Bell Tolls: Wayne sets tone for new-look Colts

INDIANAPOLIS -- There is no shortage of signs that pop up on a daily basis to remind Reggie Wayne just how fresh of a transition this is for the Indianapolis Colts.

There is a new playbook. Dozens of new teammates. And Wayne, in his 12th season with the team, can't swear by the practice schedule anymore.

Yet as he pondered the difference of playing with rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, after all of those years with Peyton Manning, the wise and aging receiver had to laugh.

He was thinking about the heat of competition, which for so many years with the Colts offense, meant executing a precise script.

"There have been a few times when the pocket collapsed, and Andrew's been been able to run and get a first down," Wayne said, sitting at his corner locker on Friday, his feet planted inside a therapy machine. "That's big. Peyton's not running out of that pocket.

"But Andrew's able to do that, and he can throw on the run. That's stuff you really can't teach, and it's a dagger to the defense. They can have the perfect defense, and he gets out there. We've got our own RGIII."

The Colts selected Luck with the No. 1 pick overall in April, leaving the real Robert Griffin III for the Washington Redskins, and moving on with life after Manning.

It has been some transition, thorough and complete. Ryan Grigson is the new general manager, taking over the operation once headed by Bill Polian. Bruce Arians is the interim coach while Chuck Pagano undergoes treatment for leukemia, months after Pagano replaced Jim Caldwell. And leaving through the door with Manning were other key players, including Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Gary Brackett and Pierre Garcon.

But Wayne, 32, stayed. He could have left, too, on his own terms last spring as a coveted free agent. Maybe he could have followed Manning to Denver, or signed with a surefire contender that needed a reliable receiver.

But he stayed put, opting to rebuild with a franchise and a rookie quarterback.

"I could've gotten a couple more ducats from a couple other places, but at this point it's not even about that," he said. "It's just that gut feeling that you get, and I followed it."

Why not stick with Manning and make it a package deal?

"That never even crossed my mind," Wayne says. "For one, he was taking recruiting visits. I didn't have time for that. I had to go when the getting was good. He could afford to wait. I couldn't. There were other (receivers) out there. I had to jump on a ship ASAP."

When free agency opened, Wayne signed with the first wave -- when typically the biggest deals are struck -- after the Colts and two undisclosed teams made their bids.

Grigson said the Colts improved their offer as a flurry of receiver deals carried the start of free agency. That Wayne signed a three-year, $17.5 million contract now looks like quite the bargain, given his production.

Wayne heads into Sunday's pivotal game against the Miami Dolphins leading the NFL with 757 receiving yards on 54 catches. He's provided Luck with a security blanket, yet in a larger scheme also given the Colts a model to establish the program with.

It would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the Colts to compete with the deal that Garcon secured with the Redskins (five years, $42.5 million), but Grigson insists that they preferred Wayne rather than the younger Garcon because of his leadership value.

Besides, Wayne is a favorite of Colts owner Jim Irsay and his relationship with Pagano extended to his days at the University of Miami (Fla.), where Pagano was once an assistant.

"When I came into this, I was resigned to the fact that anyone over 28 ... we wanted to build this thing for long-term success," Grigson said. "So you don't go signing a bunch of guys over 30. But he's a unique circumstance. And he's blowing it up."

Every team needs a player like Wayne, a consistent, hard-working type who runs precise routes and rarely drops a pass in practice. Grigson says he already knew last offseason that Wayne still had the skills to remain productive, and that Pagano and Irsay convinced him that Wayne fit the profile of the type of players they repeatedly talked about in meetings as the type they wanted to build the program with.

"We needed to have a pillar-like player to help indoctrinate the younger guys into how to do things," Grigson said. "He's as clear-cut of a professional as you can have."

Wayne heard this, too, when Irsay and Pagano made their pitch last spring. He didn't need to be sold to return to the franchise, and had done enough homework on Luck -- including placing calls to acquaintances at Stanford and reading media reports -- to realize that it could work for him.

Now, with 34 players on the Colts roster who are either rookies or in their first year on the team (and a handful of other veterans, like defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis in tow), Wayne is embracing his role as a different type of go-to player. He's even become more vocal.

Yet all of this freshness has had challenges, too.

Take the playbook. In the old Colts offense, Wayne was always aligned in a stationary position wide left. Now he lines up on the right side, in the slot and in motion. And the assignments have changed, too.

"I didn't know I'd have the Hines Ward role," he said of the blocking requirements, with a link to Arians' past with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Arians chuckled as he recalled how Wayne had to get used to changing his footwork while aligned on the right side of the formation.

"That right foot wouldn't always do what he wanted it to do," Arians said.

That was a minor blip, though, when considering the grand scheme.

"When you see a veteran guy embrace it," Arians said, "a rookie, he's got no choice but to do it."

Besides the year the Colts won the Super Bowl, Wayne says this is shaping up as his most satisfying season. That's how the new expectations and challenges of learning a new playbook can resonate with a conscientious veteran.

"Being the older guy, all these younger guys are going to look at you to see what you do," he said. "You can't go out there and keep messing up. So you've got to be on your game. That's kept me more into it. And it's helped me stay young."

Wayne grumbles when asked about last season, when Manning didn't play a down while going through his neck surgeries and rehab, and the Colts were 2-14.

"That was a lonely place," he said. "But after so many good seasons, I'll take one like that. That was our lockout year."

