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| Monday, November 18 Updated: November 19, 5:42 PM ET Freeney piling up sacks, forced fumbles By James C. Black ESPN.com |
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Dwight Freeney wanted only what every reserve covets -- a chance to start. In the past two weeks, he has gotten his opportunity, and the Indianapolis Colts have not been disappointed. Freeney, used mostly during passing downs in the first nine weeks, recorded two sacks and forced a fumble in Indianapolis' 20-3 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The 11th overall pick from Syracuse has registered at least one sack in each of the past six games, averaging one for each of his seven appearances this season.
What the Colts did for a second straight week was force the opposition into making mistakes, and Freeney has been directly responsible for the disruption. In Week 10, the Eagles lost one fumble inside Indianapolis' 25-yard line that halted a potential scoring drive. Another fumble, Philadephia's third of the contest, led to a Colts field goal in the fourth quarter. All three fumbles were forced by Freeney. On Sunday, his second sack of the game resulted in a fourth-quarter fumble by Chad Hutchinson. Freeney, known for his quickness in college, is tied for first in the AFC with four forced fumbles and tied for third with seven sacks. Each Tuesday during the regular season, ESPN.com reviews rookie performances. Here are some others who had a significant impact (or not so great outing) this past week:
The growing number of injuries forced Green Bay to search for playmakers among their reserves. They certainly found one in the third-round pick from UCLA. Anderson's first-half interception on Sunday, his second in as many weeks, led to Green Bay's initial score during a loss to the Vikings. In the third quarter, he stripped Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper and caused a fumble at Green Bay's 1-yard line to end a potential scoring drive. Since making his first start against the Patriots in Week 6, Anderson has 40 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups.
At least for a week, Giants fans weren't able to complain about the kicking game. A week after Bryant missed a PAT and 31-yard field goal against Minnesota, the 27-year-old former pawnbroker from Texas converted all of his kicks in the win over Washington. The Baylor alumnus was 4-of-4 in field goal attempts and also hit his one PAT.
The Boston College alumnus had his best outing by far in the win over Cincinnati. Green, held to 82 rushing yards in his past six outings combined, had 96 yards on 25 carries as the Browns ran for 140 Sunday. "He had a great week of practice," offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said in The Akron Beacon Journal. "It was the first time I'd seen him relax and run in practice like I knew he could."
The former Tennessee Volunteer is quietly having one of the best seasons among rookie defensive linemen. Henderson, who had a three-sack game against Philadelphia in Week 5, had two more in the win over Houston on Sunday. He has seven for the season, tying him with Freeney for the most among AFC rookies. "There was a lot of motivation (Sunday) from the loss in Jacksonville," Henderson said in The Florida Times-Union. "We wanted to come out on top this time. We didn't want to let anybody down."
The Cowboys benched Quincy Carter and turned to Hutchinson in hopes of getting an offensive spark. So far, the move hasn't worked. Hutchinson, who made his first start the same game Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton's rushing record, is winless with numbers no better than Carter's. The former minor-league pitcher hasn't thrown an interception but has just one touchdown and 484 yards in three starts.
Chances are offensive line coach Steve Loney has often thought "what if" since McKinnie, a first-round draft pick turned holdout, made his debut for the Vikings in Week 10. In his first start against the Packers on Sunday, McKinnie kept pass-rush specialist Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila occupied. The defensive end did register a sack of Daunte Culpepper, but he often found himself stood up and turned away by McKinnie.
A week after being slowed a bit and being blamed by his quarterback for a game-altering interception in the loss to Oakland, Portis bounced back in a big way against Seattle. The former Miami Hurricane had 23 carries for 136 yards and gained another 52 yards on two receptions in the victory. "We knew they (Seahawks) were kind of banged up," Portis said in the Seattle Times. "Their running defense was kind of suspect, and they'd given up a lot of yards."
The free agent from Michigan had his best outing of the season during Monday night's win over Chicago. Whitley was in on five tackles for the second time in three games. But more impressively, he recorded a pair of sacks. Whitley also picked up a sack against Arizona in Week 9. James C. Black is the assistant NFL editor for ESPN.com. |
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