FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - On opening day, up-and-coming receiver Anthony Gonzalez suffered a season-ending knee injury - just seven months after Indianapolis released aging star wideout Marvin Harrison.
Were the Colts worried? Please.
There's a reason why Indy continues to win big, year after year. Well, a reason besides quarterback Peyton Manning. When the Colts lose a player, they always seem to have a spare handy.
At running back, Marshall Faulk gave way to Edgerrin James, who gave way to Joseph Addai.
No Harrison or Gonzalez at wide receiver? No problem. The Colts plugged in Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon.
Household names? Not exactly, but try telling that to the Jets, who clamped down on Colts stars Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark and limited them to a combined seven catches for 90 yards in the AFC Championship (although Clark did have a touchdown).
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The unheralded Colts duo scorched New York, with Garcon catching 11 passes for 151 yards and a TD and Collie snaring seven passes for 123 yards and a score.
"They have made great strides," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. "I don't think any of us would have imagined that they would come along so quickly and perform so well consistently."
Collie, who does most of his work in the slot, was a fourth-round draft pick last spring from Brigham Young. Garcon, who replaced Gonzalez in the starting lineup, was a sixth-round pick in 2008 out of NCAA Division III Mount Union.
"Anyone can have one good game or two games that they string together," Caldwell said, (but) "doing it back-to-back the way the young guys have done (over the season) is a bit unusual."
Naturally, having a quarterback such as Manning, who demands excellence, helps. But having a shrewd scouting department and organizational continuity under club president Bill Polian doesn't hurt.
The Colts know exactly what they need to keep Manning happy and healthy, such as when they replaced Tarik Glenn at left tackle with Charlie Johnson to protect the QB's blind side and keep the offense humming.
Garcon, who is of Haitian descent and has relatives in the earthquake-hit country, was taken by the Colts with the 205th overall pick. The 6-foot, 210-pound receiver had only four catches as a rookie, before breaking out with 63 grabs for 950 yards and five TDs this season.
Collie, who plays bigger than his size (6-0, 200), has been effective working the middle of the field. He has 71 receptions for 851 yards and nine TDs.
"There is no question we have counted on those young guys to make a lot of plays for us this year," Manning said. "I think it is unusual for two guys like that.
"I really consider Pierre to be a rookie. … Of course, Austin is a rookie, although he is a little more mature for a rookie after serving his mission" in the Mormon church.
Collie, 24, served his mission from January 2005 to January 2007 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is fluent in Spanish. He returned to the United States just a couple of weeks before the Colts' victory over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI.
Manning is known to chew out a teammate.
"He wants to be the best," said Collie, whose father Scott and brother Zac played receiver at BYU. "It definitely rubs off on you. He just makes everyone around him so much better."
Garcon agreed.
"He's made me the player that I am right now," Garcon said. "With a different quarterback we probably wouldn't be here. I'd probably be at home watching."
On Sunday, the New Orleans defense better watch Garcon and Collie - as well as Wayne and Clark, although Wayne is battling a right knee injury that caused him to leave practice 20 minutes early Friday.
"Do they just double Dallas and double Reggie?" Manning asked. "If so, it has been proven that Pierre and Austin can hurt you."
SUPER BOWL
• Who: Saints vs. Colts
• Where: Miami
• When: 4:25 p.m., Sunday
• TV: Ch. 13
• Radio: 1490-AM
