NFL Feature Capsules: Polian's draft magic turns Colts into model winner
INDIANAPOLIS — Colts president Bill Polian is just an old-school scout at heart.
He willingly attends college games, enjoys interviewing players and coaches and spends countless hours studying film to evaluate college prospects. He prefers being involved to delegating, and he still believes NFL winners are built through the draft.
After decades in pro football, Polian couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.
"That’s how I’ve always done it and that’s how I’m going to keep doing it until it doesn’t work," he said with a chuckle. "We look for athletic ability, for what we call football temperament and aggressiveness, a love for the game and durability. We want players who have the ability to process information."
He’s good at spotting them. Polian’s acumen for finding and replenishing talent is virtually unmatched.
In the 1980s, he turned a reeling Buffalo franchise into the only NFL team to reach four consecutive Super Bowls. In 1995, he took advantage of the NFL’s generous expansion rules and got Carolina to the 1996 NFC championship game.
But his masterpiece has come in Indianapolis, where he finally won a Super Bowl and his team is on the cusp of making more history. A victory Sunday over Denver would give Indy a league record 22nd consecutive regular-season wins, a record 114th win in a decade, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Indy already has extended its own NFL mark of consecutive 12-win seasons to seven.
Few thought this was even possible before Polian arrived following the 1997 season. Polian’s task: Rebuild a once-proud franchise that had produced only five winning seasons in the previous 20 years and had a major image problem.
Whether it was the unforgettable midnight move from Baltimore, Art Schlichter’s gambling problems, John Elway’s forced trade, the criticism Indy took for spending too much to get home-state native Jeff George in the 1990 draft or the infamous 1994 draft day argument between then Colts executive Bill Tobin and ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., the Colts were anything but a model franchise.
Polian’s changes began with a critical move: Taking Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf with the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NFL draft. To the old scout, there was never a question about who he wanted.
"Television, especially sports channels, are in the business of ratings, and many times they’ll construct players out of whole cloth who really have no reason to be stars," Polian told his radio listeners Monday night. "The greatest of all examples is when Peyton Manning came out. They said he did not win the Heisman Trophy, and he was considered by the so-called experts to be a ‘product of the system, a guy with a weak arm and a guy who didn’t have room to grow.’ Ryan Leaf was considered by many to have the better arm and be a better leader."
Polian is content letting the historians determine who got it right.
During the next 11 years, Polian’s draft touch seemed almost magical.
His first-round picks have included Edgerrin James, the Colts’ career rushing leader; three-time Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne; Indy career sacks leader Dwight Freeney; Dallas Clark, the Colts’ new career leader in receptions for a tight end and former Pro Bowl running back Joseph Addai. He traded down to get Bob Sanders, the 2007 NFL defensive player of the year, in the second round and the Colts won the Super Bowl in large part because 2000 first-round pick Rob Morris solidified the Colts horrid run defense.
But Polian is even better at finding talent in hidden places.
Take 2003, when he traded up in the fifth round to get future Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Mathis from Alabama A&M. Or 2008, when he landed Division III receiver Pierre Garcon in Round 6. Or last April, when he took cornerback Jerraud Powers in Round 3 and receiver Austin Collie in Round 4. All four are starters.
"He has a very unusual talent to see things that fit within our scheme," first-year coach Jim Caldwell said of Polian. "But you have the coaches involved in that aspect as well, giving Bill feedback on it, and then we determine who best would fit our needs."
Polian doesn’t deviate from his philosophy, either.
Of the 53 players on Indy’s active roster, 31 were originally drafted by Polian. Seventeen of those draft picks were in the fourth round or later. Only four Colts players, including kickers Adam Vinatieri and Matt Stover, have played in a game with another NFL team. And 12 players, including defensive captain Gary Brackett, safety Melvin Bullitt, cornerback Jacob Lacey, right guard Kyle DeVan and three-time Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday, weren’t drafted at all.
"I’d have taken any job, I was just looking to get a job," said Saturday, who came to Indy in 1999 and is now the second-longest tenured Indy player behind Manning. "Obviously, it was a fantastic fit, looking back. But they gave me an opportunity."
