FREENEY PLAYING A ‘FUN’ POSITION

Dwight Freeney used to do what he’s doing now just for ‘fun.’

As a ‘hand in the ground’ defensive end, Freeney joked that the day before games his unit would experiment with different schemes that even included No. 93 in the stand up position he finds himself in this season.

“This is the type of thing that we used to do on Saturdays in kind of a period where you get to play around a little bit. So yeah, it’s fun for me to do something new because I’ve been doing the thing I’ve been doing for 10 years,” Freeney said.

Even though Freeney is having fun at his new position he admitted that it is a bit ‘unfamiliar’ playing in pass coverage.

In practice the other day, Freeney appreciated wide receiver Reggie Wayne for taking it easy on him during a receiving drill. But he knows that will be different on Sunday.

The Pro Bowl end turned linebacker made it clear early in training camp that he doesn’t want to be called an ‘outside’ linebacker.

Instead, he prefers the label given to him on the depth chart, ‘rush’ linebacker.

“I love it,” Freeney said of the name ‘rush’ linebacker. “We actually, as (defensive) linemen for the last 10 years, we breakdown our little huddle when we get together as rush-men. We say 1, 2, 3, rush-men; never d-linemen. So for me it’s pretty much the same.”

Following Friday morning’s walk-through, Freeney wasn’t big on looking back at last year in talking about how the Colts will treat this year’s preseason.

He is anxious to see how the new defense will look on Sunday as he embarks on a new chapter in an already storied NFL career.

“We’re always looking ahead, and looking to build this team that we are now, so this year is the same approach,” Freeney said. “We want to go out there and put on a great show, great game. You want to go out there and perfect your techniques and the things that you’ve been taught.”

MY INDIANA FOOTBALL: 2012 HIGH SCHOOL COACHING CHANGES

– Paul Condry – Regional Radio Sports/Indiana Football Digest

2012 Coaching Changes

                  School                                              Former Coach                                                    New Coach       

