Newsday (N.Y.): Garçon, Collie have been a revelation for Colts
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
MIAMI -- The good teams find them. That's why they're good teams. Somewhere in the draft are players who can meet a need, fill a void. For the Indianapolis Colts, those players were Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie.
Marvin Harrison was leaving. Marvin Harrison, for so long Peyton Manning's favorite target, was finished with the Colts at the end of 2008. Sure, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark would catch what Manning threw, but who would take over for Harrison?
As we've learned, it was Garçon, in his second season, and Collie, in his first. The Jets learned that, too.
In the AFC Championship Game, Garçon made 11 catches for 153 yards, the best numbers of his brief career. Collie had seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, the best numbers of his even briefer career.
What we know about Garçon, the sixth-round pick in the 2008 draft from Division III Mount Union (Ohio), is this: He was born in New York after his parents emigrated from Haiti, the country he honored by wearing a headscarf illustrated with a portion of the Haitian flag during interviews.
What we know about Collie, the fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft, is this: He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, while his father was playing in the Canadian Football League and grew up in northern California. What we also know was he spent 2005 and 2006 on a Mormon mission in Buenos Aires before returning to play two seasons at BYU and turning pro.
What we didn't know about either, as Manning said, is this: "You just don't know those guys are going to respond during the course of a season, during the playoffs . . . Those guys just have had a really calm look in their eyes throughout the year. That has been very comforting.
"We have counted on those young guys to make a lot of plays for us this year. I think it's unusual for two guys like that.''
Garçon was more kick returner than receiver as a rookie, but now he's more star than anything, with 16 catches for 185 yards in two postseason games.
"Losing Marvin and Anthony Gonzalez [with a knee injury] was very tough to deal with,'' Garçon said. "But as a team, we're always at the next man up. This is what you get paid to do . . . I always thought I had potential. And I have been working hard and getting ready for this time to come.''
Collie's work has been a bit unusual. Early on, he had trouble memorizing the Colts' complex playbook. "My wife would help,'' Collie said, "by giving me a play and then read the script from the previous day or the script about to be used. I teach her what I am doing, and if I got the play wrong, she would make me do it again.''
Judging by what's occurred, Collie's been getting most of them right. As few would have guessed in July, he and Garçon have become major parts of a team still playing in February.
Copyright © 2010 Newsday. All rights reserved.
Special to Newsday
MIAMI -- The good teams find them. That's why they're good teams. Somewhere in the draft are players who can meet a need, fill a void. For the Indianapolis Colts, those players were Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie.
Marvin Harrison was leaving. Marvin Harrison, for so long Peyton Manning's favorite target, was finished with the Colts at the end of 2008. Sure, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark would catch what Manning threw, but who would take over for Harrison?
As we've learned, it was Garçon, in his second season, and Collie, in his first. The Jets learned that, too.
In the AFC Championship Game, Garçon made 11 catches for 153 yards, the best numbers of his brief career. Collie had seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, the best numbers of his even briefer career.
What we know about Garçon, the sixth-round pick in the 2008 draft from Division III Mount Union (Ohio), is this: He was born in New York after his parents emigrated from Haiti, the country he honored by wearing a headscarf illustrated with a portion of the Haitian flag during interviews.
What we know about Collie, the fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft, is this: He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, while his father was playing in the Canadian Football League and grew up in northern California. What we also know was he spent 2005 and 2006 on a Mormon mission in Buenos Aires before returning to play two seasons at BYU and turning pro.
What we didn't know about either, as Manning said, is this: "You just don't know those guys are going to respond during the course of a season, during the playoffs . . . Those guys just have had a really calm look in their eyes throughout the year. That has been very comforting.
"We have counted on those young guys to make a lot of plays for us this year. I think it's unusual for two guys like that.''
Garçon was more kick returner than receiver as a rookie, but now he's more star than anything, with 16 catches for 185 yards in two postseason games.
"Losing Marvin and Anthony Gonzalez [with a knee injury] was very tough to deal with,'' Garçon said. "But as a team, we're always at the next man up. This is what you get paid to do . . . I always thought I had potential. And I have been working hard and getting ready for this time to come.''
Collie's work has been a bit unusual. Early on, he had trouble memorizing the Colts' complex playbook. "My wife would help,'' Collie said, "by giving me a play and then read the script from the previous day or the script about to be used. I teach her what I am doing, and if I got the play wrong, she would make me do it again.''
Judging by what's occurred, Collie's been getting most of them right. As few would have guessed in July, he and Garçon have become major parts of a team still playing in February.
Copyright © 2010 Newsday. All rights reserved.