Davenport glad to be out of Pittsburgh

TERRE HAUTE — It didn’t take running back Najeh Davenport very long to become a fan of the Indianapolis Colts.

The 6-foot 1, 247-pound Davenport, a fourth-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2002, had played in four games with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season before he was waived on Nov. 8. A day later, the Steelers faced Indianapolis at Heinz Field.

“They [Pittsburgh] let me go, then they brought me back, then they let me go, then they brought me back, then they let me go and then I got the call here,” Davenport said Thursday. “I was supposed to go to the New York Jets [after he was waived by the Steelers the last time]. They called me and told me that they were going to bring me in [early this week]. And then [Monday night] I got the call to come here. I got here Tuesday.

“They [Pittsburgh] released me [right before the Colts game] and brought me back the next Wednesday. And then played like two more games [with the Steelers]. When I got released [on Nov. 8], I was rooting for the Colts [to win the Nov. 9 game].”

He got his wish. Indianapolis won 24-20.

Davenport was intrigued about coming to Indianapolis and playing with an offense that featured quarterback Peyton Manning. He had heard good things about the team from former Colts running back Edgerrin James and current receiver Reggie Wayne. All three are University of Miami alums.

“I wanted to see what all the hype was about, so I was kind of happy when I got the call,” he said, adding that the toughest thing to pick up has been the offensive terminology. The basic offense is the same as what he work with in Pittsburgh.

“The only thing I knew [about the Colts] was what E.J. told me and what I learned from Reg. From the outside looking in, I thought that [picking up the offense would be] hard. But when I talked to E.J. and Reg, they said it wasn’t that hard.”
(tribstar.com)