It defied conventional thinking, but then again, that goes away when it comes to the Indianapolis Colts offense. And that might actually be one of the secrets of its success.
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| He got paid, now receiver Reggie Wayne is paying dividends for the Colts. (US PRESSWIRE) |
How can a receiver be more important than a guy who had rushed for 1,500 yards in two successive seasons?
Now we're finding out.
In the Colts offense, Wayne is more important than James. Sounds silly, right? Maybe so, but Polian believed it, stuck to his instincts, and so far he has been right in a big way. When you have Peyton Manning, you better have elite targets.
It used to be that receivers were a dime a dozen. The game has changed, and that statement no longer applies, especially when you are a pass-first offense like the Colts.
Keeping Wayne made sense, and he's rewarding the Colts with a big season. Wayne has 38 catches for 642 yards, five touchdowns and a career-high 16.9 yard per catch. He had three touchdown catches last Sunday against the Broncos, and is rapidly moving away from that label as the "other" receiver opposite Marvin Harrison.
"We felt he was an integral part of our offense that we couldn't replace in the draft," Polian said. "We felt he was worth the money from a longevity and production standpoint. We knew quite well that if he became a free agent he was gone. We felt it was a wise move to get him signed before that happened and, fortunately, he wanted to stay here."
Some NFL personnel privately questioned the move. Fans ripped it, too. Polian was toasted on the local talk shows for making Wayne the priority over James.
Here was the rationale behind the move: Polian believed he could find a good runner in the draft who could step in and play right way, while a receiver might take time. So he drafted LSU runner Joseph Addai in the first round, a player who now has the look of being the perfect back for the Colts system, even better than James.
Addai has 447 yards rushing and a 5.1 average. James, who signed with Arizona, never averaged more than 4.6 for the Colts. Addai has the big-play ability that James doesn't. All those who said there would be a big drop in the Colts rushing attack with the loss of James are being proved wrong.
After seven games in 2005, James had 801 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 19 catches and one receiving touchdown. After seven games this season, Addai and Dominic Rhodes have a combined 746 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 33 receptions and one receiving touchdown.
Let's call it a wash. Edge, no pun intended, to Polian.
