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Plus,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, Mathis used Manning's return to Indy as a launching pad for one of Indy's signature plays, a strip-sack of Manning in his own end zone that turned into a safety. Indy took advantage of the game-changing play by scoring 23 straight points en route to a 39-33 win over the previously unbeaten Broncos.
This time, Manning won't have to worry about his speedy ex-teammate chasing him down, forcing the Colts to find other ways to pressure Manning.
The 6-foot-3, 257-pound Berlin native spent most of his offseason in Indy, trying to fine-tune his game. He looked like a different player at training camp and in limited work in the preseason. He knocked down passes, got into the backfield and made life tough for the quarterbacks.
Werner has earned the first shot,Cheap NFL Jerseys.
Everyone will be watching to see if Werner and the Colts defense can hold up against the Broncos' prolific offense,China NFL Jerseys.
All he has to do now is play that when it counts Sunday night.
"The young pass rushers have to step up. It was all Robert, Robert, Robert last year, so we'll try to help him out a little bit too when he comes back," Werner said. "It can't just be everything on him. We're trying to get that counterpart with some young guys to step up and get some sacks, too, finally."
That wasn't the case last year: Mathis set a single-season franchise record with 19,Cheap Jerseys China.5 sacks. His teammates combined for just 22.5.
"The entire defense has to step up their game and that's what they'll do," coach Chuck Pagano said. "It'll be easy to make the comparisons because (No.) 98 is not going to be out there. It will be a combination of Bjoern and Walden and Cam Johnson, whoever it is. But the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, right?"
Werner has gotten accustomed to proving himself over the years.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Colts linebacker Bjoern Werner understands the mission,Supply Cheap Jerseys.
"We know what he wants to do," defensive end Cory Redding said. "He wants to throw the ball,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, so we have to get bodies around him and make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket."
"It's what we've waited for," Werner said. "It's a great opportunity. Can't wait to get out there with my teammates and just play football."
When league officials announced Mathis had tested positive for a banned substance in the spring, the Colts' went to a backup plan -- plugging in Werner at rush linebacker and asking everyone else to crank up the pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The crew includes outside linebacker Erik Walden, who missed Thursday's practice with an abdomen injury, backup linebacker Cam Johnson, defensive end Cory Redding and Indy's two newest defensive starters, inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson and defensive lineman Arthur Jones.
He must replace Robert Mathis, the defending NFL sacks champ who is serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy. The challenge couldn't be any more daunting: Indianapolis opens the season Sunday night, on the road, against the defending AFC champion Broncos and record-breaking quarterback Peyton Manning, the former Colts star.
As a foreign exchange student from Germany, he had to show college coaches he could excel at America's most popular sport. After emerging as a pass-rushing menace during his first two seasons at Florida State, he had a 13-sack junior season that netted him the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year award and prompted him to leave school early for the NFL. Colts general manager Ryan Grigson was so impressed that he took Werner with the No. 24 pick in the 2013 draft.
Werner's conversion didn't go nearly as smoothly. He missed most of the preseason with a left knee injury, was slowed in October with a foot injury and wound up making only one start as a rookie, finishing with 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
Notes: Indy's top two centers, Khaled Holmes (sprained left ankle) and undrafted rookie Jonotthan Harrison (right thumb), both practiced for the second straight day. Holmes did limited work. Harrison was a full participant. ... Safety LaRon Landry was held out of practice to rest. ... Carlie Irsay-Gordon made her first public appearance as the fill-in for her father, Jim Irsay, when she showed up as part of the Hoosier Lottery's announcement of a new Colts' scratch-off game. Irsay-Gordon did not take questions. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Jim Irsay for six games on Tuesday after his guilty plea in a driving while impaired case.
The Colts then moved Werner, a college defensive end, to outside linebacker. He was mentored by Mathis, who thrived after making the same position change in 2012. |
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