Manning Learning In School Of Hard Knocks

When Monday dawned, Manning, the Indianapolis Colts' rookie quarterback, was back at work. All body parts were functional.

A growing list of quarterbacks around the NFL couldn't share Manning's physical good fortune -- among them Dallas' Troy Aikman (fractured left collarbone), Minnesota's Brad Johnson (broken bone in his right ankle), Denver's John Elway (strained right hamstring), New Orleans' Billy Joe Hobert (torn Achilles' tendon) and Baltimore's Jim Harbaugh (finger injury).

Manning's only ailment was a slightly bruised ego. And that was self-inflicted.

In his second NFL start, Manning fueled the Patriots' 29-6 victory by fumbling deep in his own territory and throwing three interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown.

Manning's four turnovers led to 20 points, and his seven turnovers in two games have been converted into 34 points.

After his latest uneven start, Manning painstakingly watched the video and, again, found himself asking an unnerving question: Who was that guy spraying the field with interceptions?

"Sometimes you watch the film and say, 'That doesn't look like me out there,"' said Manning, who completed 21-of-33 passes for 188 yards.

"Like last week, you watch film and it's kind of hard to stomach. But you try to learn from it."

Throughout his illustrious career at the University of Tennessee, Manning built a reputation as a quarterback who took care of the football. He owns the NCAA record for lowest career interception percentage (33 on 1,381 attempts, 2.39 percent). In 45 starts, he had multiple-interception games seven times, only once in back-to-back games.

"That's what makes this even more frustrating," Manning said.

His frustrations are shared by anxious fans. A popular topic on talk radio Monday was whether the Colts would be better served to sit the top pick in the draft and let him catch his breath after a frenetic, faulty start.

That opinion was not shared by the Colts.

"If it ever got to the point where I felt it was detrimental to Peyton or the team to have him in there ... we would make a change," coach Jim Mora said. "But I have confidence he's going to be a special player in this league. You keep working with him."

"The only way for him to become the kind of quarterback we know he will become is to go out there and play," team president Bill Polian said on his Monday night radio show. "It doesn't do any good to sit him down. The idea of 'Give him a break' is just curbstone philosophy. It doesn't work in football.

"I understand people get frustrated and ... (reach) for the instant remedy, but the instant remedy isn't there."

Manning agreed. He blamed his three interceptions against the Patriots on poor judgment, but insisted he will put those -- and the three against Miami -- behind him when the Colts visit the New York Jets Sunday.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy," he said. "Sometimes the best way to learn is to suffer through the mistakes. That's what we're doing right now."

Manning also dismissed the notion his poor start has dented his confidence.

"You can't let it," he said. "You've got to be able to overcome your mistakes and bounce back the next week. I've always been able to do that."

For what it's worth, Manning joined elite company by throwing six interceptions in two games. He's the sixth Colts' QB since 1970 with at least six in consecutive games. The dubious list includes Johnny Unitas (1970) and Bert Jones (1973).