for 66-yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: D

Oakland had 60-yards rushing at the half and 80 at the end of the contest. Langston Walker was inactive and replaced by Mario Henderson at right tackle. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis combined for 2.5 sacks and made Campbell’s day unsteady in the pocket. Robert Gallery saved his passer in the 1^st quarter, fending of Freeney after Veldheer was blown away at the line of scrimmage. Veldheer was flagged for a hold and false start on the same drive in the 4^th quarter.

DEFENSIVE LINE: F

No Richard Seymour meant a shuffling along the trenches for the Silver & Black. Lamarr Houston played all over the interior of the defense, but was overpowered at times and was thoughtless with his unnecessary roughness penalty that aided a Colts scoring drive right before halftime that gave them a 17-13 lead. His actions will likely land him a fine, as tempers flared on the next play when Ryan Diem retaliated and caused a scuffle. Kamerion Wimbley saw action at defensive end, but was ineffective and neutralized during runs. Oakland could not near Peyton Manning and rarely put him in frantic situations. John Henderson had his moments with nine solo tackles and one pass defended. The Colts out gained the Raiders 191-80 on the ground in Dominic Rhodes’ [98-yards rushing] return to Oakland and Joseph Addai’s [45-yards] first action since week-six. “There’s no magic to it,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “We’re running the same plays, running the same defense. We were just playing what we do, and doing it a little better.”

LINEBACKERS: D

This group had their problems with crossing routes and was trailing a few times in coverage. Even though Manning only had 179-yards passing, the linebackers did very little to make their presence felt. Roland McClain was running with Jacob Tamme during Michael Huff’s interception.

SECONDARY: B

Stanford Routt had a tough drive late in the 3^rd quarter, flagged for pass interference and beaten by Blair White for a score, which increased the Colts lead to 24-16. Chris Johnson was Manning’a bull’s-eye a lot of the afternoon, but the cornerback demonstrated great hand-eye coordination intercepting a slant that was tipped by Rolando McClain and bobbled before the pick. He almost had another interception earlier in the contest, but Pierre Garcon broke up the pass as Johnson put his hands in on it. Johnson did get flagged for pass interference on 3^rd and 17 before the half, when Manning and Tamme torched Tyvon Branch in coverage for a 18-yard score. Nnamdi Asomugha won the majority of his match-ups versus Reggie Wayne. “There’s not a quarterback that I’ve played against that controls the game the way that he does, and handles every situation and is basically the coordinator on the fly,” Asomugha said of Manning.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

This group kept the Raiders alive for most of the contest. Jacoby Ford’s 99-yard kickoff return for a score to open the game was electric. After Shane Lechler’s first attempt, which had little power behind it, the ailing punter bombed five kicks, one for 63-yards which was covered instantly by Hiram Eugene and Rock Cartwright. Stevie Brown recorded another stuff during punt coverage and Cartwright forced a holding penalty after bolting through the line of scrimmage and almost getting to the Pat McAfee. Sebastian Janikowski nailed a 59-yard field goal attempt (2^nd longest in team history) and booted three other attempts from 38, 51 and 45-yards.

COACHING: D

Tom Cable coached loose when he sent Janikowski out for a 59-yard field goal attempt down 10-7 early in the game. But the team showed little life after that on offense and was kept in it because of an opportunistic special team. There are no excuses for getting out-rushed by a team that ranks 32^nd on offense running the football and 28^th stopping the run. McFadden did not get enough touches, the offense did not get its first 1^st down till the 2^nd quarter and did not reach the red-zone till the 4^th quarter. Too many three and outs, not enough sustained drives and eventually, the Colts will get to you. Manning toyed with the Raiders at the end of the contest, getting Branch to declare the defense’s intentions and then calling an audible that led to a Garcon score to give them a 31-19 lead before calling a bootleg that netted 27-yards to end the contest. Oakland fought hard till late, but they were listless for most of the game. You have to wonder if being eliminated from any post-season positioning due to Kansas City’s 34-14 romp over the Titans effected their disposition. “The guys were trying not to pay attention to it,” Jason Campbell said. “We were just really trying to focus on our game. That’s the situation you’re in when you have to count on other teams. It’s a tough situation to be in.”

