INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Kelvin Hayden knows the perception still exists: If Indianapolis has some semblance of a defense, Peyton Manning can win another Super Bowl title.
Hayden and his teammates take offense to such a suggestion. They expect more than mediocre results and have spent the past six weeks proving this opportunistic defense is better than anyone might want to admit.
“We like to say they (opponents) cannot score passing and we’ve been doing a good job with that so far,” Hayden said. “But it’s December now, and things are more critical, so we’ve got to keep improving.”
Clearly, the Colts (9-4) are making progress.
Coach Tony Dungy built this defense on the premise of taking the lead, turning his speedy defensive linemen loose and letting players like Hayden clean up the mistakes.
So far, so good.
In Sunday’s victory over Cincinnati, the Colts sacked Bengals starter Ryan Fitzpatrick four times, and Hayden’s hand prints were all over the collateral damage. He picked off two passes, returning one 85 yards for a touchdown – the seventh-longest return in franchise history.
It could be just the start.
Hayden is finally getting close to 100 percent after recovering from knee and hamstring injuries that caused him to miss six straight games. He’s had 18 tackles since returning to the lineup three weeks ago, and last week, his timing was impeccable. He jumped one route late in the first half to set up a Colts touchdown, and undercut another on the way to his own score.
“He’s certainly played well the last two or three weeks,” coach Tony Dungy said. “He had an outstanding game breaking on balls, getting his hands on balls, tackling, all the things that we’ve come to expect from him. That’s as a good a game as we’ve had a corner have around here in a long time.”
Hayden’s play has helped Indy turn things around.
In the season’s first month, the Colts couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t get off the field, couldn’t seem to do anything right.
Now they can’t do anything wrong.
Indy has outplayed New England, Pittsburgh and San Diego, three preseason favorites to win the AFC title and all division winners last year. It has allowed just 3.7 yards per carry since routing Baltimore in early October, and over the past six weeks, the Colts have produced 14 sacks, 13 turnovers and allowed only one 100-yard rusher. Heck, they even bailed out Manning on a subpar day at Cleveland.
Pretty good for a defense that has played all season at less than full strength.
Former league sacks champion Dwight Freeney opened the season trying to re-establish himself after having foot surgery last fall. Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders has missed eight games with knee and ankle injuries and only returned from his latest three-game absence last week. Middle linebacker Gary Brackett, the defensive captain, is expected to miss a second straight game this week with a cracked bone in his lower right leg.
And Hayden’s tag-team partner, Marlin Jackson, sustained a season-ending knee injury in practice on Oct. 29.
At times, the Colts have been without either of their projected starting defensive tackles or either of their starting cornerbacks, even during the six-game winning streak.
“We have a lot of guys who fight and they believe in each other,” Dungy said. “It’s great to be able to go out with Buster Davis and Keiwan Ratliff and Jordan Senn, guys like that playing big roles. Antonio Johnson has come in and really helped us in the last four weeks. That part is nice.”
But it’s more incumbent on players like Hayden to set the example.
Hayden has followed Indy’s traditional development pattern.
The Colts gambled in 2005 that he would continue his progression from college receiver, where he spent his first three seasons at Illinois, to becoming an NFL cornerback. At first, the learning curve was steep for the second-round pick.
Marvin Harrison beat him repeatedly in practice and Hayden’s confidence waned.
By Year 2, Hayden devoted himself to becoming a better all-around player and emerged as a key contributor. He finished that season with arguably the most memorable play in the team’s 24-year history in Indianapolis: an acrobatic grab on Rex Grossman’s errant pass, which he returned 56 yards for a game-sealing touchdown in the Super Bowl.
The Colts knew then Hayden was ready to start.
“He really blossomed during the Super Bowl year and he really does everything well in the Dungy scheme,” team president Bill Polian said on his radio show this week. “Kelvin, in my opinion, has it all and he’s really made himself into a very good player.”
In his first season as a starter, Hayden intercepted three passes and got his hands on 12 more, finishing with a career-high 117 tackles.
This season, though, has been a different kind of test. After a misstep against Houston, he needed surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee, Just when he was ready to return, Hayden hurt his hamstring in practice.
Since returning, Hayden has gotten himself back on track.
levision, he’s making plays and keeping opponents out of the end zone. Indy has allowed only four TD passes all season.
If the defense continues following Dungy’s blueprint, Hayden and his teammates should be headed back to the playoffs for a seventh straight year.
“I kind of know that the quarterback has in the back of his mind that ‘I’ve got get this ball off’ because he’s got two guys coming,” Hayden said. “That helps with your timing, that helps you make plays and that helps you win games.”
Maybe even a Super Bowl.
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