Painter

My guess is that Peyton Manning’s job is safe.

Curtis Painter (left) didn’t exactly set the world on fire out there, in his first NFL game. He came in with the Colts up 15-10, and left with them losing 29-15.

Let’s cut him a break. I mean he is a rookie after all. But let’s also take a look at the drives he “led.”

Drive 1 began with 5:36 left in the third quarter. The Colts had the ball at their own 10. It was a three-and-out, but I don’t really blame Painter – he went 1 for 1 for 9 yards, while rookie halfback Donald Brown ran twice for a one-yard loss.

Drive 2 began with 1:38 left in the third quarter. The Colts had the ball at their own 20. It did not go well for Painter. Elderly, doddering Calvin Pace manhandled reserve tight end Tom Santi, and ran at Painter. Painter, holding onto the ball way too long, didn’t see him, was sacked and coughed up the ball. Santi – aware of what he did – and some veterans (specifically, Jeff Saturday and Gijon Robinson) did their best to contain the damage, but they were outmuscled by Jets veteran end Marques Douglas, who jumped on the ball and thereby scored the go-ahead touchdown.

I learned a number of things on this play:
a) Santi is not who you want protecting your blind side, even against mediocre rushers
b) Painter is not a quick decision-maker
c) He also appears to be blind in his left eye

Drive 3 began with 1:29 left in the third quarter. The Colts had the ball at their own 16 after a terrible kick return by Chad Simpson. Brown was again stopped for no gain, the Painter forced two throws to Robinson. Time to punt.

Drive 4 began with 13:23 left in the fourth quarter. The Colts had the ball at their own 26. Painter completed a six-yard pass to Collie, then missed him entirely on the next play. Faced with a 3rd-and-4, and a bunch of covered receivers, Painter took matters into his own hands. Poorly. Despite the big hole in front of him, Painter was caught from behind by another 30something defensive lineman a long yard from the first down marker. Call out the punter again.

Drive 5 began with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter. The Colts had the ball at their own 27. Painter found Santi (I guess he forgave him) for a 22-yard gain. Then he fired a quick one to Hank Baskett for seven. Things are looking good! Then Painter decides to throw not just into double coverage but directly into the hands of one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL. Dwight Lowery gets the pick.

Drive 6 began with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter. The Colts had the ball at their own 33. Three straight incompletes to less-than-starting-quality tight ends led to a 4th-and-10. Out of the shotgun, Painter scans for an open receiver, and is taken down by – of all people – former Colt Donald Strickland on a slot corner blitz. Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez politely kneels to end the game, and Painter’s misery.

My synopsis? Well, I’m not going to wade into the should-they-have or shouldn’t-they-have controversy. They did, and that's it. I’m just going to look at what we can learn from Painter’s performance.

He was a rookie quarterback making his first appearance against one of the NFL’s most talented and best-coached defences. In fact, the Jets are still vaguely in the playoff race.

Understandably, Painter was thrown into a very, very tough situation – and he stunk. I’ve seen lots of quarterbacks come and go, and if you base it on this week’s game, Painter’s future looks pretty bleak.

But it’s not all bad. Painter has great tools, he really does. The problem is between his ears.

That’s why the Polian/Caldwell/Moore continuum threw him in there in the most nerve-wracking situation possible. If he can see a few more of those and see any kind of success, he has a future in the NFL.

But could he ever be Manning’s replacement? He’d be better off buying a lottery ticket.