TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James are the "but" of one criticism that they hope to change this season. Unfortunately, they can't prove anything until January.

"I have the 'but' on the end of the description," Manning said. "But, until we win a championship, it's going to be that way. Tony Dungy and I both are kind of in the same boat on that. We've done a lot of good things, but we still haven't accomplished the final goal."

Manning has passed for 20,618 yards, been to three Pro Bowls and has won 42 of 80 starts -- but. Harrison is coming off a record 143 catch season and four seasons in which he has 100 or more catches -- but. James bounced back from left knee reconstruction, two high ankle sprains, rib and hamstring injuries and still rushed for 989 yards -- but. And Dungy is the winningest coach in Bucs history and got Indianapolis to the playoffs in his first season -- but.

	Peyton Manning threw 27 TD passes last year, but also had 19 INTs.

Manning believes this could be the Colts championship season with good reason. For him, this is Year 6. The sixth season often is the time the stars align for the great quarterbacks.

Why is Year 6 important? Usually the worst of the worst get the chance to take a quarterback first in the draft. No rookie quarterback -- not even Manning -- can compensate for the talent void when a team hits rock bottom. The process is slow even though Manning has always been ahead of the curve. By his second season, Manning established the Colts as an automatic Top 4 passing team. It wasn't until Dungy arrived last season that Manning was supported by a defense ranked in the top 10 and able to hold opponents under 20 points.

Manning's proven he's usually good for at least 25 points a game. You do the math.

"Offensively, we know how to score points," Manning said. "When you've got playmakers like Marvin, Edgerrin, Marcus Pollard, Dallas Clark, Brandon Stokley and others, we feel like we are going to put the ball in the end zone. But that's only half the battle. You've got to protect the football, and we need to do that better. Defensively, we are much improved. Last year was a big turnaround on defense.

Those guys are going to feel more comfortable. On offense, we've got to keep the defense out of bad situations. If we do that, we are going to win a lot of football games."

Still, one statistic in that equation is vital. James must get close to 90 to 100 yards a game rushing. James was the final piece of the Colts offensive puzzle when he arrived in 1999. He rushed for 1,553 yards and the Colts went from 3-13 to 13-3. In 2000, James had 1,709 yards and the Colts went 10-6 and lost to the Dolphins in overtime in the playoffs. In 2001, he blew out his knee. The Colts went 6-10.

James arrived in camp on Sunday wearing an NBA sweatband around his head that said, "Killing 'em." The phrase goes back to his favorite rapper, Trick Daddy, and "Killing 'em" means handling your business. James feels and looks great. A year ago at camp, he showed he had the first three moves to avoid tackles on inside runs, but he didn't have the explosion to turn them into long runs.

After an offseason of lifting and playing basketball, James, who reported weighing a lean 212, is ready to resume his charge of challenging for the rushing title, but more importantly end the Colts three-game losing streak in the playoffs.

"Hopefully, I'm killing 'em out of the box," James said. "Last year, I was just searching. When I had the ankle injuries -- high sprains on both ankles -- everything went downhill. Look at Marshall Faulk, one of my favorite players. He had one and couldn't play for weeks. It shows you what it does to your game. I had those two and I was coming off knee surgery."

To survive during the season, James had to take medicine, something he detests. Worse, he couldn't practice and get his timing during the week. By the fourth quarters of games when James usually is "killing 'em," he needed rest on the sidelines because he was in so much pain. Leading against Jacksonville in the season finale, James, who was within 11 yards of a 1,000-yard season pulled himself out to rest himself for the playoff game against the Jets.

	“	Last year, it was embarrassing. One of my high school teammates, Josh Evans of the Jets, reminded me all summer how he put a whipping on us. We got spanked, 41-0. I did a lot of yard work and extra work this offseason to get prepared. ”
		—Colts TE Marcus Pollard

"The last years weren't even important to me," James said. "If it's a bad year for me, I'll make it a bad year all around."

Bad turned to worse when the Jets blew out the Colts, 41-0.

"Last year, it was embarrassing," tight end Marcus Pollard said. "One of my high school teammates, Josh Evans of the Jets, reminded me all summer how he put a whipping on us. We got spanked, 41-0. I did a lot of yard work and extra work this offseason to get prepared. You know how Rocky did it. He went to the mountains and was eating raw eggs every morning. You got to get back to the roots."

As a symbol of his renewed vigor, Pollard wore a John Deere cap. Bring your lunch box, the Colts are back to work.

In many ways, the Colts went back to the roots of their offense. A year ago, they cut blocking tight end Ken Dilger, eliminating a lot of the productive two tight end offensive sets that worked so well for the Colts. This year they drafted talented route-runner Clark in the first round to pair with Pollard. More weapons will evolve beyond James, Harrison and Reggie Wayne, Pollard and Clark as the season progresses.

They signed wide receiver Stokley from Baltimore, who is 75 percent back from a Lis Franc foot surgery. Backup halfback Dominic Rhodes, an 1,104 runner in 2001, is at about 85 percent following knee reconstruction. Both players are practicing and are expected to be valuable role players in this offense.

"Statistically, when we run the ball, some of the best times is when we are in the two tight end system," Manning said. "When we had Pollard and Dilger, it balances out a defense. We've been most effective with our running plays. We can use more wide stretch plays and more inside zone runs. We are hoping to get back to that."

The Colts' approach to the start of camp is all business like. Harrison spends extra time working against cornerbacks and safeties to perfect his routes. James glides through the run defense, occasionally flashing his quick moves but running in a powerful stride that gains yards. The quickness along the defensive line has more definition than a year ago. Now, the young Colts defensive linemen know their roles. They must shoot gaps and disrupt plays. They must get sacks and force turnovers. Defensive end Dwight Freeney emerged as a star in the second half of last season. This year he'll have 16 starts to put up even bigger numbers.

"I'm not putting any limits on what I can do," Freeney said. "I could get 14 sacks, 13 or 12. I will try to get what I can. I'm more comfortable with what I'm doing. Now, I can go out and play with confidence."

There is an air of confidence around the Colts. The playoff loss brought a focus and anger into the offseason workouts. It shows on the field. For Manning, this is Year 6. It's important.

"I feel I have established myself, but obviously, our team goals haven't been achieved yet," Manning said. "Year 6 provides that opportunity. Last year ended in disappointing fashion. We were doing something right because we were one of the 12 teams to make the playoffs, so I know we are not a bad team all of a sudden just become we got beat in the playoffs."

Billboards around Colts training camp in the Wabash Valley in Terre Haute call this summer's effort, "The Rally in the Valley." For the playoff-win starved Colts, 2003 is time to win.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.