GAME NOTES

• In back-to-back weeks, the Colts stuffed Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden, and teams with top ranked ground attacks. [67 yards vs. Jacksonville & 80 yards vs. Oakland]
• Colts are one win away from clinching the AFC South title for their ninth straight playoff berth.
• Oakland had 10 penalties for 116-yards. The Raiders were also 4-15 on 3^rd downs.
• Ford joins Ike Thomas of the 1971 Cowboys as the only players in NFL history to take the opening kickoff back for a TD twice in the same season. Ford did it November 28 versus the Dolphins and today versus the Colts. He is the only Raider to return opening kickoffs for a score in team history.
• “That’s a heck of a running team. They do a good job; big strong offensive linemen, backs that can certainly run. Our guys did a nice job overall. They had six three and out, one four an out, weathered the storm, showed some poise,” Jim Caldwell after the game about the Raiders offense and the job his defense did.
• “All we did was win today,” Manning said about the Colts playoff hopes. “We have to find a way to win again next week.”
• Manning tied former Raiders OL Gene Upshaw for the most consecutive starts to begin a career with 207.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Quentin Groves

Tommy Kelly

OAKLAND, CA — The Oakland Raiders may have been officially eliminated with the earlier Kansas City Chiefs’ 31-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, but that hasn’t stopped the Raiders from coming out on special teams and looking like a team who has something to play for. Right out of the gate, Raiders’ rookie sensation Jacoby Ford ran back the game opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

Now up 7-0, the Raider defense also showed that they too were up to the task at the beginning of the contest by stopping the perennial great Peyton Manning when they forced the Colts to go three-and-out on Manning’s initial drive. Likewise, the Oakland offense, which had shown great inconsistency throughout today’s game, was shut down as well on their first drive from scrimmage. In fact, Oakland gave up back-to-back three-and-out drives to start their offensive game.

Peyton Manning would however bounce back from his previous two failed drives and follow it up with a brilliant 57-yard slice and dice of a drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by RB Joseph Addai to even up the score 7-7.

It wouldn’t be until Oakland’s third drive did QB Jason Campbell complete his first pass of the game; a 1-yard dump off to RB Darren McFadden. Campbell would complete only 1-for-3 in pass attempts, but leads the game with 3 three-and-outs at this point in the first half. I’m sure that did little to endear the defense as they had to come back into the game after another very short breather after another punt.

Manning, again with enough time to bake a cake, was allowed to carve up and confuse a Raider defense that at times seemed powerless to stop the Indy offense, but was able to prevent them getting in the endzone and hold the Colts to a field goal; making the score 10-7 Indy.

Oakland’s offense would get of the schneid and gain their first first down of the game to help extend their drive. In fact, the Raiders gained two first downs in this drive; a 1-yd run by RB Marcel Reece and a 17-yd run by RB Michael Bush. Those two drive savers would be key in the 9-play, 34-yard offensive drive because it allowed coach Tom Cable to elect to kick a field from 59 yards on 4th down. The gamble would pay off as K Sebastian Janikowski would blast one from 59-yards out that squeaked it’s way inside the left upright to tie the game at 10-10. After a defensive stop by Oakland, the Raiders offense continued to look much better than it did in the first as they would once again get into Janikowski field goal range. Jano would make the attempt to put the Raiders ahead 13-10.

However, the Colts would be left with too much time on the clock, and Peyton would make the most of it by marching his offense 88 yards in 1:19 for a touchdown and reclaimed the lead with a score of 17-13. With a precious few ticks on the clock, the Raiders could mount nothing heading into the locker room to end the first half.

Oakland’s defense caught a break when safety Michael Huff intercepted a Peyton Manning pass, but due to the lack of any real consistency by the Raider offense, Oakland would be forced to punt yet again. To the Raiders credit, the defense held and kept Oakland in the game and gave its offense an opportunity to live up to their side of the bargain. The best they could come away with would be a field goal to get them closer to the Colts and reduce the deficit to 1-point in a 16-17 game.

Peyton Manning would put on another clinic when he consistently picked on Raider cornerback Stanford Routt. One such attack count for a touchdown as the Colt lead would extend to 24-16. During the 4th quarter, Oakland had an opportunity to get back into the game when a Peyton Manning pass would get tipped by Raider LB Rolando McClain, picked off by CB Chris Johnson, fumbled and recovered by safety Mike Mitchell. But once again, because of very little offensive production, the only scoring came on the leg of kicker Sebastian Janikowski as he successfully booted a field goal to make the score 19-24 and make it a one score game.

Later in the 4th quarter, Peyton Manning continued to shine but this time, picking on Raider cornerback Chris Johnson who failed to turn around until after the receiver had caught the ball in the endzone. The Colts would now make it a 31-19 affair.

