Sports

Tony Dungy, the coach for the Indianapolis Colts, has had a year of luck. Between a super bowl ring and a best seller he is feeling pretty good about himself. “Yeah, I was going through the offseason feeling pretty good about everything when my wife and I were in the bookstore,” said Dungy. “Then someone from the bookstore came up to me and said, ‘It’s so good to have you here, Coach Edwards.’ … The Lord has a way of keeping you humble.”

Dungy shared a laugh over that with his good friend and former assistant, Kansas City coach Herm Edwards. More important, the moment was the first of many reminders that winning a Super Bowl guarantees little in life, even recognition. The further reminder of that has come in training camp. The Colts may be the defending champions, but they are a very different team from that rainy night in Miami during Super Bowl XLI less than seven months ago.

Gone are four starters on defense and left tackle Tarik Glenn on offense. There’s also a new No. 3 receiver, first-round draft pick Anthony Gonzalez, who is already ingratiating himself to quarterback Peyton Manning. ”It’s hard not to notice in the locker room that there are different guys … than last year,” said Manning, MVP of the Super Bowl. “That is very noticeable that guys aren’t here and that keeps you focused. I’m not saying you want it. You’d rather have every guy here and not lose anybody off your best team. But it keeps you busy and keeps you active.”

In Manning’s never-ending quest to throw a perfect pass on every play, he has struck up a kinship with his new receiver. ”Gonzalez, I can tell, has read the whole playbook. It’s like how they put that $5 bill on page 300, he’s got it,” Manning said. “So yeah it does, it keeps you focused. We had good offseason attendance, nobody missed. It doesn’t guarantee you’re going to win, but at least it’s a good start.”

But for every great thing that has happened collectively or individually, from the Super Bowl to defensive end Dwight Freeney signing a six-year, $72 million contract that included $30 million in guarantees, there has been a reminder that fame is fleeting. The latest reminder was the season-ending injury to defensive tackle Anthony McFarland, who played a vital role during the stretch run and the playoffs last season.

Bottom line is if the Colts are to repeat, it will be a test of how fast their star-driven team can get up to speed with all the changes. Although it helps when a team has a nucleus like the one built and maintained by general manager Bill Polian.

Polian’s strength has been spending big money at crucial positions. On offense, he has kept the communication-heavy passing trio of Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne together. On defense, he has paid for speedy pass rushers Freeney and Robert Mathis, a valuable commodity to find because such players change the game so much.