|
-PREMIUM MEMBER-
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Great Falls, MT.
Posts: 11,389
|
Quote:
August 19, 2007
Learning against the best
These young Colts undergo acid test at every practice
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- At first glance, it might be construed as torture-by-repetition.
Every practice, play after play, Kelvin Hayden lines up and stares at the ominous presence of Marvin Harrison. Hayden is heading into his first season as a starting cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts. Harrison is one of the best receivers in NFL history and has been voted to the past eight Pro Bowls.
One afternoon on the practice field at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Harrison pistoned his feet, juked at the line of scrimmage, snapped off his route and glided across the middle. Despite adequate coverage by Hayden, a Peyton Manning pass hit Harrison in stride.
But later, it was Hayden's turn. Running stride-for-stride down the right sideline with Harrison, Hayden adjusted his coverage on an underthrown Manning pass. He went up, snatched it.
"It means something,'' Hayden said of his practice-field interception. "It gives you confidence. It lets you know you can go out there and make plays against anybody because here you have the best quarterback in the league and two of the best receivers in the league.
"Week in and week out you know you're going to see some good receivers, but I don't think we're going to see any as good as we get in practice.''
It's one of the many man-on-man subplots that have played out as the Colts prepare to defend their Super Bowl championship.
If it isn't Hayden versus Harrison, it's Marlin Jackson, another first-time starter at corner, testing his mettle against Reggie Wayne, another of the team's Pro Bowl receivers. On another section of turf, it's rookie offensive tackle Tony Ugoh, the player who must replace retired Tarik Glenn, dealing with defensive end Dwight Freeney, that whirling dervish of a pass rusher who has been voted to three Pro Bowls.
In each instance, youth and potential are paired against experience and expertise.
"We've pretty much been going against each other every day and he's helped me out tremendously,'' Ugoh said of his daily battles with Freeney. "You're not going to find anybody tougher to block than Dwight Freeney because he brings so much to the table.''
Freeney noted there's give-and-take whenever he and Ugoh face off in the entertaining "towel'' pass-rush drill. It's a one-on-one ballet of brutes, with the defensive lineman charged with keeping the offensive lineman from getting to a towel placed, like a quarterback in a game situation, six yards behind the line of scrimmage.
"For me, it's really sharpening up on my skills, my techniques, my fundamentals, my moves,'' Freeney said. "But also it's trying to help (Ugoh) out knowing that he has to learn fast. You kind of throw as much as you can at him, don't really take away from your game and try to show him a little bit of everything.''
Freeney smiled as he recalled his annual training camp battles with Glenn, a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
"Boy,'' he said, "those were some battles back in the day. I didn't have to teach Tarik very much. Tarik more or less taught me.''
It might be understandable if Harrison took a more casual approach to his 12th training camp than he did as a rookie in 1996. But he remains driven to upgrade not only his game, but also the game of whichever corner lines up against him.
"They know I'm going to give them everything I've got,'' Harrison said. "I can't give them nothing less than full effort.''
Jackson and Hayden are cut from the same mold: They're 6-0, about 195 pounds and physical. Their aggressive approach in coverage helps prepare Harrison and Wayne for what might await them against some of the league's bigger corners.
"That's only going to help me out,'' Wayne said. "And hopefully I can run good routes and help (Jackson) out at the same time.''[/b]
|
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../708190426/1100
__________________
^Sig By 85D^
|