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The way Jimmy Spencer sees it, the Denver Broncos simply gave Peyton Manning a little taste of his own medicine.
For so long, Spencer and his teammates had watched Indianapolis' cerebral quarterback
step to the line with the intent to confound and confuse.
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"Sometimes he checks (off). Sometimes he has dummy calls," the Broncos player-coach said Monday of all the commotion before a Colts snap.
"We pretty much did the same thing (with our defense). We checked. We did
dummy calls, too."
The result left the Colts smarting from a 31-17 loss Dec. 21 at the RCA Dome.
Round 2 is Sunday, though the stakes will be much higher in an AFC wild-card
game (2:30 MST, CBS 4).
The question is whether Denver's defense can have similar success against such
a high-powered offense.
Even defensive coordinator Larry Coyer couldn't say for sure, but the Broncos
at least have a blueprint for slowing the Colts.
First, players and coaches say, the biggest key will be keeping Manning and
Co. off the field.
In the teams' first meeting, the Colts ran only 37 offensive plays - less than
half their normal number.
They held the ball for only 15 minutes, 2 seconds - nearly 30 minutes less than
the Broncos that night.
"There was no magic in that game," Coyer said Monday. "Our guys
played hard, and we got off the field on third down."
The Colts converted only two of nine third-down opportunities.
The second key for Denver was disguising its defensive looks - a big part of
Coyer's philosophy.
"When you know what type of quarterback you have back there, someone who's
smart, who reads defenses and knows when to throw the ball, you've got to show
everything to him at the last second," defensive end Reggie Hayward said.
"That's the only way you're going to keep him on his toes."
Though all teams aim to do that against quarterbacks such as Manning, Hayward
said the Broncos took it to extremes and executed the plan effectively.
"We'd hold our defenses as long as possible until he hiked the ball,"
Hayward said, "and then it was a scramble to get to where you wanted to
get."
Hayward said it was easier in practice when players could walk through the movements.
"In the game, you don't know when (he's) going to hike the ball, how fast
they're going to go. It's difficult to make a whole bunch of shifts, then get
back to your spot before they hike the ball," Hayward said.
While confusing at times even for Denver's players, "when it was game time,"
Hayward said, "we were ready for it."
Manning wasn't.
He admitted Indy's scant time of possession, coupled with the Broncos' confusing
defenses, made for a tough combination.
"We never could get our offense out there in rhythm in the first half,"
Manning said after the loss. "They threw a lot of blitzes at us and different
things, and we didn't have the ball enough to decipher it. I think their offense
did a great job of controlling the tempo of the game."
Colts running back Edgerrin James, who carried only 10 times for 42 yards, said
frustration set in because the offense spent so much time on the sideline.
"It was one of those days," James said. "That's rare, but they
got us with it."
How long would it have taken Manning to figure out Denver's scheme had he been
on the field more?
Hayward's guess: by the end of the second quarter.
Coyer's guess: even earlier.
"After a couple of series, (Manning) had a bead on what was going on,"
Coyer said. "We scurried and made some plays."
The third key, Coyer said, was a solid pass rush.
Denver sacked Manning only twice but pressured him often with a consistent pass
rush.
Houston was unable to do that Sunday, Coyer said, and the Colts rallied for
a victory.
"As Houston's pass rush grew less and less, (Manning's) gashing them, marching
(the Colts) down the field," Coyer said.
Denver can't afford for that to happen Sunday.
"We're going to have some things for this guy," Coyer said, "and
I'm sure they'll have some things for us."
Broncos players, even those who have not appeared in a playoff game, say they're
ready.
"It will be tough, but at the same time, we know what we can do,"
said second-year cornerback Lenny Walls, who did a good job defending Marvin
Harrison, the Colts' Pro Bowl receiver, two weeks ago. "We've done it once,
and we know that we can do it again.
"It's a confidence builder, but at the same time, we respect these guys
a lot and I believe they will bring the best out of us."