Then he flashes a two-fingered peace sign.

"I say, 'Deuce' to that," he said. " 'Peace.'

"Now it's the same organization, but with a totally different team and mind-set."

And with again something to play for in November.

"After 2-14, it's great to have another big game," Wayne said. "It's been a long time coming."

Also in play for Week 9:

►Who's hot: Aaron Rodgers. The Packers have won three games in a row, and they've done it the hard way, with key targets Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and Jermichael Finley among the wounded to varying degrees. Yet the quarterback has been intact, despite absorbing more sacks (28) than any quarterback in the NFL. His game is still formidable, too. Rodgers, second in the NFL with a 107.9 passer rating, has thrown for 11 TDs with zero picks during the winning streak. Now if the Packers can only reduce the hits on Rodgers, which might be a challenge against a Cardinals defense that enters Sunday's game at Lambeau tied with the Packers with an NFL-high 26 sacks.

► Pressure's on: Buffalo's defense. When last seen in action, the Bills defense -- maybe the most disappointing unit in the league -- was shredded for 195 rushing yards by Chris Johnson. Think a bye week helped? Now comes Arian Foster and the run-dominant, high-powered Texans offense. That's an equation for disaster, with Buffalo ranked dead-last in the league against the run (176.9 yards per game) and in scoring (32.4 points per game). This, after the big offseason free agency spending on Mario Williams and Mark Anderson (two defensive ends, $125 million). That Williams, drafted No. 1 overall by the Texans in 2006, makes his return to Reliant Stadium on Sunday probably won't be a cause for celebration.

► On the couch: Jerry Jones. Through all of the criticism, second-guessing, turnovers and bad breaks that have saddled the Cowboys, there has been nary a hint of discouragement from the NFL's highest-profiled owner. At least not publicly. Jones has supported coach Jason Garrett through the play-calling blunders against the Giants last weekend, as he did through the firestorm that followed clock-management issues during a previous loss at Baltimore. He's also stuck by Tony Romo, despite the quarterback's NFL-high 13 interceptions. Jones has continued to declare that the Cowboys (3-4) are a Super Bowl contender. Maybe that's his checkbook talking. And he's been in Dez Bryant's corner, too, amid off-the-field turmoil. Yet barring a sustained reversal in this deflating season for the Cowboys, the heat will only intensify on the coach, quarterback and yes, the GM (Jones himself), with questions about the viability of sticking with this plan for the long haul. Now isn't the time for rash moves. But the questions won't go away for a team that fields a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense…while ranking last in the NFC with a minus-11 turnover ratio. The next challenge is to beat the NFL's only undefeated team on Sunday night in Atlanta…and make good on defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's guarantee for a victory. As the world turns with the Cowboys.

► Rookie revue: Doug Martin. The Bucs offense has hit a nice stride in recent weeks, producing 34 points and 472 yards per game during their three October contests. And it hasn't been all on quarterback Josh Freeman's arm. Martin, the multi-tasking running back drafted 31st overall from Boise State, led the NFL with 155.7 yards per scrimmage per game in October. The numbers were padded by his big night at Minnesota in Week 8, when he posted his first NFL 100-yard game and ripped off a 64-yard scoring reception. Yet it's clear that the transition from LeGarrette Blount to Martin as the featured back in the Bucs' new offense under Greg Schiano is in full effect. Martin ranks 11th in the league with 543 yards (4.2 yards per rush).

► Key matchup: Ben Roethlisberger vs. New York Giants secondary. Last week at Dallas, the Giants allowed three Cowboys to post 100-yard receiving games. And Jason Witten set an NFL single-game record for tight ends with 18 catches. Now New York faces a passing attack that looks even more dangerous with Roethlisberger throwing to one of the NFL's fastest sets of wideouts with Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, along with rediscovered tight end Heath Miller. The game could hinge on this. Prince Amukamara, bring your track shoes. New York gets a boost as safety Kenny Phillips returns from a knee injury, joining Antrel Rolle and Stevie Brown in the rotation. But the real swing factor likely comes on third downs, when Roethlisberger has been the best quarterback in the league. Hello, pass rush? The Giants secondary will need the group up front to prevent Roethlisberger from extending plays, easier said than done against a quarterback sacked just four times in his past four games.

► My road to Super Bowl XLVII goes through… Indianapolis. If the playoffs were being played today, the Dolphins would be the AFC's fifth seed and the Colts would be the sixth seed. Since the playoffs are not today, it's one of just two NFL matchups in Week 9 pitting two teams with winning records and undoubtedly the Midseason Surprise Bowl. The winner leaves Lucas Oil Stadium with a 5-3 record that adds credence to a second-half push for the playoffs. Every year, the NFL serves up some surprises that defy logic. Last season, the Colts and Dolphins were a combined 8-24. But with their rookie quarterbacks and new coaches, there is no time to look back.

► Did you notice? As midseason approaches, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson leads the NFL in rushing with 775 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per pop. This is more impressive, of course, when considering that Peterson had reconstructive knee surgery after tearing an ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve. He's back, and his declaration that he would be better than ever has a lot more substance now. It used to be that a player coming off a torn ACL typically wouldn't regain his form until the year after he returned.

► Stat's the fact: The Bears defense is the first unit in NFL history to post six interception-return touchdowns during the first seven games to start a season. Be wary, Matt Hasselbeck, as Chicago visits the Titans on Sunday.