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December 16, 2008

Headin' to Hawaii: Three Colts’ stars are back; Mathis gets his first trip

By Tom James

INDIANAPOLIS — Four Indianapolis Colts — quarterback Peyton Manning, wide receiver Reggie Wayne, defensive end Dwight Freeney and defensive end Robert Mathis — have been selected to play in this season’s National Football League NFC-AFC Pro Bowl, which is set for Feb. 8 in Honolulu.

Manning and Freeney were named as starters to the AFC squad, while Wayne and Mathis made the team as backups. Positional alternates were not initially announced, which could add to the Colts’ list of Pro Bowl participants.

It’s Manning’s ninth trip to the Pro Bowl and the fourth for Freeney (but the first time since 2005). Wayne has made the Pro Bowl for the last three years. Mathis will be a Pro Bowl rookie.

Mathis may have deserved to make the AFC squad a couple of other years but wasn’t able to garner enough support in the league’s three-tier voting process (fans, coaches and players).

“A lot of it is name recognition and the hardest thing to do is go the first time. There are so many guys who deserve to go based on the year they have and they don’t get to go that year. If there’s anything disappointing about it to me, it’s that. The baseball All-Star Game kind of has the same question,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said Tuesday before the Pro Bowl selections were announced.

“Should it be the people that the fans really want to see or should it be the guys who are having the best years? Should it be the teams that are winning? What about a guy like [Jacksonville running back] Fred Taylor who’s had tremendous years playing in a small market and maybe on teams that weren’t in the championship? You have to take the Pro Bowl for what it is. It’s individual awards and it’s nice. I know it means a lot to the players, but hopefully they don’t get too wrapped up in it.”

Mathis has a team-leading 11.5 sacks so far this season along with 16 quarterback pressures (second on the team), one pass broken up, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He has tied his single-season high for sacks in a season, which he first set in 2005.

“I don’t think Robert has had his best season. I think Robert has done some things. When we were playing him more, he did some phenomenal things. We might have had some other guys having more flashy seasons, but Robert’s been spectacular from the time he’s been here,” Dungy said.

Through the first 14 games of the season, Manning has completed 335 of 514 passes for 3,543 yards, 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He currently has a 90.3 quarterback efficiency rating. Freeney, meanwhile, has recorded 9.5 sacks, 27 quarterback pressures (leads the team) and four forced fumbles.

Wayne has been Indianapolis’ leading receiver for most of the year, hauling in 74 passes for 1,022 yards and five touchdowns. He has a team-leading 13.8 yards per catch this season.

“It’s an honor to go over there [to the Pro Bowl], no question. We’ve had a bunch of guys here who have had a deserving year. [Colts offensive line coach] Howard Mudd used to always tell me, and he played in two or three of them, that it’s always an honor and it’s always a thrill. So I look forward to seeing some of the guys who may go for the first time. Hopefully it’s Robert [Mathis] or guys like that, it’s always exciting to see those guys,” Manning said earlier in the day.

“Robert’s one that comes to mind. I’d love for [tight end] Dallas [Clark to go]. I know the voting ended before Sunday’s game [against Detroit when Clark had a career-high 12 catches for 142 yards and a touchdown], but we have a lot of players on our team that are deserving. As do a lot of other teams. But I think the whole [Colts] team would be excited for somebody like Robert. Somebody that deserves to and hopefully gets a chance to do it.”

• • •

• The AFC starters — Joining Manning on the AFC’s starting offensive unit were running back Thomas Jones (Jets), fullback Le’Ron McClain (Ravens), wide receivers Andre Johnson (Texans) and Brandon Marshall (Broncos), offensive tackles Joe Thomas (Browns) and Jason Peter (Bills), offensive guards Alan Faneca (Jets) and Kris Dielman (Chargers) and center Kevin Mawae (Titans).

Freeney leads a starting AFC defensive squad that also will consist of defensive end Mario Williams (Texans), tackles Albert Haynesworth (Titans) and Kris Jenkins (Jets), outside linebackers James Harrison (Steelers) and Joey Porter (Dolphins), inside linebacker Ray Lewis (Ravens), cornerbacks Nnamidi Asomugha (Raiders) and Cortland Finnegan (Titans), free safety Ed Reed (Ravens) and strong safety Troy Polamalu (Steelers).

The AFC’s special-teams unit includes punter Shane Lechler (Raiders), placekicker Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots), kick returner Leon Washington (Jets) and special-teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo (Ravens).

• Short practice week — The Colts had a light workout Tuesday and will practice today before boarding a plane for Jacksonville. The game with the Jaguars, which kicks off at 8:15 p.m., will be televised on the NFL Network and also will be carried on WXIN Channel 59 in Indianapolis.

“[The shortened practice schedule is] a little bit different routine for us and we have to get going. [Tuesday] morning we got off to a good start. It’s a little tough coming back and practicing after just one day off, but I think our guys will handle it well. We have a lot riding on the game, obviously, so I think our concentration level will be there and be great,” Dungy said.

“We’re actually going to alter things a little bit, go at a little bit more of a slower pace, do a little bit more walk-through-tempo stuff and cut down our practice a little bit. Other than that, everything’s going to be normal in terms of our time and preparation and we’ll try to get one more workout in [Wednesday] before we fly out.”

Physically, Indianapolis is in pretty good shape. Only four players — middle linebacker Gary Brackett (broken right fibula), Freeney (foot), wide receiver Marvin Harrison (knee) and rookie running back Chad Simpson (ankle) — did not participate in practice Tuesday.

Running back Joseph Addai (shoulder), free safety Antoine Bethea (ankle), Clark (hip), weak-side linebacker Tyjuan Hagler (knee), offensive guard Charlie Johnson (shin), weak-side linebacker Freddy Keiaho (shoulder), strong safety Bob Sanders (knee), center Jeff Saturday (calf), defensive tackle Keyunta Dawson (hamstring), defensive tackle Eric Foster (neck/burner) and offensive tackle Tony Ugoh (knee) all took part in the workout.

“[The toughest part of a short practice week is] probably mental, pushing yourself to be able to concentrate. Both sides have the physical problems. You don’t have as much freshness and energy. You’ll get through that, but you have to push yourself to concentrate. It’s a little easier knowing that we’ve played them before and they’ve played us. So the preparation is not like investigating a new team. I think it’s going to be OK,” the Colts’ coach said.

• Petrowski back with the Colts? — Former Terre Haute North and Indiana State tight end Jamie Petrowski has apparently been re-signed by Indianapolis.

Petrowski was first signed by the Colts in late November and was with the team for three weeks. The Colts, however, waived him last week when roster room was needed due to injuries at running back. While team officials have not made a formal announcement concerning Petrowski’s return, it’s thought that he has been added to the Indianapolis practice squad.

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