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Star-struck? Not these guys
In every NFL game, there are stories like these.
Myron Pryor remembers being 9 or 10 years old, and watching Peyton Manning play his beloved Kentucky Wildcats as a Tennessee Vol. Darius Butler can recall being a huge Reggie Wayne fan, being from South Florida and rooting for the Miami Hurricanes, and following No. 87 career with the Colts.
Now, those guys have to go up against these established NFL stars. Will it be weird to look across the field and see Manning, as an opponent, in pregame at Lucas Oil Stadium?
"Not now," Butler said. "If you’d asked me that a few months ago, I’d have probably said yeah. You kinda get used to it, coming into training camp, playing with guys on your team that who’ve been in the league. Randy Moss, I’ve been watching him since I can remember. Junior Seau, he was drafted when I three or four.
"You get over that. We’re really preparing and focusing on beating him. He’s a great quarterback, it’s a great challenge."
But that doesn't mean the kids are completely, all-the-way ready for what's gonna hit them Sunday.
Really, you can't be. One area I covered in my talks with some NFL scouts earlier in the week was how the Colts are, predominantly, a no-huddle team now.
That poses lots of problems for a defense. It's harder to adjust and change looks, and almost impossible to substitute. Here's one more issue: If you haven't seen it before, you're gonna get out there, and have to catch up to Indy's breakneck pace on the fly.
"I don’t think we’ve played an offense this year that’s been as fast-paced as the Colts have been," Butler said. "Obviously, that’s an adjustment you can’t really prepare for, or simulate in practice."
Pryor added that "It’s gonna be real fast-paced, everything’s gonna be coming quick. My goal is practice it, and run it to the end of the play, because you know there’s gonna be a lot of quick shots to receivers. The guy, when he’s in pocket, doesn’t look nervous at all, doesn’t let anything affect him, so you have to get in his face."
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