TopFrog
Lifelong Frog
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/04/23/190839...if-freeney.html
[SIZE=14pt]Colts aim to use Hughes if Freeney and Mathis are injured[/SIZE]
By REGGIE HAYES - The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts boast two of the best defensive ends in the NFL in Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Now they hope to make it three.
The search for a third game-changing, quarterback-damaging defensive end had been going on for "seemingly forever," Colts president Bill Polian said.
Forever might have ended Thursday when the Colts picked Texas Christian University's Jerry Hughes with the 31st pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.
"The third rusher who can substitute for Dwight and Robert is something we have not had," Polian said. "When Dwight and Robert were 100 percent healthy, the results spoke for themselves. When they've not been 100 percent healthy, the results have not been what we wanted."
A good example remains a painful one: It came in the Super Bowl loss to the New Orleans Saints, when Freeney played - hobbled - and the Colts were unable to generate the kind of pressure needed to slow Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Other Colts losses through the years can also be traced to some measure of limitation for their two Pro Bowl defensive ends. The more pressure the Colts can put on a quarterback, the more their built-for-speed defense can force turnovers and change momentum.
"We need a guy, when one of the other two fellows is incapacitated or not in the lineup or not 100 percent, who can step in there and perform at a similar level," Polian said. "We haven't had that guy because they're so hard to find."
The Colts kept their interest in Hughes hush-hush. In fact, even Hughes didn't know the Colts were interested. They spoke with him at the NFL Combine in February, but did not have any contact with him since then.
"I was just shocked," Hughes said, "and excited."
Hughes (6-foot-2, 255 pounds) won the Ted Hendricks Award last year as the nation's top defensive end. He recorded 11.5 sacks as a senior, finishing his career with 28.5 sacks. He was a consensus All-American by numerous outlets. As a junior, he led the nation with 15 sacks.
Four defensive ends were taken before Hughes: California's Tyson Alualu by the Jaguars, Michigan's Brandon Graham by the Eagles, South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul by the Giants and Georgia Tech's Derrick Morgan by the Titans.
Polian and Colts coach Jim Caldwell seemed pleased, however, to land Hughes because of his similarities in speed and style to Freeney and Mathis.
"He's a talented guy and a guy with some versatility, particularly as a third-down rusher who can get up field on the outside," Caldwell said. "He can give us some power along with that rush."
Hughes is capable of lining up with his hand down or roaming in certain formations, Polian said. Hughes is also expected to play on special teams.
"He doesn't, at this stage of his development, have quite the punch those two guys have," Polian said. "But in style, they're very similar."
A native of Sugarland, Texas, Hughes said he is looking forward to learning from Freeney and Mathis.
"Those guys are the epitome of what defensive ends and pass rushers are," Hughes said. "Freeney and Mathis coming off that edge, bringing that speed, bringing the force, bringing all those moves I want to be a student of the game and learn from them."
Polian said the Colts would have likely traded down if Hughes had not been available for the 31st pick.
Hughes represented the perfect choice where the talent available intersected with the Colts' needs.
"He's a pure pass rusher," Polian said. "That's what he does."
[SIZE=14pt]Colts aim to use Hughes if Freeney and Mathis are injured[/SIZE]
By REGGIE HAYES - The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts boast two of the best defensive ends in the NFL in Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Now they hope to make it three.
The search for a third game-changing, quarterback-damaging defensive end had been going on for "seemingly forever," Colts president Bill Polian said.
Forever might have ended Thursday when the Colts picked Texas Christian University's Jerry Hughes with the 31st pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.
"The third rusher who can substitute for Dwight and Robert is something we have not had," Polian said. "When Dwight and Robert were 100 percent healthy, the results spoke for themselves. When they've not been 100 percent healthy, the results have not been what we wanted."
A good example remains a painful one: It came in the Super Bowl loss to the New Orleans Saints, when Freeney played - hobbled - and the Colts were unable to generate the kind of pressure needed to slow Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Other Colts losses through the years can also be traced to some measure of limitation for their two Pro Bowl defensive ends. The more pressure the Colts can put on a quarterback, the more their built-for-speed defense can force turnovers and change momentum.
"We need a guy, when one of the other two fellows is incapacitated or not in the lineup or not 100 percent, who can step in there and perform at a similar level," Polian said. "We haven't had that guy because they're so hard to find."
The Colts kept their interest in Hughes hush-hush. In fact, even Hughes didn't know the Colts were interested. They spoke with him at the NFL Combine in February, but did not have any contact with him since then.
"I was just shocked," Hughes said, "and excited."
Hughes (6-foot-2, 255 pounds) won the Ted Hendricks Award last year as the nation's top defensive end. He recorded 11.5 sacks as a senior, finishing his career with 28.5 sacks. He was a consensus All-American by numerous outlets. As a junior, he led the nation with 15 sacks.
Four defensive ends were taken before Hughes: California's Tyson Alualu by the Jaguars, Michigan's Brandon Graham by the Eagles, South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul by the Giants and Georgia Tech's Derrick Morgan by the Titans.
Polian and Colts coach Jim Caldwell seemed pleased, however, to land Hughes because of his similarities in speed and style to Freeney and Mathis.
"He's a talented guy and a guy with some versatility, particularly as a third-down rusher who can get up field on the outside," Caldwell said. "He can give us some power along with that rush."
Hughes is capable of lining up with his hand down or roaming in certain formations, Polian said. Hughes is also expected to play on special teams.
"He doesn't, at this stage of his development, have quite the punch those two guys have," Polian said. "But in style, they're very similar."
A native of Sugarland, Texas, Hughes said he is looking forward to learning from Freeney and Mathis.
"Those guys are the epitome of what defensive ends and pass rushers are," Hughes said. "Freeney and Mathis coming off that edge, bringing that speed, bringing the force, bringing all those moves I want to be a student of the game and learn from them."
Polian said the Colts would have likely traded down if Hughes had not been available for the 31st pick.
Hughes represented the perfect choice where the talent available intersected with the Colts' needs.
"He's a pure pass rusher," Polian said. "That's what he does."