1. Angola                                                  Luke Amstutz                                                    Josh Schoeff
2. Cascade                                               Josh Hagenow                                                   Jason Thompson
3. Centerville                                          Matt Holeva                                                       Perry Irwin
4. Clinton Central                                  Mike Quick                                                         Justin Schuhmacher
5. Connersville                                       Mark Kirk                                                             Adam Kelly
6. Covington                                           Phil Cunningham                                              Travis Brown
7. Crown Point                                       Chip Pettit                                                           Kevin Enright
8. Delphi                                                   Jamie Sailors                                                      Josh Strasser
9. East Noble                                          Chris DePew                                                      Luke Amstutz
10. Elkhart Memorial                             Kevin Downey                                                   Bill Roggeman
11. Forest Park                                         Terry Wagner                                                    Ross Fuh
12. Fountain Central                              Rick Malone                                                       Brian Moore
13. Frankfort                                             Tom Potts                                                           Mike Quick
14. Franklin County                                Mark Williamson                                              Shane Wellman
15. Garrett                                                 Ron Frickey                                                         Chris DePew
16. Gary Roosevelt                                 Eric Yarbrough                                                   Jeff Karras
17. Gibson Southern                              Rick Stefanich                                                    Nick Hart
18. Griffith                                                 Russ Radtke                                                       Jim Pickett
19. Hammond Clark                                Tim Gault                                                             Jay Novak
20. Heritage Hills                                      Bob Clayton                                                        Todd Wilkerson
21. Highland                                              Ken Bye                                                                  Trent Grider
22. Huntington North                            Reif Gilg                                                               Trent Fine
23. Indiana Deaf                                      Dan Fitzpatrick                                                  Ned Patterson
24. Indianapolis Howe                           Anthony Henderson                                       (WILL NOT FIELD A TEAM)
25. Knox                                                      Terry Chestovich                                              Chris McGowan
26. Lapel                                                     Nate Andrews                                                   Tim Miller
27. Logansport                                         Bucky Kramer                                                    Brad Urban
28. Monroe Central                              Trent Fine                                                           John Hochstetler
29. Monrovia                                            Mark Jaynes                                                       Kevin Hutchins
30. Mooresville                                        Kevin Hutchins                                                  Chad Dockery
31. Muncie Central                                 John Hochstetler                                              Brad Seiss
32. New Castle                                         Kyle Hall                                                               Mark Luzadder
33. New Palestine                                   Tim Able                                                              Charlie Hill
34. New Prairie                                        Marty Mosson                                                  Russ Radtke
35. North Decatur                                   Jim Louder                                                          Garry Sauley
36. North Harrison                                  Greg Burton                                                       Mark Williamson
37. North Putnam                                   Brian Crabtree                                                   Greg Barrett
38. North Newton                                  Marc Hall                                                             Pat Brown
39. Northfield                                           Justin Schuhmacher                                        Tony Uggen
40. North Vermillion                              Cedric Lloyd                                                        Brian Crabtree
41. Park Tudor                                          Scott Fischer                                                      Orlando Lowry
42. Perry Central                                     Mike Spencer                                                    Greg Gibson
43. Portage                                             Jeromy Flowers                                                      Wally McCormack
44. Prairie Heights                                   Mike Smith                                                         Vincent Royer
45. Princeton                                            Blair Hrovat                                                         Waylon Schenk
46. Rochester                                           Mark Miller                                                         Mike Zehner
47. Rushville                                              Chris Makowski                                                Rocky Alspaugh
48. South Bend Washington            Antwon Jones                                                   Jay Johnson
49. South Central (UM)                        Mel Hay                                                               Bob Foster
50. Tell City                                               Travis Atwell                                                      Ryan George
51. Tri                                                           Keith Isaacs                                                        Will Ragle
52. Twin Lakes                                          Brad Urban                                                         Justin Gardiner
53. Valparaiso                                           Mark Hoffman                                                  Dave Coyle
54. Warren Central                                 John Hart                                                             Steve Tutsie (interim )
55. Western                                              Alix Engle                                                             Nate Andrews
56. Wheeler                                              Dan Klimczak                                                      Tony Klimczak
57. Wood Memorial                               Linc Oxley                                                            Joey Paridaen

Indianapolis Marshal – Anthony Henderson

Indianapolis Tindley – Steve Stirn

PRESEASON HAS DIFFERENT MEANING FOR PLAYERS

The players can sense it.

Less than three days away from finally having the chance to play against someone other than their teammates.

All the offseason talk can finally be put into action as the Indianapolis Colts open up their preseason slate with the St. Louis Rams on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“I’m anticipating it. I can’t say I know exactly what we’re going to look like, but I know one thing, we’re going to go out there and play hard,” safety Antoine Bethea said. “We’re going to go out there and play hard. Coach Pagano just instills all the time, don’t beat ourselves. I think that’s one thing that the fans will see, guys out there playing hard.”

For established veterans like Bethea, the preseason will be treated differently than it would be for the younger players fighting for a spot on the opening day roster.

Bethea admitted he will only play a select number of plays knowing that his body needs to handle a 16-game schedule starting in September.

Flip to the other side of the experience meter and you get a second-year player like wide receiver Kris Adams.

After being on three different practice squads during his rookie season last year, Adams is hoping to find a secure spot on the Colts roster.

For a player like Adams, the preseason games take on even more weight, especially if you have struggled during the early part of training camp.

“Last year when I was with Chicago, I came out and had a big first preseason game. I wasn’t doing fairly well in practice and that got me noticed,” Adams said.

“I think (the Bears) gave me the opportunity to stick around there for a little while. I’m doing fine in practice, so I just want to keep that preseason thing going along like it was last year.”

Many times the final roster spots come down to those players who excel on special teams and can help a team in a phase that is often overlooked.

Running back Mewelde Moore is taking part in his ninth NFL training camp and doesn’t take a single game for granted.

“I’m very excited about it,” Moore said. “It’s something we’ve been born to do. It’s something we’ve been dreaming about to get out there and play our first preseason game.”