Polian uses stories like Saturday’s to recruit more undrafted players, explaining to agents that the Colts will give their clients a better opportunity than most teams.
Not only has it helped Polian keep the stream of talent flowing into Indy, it also has given him enough depth to overcome obstacles. The Colts have already lost three defensive starters — Sanders, cornerback Marlin Jackson and linebacker Tyjuan Hagler — to season-ending injuries this year. Another starter, cornerback Kelvin Hayden has played just five of 12 games, and Freeney sat out two games ago.
Yet the Colts have allowed a the third-fewest points in the league and still haven’t lost.
Polian believes it’s not a coincidence; it’s a reflection of his longtime philosophy and the hard work being done by the team’s scouts, the way he learned this business decades ago.
"It’s like Marv Levy used to say, ‘Just do your homework,"’ Polian said. "One key thing is having continuity in the front office and with the coaching staffs, that’s a really important template to build a team. But it’s really a tribute to the scouts to do it this way."
Steelers say they must change to save season
PITTSBURGH — They didn’t shift practice to early morning or early evening. They didn’t tear up their depth chart and start anew. They didn’t drag their uniforms to the middle of their practice field and burn them in an attempt to rid themselves of the bad karma that has dogged them for weeks.
Regardless, the Pittsburgh Steelers are promising to be a changed team as they try to stop the four-game losing streak that is threatening to end their chances of repeating as Super Bowl champions even before the playoffs begin.
There’s no other option, several players said Tuesday, if the Steelers (6-6) are to save a season that’s slipping away as fast as their leads are disappearing in the fourth quarter.
Ben Roethlisberger saw some players trudging wearily into the Steelers’ practice complex, obviously not recovered from the 27-24 upset loss to Oakland 48 hours before, and he couldn’t help but say something.
His message: Get over it, and now.
"You see a lot of guys are bummed and down, but that’s not going to change things and give us a win against the Raiders, that’s behind us," Roethlisberger said. "Of course, we can be mad and upset about it, but we have to look forward and that’s to the Cleveland Browns."
This is one week the Steelers must have a short memory, since they play an AFC North game Thursday at Cleveland (1-11).
With so little time to prepare, there was no evidence in practice of coach Mike Tomlin’s announced plans to shake up the lineup, except that rookie cornerbacks Joe Burnett and Keenan Lewis took more snaps than usual. That was expected since cornerback William Gay is recovering from a concussion, although he did practice.
The Steelers lost to the Chiefs (3-9) and Raiders (4-8) during the last three weeks, yet Roethlisberger, Hampton, defensive lineman Chris Hoke and safety Ryan Clark all said the Steelers are capable of reversing their season and winning their final four.
Anything less might not be enough to get the Steelers into the postseason.
"There’s a light at the end of the tunnel," Roethlisberger said. "It’s a long tunnel and it’s a small light, but it’s still flickering down there."
What they can’t do, Hampton said, is to continue to believe it will happen because they won their final four in 2005 to get into the playoffs and won six of their final seven last season.
"We’re not making the plays we’ve made in the past. We can’t dwell on the past and feel like we did in the past, that it’s automatically going to happen," Hampton said. "We’ve got to go out there and do it now, and that’s what we’re not doing. Definitely, every game you’ve got to say is a playoff game. That’s the mentality we’ve got to take right now."
Statistically, the Steelers are much the same team they’ve been for seasons. Except during the fourth quarter, when they’ve given up leads in five of their six losses.
They’re fifth in the NFL in fewest points allowed in the first quarter (32) and No. 1 in the second quarter (48 points), but they’ve yielded 99 points in the fourth quarter, the third-most in the league. Only Buffalo (112) and Miami (134) have allowed more.
The Steelers also have permitted the second-most passing yards (1,037) and a league-high nine touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. By comparison, they’ve allowed six TD passes combined in the first three quarters.
Injured safety Troy Polamalu’s absence is a factor, but Hampton said it’s more than that.
