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INDIANAPOLIS – Throngs of national media descended upon the Colts’ practice facility Wednesday – an annual occurrence when it’s time for a game against the New England Patriots – and they crowded around seventh-year tight end Dallas Clark.
He and his teammates couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden attention.
“Dallas has never been underappreciated around here,” quarterback Peyton Manning said. “And he knows that. But he did put on a clinic the other day.”
That being Clark’s 14-catch, 119-yard performance in a 20-17 victory over the Houston Texans, which has put him center stage heading into Sunday night’s game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Clark was selected as the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week.
“A lot of things were involved in that. Everyone’s play contributed. It’s certainly not an individual award, for sure,” said Clark, who is looking to keep his production going in arguably the NFL’s greatest rivalry.
“You love playing against teams that are really good. The Patriots have always been well coached and a smart team. They don’t beat themselves. Anything you get, you have to earn it, and we’re looking forward to that matchup.”
Clark, who has never been to a Pro Bowl, has a team-leading 60 receptions for 703 yards and three touchdowns.
He is on pace to obliterate his own franchise records for most receptions (77) and yards (848) by a tight end. The NFL tight end records – Tony Gonzalez’s 102 catches and Kellen Winslow’s 1,290 yards – are also in danger.
The Colts (8-0) have emphasized the passing game this season, and they rank first with 315 passing yards per game. But heading into a game against the Patriots (6-2) and their fourth-ranked pass defense, which allows 179.4 yards per game, Indianapolis is preaching balance.
It’s likely that rookie running back Donald Brown will be back after missing two games with a shoulder injury. He is one of several youngsters who have performed well on offense this season, helping ease the loss of Marvin Harrison and the loss of Anthony Gonzalez to a knee injury.
“You have these rare talents and you funnel them into this offense with some veteran guys,” Clark said, referencing receivers Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie.
“It would be a different thing if we were depending on them to win us games. They’ve done a great job of responding to their roles and everyone else is trying to help them.”
Clark said the Patriots tend to unleash defensive schemes on the Colts that they haven’t seen before on film, such as putting safeties on him in man-to-man coverage for an entire game. The Patriots seem to have a particular appreciation for trying to contain great tight ends; they limited Tony Gonzalez to one catch in a 26-10 victory over Atlanta and held Kellen Winslow Jr. to two catches in a 35-7 win in London this year.
“You think you know what they’re going to run, and you hope they’ll run what you prepared for, but his team is smart and can adjust to a lot of different things,” Clark said. “That’s what makes them effective is that they can adjust to different situations.”
But nobody has stopped Clark yet this season. He has had at least three receptions in every game.
Notes: The Colts signed defensive back Anthony Madison, who had played four games this season with Cleveland. They released defensive end Josh Thomas.
