Art Spander - Sports Commentary

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

MIAMI -- He is the running back on a passing team. Joseph Addai doesn't get a lot of yards and gets even less respect, which is what happens when Peyton Manning is your teammate.

But as the Jets forlornly will concur, Addai helped get the Indianapolis Colts into Sunday's Super Bowl against the Saints.

There they are, at the bottom of the NFL stats in rushing. There they are, one victory from the trophy named for Vince Lombardi, who most likely would be appalled at the Colts' inability to pound the ball.

Except when, against the Jets in the AFC Championship Game, they pounded it when needed. Addai ran through seams that were unclosed because the Jets understandably had to be worried about Manning and his passing ability.

"The main focus,'' Addai said, "has been getting that 'W,' and that's what we've been doing. I think when we get the opportunity [to run], we make something happen.

"It's really how you look at it. If you just watch a game, you say, 'That's a nice run, that's a nice run,' but you look on paper and see something different. It's how you look at it, and what we have to work with. You have a great player in Peyton Manning, so you want him to make a lot of decisions, and he does a great job.''

The Colts averaged a paltry 80.9 yards a game on the ground in the regular season (and 282.2 passing). But Indianapolis did pick up 101 yards against the Jets, 80 of those by Addai at key times.

"It's an area we know needs improving,'' Colts coach Jim Caldwell said about his team's rushing attack. "But I do think there are certain times in certain ballgames, like the last one we played [against the Jets], where we have been effective.''

Nitpicking is a favorite activity in sports. It's not so much what you have but what you don't have that leads to discussions. So when the accolades about Manning ebb, the doubts about Addai begin. Perhaps unfairly.

Three years ago, when the Colts beat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Addai gained 143 yards rushing, the second-highest total for a rookie in Super Bowl history. He also had 10 receptions for 66 yards, the most catches by a running back in a Super Bowl game.

But this year he was bothered by a partially torn hamstring, so the Colts went to the infrequently used legs of rookie Donald Brown and the very frequently used arm of Manning.

Now Addai, who was a first-round pick out of LSU in 2006, is forced to defend himself to the media after the other team defends him on the turf.

"I always say I'm a human first,'' he said when asked if he's bothered when the Colts' running game is disparaged, "but when coaches call our number, we answer well. It comes down to being a team player and getting those 'Ws', and we've been doing that.''

Especially in the postseason, when it matters most.

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