...I know at least one is out there 
D).
D).Colts' Wayne: Is his Indy career at an end? If so, he's most proud of game streak
by Phil Richards
Reggie Wayne's NFL career didn't begin with a rush of game-winning touchdown catches and Pro Bowl appearances. On his first day at Indianapolis Colts training camp in 2001, fourth-year quarterback Peyton Manning hit him with a pair of strikes.
They bounced off.
"Dropped 'em; 0-for-2 out of the gate," Wayne recalled. "I remember coach (Jim) Mora gave E.J. (running back Edgerrin James) a look that asked: 'Thought this guy had hands.' "
Those hands have caught 854 passes over the 11 seasons since. That's more than Charlie Joiner, Michael Irvin, James Lofton, Shannon Sharpe and Steve Largent, Pro Football Hall of Fame members all. Wayne is 17th on the NFL career receptions list, 22nd in career receiving yards with 11,635, 30th in receiving touchdowns with 73.
Those numbers are points of pride, but if you're looking for the one that drives him, exemplifies him, look elsewhere. Wayne hasn't missed a start since 2002. He has started 144 consecutive games, more than any active wide receiver, more than all but five active players at any position.
He is stubbornly, resolutely, unfailingly there every Sunday. He will be there this Sunday, at Jacksonville, maybe for the final time. Wayne is 33. He is one of several Colts stalwarts in the final season of his contract, a season on the brink of the unknown.
It may mean no more Wayne, no more "Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!"
"Man, I can't see myself anywhere else," he said. "I felt like this was the place for me. Still feel like that. I understand the business. I understand things happen and that's cool. I understand if I'm not here, I'm not here.
"Like they say: The ball's brown everywhere."
Wayne is wistful now, awash in the memories. Every player has his journey. Every player has his home.
A tough start
Wayne came from the "U," Miami, brash, eager, a first-round pick ready to make his way. He was hobbled and humbled his rookie season, early by a high ankle sprain, late by a knee sprain. He caught 27 passes for 345 yards with no touchdowns. He heard the talk.
"Everybody was, 'Bust,' " he recalled. "Receivers, first round, you expect them to be in the game, producing."
Second season, 2002, Wayne was hopeful. This would be his year. The Colts imported Qadry Ismail, who was coming off a 1,000-yard season with Baltimore.
"All of a sudden, he's starting," Wayne remembered. "Now I feel like I got slapped in the face."
Wayne bore the grudge. He nursed it. The Colts went to more three-wide receiver sets. They put Wayne in the slot. At first he was baffled, then he excelled. Marvin Harrison caught an NFL-record 143 passes. Wayne worked in his shadow.
"Whoever was covering me, if I made him miss, I have a chance for a big play because everybody's looking to that right side, to Marv," Wayne said. "I took advantage. Make them pay for bringing in Qadry. Make it personal. I did."
Wayne caught 49 passes for 716 yards and four touchdowns. He was on his way. His understanding deepened. So did his commitment. He was in the gym at 5:30 a.m. during offseasons in Miami. He lifted, he ran hills, he worked the sand pit, and the numbers grew, inexorably, annually, to 1,510 yards in 2007, to 111 catches and a fifth Pro Bowl in 2010.
Wayne ascended to elite status, but through it all, he played. He went 71/2 years without missing a practice. He has gone nine-plus seasons without missing a game. It's one of the many lessons he learned from Harrison: Take care, be prudent, honor consistency, strive for longevity.
"Practice is what makes game day easy," Wayne said. "Just like Marv said, practice is what they pay me for. The game is free. This is my reward to y'all.
"Before the catches, before the touchdowns, before all these accolades, being there to answer that bell every week is what pushed me the most. Being on that field with my teammates every week, that's the main thing to me."
One more Sunday
Will this Sunday be Wayne's last on that field with these teammates, with this team?
He doesn't know.
Colts vice chairman Bill Polian speaks of the need for "an infusion of youth," for more playmakers, players who get it done on third down.
Third-and-7 comes to mind. Third-and-7 from the Colts 46 with 1:06 to play against Houston last week. Dan Orlovsky threw a floater. Wayne separated. He dove. He made the catch for 34 yards and a first down. A moment later he caught a 1-yard touchdown pass with 19 seconds to play to make the Colts 19-16 winners.
Jefferson Parish citizens voted out middle school sports when Wayne was a schoolboy in Marrero, south of New Orleans. So he played in the sandlots and streets. He played until the streetlights came on. He played for fun. He played for love of the game.
He still does. He believes he has four or five more good years and he intends to play them, somewhere.
"I've helped plenty of times, redoing my deal where they could get cap space. I restructured three times," said Wayne, who needs 113 yards Sunday for his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season. "I'm like, damn, I did what I could production-wise. I did what I could to help outside the football field, restructuring. Now you look at it like: It's your turn to help me. It's a two-way street."
He paused.
"It all works out," he said. "Just gotta keep trucking, man, from playing football in the street to just going on, moving on, whatever."