"I think guys have been pressing too much, trying to do too much, and that’s not us," Hampton said. "We pride ourselves on being an unselfish defense, everyone just doing their job and not trying to make plays that it’s not your play to make. I think when we do that, we’ll be OK."
Hampton doesn’t see any signs of panic or lost confidence, even though the Steelers are only the fourth Super Bowl winner to lose four games in a row or more the following season.
"We know what we’re capable of doing," Hampton said. "We’re just not finishing. We’ve got to go out there and do it."
Wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring) did not practice, and may not have enough time to recover by Thursday. Only two weeks ago, Ward questioned why Roethlisberger couldn’t play in Baltimore despite having a concussion.
"I don’t want Hines to be hurt, I want him out there playing," Roethlisberger said. "But he’s going to do what’s best for Hines. If he can’t play, he can’t play."
-- Alan Robinson
Quinn set for shot at rival Steelers
BEREA, Ohio — Like so many Ohio kids raised on football, Brady Quinn developed a strong distaste for everything Pittsburgh Steelers.
Growing up a die-hard Browns fan, Cleveland’s quarterback learned from an early age that those neighbors from Pennsylvania wearing black and gold were the enemy, Iron City villains to be despised and beaten whenever possible. Quinn’s heroes wore brown and orange.
So which of the Steelers did he hate most? Jerome Bettis? Rod Woodson? Greg Lloyd? Bill Cowher?
"I don’t know," Quinn said on Tuesday. "I wasn’t really fond of any of them. That’s usually how it works."
Quinn, who has been showing signs he could blossom into a solid NFL starter, will face Cleveland’s bitter — and much better — rival for the first time as a pro when the Browns (1-11) host the suddenly stumbling Steelers (6-6) on Thursday night.
When the teams met on Oct. 18 at Heinz Field, Quinn watched from the sideline as the Steelers won their 12th straight over the Browns, 27-14. He had lost his starting job to Derek Anderson a few weeks earlier, benched after two starts by coach Eric Mangini.
Quinn has been back under center for five starts, and it’s his turn to try and end the Steelers’ utter dominance over the Browns — 18 wins in 19 games since 2000. Cleveland hasn’t beaten Pittsburgh since Oct. 5, 2003, when Tim Couch directed the Browns to a 33-13 win.
Since then, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Anderson and Bruce Gradkowski — who directed Oakland to a comeback win over Pittsburgh last week — all have failed to knock off the Steelers.
Quinn’s up. But is he up to it?
He’s coming off a three-touchdown, 271-yard performance against San Diego, Quinn’s second impressive outing in his last three games. After throwing one TD pass and five interceptions in his first three starts, he has seven TDs and not a single pick in his past three.
Quinn has thrown 126 consecutive passes without an interception, the second-longest active streak in the league.
"I’m just trying to make good decisions, trying to take care of the football," he said. "It always gives us a chance to win. The only statistic that really matters is wins and losses. We’re still searching for that win."
Quinn is 0-7 as a starter this season and 1-9 in his stop-and-start pro career. He says he feels more comfortable than at any time in three years and believes he can develop into the quarterback Cleveland banked on getting when they selected him in the first round of the 2007 draft.
"I hope so," he said. "That’s the intent. I’ve always felt that was my ability and everything. I just have to continue to grow and mature and learn and get better."
Mangini was impressed with Quinn’s ability to handle San Diego’s defense, which like Pittsburgh’s, blitzes from every angle. While there have been questions about the QB’s arm strength, Quinn’s football IQ has never been challenged.
"I thought he did a nice job IDing (identifying) where the pressure was coming from," Mangini said. "He changed some of the protection calls on the line of scrimmage to get us to a point where we had the numbers to pick it up and that opened up some things.
"The one thing about him is he’ll study it, he’ll pick up some things from the first game even though he wasn’t playing and there’s also going to be some variations of things that are unique to us."
Pittsburgh has dropped four straight games for the first time since 2003, placing the defending Super Bowl champions in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Opponents have been successful in spreading out the Steelers defense with four- and five-receiver sets. With Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu sidelined with knee injuries, teams have found a soft spot in the middle of the field that’s not been there before.
