FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Garrett Hartley’s time as a Bronco was short and unmemorable.
Hartley was signed as an undrafted rookie in the spring of 2008 to compete with Matt Prater to be the Broncos’ first kicker after Jason Elam. Former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan quickly picked Prater, cutting Hartley before training camp.
Things have worked out just fine for Prater, and for Hartley, too.
Hartley, who eventually signed with the Saints midway through 2008, recently found stardom after nailing a 40-yard field goal in overtime of the NFC championship game to send New Orleans to its first Super Bowl.
“It was funny, I thought I had a pretty good camp out there,” Hartley said Wednesday. “Denver was a great place and I was excited coming there out of college. It’s unfortunate that they felt they needed to release me and essentially not give me a chance. I’m happy to be in New Orleans with a team that gave me a chance.”
Two Colts starters miss practice.
Indianapolis defensive end Dwight Freeney and cornerback Jerraud Powers both missed practice Wednesday, and Freeney’s severely sprained ankle remains the most discussed body part here in South Florida.
Freeney told reporters Wednesday that the ankle “felt a lot better” than it did Tuesday. He might not practice all week.
Powers, a rookie, missed the AFC championship game with a foot injury, but said earlier this week that he expects to be healthy enough to play Sunday.
Colts remember Marshall’s big day.
Sure, the Colts beat the Broncos eight weeks ago and are the odds-on favorite to win their second Super Bowl in four seasons.
But the Colts couldn’t stop Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall from setting a record against them. After the Colts went up 21-0 on Denver, the Broncos attempted to come back through an assault of short to intermediate passes thrown to Marshall. The receiver wound up breaking Terrell Owens’ single-game record of 20 catches, but the Colts won, 28-16.
“You get frustrated,” Powers said. “We didn’t give up a lot of big plays against him, but he would catch a lot of underneath stuff and break six tackles. Brandon Marshall, I don’t think a lot of people talk about him enough as far as one of the top receivers. Usually when people talk about the top receivers, they talk about (Randy) Moss and (Larry) Fitzgerald. But I think he should be in the discussion.”
Other Colts say it was more the circumstances, most notably their three-touchdown lead and their willingness to allow the short pass in return for protecting against the big play that allowed Marshall to set the record. His 200 yards receiving averaged out to 9.5 yards a catch.
“He won the battle, we won the war,” Colts linebacker Gary Brackett said.
Footnote.
The NFL announced referee Scott Green will head the Super Bowl officials crew.
Lindsay H. Jones, The Denver Post
