Oct/10/08 08:03 AM Filed in:
Reggie Wayne
INDIANAPOLIS - Enough people
have gushed about Reggie Wayne's game-winning
catch against the Houston Texans, he's willing to
rank it No.1 in his career.
It'd be hard to find a more important one. If Wayne
didn't catch it, the Colts would be 1-3 today and
gasping for air in the AFC South race. At 2-2, they
still have a climb to catch 5-0 Tennessee.
“That (catch) was just me working,” Wayne
said Wednesday at the Colts practice complex. “My
number was called and I had to try to find a way to
make something happen. We made a nice little surge, so
why not be the guy that gets the winning
touchdown?”
Wayne's catch - a falling one-hander that required an
officials' review - gave the Colts a 31-27 win over the
Texans and completed a climb back from a 17-point
deficit.
The Colts will try to build on that momentum when they
play the Baltimore Ravens (2-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday in
Lucas Oil Stadium.
Much has been made about the timing of the Colts'
passing game, and the fact it hasn't looked as
consistently sharp as usual. Part of that can be
attributed to the high standards set by quarterback
Peyton Manning and friends, and the fact Manning missed
training camp.
But, with the game in the balance, Manning put the
game-winning pass where only Wayne could reach it, and
Wayne pulled out a catch that shows why he's a Pro Bowl
receiver and in the argument for best receiver in the
NFL.
Wayne was asked if he ranked his best catches and where
Sunday's fell in the ranking.
“The way everybody's talking about it, it's kind
of hard not to put it at the top,” Wayne said.
“I do have some catches in my career that a lot
of y'all haven't seen. I made some good catches in high
school, but the way everybody's talking about it, it's
pushing toward the top.”
Wayne sold the catch with his body language afterward
as the official signaled touchdown, but he says he
wasn't quite as sure as it looked.
“I was a little shaky, a little bit,” he
said. “I knew I had the ball, but I wasn't sure
about my feet. At the same time, it's never good to
leave it in the referees' hands. I was praying like
everybody else. Then, once I saw the replay, I knew it
was good.”
Wayne said Colts receivers practice one-handed catches
near the sideline or in the end zone every day in
practice.
Colts coach Tony Dungy knew the catch looked familiar.
“I hate to say ‘routine,' but it's what we
see a lot in practice,” Dungy said. “Our
guys do that. They have very, very good concentration.
Catching the ball, getting it secured with one hand and
getting his feet down - it was a very, very athletic
play, but it's one we see a lot.”