Quinn isn’t counting on Polamalu’s absence to aid the Browns, who have lost 10 straight home games.
"Clearly not having him on the field takes something away from them, but Tyrone Carter does a great job filling in for that spot," Quinn said. "Believe me, they’ll be ready to go."
He’s prepared, too.
And in what has been an unusually rough season in a decade of rough seasons in Cleveland, nothing would warm the hearts of Browns fans more than a victory over the hated Steelers.
"I don’t want to put too much on this game," Quinn said. "It’s a big game for us because it’s the next one. Obviously, it’s a rivalry game. We know what Pittsburgh brings to the table and all of the success they’ve had. It’s a big game for us, but it is just the next game for us."
-- Tom Withers
Resilient Dolphins still in playoff race
MIAMI — Stephen Ross has been an NFL majority owner for 12 whole games, and he’s already impatient about his Miami Dolphins making the Super Bowl.
This season’s game is Feb. 7 in Miami, and Ross wants the Dolphins to be the first team to play a Super Bowl in its own stadium.
"It should only happen in Miami," he said. "This year wouldn’t be soon enough."
Ross smiled as he spoke, and the comment would have been even funnier just last week, when his team appeared headed nowhere fast. Saddled with the NFL’s toughest schedule, the Dolphins started the season 0-3, twice blew chances to reach .500 and lost Thanksgiving weekend at Buffalo in their worst performance since Bill Parcells came to town nearly two years ago.
That left defending AFC East champion Miami at 5-6 and likely needing a sweep of the final five games for a return to the playoffs.
"Our mettle got tested," coach Tony Sparano said.
As has been the case all season, the Dolphins bounced back. They fell behind New England 14-0 Sunday, then mounted a frantic rally, throwing 52 passes and kicking a field goal with barely a minute left to win 22-21.
"It was something out of a movie, man," guard Justin Smiley said. "I am very honored to be a part of it."
With serious deficiencies at receiver, two rookies at cornerback and a first-year starter at quarterback, the Dolphins are probably not going to fulfill their owner’s Super Bowl wish. But a scenario sending them back to the playoffs is now an easier sell.
New England (7-5) leads Miami in the division by only one game and has lost two in a row. As for the wildcard race, six AFC teams have more wins than the Dolphins, who play one of them Sunday at Jacksonville (7-5).
And the schedule has eased: After Jacksonville, none of the Dolphins’ final three opponents has a winning record.
Miami is grateful to be in the mix because at times, this season looked like a big step backward from last year’s improbable run to the playoffs.
"I like knowing that you have a chance, and like knowing there are some teams right now not playing for very much, and we have a chance," Sparano said. "We are going to try to do everything in our power to make this the best run we can make it."
They have yet to climb above .500, an indication there’s still work to do for the Parcells regime. The wildcat has helped disguise the scarcity of big gains on offensive, and the defense has given up more fourth-quarter points than any team in Dolphins history. Especially wrenching were blown leads late in losses to Indianapolis and New Orleans, both still undefeated.
But the resilience of Miami’s young players bodes well for the future.
There have been growing pains for cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, taken in the first two rounds of the April draft. Both have given up big plays but made some, too — Davis outmaneuvered Randy Moss to intercept Tom Brady in the end zone in the fourth quarter Sunday.
In Chad Henne, the Dolphins believe they have a keeper at quarterback. The second-year pro is inconsistent, but he’s also 6-3 as a starter, including three fourth-quarter comeback wins. He missed several open receivers against the Patriots but also topped 300 yards for the first time.
"The guy just keeps bouncing back," Sparano said. "I love the kid because his demeanor doesn’t change at all. He could throw a touchdown pass, he could bring it down the field in the fourth quarter, or he can throw one to the other team — whatever, this guy’s demeanor just doesn’t change. He’s rock-solid that way."
