INDIANAPOLIS – Soon, a pair of Indianapolis Colts’ icons will learn whether their Pro Football Hall of Fame-caliber careers finally have delivered them to Canton, Ohio.
Reggie Wayne and Dwight Freeney are among the Final 15 modern-era candidates for the Class of 2024. It’s Wayne’s fifth time in as many years of eligibility to reach the final phase while Freeney is back again after reaching the final 15 in his first year of eligibility last year.
The Hall of Fame Selection Committee – I am one of 50 members – soon will meet to determine the latest inductees. A maximum of five modern-era candidates is permitted, which always makes the winnowing difficult.
Also complicating the oft-times lively debate are quality players in the same position.
At receiver, there’s Wayne, Torry Holt and Andre Johnson.
At defensive end, there’s Freeney, Julius Peppers and Jared Allen.
A pair of current Hall of Famers weren’t shy about weighing in on Freeney’s worthiness.
That would be offensive Joe Thomas, a first-ballot inductee with the Class of 2023, and defensive end Michael Strahan, a member of the Class of 2014.
Thomas was a six-time, first-team All-Pro during an 11-year career that saw him set an NFL record by being on the field for 10,363 plays.
Strahan ranks 10th in NFL history with 141.5 sacks and shares the single-season record with 22.5. He was All-Pro four times and selected to seven Pro Bowls.
Thomas had difficulty dealing with Freeney.
Strahan had trouble stealing from him.
First, Thomas.
“Dwight Freeney was the best pass rusher I faced in my 11 seasons,’’ he said. “DeMarcus Ware (Class of 2023) was the close second, but nobody gave me more problems than Dwight Freeney. I don’t think anyone was more of a game-changer that I played against.’’
Thomas’ attention kept being drawn to Freeney’s patented spin move.
"It kind of revolutionized that move as a pass-rush move,’’ Thomas said. “He was a guy that changed the game with how he used the spin move.’’
Freeney began working on the move as a youngster when he was playing street basketball and everybody was trying to make the other guys “look silly.’’ No one was very interested in whether someone was traveling while driving to the basket, so Freeney tapped into his best Harlem Globetrotter moves.
That soon transferred onto the football field.
“I wanted to make that offensive tackle look as silly as possible,’’ he said. “It was natural for me to do.’’
And it would be hard for Thomas to prepare for whenever the Colts and Browns met. He never saw a 6-1, 270-pounder do the things Freeney was able to pull off.
Thomas described it as Freeney “teleporting’’ himself from Point A (the offensive tackle) to Point B (the quarterback).
“It was pretty amazing because before he started and really used that spin, guys would really just spin in place or spin side-to-side,’’ he said. “But he would actually put his left foot in the ground, and he would open his hips and he had so much groin flexibility he was actually gaining ground while he was spinning towards the quarterback. He didn’t lose any speed as he was spinning. It was impossible to punch and continue to block him. He was a guy that changed the game with how he used the spin move.’’
Strahan offered a different view. His appreciation for Freeney was rooted in the fact he was unable to “borrow’’ the spin move and add it to his repertoire.
He watched tapes of Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor and Chris Doleman – a Hall of Fame quartet that combined for 681 sacks – and tried to broaden his arsenal by incorporating some of their moves.
“Everybody usually had something you could take a little something from,’’ Strahan said. “Dwight was the one guy I couldn’t take anything from him. His spin move was something of nightmares. We would be getting ready to play the Colts and all of a sudden (our) tackle decided something was wrong with him. Dwight was a guy that revolutionized (the position). I could literally watch Dwight hit that spin move on guys 100 times and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody do it like that.’’
The difficulty in executing the spin move didn’t deter Strahan from at least attempting it.
“You have to be extremely brave,’’ he said. “I remember trying a spin move early in my career. I spun away from the tackle and the guard was waiting right there and I got folded up like a mom folded over the tab on a brown paper bag to send the kid to school with lunch. I felt like I was going to hurt something. It is really a marvel to watch him do this because he’s the only one I’ve seen be able to do it that way. I couldn’t take that. I couldn’t steal that. But it was fun to watch.’’
The discussion for the Class of 2024 obviously will include comparing the worthiness of Freeney, Peppers and Allen.
Thomas considered the Freeney vs. Peppers debate.
Freeney was a member of the All-Decade of the 2000s team. He has 125.5 sacks and his 47 forced fumbles are tied for third-most. The Colts’ 2002 first-round draft pick – No. 11 overall – was named All-Pro three times, selected to seven Pro Bowls, appeared in three Super Bowls and was part of the Colts’ world championship team after the 2006 season.
Peppers was the No. 2 overall pick in 2002. He was named to two All-Decade teams (2000s, 2010s) on the strength of 159.5 sacks and 52 forced fumbles (second all-time to Robert Mathis’ 54). Peppers was a three-time All-Pro who was selected to nine Pro Bowls.
“I thought Peppers was a good all-round player. He was really solid,’’ Thomas said. “He could beat you, no doubt, if you got sloppy. But he didn’t have a variety of pass-rush moves. Freeney had the spin, obviously, but he also had a bull rush and he could also beat you up the field. To me, I never really stressed about playing Peppers. Freeney was hands-down the better player and was more difficult for me to deal with.’’
Time for Wayne?
Has Reggie Wayne’s time arrived?
He’s one of only two players in NFL history to rank in the top 10 in receptions and yards in the regular season and postseason. The other: Jerry Rice.
During his 14-year career (2001-2014), Wayne led the league with 1,070 receptions and 14,345 yards, and was fourth with 82 touchdowns.
His postseason bottom line: 93 receptions, 1,254 yards, nine TDs.
Wayne was asked what separates him from his peers.
“Everybody is deserving, everybody has put the work in, everybody is good, right?’’ he said. “If I had to answer that, I guess you would say playoffs. That matters, right? I get it. Everybody doesn’t make the playoffs. Your bad, you know what I’m saying?’’
Wayne laughed.
“Playoffs, which is important,’’ he continued. “I’ve got a whole season’s worth of playoff numbers. I just think that the games that matter . . . did that person or player show up? I like to think that I did.’’
Wayne’s been on the doorstep of the Pro Football Hall of Fame for five years. He’s reached the Final 15 each time.
The wait is wearing on him.
“It is what it is,’’ he said. “There’s a lot of stuff that I’ve waited on in my lifetime. I’ve waited on becoming the No. 1 receiver for the Colts for six, seven years . . . I didn’t always get that BMX bike when I was a kid. . . . I didn’t always get that Nintendo right when it came out. You’ve got to wait until your number is called (and) when it does, you just got to answer the bell.’’
Cornerback Ty Law (Class of 2019) faced Wayne on several occasions and believes it’s time Wayne joined him in Canton.
“He has the numbers. He has the championship. He has the pedigree. He’s checking every box,’’ Law said. "It’s about timing and he’s waited his time. All 15 guys deserve to go, but somebody like Reggie Wayne has been waiting for five years now. Let’s go. You know what I mean?’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.