Manning's run of starts ends at 227

[SCMom]

Manning's run of starts ends at 227
Collins will be Colts QB against Texans
Thursday, September 08, 2011
The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- The numbers tell it all.

Two hundred twenty-seven consecutive starts.

Eleven playoff appearances.

Eleven double-digit winning seasons.

Eight division crowns.

Two AFC titles.

One Super Bowl championship.

Peyton Manning has quarterbacked the Indianapolis Colts every Sunday since Sept. 6, 1998.

He won't this weekend.

Manning will be in street clothes when the team opens the season Sunday at Houston, still recovering from neck surgery while Kerry Collins starts in his place.

"It's going to be a little different without Peyton," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said.

"He's one of a kind. When you look across our league, most teams have had quarterbacks that have missed time. Ours has just been highly unusual."

The streak is the second longest in history among NFL quarterbacks behind only Brett Favre, whose 297-game run -- 321 including the postseason -- ended last season just before he called it a career.

Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo was 10 years old when Manning's streak began. Veteran center Jeff Saturday has never snapped the ball to another quarterback to start a game in his pro career. In fact, no player on Indianapolis' roster has participated in a regular-season or playoff game for the Colts without No. 18 at the controls.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning, Peyton's younger brother, now holds the longest active streak for a quarterback with 110 starts, including postseason play. He said he had not talked with his brother for a few weeks.

"I know he was dealing with a lot," Eli Manning said. "I don't know how he is feeling and what's going on. I know he wants to be out there. He gave his all and he will give his all to be back out there."

The Colts had hoped that Manning, 35, would recover while developing a backup plan. Collins, who was brought out of retirement two weeks ago to run the Colts pass-heavy offense, has been preparing as though he would start.

"I expect to run the offense, bottom line," Collins said. "Make plays when they're there, be smart with the ball, make good reads, good decisions, get us into the right plays when the situation calls for it. I'm going into this week thinking I'm going to run the offense as best I can."

Defensive end Dwight Freeney said the Colts still expect to play at a championship level.

"Obviously, we're not used to not having him [Manning] out there," Freeney said.

"He's a great player. There are 52 other guys on the team, and one guy does not win the game."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11251...#ixzz1XMnWqhjr