MVN - Most Valuable Network

Joseph Addai’s Big Break

With veteran running back Dominic Rhodes gone from the Indy backfield, all the pressure, and hopefully, the glory, will soon fall on second year man Joseph Addai. He had as impressive a rookie season as one could hope for last year, leading all NFL ‘06 rookies with 1,081 rushing yards, tying an NFL rookie record by scoring four rushing touchdowns in one game against the Philadelphia Eagles in November, and becoming the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season without starting a single regular season game. He has already been named among the top ten fantasy league players to draft on countless lists for the upcoming year, and is the only running back on the Colts to have carried the ball during a regular season game before.

That, my friends, is a lot of pressure.

Fortunately, it’s also a lot of trust, and that trust is also, quite obviously, well deserved. How Bill Polian finds these great players seemingly every draft no matter which pick he’s given is truly remarkable. When Edgerrin James left after the tragic 2005 season, the Colts were left with some mighty big shoes to fill. They needed a back that could not only run hard and fast, but who could execute their trademark stretch play, who could make catches out of the backfield, and, as equally important as anything else, could still provide effective blocking for Peyton Manning when necessary. “No big deal,” though Polian, apparently, as he took the thirtieth overall pick in the ‘06 draft and gave it his Midas touch once again. He was the fourth running back selected that year, and, not to repeat myself, he piled up more rushing yards than any other selection, despite splitting carries with Rhodes and never starting. It’s almost equally impressive that Addai was able to accomplish what he did as it is Polian knew to draft him.

As his sophomore season is set to begin, then, the expectations placed on him are obviously high. But will he be able to handle the load as the premiere back this time around? Very few doubt that he will. This is definitely going to be the most interesting question to see answered for the ‘07 Colts.

And if last year is any indication of what Addai will be able to do as the chief carrier, and I pray that it is, there’s a good chance we’ll still be discussing his role on the team when February rolls around again.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Colts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.