Wayne laughs about his start, those two dropped passes 11 long years ago. He can't remember dropping consecutive passes since, definitely not in a game. That day was the end of something and the start of something.
Sunday might be, too.
http://www.indystar.com/article/201...-he-s-most-proud-game-streak?odyssey=obinsite
Colts have much on the line as they end remarkable era
by Bob Kravitz
New Year's Day is supposed to signify a fresh start, a time to establish bold resolutions, and the Indianapolis Colts do, in fact, stand on the threshold of a very different time in their history.
Yet as they play this final regular-season game today against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it feels like the game should be played to the accompaniment of The Doors' mournful song, "The End." Or maybe a twist on the R.E.M. tune "It's the End of the Colts as We Know Them."
Because it could, in fact, be the end. For some in the front office, which is possible. For some coaches, which is likely. For some players, certainly, many of them centerpieces in this long and brilliant run of success, one of them being the incomparable Peyton Manning.
Today is the end.
Of the season, certainly. Of an amazing run, possibly.
Man, we've been spoiled.
"I was telling somebody, this time of year, we're usually talking about how much we're going to play in the final game, maybe a half, maybe a quarter, and we're looking ahead to our first playoff opponent or looking at a week off," said Jeff Saturday, who is heading into free agency.
"This is so different. It feels different, mentally, physically. Usually, we're gearing up for what's next. There's a finality to this last game."
And not just the usual end-of-the- season finality, which usually is accompanied with the cheerful thought of, "Well, we'll come back together next year and get after it."
Not this time.
This is the end of something special, an era on the brink.
We've been through so much with so many of these players.
The growing pains of Manning's rookie season.
The breakout in 1999.
The heartbreaks in New England.
The deeply personal loss suffered by Tony Dungy and his family -- really, the entire extended Central Indiana family -- and the way everybody rallied around the former Colts coach and his loved ones.
The mind-boggling loss to Pittsburgh shortly thereafter, punctuated by the Mike Vanderjagt miss. (That 2005 group was the best of all the Colts teams, without debate.)
The wrenching loss at home to San Diego, the Colts looking like Sisyphus rolling that rock back up the hill.
The massive, celebratory breakthrough comeback victory in the AFC title game against New England, still the best moment most of us can remember, followed by the Super Bowl championship.
Since 1998, this quarterback, this team, have owned the city and remained central to all the water-cooler conversation. They have been like family; more than numbers, more than statistics, but family, so familiar and personal.
It's uncomfortable to think about today as the end. When this season began, we thought the window was still somewhat open, that there was still another two or three years for Manning and these veterans to lead a Super Bowl charge.
Then everything changed.
Manning's neck happened; 13 straight losses happened.
Suddenly, the unimaginable specter of Andrew Luck began to loom, first as a possibility, then as a probability, and now, after two straight victories, again as a possibility.
"On average, teams have about a one-third turnover on the roster," said guard Ryan Diem, who is likely to retire. "But you look at the core of this team, some of the guys who've been a big part of what we've done won't be a part of it next year."
Tell me, has a game between a 2-13 team and a 4-11 team ever had higher stakes?
It is the difference between the beginning of the Luck era and moving into "Win One for Peyton" mode.
For all the talk of draft busts like JaMarcus Russell and Tim Couch, history tells us No. 1 overall picks are enormously important. Since 1970, the No. 1 pick has been a part of helping a team to 18 Super Bowl titles.
A quarterback chosen No. 1 overall has won 13 Super Bowls since 1970: Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, John Elway (two), Jim Plunkett (two), Troy Aikman (three) and Terry Bradshaw (four).
Keep in mind, this is a quarterback league now more than ever before.
Now, if the Colts win -- and lose Luck -- that's not to say Luck is no longer in the equation.
It just makes it a whole lot more expensive to grab him.
Here's the deal with the St. Louis Rams, who will pick first or second: They still like quarterback Sam Bradford and already have invested too much in him to trade him. He has been a victim of circumstances -- a terrible offensive line, a bad receiving corps, a horrible team altogether.
The Rams desperately need help at left tackle and would be perfectly happy to grab USC's Ryan Kalil at No. 2, allowing them to move former Hoosier Rodger Saffold to right tackle.
But it will be a steep price to deal for Luck, an auction that will seem humble compared with Jim Irsay's bid for the Jack Kerouac "On the Road" scroll.
The Cleveland Browns would be an aggressive bidder, and have two first-round picks and two second-round picks to move.
The Washington Redskins never have been afraid to mortgage their future and would pay a king's ransom for a shot at Luck. Owner Dan Snyder will spend crazy resources, and coach Mike Shanahan knows he won't survive in his job much longer if he doesn't get a stud quarterback.
The Miami Dolphins are desperate for a franchise quarterback and have an owner, Stephen Ross, who loves star power.
A meaningless game that is so deeply meaningful.
It is the beginning of the new year. And, sadly, the end of the old one.
http://www.indystar.com/article/201...-they-end-remarkable-era?odyssey=mod|mostview
