Indianapolis Colts Need Good Defense, Not Kerry Collins, Without Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning's injury status has caused quite a stir for the Indianapolis Colts, as analysts across the country condemn them as a one-man offense.

The truth is, however, that the Indianapolis Colts can win football games without the future Hall of Famer under center.

The performances of Dan Orlovsky and, in particular, Curtis Painter have really fed the flames of fright in Indianapolis. The truth is that, while Manning is an elite quarterback and he carries that offense, it doesn't mean another player couldn't do well in his position.

Not every winning team in the NFL has a Peyton Manning or a Tom Brady, and the teams that do don't win the Super Bowl every year. Teams such as the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants have even won Super Bowls in recent times without strong passing games.

The Colts do not need to win a Super Bowl without Peyton Manning, they simply need to survive. What they need is some stability and leadership on offense to calm the fire that is seemingly burning away their Super Bowl chances.

Kerry Collins should provide that reliability and leadership to get the best out of what—people seem to be forgetting this part—is a very talented offense without Manning.

He may have retired and is now returning for his 18th NFL season, but Kerry Collins has proven over the past two to three seasons with the Tennessee Titans that he can get the job done. Collins won't be lighting up the scoreboard, but you can't tell me that he won't be able to get productivity out of Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie.

The Colts know what they are getting with Collins; they can rely on him and use his skills to put themselves in a position to win football games.

However, the biggest difference between this team and a Peyton Manning-led team is that it relies on the other side of the ball.

The Colts' defense will have to step up big if they are going to win any games without the face of their franchise. If you look back to as recently as last season, you will see that the Pittsburgh Steelers relied heavily on their defense to go 3-1 with a combination of Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch at quarterback.

While this isn't a totally fair comparison, as the Steelers tend to rely on their defense more than their offense—the total opposite of the Colts—this team is still full of professional footballers. It's not like the Colts don't have talent on defense.

Guys like Jerraud Powers, Antoine Bethea, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis aren't going to capitulate and cry about the fact that they can't win without Manning.

The defense has been very poor so far in the preseason, but pride should kick in for the regular-season opener against the Houston Texans. Arian Foster destroyed them at the beginning of last season, so they should be more motivated than ever to shut him down.

Without Manning, and with a score to settle with Arian Foster—despite a better showing in the second matchup of last year—the pressure should fall on the Indianapolis Colts' defense to lead the team.

The Colts have had an inconsistent defense over the past few seasons but, at least for the start, this season needs to be one of their better years.

That's because Kerry Collins isn't changing much at this stage in his career.