With the Steelers back in the Super Bowl and the Seahawks playing in it for the first time ever, I don’t want to take away from the teams’ glory by redacting the affairs of last week’s NFL Divisional Playoffs. Nonetheless, the truly ugly sights in Indianapolis last weekend will resonate through next season.

Despite getting several close calls and a gift turnover in their favor, the Colts played poorly in a 21-18 loss to Pittsburgh. Indy fans began venting their rage, even before the clock had run out. Message boards on the website of the Indianapolis Star were ablaze, stating that Indy would never win the big game with quarterback Peyton Manning at the helm and offering dozens of doomsday scenarios regarding the departure of players from the team. The fans — who have only had the team in town for 20 years — acted as if they were part of the long-suffering Red Sox and White Sox contingents.

The most incendiary quote of the weekend, with the exception of Steeler linebacker Joey Porter’s assessment that the game officiating was fixed, was Peyton Manning telling reporters, “Let’s just say we had some problems in protection.”

It was true that the Colts had a lot of trouble blocking Pittsburgh’s defense. What surprised fans, though, was not the statement, but Manning’s hemming and hawing before answering, mumbling and remarking, “I’m trying to be a good teammate here.”

It was clearly taking him a lot of time to euphemize and sanitize his criticism that the offensive line let him down. Clips of what appeared to be Manning chastising his line during the game backed up this perspective. With his own shortcomings, he might have been better off to say, “We had trouble with the front but I threw a lot of bad passes...as a team, we just played badly.”

Manning’s statement is all the more audacious given the fact that his famously convulsive pre-play routine results in him calling a good portion of the plays at the line, and thus he should be putting the line in position to protect him.

Colts nemesis Tom Brady of the Patriots stars in a Visa campaign that plays on the legend of a quarterback taking his line out for dinner, as the Patriots’ linemen play the “metaphors” of Visa’s credit protection. Meanwhile, Manning stars — alone — in a surreal set of MasterCard spots cheering for everyday workers like waitresses and stock boys.

The contrast is stark and unmistakable. Brady comes off as a “team guy,” and Manning looks like a “me guy.” This is not to say the impressions are correct, but in mass media, including sports marketing, perception is reality. My friend theorized that “Peyton makes the metaphors pay, and that’s why he has problems with protection.”

Surely, all the Colts are frustrated with the playoff failure. The team is in a fragile state and the last thing it needs is finger-pointing. There is no greater buzz-kill than teammates questioning each other in public. Peyton should watch his steps carefully, for sooner or later some fingers may point at him, and he might start losing some precious trust.

And once the over-exposure air starts leaving the balloon, things can turn quickly. Donovan McNabb and Kurt Warner have both suffered precipitous downturns after their aura were pierced. With a 3-6 playoff record to juxtapose with the passing records and media attention, NFL fans might get bored.

Now let it be said that none of the above makes Manning a bad person. But it has been long enough that it can be said: maybe — just maybe — this whole Manning family legend is getting a bit overblown.

Father Archie played for John Vaught’s Ole Miss powerhouse but his pro results were less impressive on middling New Orleans teams. He is best remembered now for raising two other pro quarterbacks.

Eli had a great career for Ole Miss but lost some luster when he and his father engineered a draft-day trade after declaring that Eli would not play for the Chargers, a team that was so “abysmal” it won the division title the next season.

At Tennessee, Peyton finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting his senior season but won only one SEC title and never beat division rival Florida. Gators coach Steve Spurrier poked fun at Manning’s plight by calling him the starting quarterback of the Citrus Bowl and quipping, “You can’t spell Citrus without UT.” The Vols did win a national title — the year after Manning left.

As to this “Royal Family of the NFL,” ESPN’s Lisa Salters said it straight: “They haven’t won anything.”

I’m with Lisa — they’re good football players, but let’s put the deification on hold.

Topher Anderson is a second-year graduate student. If you took his red jacket from The LAIR on Saturday night, please e-mail him at cpanders@stanford.edu.