Oakland would show some life when Oakland generated a 12 play, 80-yard drive culminating in a 6-yard touchdown reception by TE Zach Miller to get them back to a one score game (26-31). The Raiders attempted an onside kick that was nullified because Indy called a time out just before the kick. But because Janikowski was already in his motion and kicked it anyway, the Colts got to see where the Raiders were going to kick the ball. After the timeout, Oakland kicked the ball exactly where they kicked it a moment ago, but was recovered by the Colts. The last ray of hope rested on the Raiders’ defense on 3rd down and no time outs for Oakland when Manning ran a bootleg and ran untouched just short of the goal line when Manning downed the ball to end the play and keep the clock running. Peyton would have scored the touchdown, but he exercised a bit of class by opting not to score. The Colts would then kill the clock by kneeling to preserve their 31-26 lead to end the game.

Other Raiders not playing include: cornerbacks Walter McFadden and Jeremy Ware, linebacker Bruce Davis, guard Bruce Campbell, wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins and tackle Langston Walker.

Starting cornerback Kelvin Hayden and linebacker Clint Session will be out for the Colts. Joseph Addai is active, as reserve rusher Mike Hart is out.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

The Colts trailed 14-13 after Justin Fargas’ 2-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter. Fargas ran for 89-yards on 26-carries, while former Colt Dominic Rhodes added another 41-yards on the ground.

Peyton Manning, who connected with Anthony Gonzalez with 4:49 remaining, to give Indianapolis a 21-14 lead, eventually foiled Oakland. That drive, the hall of fame bound  passer completed all seven of his tosses, including a 3^rd and 3 conversion to Reggie Wayne, working against Nnamdi Asomugha, for 19-yards and orchestrated a 11-play 91-yard game winning drive. With Marvin Harrison out, Gonzalez tallied 86-yards receiving and Wayne had to pull off a stellar one-handed snag against Asomugha to keep the vital drive alive late in the contest.

Manning was 22/39 for 276-yards for one score and one interception. “It’s one of those drives that you just do at the right time,” Manning said. “Part of it kind of makes you wish we could have done that earlier in the game and not have to rely on that, but it’s always nice to know that you’re capable of doing it — starting on our own 9, backed up, and a hostile crowd. It feels good to be able to get that touchdown.”

The Raiders dropped to 4-10 in the season, their fifth straight losing campaign at that point. “We’re too far along to feel good because we played the world champs down on the 14-yard line to win the game,” then coach Lane Kiffin said. “Who cares? We lost. We got to start winning these games. Some day we’ll be that team that makes the plays and finishes people off like that.”

“They played a style of defense that we don’t always see – we like to see it – but they played man coverage and just teed off and rushed,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said of the Raiders. “The looks that they were giving us determined that we should throw the ball. They had a good rush, especially in the middle part of the game.”

Here are images from that contest from the SBReport.net archives:

Gerrard Warren (61) had 5-tackles and a sack versus the Colts.

Jerry Porter (84) making a move on Marlin Jackson.

Dominic Rhodes (33) ran tough versus his ex-mates.

Ronald Curry (89) got into the end-zone versus the Colts.

Both sides shared a post-game prayer.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

OAKLAND RAIDERS

On Offense:

Daren McFadden pushed his rush tally to 1,112-yards for the season last weekend, for his first 1,000-yard campaign in his career. It took him awhile to get going since being drafted in the first round, but the tough runner has established himself as one of the league’s most versatile threats. And teammates marvel at his prowess.

“He’s so fast,” said guard Robert Gallery, “that when he gets in the open field, he’s gone. So you just get on somebody, give him a little crease, not make it look cloudy for him. He does the rest.”

What to Expect:

Raiders want to punish the Colts with their ground attack. Indianapolis is allowing 135.8 yards per game. Jim Caldwell acknowledges McFadden’s superior talents and sees how he spearheads anything Oakland does on offense, “He is averaging 5.2 yards a carry, so that tells you right then and there that there are a lot of big runs in there, and he is one of those guys that he can wiggle you, but he’s got power, he’s got unbelievable speed. So if you give him a crack, you are going to have some difficulty.”

On Defense:

Richard Seymour was not at practice Wednesday because of a hamstring injury. Nnamdi Asomugha will have nagging ankle pain and restrictive mobility on it the rest of the season. Yet Oakland feels confident they can slow Peyton Manning’s attack.

One reason is because of the play of defensive tackle Tommy Kelly. The 30-year old is having a career season, leading all AFC tackles in sacks (7.0) and earning every bit of that large contract he landed a few years back.

“He’s playing very well,” defensive line coach Mike Waufle has stated. “I’m happy with him. We’re all happy for him.”

