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Sunday, August 17, 2003

Dungy's defensive designs pay dividends


Colts' pressure shuts down Seattle

INDIANAPOLIS - Tony Dungy spent last season molding the Indianapolis Colts' defense into his image. He expected big plays, more hustle and more turnovers.

This year, the players are responding to Dungy's challenge.

In their first two preseason games, the Colts have forced eight turnovers, had eight sacks, scored a touchdown and nearly produced a shutout.

Opponents have found it more difficult to score points and gain yards, and quarterbacks have felt more consistent pressure.

This is defense by the book - Dungy's book.

"It's exciting," linebacker Marcus Washington said. "We didn't get as many turnovers as we wanted last year, but we're getting after it now."

Players acknowledge they're having fun and gaining confidence. The combination has translated into more aggressive hits and promising results.

Seattle and Chicago combined for just 27 points against a defense that allowed 25.5 points over the last two seasons, including a 41-0 playoff loss to the New York Jets.

It's a far cry from what Indianapolis fans have come to expect.

"He wants us to fly around the ball, make big hits and keep pursuing," said defensive end Raheem Brock. "If we do that enough, there will be big plays."

Friday night's 21-7 victory was a perfect example.

On one play, Brock read a screen pass, jumped up, tipped the ball and picked it off to quash the Seahawks' only first-half threat.

When the ball slipped out of Seneca Wallace's hand during the third quarter, a swarm of defenders chased it into the end zone where David Macklin fell on it for a touchdown.

But the biggest difference hasn't been statistics; it's attitude.

Rookie safety Mike Doss made several impressive hits Friday, and when Seattle quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck and Wallace were able to throw passes, they were almost always surrounded by Colts.

"This is Tony's defense," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "He'll get it the way he wants it. He has a style of defense he likes to play, and it's good."

Dungy had hoped to see the Colts adopt his fast, menacing style last year in his first season as coach, but it didn't work out quite as well as he had hoped.

While the Colts improved from No. 29 to No. 8 in overall rankings, the Colts still finished in the bottom half of the league with 27 turnovers. They were hesitant and sometimes mistake-prone.

This season, Dungy has higher expectations. His goal is 40 interceptions - one more than the Colts have had in the last three seasons combined.

But the difference is clear.

"I thought we had some very good effort and I thought we outhit Seattle, that's the best thing about it," Dungy said. "We had turnovers and we had an interception from a defensive back, which was good to see."

The result Friday was five turnovers and four sacks while limiting the Seahawks to just 79 yards in the first half.

Ravens 13, Falcons 10

ATLANTA - Atlanta star Michael Vick fractured his right fibula Saturday night in a 13-10 exhibition loss to Baltimore, and Falcons owner Arthur Blank said the quarterback will be sidelined at least six weeks.

Blank said Vick wouldn't have surgery. If Vick's out six weeks, he'll miss the first four games of the regular season, and would return Oct. 5 against Minnesota. Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb had a similar injury last year and was out two months.

On third-and-6 from the Atlanta 5 late in the first quarter, Vick was chased out of the pocket and was tackled by Adalius Thomas. Vick fell awkwardly on his right leg and grabbed it even before he hit the ground.

The Ravens (1-1) held off Atlanta (0-2) despite a 67-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Falcons rookie Bryan Scott with 1:51 left. After Atlanta recovered an onside kick, third-string quarterback Kurt Kittner threw an interception, sealing the Falcons' second loss in two games.

Baltimore rookie Kyle Boller, battling Chris Redman and Anthony Wright for the starting quarterback job, threw a 1-yard TD pass to Terry Jones Jr. in the third quarter, and Matt Stover added two field goals.

Eagles 21, Steelers 16

PITTSBURGH - Donovan McNabb and A.J. Feeley directed long first-half drives and Philadelphia benefited from an instant replay reversal that took away a Pittsburgh touchdown.

The slow-moving game, delayed by replay reviews and 147 yards of penalties just in the first half, was halted by lightning for 31 minutes in the third quarter and didn't end until more than four hours after starting.

The Eagles (2-0) went three-and-out on their first two possessions before putting together drives of 66 and 87 yards to open a 14-3 lead on Correll Buckhalter's 1-yard run and Feeley's 1-yard completion to Kori Dickerson. Just before halftime, Freddie Milons' 82-yard kickoff return set up Feeley's second 1-yard scoring pass, to Billy McMullen.

The Steelers are 0-2.

Saints 22, Jets 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Todd Bouman guided two scoring drives and New Orleans scored three second-half touchdowns.

Deuce McAllister played the first half after sitting out the opener against Philadelphia. He finished with 11 carries for 45 yards - including a nice 17-yard run in the second quarter - and caught three passed for 14 yards for the Saints (1-1).

Chad Pennington threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Conway with 28 seconds left in the first half for the Jets (1-2).

Broncos 15, Bears 10

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Jarious Jackson connected with Frank Rice on a 36-yard fourth-down pass before sneaking in for a touchdown with 18 seconds left as Denver (2-0) beat Chicago (1-1).

Jackson drove the Broncos 80 yards on 15 plays in the final three minutes. The big play was his fourth-down pass to Rice that carried to the Chicago 15.

Starting quarterbacks Jake Plummer, who visited the Bears during the free agent recruiting period before signing with the Broncos, and Kordell Stewart played two series each. Plummer was 8-of-13 passes for 117 yards, and Stewart was 3-of-8 for 28.

Titans 37, Bills 24

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Eddie George ran for a touchdown, Steve McNair threw for another and Tennessee came up with four sacks and three turnovers.

The Titans (2-0) led 21-0 before the Bills (1-1) finally scored and had little problem with a Buffalo defense retooled during the offseason after ranking 27th in points allowed last year.

McNair was 8-of-12 for 70 yards.

Patriots 20, Redskins 13

LANDOVER, Md. - Rookie Bethel Johnson fumbled three times on one kickoff return, then returned the next one 98 yards for a touchdown for New England.

The Patriots (2-0) scored on their first drive, with Antowain Smith bursting through the Redskins' troubled line for 21 yards on three carries. He walked into the end zone on a 5-yard run, leaving several defenders sprawled on the turf in his wake.

Washington is 0-2.

Chiefs 26, Vikings 16

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Trent Green threw a 59-yard scoring pass to Marc Boerigter for Kansas City's first touchdown of the preseason as the Chiefs beat Minnesota.

Todd Collins also threw a TD pass for Kansas City (2-1), and Morten Andersen kicked three field goals and Jose Cortez made one.

The Vikings (0-2) got a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter from rookie Onterrio Smith.

Cardinals 16, Chargers 10

SAN DIEGO - Justin Lucas returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter and Damien Anderson had an 82-yard run for Arizona (2-0).

Emmitt Smith suited up but didn't play, spending the game on the Arizona sideline wearing a baseball cap.

LaDainian Tomlinson played two days after taking himself out of practice at the Chargers' hot and humid training camp in Carson, an industrial suburb of Los Angeles. He carried twice for 14 yards and caught one pass for six yards.

The Chargers are 0-2.




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ENQUIRER PAGE TWO
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ON THE AIR
Sunday sports on TV, radio

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