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Charlie Johnson


CaptainHook
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We talk about the Indianapolis Colts' Super Bowl heroes, about Peyton Manning and Joseph Addai, about Kelvin Hayden and Dominic Rhodes. We see Manning continue his Peyton Across America Tour, hosting "Saturday Night Live." We see Rhodes, a forgettable player most of the regular season, hitting his stride in the postseason, then hitting the fiscal jackpot with the Oakland Raiders.

And then there's Charlie Johnson.

Remember Charlie Johnson? Somebody? Anybody?

"Well, people know me back at Oklahoma State,'' he said sheepishly after Thursday's summer school session. "Around here, sometimes. You get the super-Colts fan, they know. But most of the time they see me (at 6-4, 305 pounds), they figure I probably play football.''

He's the Colts' Super Bowl hero most locals couldn't pick out of a lineup. He's anonymous even by offensive lineman standards of anonymity (although we're worried Jeff Saturday is in danger of overexposure). He not only didn't host a nationally televised sketch comedy show, he wasn't even a part of the "SNL" audience.

But when the Colts' players, coaches and staffers receive their big, shiny diamond rings this week, the people inside the organization will know that Johnson played as big a role in Indy's Super Bowl victory as anybody on the team.

"I can remember, at one point late in the (Super Bowl) game, I looked around the huddle and saw Charlie, and asked him, 'How long have you been in?' " Manning recalled. "And he said, 'Oh, about a quarter and a half.' "

That's how you know an offensive lineman has filled in seamlessly. The quarterback didn't even notice. And this is a quarterback who notices everything.

For most of last season, Johnson's rookie season after playing just one year on the offensive line at Oklahoma State, the sixth-round pick was an insurance policy, a stopgap.

He played occasionally in goal-line situations, lining up as a tight end in the season opener against the Giants and dropping a touchdown pass -- which, by the way, Manning has not let Johnson forget.

His first significant playing time came Nov. 26 when he replaced right tackle Ryan Diem early in the home game against Philadelphia. After Diem went down, offensive line coach Howard Mudd approached Johnson and said simply, "I trust you." Johnson showed why as the Colts ran all over the Eagles.

With Diem still hurt, Johnson played the entire game against Tennessee.

And that, generally, was it. The final four regular-season games and first three playoff games, he saw the field less frequently than even Hunter Smith, which is no simple task.

"I got two snaps in Houston (Dec. 24) because Tarik (Glenn) lost his shoe,'' Johnson said.

Then came Super Bowl Sunday, another Sunday when Johnson figured he'd remain on the sideline, watching one of the league's best offensive lines work its magic. But, like all his teammates, he prepared as if he was going to play every down.

That's one of the things Tony Dungy and his staff harp on incessantly: It doesn't matter if you're the first guy on the roster or the last, at some point during the year, you may have a chance to impact a season-altering play. In the past, Dungy has made a point of showing his team film clips of undrafted free agents who've made a hugh difference on key games.

This past year, it was Johnson, filling in and playing against one of Chicago's best pass rushers, Adewale Ogunleye, and shutting him down.

"I just remember him (Diem) coming off the field (in the Super Bowl) after we'd scored late in the second quarter,'' Johnson said. "He said, 'My ankle, something's not right.' He went over to the bench and the trainers were working on him, I asked him, 'What's happening?' He just looked at me and said, 'Go get it.' "

If Manning was slow to notice that Johnson had joined the team, the opposition was not. Johnson remembered the moment he came in, Bears defenders began yelling, "Hey, we've got a rookie here. Number 74. We've got a rook. We've got a rook.''

Well, the rook played like a 10-year veteran. The Bears didn't sniff Manning in the second half, and the two-headed running game, led by Addai and Rhodes, danced through holes that looked as if they'd been opened by a stick of dynamite.

"It's a real credit to Charlie, especially in the no-huddle because we only huddle on the first play of the drive, I really didn't know (Ryan) Diem got hurt until probably four or five series after he was injured,'' Manning said. "That tells you how comfortable everybody was when he came in. At certain positions, it's 'Wait a minute, timeout, we've got a rookie in here and we need to change our approach.' But we had none of that with Charlie."

This is what the Colts want in front of Manning. Smart, athletic players who are interchangeable parts. Mudd says Johnson has a "great football IQ," which is why Johnson is spending time at center during this summer school session.

Charlie Johnson, Super Bowl hero.

Still doesn't sound quite right, does it?

 

from Indy Star

Edited by CaptainHook
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Jealous, completely, but a lineman.

 

 

 

Linemen are the working class heros of the NFL. They are the foundation of winning teams. Not glamorous but like the story says if you don't notice them they are doing their jobs well.

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Jeff Saturday and his crew were the true MVP of the Superbowl. Too bad it is all about the skill positions, and lineman don't have a chance in h*ll of ever receiving the recognition they deserve.

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