Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, left, is blocked by offensive guard Rob Murphy during practice at Colts camp Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        TERRE HAUTE, Ind. —— It hasn't taken very long for rookie defensive linemen Dwight Freeney and Larry Tripplett to impress the Indianapolis Colts' coaching staff.

        Freeney and Tripplett — the Colts' top two draft choices this year — played well in their 28-10 preseason win Saturday over the Seattle Seahawks.

        Freeney made his presence felt as he recorded a sack, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. The former Syracuse All-American defensive end also put pressure on the Seattle quarterbacks for most of the night.

        Tripplett, Indianapolis' second-round pick who played collegiately at the University of Washington, had a sack and forced a fumble from his defensive tackle post.

        Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy wasn't surprised by how well Freeney and Tripplett performed their first time out, but knows they can get a lot better with added experience.

        “It was a typical rookie performance,” Dungy said Monday. “They had some flashes of excellent plays and then they had some plays that they probably should have made very easily that they made difficult.

        “They played hard and had the adrenaline going. They showed what they can do. I think they'll just get more and more consistent as we go on. But it was good starts for both of them.”

        The pressure was definitely on Tripplett to play well. Saturday night's game was played in the same town where he went to college and he had plenty of friends and family in the stands to watch.

        “I was happy to just get out there with the guys and get a little taste of what it's like to play in the NFL,” he said. “The speed of the game really impressed me. There's a lot of good players in this league.

        “But I told the guys that we had to get a win. I had 85 people there Saturday night. I couldn't have gone back there to Seattle with my family if we would have lost. I would have been hearing about it.”

Battle of QBs in final stages Bengals LBs: One getting contract; one getting healthy Next opponent: Colts Training Camp Rule 1 - Stay healthy Bucs 14, Dolphins 10 Dilfer shelved with bum knee

Priestley, other drivers reportedly told of slick spot
Priestley expected to make full recovery following crash
Gordon searches for answers to 0-30
Bad luck, long women's match conspire against local ATP final
Chang advances to second round at Legg Mason
Kournikova advances in Rogers AT&T
Pavel tunes out crowd, advances at RCA
Bittersweet memories for Lehman and Hazeltine majors
Irish eyes smilin' in the majors
PGA Championship, Player Capsules
PGA Championship, hole by hole
Phelps cruises past swimming record by over a second
Reds' real test begins tonight at Cinergy
Reds-Diamondbacks series preview
In a surprise, players' union fails to set strike date
Leaving the hammer on the table
Players seem to realize that strike is scary option
Pleasure fading from pastime
Autopsy finds cocaine in Porter's system at time of death
Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter dies
Sosa homers for third straight day
Astros 9, Cubs 6
Cardinals 10, Pirates 6
Notes from Monday's games
Louisville 2, Columbus 1
Hillsboro, Greenfield McClain bolt
Ohio preps tennis preview
Kentucky preps golf preview

• Return to Bengals front page...