INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts don't care to be known as a young team, although they are. They'd rather be known as an improving team with no intention of waiting for next year to get to the NFL playoffs.

	Peyton Manning, right, and Edgerrin James are ready for the new millennium.

"Nobody wants to think about being a winner next year. You're here for the moment. You're not here for the future," said defensive end Chad Bratzke, a free-agent signee who leads the AFC with seven sacks and has become an anchor on a Colts defensive line that is gaining respect around the league.

"You have to believe you can win every game. I don't see us standing here and saying, 'This is a rebuilding year.' You can't come to work like that every day and be successful," Bratzke said.

The Colts signed Bratzke to a six-year, $30 million contract this year as an unrestricted free agent. In making the move, Indianapolis was looking to him to lead a rebuilt defensive unit that was one of the league's worst in 1998.

As the Colts move toward the midway point of their season this week, the early verdict is favorable for Bratzke's unit. The Colts have 20 sacks in seven games, compared to 38 in 16 games last year.

The oldest member of the team is linebacker Cornelius Bennett, 34, the only NFL player to have been on five losing Super Bowl teams.

"I can't speak for the past. All I can say is now we know we are capable of winning every Sunday, and that's the attitude that we're taking," said Bennett, who leads the team in tackles. "We're not just saying it, we're going out and doing it."

The Colts (5-2) will match their victory total for the past two years combined with one more victory. They'll try to do that Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) visit.

"We are young. I think that's one reason why we're a pretty good team," said Peyton Manning, who in his second season has a career-high 91.4 quarterback rating. "We're kind of a fresh team, but at the same point we'd like to lose that young adjective and just keep playing well week after week."

Manning has completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 1,991 yards and 14 TDs. He's the 12th quarterback in league history to throw a touchdown pass in 20 consecutive games, a run that is the longest among active quarterbacks.

Manning has taken every snap on an offensive unit whose oldest starter is tight end Ken Dilger, 28. Dilger, a second-round pick out of Illinois in 1995, also is the most experienced member of the unit with 66 starts in his 69 games.

Three times this year, Manning has produced a comeback victory in the fourth quarter. The latest was Sunday when Indianapolis won 34-31 after trailing Dallas 24-21 going into the final period. The Cowboys capitalized on two special team errors to take a 10-0 lead with the help of a 70-yard punt return by Deion Sanders and a blocked punt.

"I don't think you can do that over the course of the season, spot a team like the Chiefs 10 points right off the bat," Manning said. "We need to come out and eliminate our mistakes. ... Overcoming mistakes like that, it's too hard to do every week."

The trio of Manning, wide receiver Marvin Harrison and rookie running back Edgerrin James have been in the league a combined 5½ years.

They are a major reason Indianapolis is third in the league and first in the AFC in offense, averaging 280.3 yards per game.

"There are a lot of things we haven't done yet. We beat the Cowboys in a big game, but we still haven't been in the playoffs," Manning said.

With each success, the confidence of a franchise that has finished 3-13 two consecutive years has increased.

"We've come back from deficits against the Chargers, the Jets and the Cowboys," Manning said. "When you do that, you have that confidence, you have that belief. It helps going into the next games."

At 21, James is one of the team's youngest players, and the rookie running back has become a force. He leads the AFC and is second in the league with 633 yards rushing and 838 yards from scrimmage.

"We want people to talk about us as a good team, not a young team," coach Jim Mora said.