Colts WR Wayne will line up all over the field

There's no denying that Reggie Wayne will be in the spotlight once the Indianapolis Colts open the regular season.
Pinpointing the veteran receiver's location might be a bit more difficult.

"I hope I play a little bit of everything," Wayne said recently.

He is listed as the left-side starter, but on any given play Wayne might be split wide right, in the left slot or in the right slot. He also might be grouped in a "bunch" with Anthony Gonzalez and either Pierre Garcon or rookie Austin Collie.

It's getting as tough to pigeonhole Wayne as it has been to cover him.

"I love it. I do," Wayne said of being quarterback Peyton Manning's moving target. "Two years ago, the best year of my career."

That would be 2007. A knee injury forced right-side starter Marvin Harrison to miss 11 games and left Wayne as the only proven receiver. Limiting him to wide left would have made him an easy target for opposing defenses.

So the Colts moved Wayne here, there and everywhere. The result: 104 receptions, 1,510 yards -- both career highs -- and 10 touchdowns. He earned the second of three consecutive Pro Bowl berths.

"Nobody really understood where I was going to be," said Wayne, the team's first-round draft pick in 2001. "Nobody could have a bead on me. Ended up with 1,500 yards. Gotta love that."

Although Harrison worked primarily as the right-side starter from 1996 until he was released in February and Wayne generally has been the left-side starter, the team requires its receivers to learn the various positions. Versatility keeps defenses guessing and is important when injuries force lineup changes.

The general approach during preseason has had Wayne on the left and Gonzalez replacing Harrison on the right. The No. 3 position has been filled by Garcon, who has worked more split out wide, or Collie, who has taken more repetitions in the slot.

Once the regular season opens, everyone's positioning likely will depend upon whether Wayne is left or right, inside or outside.

Not every receiver is capable of remaining effective when he's required to move from side to side, or from outside to the slot.

"There's certain guys you get a feel for early on whether they can play inside or outside," Manning said.

Assistant head coach/receivers coach Clyde Christensen exposes every Colts receiver to every position.

"It doesn't take long to figure out, 'Hey, this guy just doesn't fit in the slot,' " Manning said. "Reggie is a guy that played some slot as a rookie, going way back, and due to some injuries and due to some situations."

One of the main reasons Wayne works out of the slot is to make it more difficult for defenses to double-team him.

In the slot, Manning said, "he's got more areas of the field he can get to. We're always trying to move him around and get him in the situations he can be the most effective."

Manning described Wayne as fearless when it comes to running routes across the middle of the field or blocking a linebacker.

"You've got to have big guts," Manning said. "He has that. And he's a physical blocker."

Wayne's eyes lit up when he was informed of Manning's assessment of his ability to be as effective inside as he has been outside.

"Hopefully," he said, "we'll be a little creative and razzle-dazzle a little bit."

Charting Wayne
A look at Reggie Wayne's eight-year career with the Colts:





(indystar.com)