What to Expect:

Asomugha versus Reggie Wayne would be a major sub-plot during a contest like this. But the cornerback is hindered, so assigning who will cover Wayne and the productive Pierre Garcon will be imperative. The linebackers will have to clog up passing lanes, the front four has to find ways to generate a rush and the defensive backfield has to make sure the big plays are cut to a minimum.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

On Offense:

Peyton Manning leads the NFL in passing yards (4,257) and completions (407). While tied for third most touchdown passes (28). Reggie Wayne is third in the NFL in receiving yards (1,247) and second in receptions (99).

But Oakland has to watch out for Donald Brown, who posted his first career 100-plus-yard rushing game last weekend versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brown tallied 129-yards and one touchdown, and Caldwell wants to continue to control the line of scrimmage on offense to keep his defense on the sideline versus a powerful Raider rush attack.

What to Expect:

The Colts want to build an early lead in order to take Oakland out of their game plan. Manning will not have Austin Collie to dink-and-dunk from the slot against the Raiders nickel and dime packages, but Garcon can do the job adequately. Establishing Brown is imperative. A shoot-out may not be the best thing for Indianapolis against a Raider team that likes to turn up the blitz and can put up a flurry of points.

On Defense:

“He challenged both the interior fronts on both sides of the ball, for us to run the ball and for our defense to stop the run. Both answered the bell. Both answered the challenge,” Manning said of Caldwell’s pleads to the team.

The Jaguars’ Maurice Jones-Drew was held to just 46 yards on 15 carries. Jones-Drew had gone over 100 yards in six straight games.

Oakland has to worry about Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis; their ability to rush the passer and how Jared Veldheer will do against a productive duo. “These are the two best, on the same team, in the NFL,” Cable said. “You’ve got to have a plan all the time.”

What to Expect:

“He’s done a decent job,” Freeney said of Veldheer. “He hasn’t done an overly great job. … He’s hung in there.” The Colts could form their attacks on the left side of the formation to rattle the rookie. But that won’t matter if they cannot duplicate their effort from last weekend versus the run.

GAME NOTES

• Peyton Manning is 2-2 with nine touchdowns and six interceptions against the Raiders. This Sunday will mark his second trip to Oakland; the Colts won 21-14 in 2007 in the last meeting.
• “You sit around and think, ‘God what if we’d done that or that,’” Cable said of the team’s playoff hopes. “But you can’t. At some point you have to stop and say, ‘This is reality, this is where we’re at and this is what we control.’”
• The Colts own the NFL’s best regular-season record (136-54) since the start of the 1999 season, while being the only team to earn 10 playoff appearances in the last eleven seasons, including a league-best eight consecutive post-season berths.
• The Colts and Raiders have met eleven times in league play, with Oakland owning a 7-4 series edge. The teams have split two post-season meetings.
• Jason Campbell is 4-0 as a starter at home in 2010.
• The Raiders are tied for tops in the league with 17-rushing scores.

PREDICTION

Raiders 26 – Colts 24

GAME INFO

Sunday, December 26, 2010 4:05 p.m. ET | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA

Road Team: Indianapolis Colts (8-6) Home: 5-2 Road: 3-4

Home Team: Oakland Raiders (7-7) Home: 5-2 Road: 2-5

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Raiders Head Coach addresses the media following today’s practice and spoke about not even worrying about what the Chiefs do. He is focusing solely on the visiting Colts’ Peyton Manning and their pass rush.

Punter Shane Lechler and defensive lineman Richard Seymour will be questionable with hamstring injuries. Both could be held out of practice the next few days to ensure they will be ready for Sunday. In the meantime, Oakland could bring in a punter to handle duties during prep work.

This week, Oakland will prepare for Peyton Manning, and Tom Cable spoke about that on Monday, stating: “It’s a challenge, no question. But we’re a challenge for him, too. We have to look at it that way. As long as we play the way we’re capable of playing I think it will be a heck of a game.’’

The Colts’ questionable rush defense took a major step forward slowing down the Jaguars this past Sunday. Now, they face the Raiders 2^nd ranked ground game.

“Those were our two challenges. Coach [Jim]Caldwell made that challenge to us [last] Monday,” said Manning. “He challenged both the interior fronts on both sides of the ball, for us to run the ball and for our defense to stop the run. Both answered the bell. Both answered the challenge.”

Second year rusher Donald Brown rushed for a career-high 129 yards and scored a touchdown, while the Colts held the Jaguars’ Maurice Jones-Drew to just 46 yards on 15 carries. Jones-Drew had gone over 100 yards in six straight games and Jacksonville ran for 234 yards versus the Raiders.

“It is all about Oakland this week,” said Manning. “You can take a step back and you feel like these last two wins don’t mean as much. Hopefully we can feed off of a little momentum of two wins in a row and play well on the road. But we know we will have our hands full going out there. At Oakland is a tough place to play against a good football team.”

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist