(Sports Network) - On Monday night, a future Hall of Fame quarterback who many had wished would just go away showed us exactly why we had come to appreciate him in the first place.

Though he deserved much of the annoyance hurled in his direction over the past few months, it is true that perhaps we took Brett Favre for granted a bit.

Peyton Manning must know a little something about this phenomenon.

Himself a future Hall-of-Famer, and a quarterback that seems certain to one day possess many of the records that Favre currently controls, Manning's recent spate of stunning performances has been greeted with the type of yawn that can only come when everyone already knows you're good.

While leading a Colts team in the midst of several major transitions, not the least of which has come in the head coach's chair, Manning has reeled off four consecutive 300-yard performances during a 4-0 start that has placed Indy two games clear of its nearest competition in the supposedly strong AFC South.

This past Sunday, Manning positively carved up the Seahawks, going a blistering 31-of-41 for 353 yards, two touchdowns and one pick in Indy's 34-17 win. On a team that no longer has Marvin Harrison turn to and will be missing starting wideout Anthony Gonzalez for an indefinite period, five different Colts had 50 or more receiving yards, but none more than Dallas Clark's 80.

The Colts' first four scoring drives of the day went like this: 10 plays, 89 yards (TD); 9 plays, 90 yards (TD); 9 plays, 78 yards (TD); 12 plays, 80 yards (TD). At the conclusion of the last of those marches, which came at the 8:02 mark of the third quarter, Manning looked up at a scoreboard that read 28-3 in favor of Indianapolis.

Indy's formulaic victory also saw Manning post a fourth consecutive 300-yard outing for the first time in his career, a testament to just how much of the burden the 33-year-old quarterback has shouldered during 2009 to date.

While it seems that we've seen all this before from Manning, his stunning performances have been unique, even for a player widely acknowledged to be one of the game's all-time greats.

"He's had some pretty good stretches," said head coach and master of understatement Jim Caldwell after the win. "This is certainly a testament to his work ethic and how well he prepares. He certainly doesn't surprise us with the things he does, but I'll also say that we don't take it for granted either. He certainly has performed extremely well throughout the years."

Critical in the eye-opening statistical displays is the fact that the Colts have been winning, and in their last two games against the Cardinals and Seahawks they've prevailed in runaway fashion.

In an AFC that has several intriguing teams (Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Steelers, Broncos) but no real standout at this stage, the Colts have inserted themselves into the early discussion of conference Super Bowl contenders, though Manning is not quite ready to proclaim anything along those lines just yet.

Said the quarterback, "It is an excellent first 'quarter.' That's the proper word. To be 4-0 after the first quarter - I think that's what all teams want. It's certainly what we want. There has been change this offseason, but it's still a long season."

Indeed, Indianapolis will take to the road to face a desperate Tennessee team on Monday night, and difficult contests against the likes of the 49ers (11/1), Patriots (11/15), Broncos (12/13) and Jets (12/27) loom in the second half.

It's far to early to know what lies in store for the 2009 version of this team, though initial returns have been quite promising.

"I'm really hesitant to get into a summary of the year after just four games," said Manning. "It is a good start, and there are some good things, but I do feel like the teeth of our schedule is approaching us starting this week with one of our biggest rivals.

"We have a lot of football left to play and have a lot of tough teams left to play."

JAGUARS: If you need further evidence of the topsy-turvy life of an NFL quarterback, take David Garrard.

Just two weeks ago, after he struggled in a blowout home loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Garrard's days as a starting NFL quarterback appeared numbered.

Then, as epitaphs were being written not only for Garrard but for the Jaguars' season, as well as head coach Jack Del Rio, the signal-caller played efficiently in an upset win at Houston.

The circle was completed this past Sunday, when Garrard put up one of the best performances of his career in a statement-making 37-17 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Garrard looked like a Pro Bowler in the blowout, completing 27-of-37 passes for 323 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a triumph that pulled the Jags even at 2-2. Six different Jacksonville players caught three or more passes in the win, most notably the blossoming Mike Sims-Walker (7 receptions, 91 yards, 2 TD). tight end Marcedes Lewis (4 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD) and rookie Mike Thomas (5 receptions, 31 yards).

Significantly, Garrard looked comfortable in the offense, once again displaying the scrambling element (8 rushes, 38 yards) that made him so dangerous during Jacksonville's most recent playoff season of 2007.

"They do a good job of putting eight guys in the box and still trying to play coverage behind it," said Garrard of the Tennessee defense. "They're trying to fool you in a way with the safety down, but we've seen enough of it. We practiced it all week long. I was able to see it throughout the day. Coaches put together a great scheme, and to be able to have those passes off of the run game is huge, because it really makes the defense play it honest."

"I think David Garrard played outstanding football today," said Del Rio after the effort. "He made plays, and when you're going up against the Titans as stout as they are against the run, you know you're going to have to have your quarterback make plays. He stepped up and made a bunch of plays today and gave us a chance as a football team to move the ball, possess the ball and score points...a very good outing for Dave."

If Garrard can keep the good times rolling, Jacksonville may have the ability to go from also-ran to playoff contender in a few short weeks. The Jags' next four games are against the Seahawks (1-3), Rams (0-4), Titans (0-4) and Chiefs (0-4), and more performances such as the one displayed against Tennessee would undoubtedly keep the team's sudden momentum going.

"We saw a lot of good things today," said Del Rio on Sunday. "We saw some things that we'll want to correct and be better at, but I'm real proud of the way the guys came out with some good fight and pulled out a big victory for us."



TEXANS: Nothing can give a struggling defense confidence like playing against JaMarcus Russell and the Oakland Raiders.

The Houston Texans had heard nothing but bad things about their defense during the team's disappointing 1-2 start, and headed into the Week 4 showdown with the Silver and Black allowing 28.7 points per game and ranking last in the league in rushing defense (204.7 yards per game), yards allowed per rush (6.3) and rushes allowed of 20 yards or longer (7).

Those numbers might have been scary going into a contest against Oakland's three-headed rushing monster of Justin Fargas, Michael Bush, and Darren McFadden, but the struggles of Russell and the Raider passing attack allowed Houston to focus almost solely on stopping the run.

And stop the run the Texans did, limiting the three aforementioned Oakland rushers to a combined 31 yards on 19 carries in a game that saw Russell complete 12-of-33 passes (including a reported nine drops) for 128 yards and a lost fumble in a 29-6 Houston runaway.

Though it's hard to know what to make of his team's progress on that side of the ball against such an inept attack, Gary Kubiak was accentuating the positive after the victory.

"I feel much better about our defense," said Kubiak. "Obviously they stepped up and played extremely well...all day long. We had some issues going into the game earlier, with three new players starting on the back end when it was all said and done....I'm real proud of [Defensive Coordinator] Frank Bush rallying the troops, and playing the way they did."

Among the biggest positive for the Texans was the play of the front four, which saw end Mario Williams and tackle Amobi Okoye both notch sacks and free agent acquisition Antonio Smith recover one of Oakland's three fumbles on the afternoon.

On the back end, a defense that was without safety Eugene Wilson (illness) saw new faces likes Bernard Pollard (5 tackles), Glover Quin (5 tackles) and Domonique Barber (3 tackles) contribute to the cause.

Said Kubiak, "We had two safeties - one who has been with us for two weeks [Pollard], and one who is a young player, Dominique, and then a rookie corner [Quin]. We gotta get it all together here, and if we can get that done I don't have any doubt that we will be a good defensive football team before this year is out, but it's got to all come together. Because it has not been working together the majority of the time. But it is what it is. We got to make it work."



TITANS: The opening-night loss to the Steelers was acceptable. The Week 2 loss to the Texans was a fluky shootout. The close loss to the red-hot Jets last Sunday was understandable. But the 37-17 loss to the Jaguars, which dropped the Titans to 0-4, proved once and for all that Tennessee simply isn't a very good team. Jacksonville rolled up 442 yards of total offense on Jeff Fisher's team, handing David Garrard (27-of-37, 323 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT) his best game of the year and committing three turnovers to hurt the cause on the other side. Two of those went to Kerry Collins (29-of-48, 284 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT), whose grip on the starting quarterback job seems to be loosening with each passing week.

"I'm not questioning their effort at all," said Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher after the loss. "They were ready to play. We had a good week, a great session all week. They were ready to play. What happens is when you don't make plays, the big plays - you know, energy feeds off of big plays. When you get three-and-out and you're giving up a drive, it's hard to get energy. We need to make plays."

Although Collins has had his struggles, Fisher is not yet ready to broach the subject of Vince Young's potential return to the starting lineup.

"Kerry's our starter," said Fisher. "Kerry gives us the best chance to win. There was a little bit of life left [in the offense at the end of the game]. We got some points and if we would've got the onside kick, it might have quieted down, and [Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio] might have put his starters back in. That was my decision today, to stay with [Collins] and try to find a way to win."

"Where we go from here?" asked Fisher rhetorically. "We go back to work. That's what we do. We go back to work and keep working and we try to win a ballgame. That's what our emphasis is going to be. Sorry I don't have anything more enlightening for you. That's the way it is."

The Titans could have an uphill battle in avoiding their first 0-5 start since 2006, as the undefeated Colts will travel to Nashville for a Monday night tilt, which will be followed by a trip to New England. That said, Fisher has yet to concede anything.

"I believe this team has some potential," said Fisher. "I believe this team's not an 0-4 team. Clearly we've got a tough stretch ahead of us, but we're going to give it our best shot."





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