The 2008 "All-Effective" Team

After the Colts 4-4 start in 2008, it became crystal clear just how important Peyton Manning is to the success of the team.  As if it wasn't clear enough, Peyton's early season struggles, while recovering from his second knee surgery, reminded all of us just home human the Colts are when no. 18 isn't playing at 100 percent.

Even though the Colts signal caller started the season with a slight gimp in his step, by the mid-way point in the season, it was clear he was back on track. To be fair, can you really talk about Colts players who were effective during the 2008 season without talking about Manning? No, of course not.

We all know Manning is good in almost any formation or situation, but there were certain times when he was that much better than the rest.  Take for example his quarterback rating on 4th down ... a perfect 158.3. In the 11 attempts on fourth down, Manning completed nine of them while finding the end-zone twice. 

To put that in perspective, Donovan McNabb racked up a rating of 125.7, Tony Romo finished with a magical 56.3 rating and even Drew Brees only found the end-zone once on 4th downs to go along with a 145.8 rating. 

What this does show us is just how clutch he really is.  Plain and simple, the man comes up big time when it matters most. We knew he was good, but I was even taken back when I saw his fourth-down numbers. That's why the man makes the big bucks.

Another player who was not only effective, but also extremely reliable was Anthony Gonzalez. In his second year with the team, Gonzo increased his catches by 20 (from 37 to 57) and showed durability by playing in all 16 games.  Although Gonzalez was a fantastic all-around receiver, he made his living on third downs.

Thirty-nine percent of his catches were on third down. More amazing is the fact that 17 of the 22 catches Gonzo made on the third down moved the chains. 

On first, second and fourth downs combined, Gonzalez moved the chains a total of 19 times. He was a monster on third down with most of those catches coming from the slot. 

Three of his four TDs also came on third-down plays. All around, it was an impressive year for Gonzo, but it is even more impressive when you look at how consistent he was on third down.

The defense also had their fair share of solid players in 2008. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis combined for 22 sacks from the D-end position. 

In his sixth year in the league (all with the Colts), Mathis really came into his own. He matched his career high with 11.5 sacks while earning his first trip to Hawaii. Mathis and Freeney really benefited from one and other last season.

Freeney has always gotten a lot of attention from offensive lines and for obvious reasons. By the end of the season, Mathis was giving teams a reason to send the double-team his way as well. 

The Alabama A&M Alumnae stepped up in the biggest situations to bring down the QB. Seven and a half of his sacks came on third downs. Seven and a half sacks came when the Colts were actually behind in the game. 

When you think about that, it is even more impressive. Teams run more when they are leading, thus limiting the number of opportunities for sacks. 

Mathis' counterpart, Dwight Freeney started the season slowly, but ended up with double-digit sacks for the first time since 2005. Seven and a half of his 10.5 sacks came after week 10. In weeks 10 and 11, Freeney had two sacks in each game. He also forced a fumble in the week 10 win at Pittsburgh.

When one does well, the other benefits by getting less attention. It is, therefore, not coincidence that both players ended up playing in the Pro Bowl. Formations change and defensive personnel differ from one season to the next, but it is clear that when one D-end dominates, the man down the line benefits the most.

While the Colts offense and sometimes (key word, sometimes) defense get most of the attention, other members of the 53 man roster have important jobs. One of those jobs is punter. 

The Colts will soon find out how good they had it for a total of 160 games over 10 seasons. Hunter Smith is now with the Redskins after the Colts decided not to offer him a new deal. Although there were a number of games that he didn't even see the field because of the unstoppable offensive production, he was a fantastic field position punter.

2008 was another solid year for Smith. Twenty-three of his 53 punts landed inside the 20-yard line.  An average of 39 yards per punt to go along with zero touchdowns given up.  For a punter who made the nose kick famous, distance has never been his M-O.

None the less, Smith was an extremely effective member of the Colts for 10 years and will be sorely missed in clutch situations.

While there were numerous other players on the Colts who qualified as "effective," these five players had huge impacts on the 2008 season and how it ultimately ended.