INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning, two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Peyton Manning, Super Bowl XLI MVP. Peyton Manning, seven-time Pro Bowl selection. But Peyton Manning, teacher and unofficial assistant coach?
That seems to be the case during the Indianapolis Colts’ four-week summer school workouts, which as officials know now as the team’s organized team activities. With Pro Bowl performers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne spending some time away from the voluntary practice sessions, which are scheduled to wrap up next Thursday, Manning has directed his attention to the development of a group of young, inexperienced wide receivers that includes first-round draft pick Anthony Gonzalez and fifth-rounder Roy Hall.
It’s a role that the 10-year veteran quarterback has accepted, quickly embraced and has seemingly enjoyed so far this spring.
“Peyton likes new people,” Colts coach Tony Dungy confirmed Thursday. “He’s taken these new guys, just like he did some of our guys last year. He’ll do that all the time. He understands that’s what football is all about. [It’s] bringing people in and getting them ready to go so that when you need them, they’re ready.
“And we had that situation last year, not necessarily with the receivers, but with some of our offensive linemen and tight ends and [running back] Joseph Addai. So you want to get those guys ready to go as quick as possible. And he [Manning] believes in that. He’s going to help those guys as much as he can.”
Manning admits that while he knows already what Harrison and Wayne can do on a football field, this is the time of year to find out what some of the team’s younger receivers are capable of.
“It’s always good to see these young guys, kind of some fresh legs. Keeps the older guys like Marvin and Reggie working hard. But I always like this time of year because you have a lot of young players, guys that love football and are kind of wide-eyed but have big smiles on their faces,” he said after Thursday’s workout.
“It kind of reminds you of you when you were that age. It’s a fun time. You’re trying to help these guys. You want to give them every chance you can to make the team. Obviously, it’s a business. You know everybody won’t [make the final regular-season roster], but you want to give them all a chance.”
While he defers the primary teaching chores to the Colts’ coaching staff, Manning is right there to help answer technical questions or to point out a glitch in a pass route.
“Obviously, the coaches are doing the main teaching. But there are a lot of little intricacies of our offense on a certain [pass] route or a certain adjustment, so I have been watching some film with Anthony Gonzalez, spending some time with Roy Hall and some of these new receivers. With Gonzalez, watching some old film of [former Colts receiver] Brandon Stokley and the things that he used to do,” he explained.
“This is the time to do it because when training camp gets here, the heads really start spinning. So this is what we call our teaching time. I do think it’s important to spend some time with the young guys one-on-one and try to give them the ins and outs of our offense. But you kind of know what you’re going to get with Gonzalez. He’s made a lot of plays in college. You’ve seen him. Roy Hall (6-3, 240) is a big target, probably one of the biggest targets that I’ve had at receiver. He didn’t play at lot in college, so there’s a lot of growth potential there. But it’s exciting to see how these guys can get better.”
• More Addai — The Colts have steadfastly maintained their desire to retain last year’s running back rotation system, this time manned by 2006 first-round draft pick Joseph Addai and most likely either DeDe Dorsey or Kenton Keith.
But even if Addai splits the duty, he may very well be seeing more work overall. Indianapolis coaches have been toying with the idea of using him more in the team’s pass offense. After watching Addai catch a game-high 10 passes for 66 yards in the team’s Super Bowl XLI win over Chicago, the decision shouldn’t come as too much of surprise to anybody.
“It’s a real credit to Joe for being here this whole off-season,” Manning said. “I think that’s where he’s really tried to expand his game. As far as maybe putting him in the slot or putting him out wide, he’s worked on his [pass] route running. To me, that’s important. The running part, he’s got that in pretty good shape. But he’s saying ‘how can I get better?’
“I think he had 10 catches against the Bears in the Super Bowl. And [former Colts running back] Dominic [Rhodes] had a bunch too. So it’s been a huge part of our passing game this past year. And hopefully that can continue, especially with Joe and hopefully DeDe. You like to get those kind of matchups with them on linebackers, who probably aren’t as good as cover guys as safeties and corners. That would be a good matchup for us.”
Super Bowl rings to be awarded
The 2006 season will officially be put to rest Wednesday evening when the team, coaching staff and front office personnel will assemble at an undisclosed location in Indianapolis for a private Super Bowl ring ceremony.
“I think it’s going to be exciting. Once again, kind of like the trip to the White House. We’re hoping everybody comes back. I’ve called Brandon [Stokley] and sent [former running back] Dominic [Rhodes] a text message. I know [middle linebacker] Gary [Brackett] is trying to recruit [ex-Colts outside linebacker] Cato [June],” Manning said.
“We’re trying to get everybody back. I think besides the 15-year reunion of Super Bowl XLI or the 20-year [reunion], this group won’t be together again probably. There’s some sadness in that but also some celebration. This will truly will be kind of the capoff of what we did last season and be a good kind of send off into the upcoming season. It will be an exciting event, certainly celebrating our accomplishments. But it would be great if all those guys came back. I really hope that happens and so far, it sounds like we’ll have some good attendance.”
Stokley is now playing for the Denver Broncos while Rhodes is with the Oakland Raiders and June signed a free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also expected back are cornerbacks Nick Harper (Tennessee) and Jason David (New Orleans) as well as safety Mike Doss (Minnesota), defensive tackle Montae Reagor (Philadelphia). Former assistant coaches Leslie Frazier (Vikings’ defensive coordinator) and Diron Reynolds (Miami defensive line coach) may also return for the ceremony.
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