While the Dolphins are a young team, several thirtysomethings have played key roles. When leading rusher Ronnie Brown was sidelined by a season-ending foot injury, 32-year-old Ricky Williams embraced a heavier workload and topped 100 yards rushing in three consecutive games. Joey Porter, also 32, has been slowed by a knee and hamstring injury much of the season but is still the sack leader for a team with a strong pass rush.
And 35-year-old Jason Taylor has played well enough to inspire speculation he’ll return in 2010. He has also contributed considerable locker-room wisdom, such as when he talks about trying to stay in the playoff race week after week.
"While we know the stakes of the game, we can’t make one too big, but you cannot prepare for a game and take it lightly," Taylor said. "It really has been even keel. While maybe it is a do or die, it hasn’t been a desperation thing. We just keep chipping away."
-- Steven Wine
NFC
Penalties, special teams issues can’t stop Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Their defense is on the rise, their offense is doing a better job protecting oft-hit quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have won four straight games to put themselves in solid shape for the playoffs.
But Monday night’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens showed that a few of the problems that have hounded the Packers (8-4) all season might not be going away. They’re still drawing an alarming number of penalties, and their special teams seem to choose the worst possible moments to melt down.
The Packers are running out of time to solve those problems before the playoffs, but they are getting much better at bouncing back from their mistakes.
"We didn’t lay it down," tight end Jermichael Finley said. "Teams have known for us to lay it down in the second half, and we didn’t do that."
The Packers came into the season with playoff expectations. But they got off to a disappointing 4-4 start, giving up too many sacks, drawing penalties, allowing long returns at critical points in games and not getting consistent pressure on the quarterback.
The Packers gave up only one sack to the Ravens on Monday night and have allowed just four in their last three games. And Green Bay’s defense is clearly getting more comfortable with defensive coordinator Dom Capers’ 3-4 scheme, playing dominant at times during their current winning streak.
But the Packers were called for a whopping 11 penalties for 175 yards Monday night. And they had two more setbacks on special teams, giving up a long kickoff return and missing a 38-yard field goal.
It wasn’t perfect, but the Packers will take it heading into this weekend’s game against Chicago.
"A win’s a win in this league," center Scott Wells said. "You’ve got to find a way to pull out games like this. Each one is critical and to be able to come out in this environment and overcome our mistakes is huge. That’s something we weren’t able to do earlier this year."
Penalties have been a problem for the Packers under Mike McCarthy, whose coaching philosophy allows some leeway for so-called "combative" penalties that he believes are a byproduct of aggressive play.
This season, the Packers are worst in the league in penalties called (108), penalties accepted (98) and penalty yards (905).
"It’s definitely tough," rookie linebacker Clay Matthews III said. "But our team has found a way to keep battling, keep fighting back. We do need to cut down on them, but we’re going to enjoy this win and hopefully take it into next week."
Then there’s special teams.
Mason Crosby has missed a kick in each of the Packers’ last two games, a 43-yarder against Detroit and the 38-yarder against Baltimore. While there was a problem with the hold on Monday night, the pressure is mounting on Crosby.
"The timing felt a little bit weird, but we have to look at the film," Crosby said. "It’s tough to break it down. Yeah, it did feel a little off, but sometimes that happens. I just didn’t feel like I was able to finish through the kick."
A bigger issue is kickoff and punt coverage. After Rodgers’ second touchdown to Finley gave the Packers a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter, the Packers allowed Baltimore’s Lardarius Webb to run the ensuing kickoff back 68 yards.
"We’re shutting them down, shutting them down," Crosby said. "And then every once in a while, they break one out on us. ... I’m not worried. Guys are running hard, working hard, we just have to eliminate that big play."
An interception in the end zone by Packers cornerback Tramon Williams bailed the Packers out of trouble.
"It was a big win for us," Williams said. "It was great to get this win and show what we can do even when we don’t play our best game."
If the Packers can’t correct all their flaws in time for the playoffs, at least they’re learning how to rise above them.
"Obviously there were a few hiccups here and there, things we’re going to have to address — penalties, giving up a few big plays," Matthews said. "But other than that, we did a good job. Good enough to get a win, and that’s the most important part."
-- Chris Jenkins
