With Bob Sanders taken care of, the Colts have now turned their attention to a difference-maker on the other side of the ball — tight end Dallas Clark.
Dallas Clark
2007 stats: 15 games, 15 starts, 58-616-11 receiving, 2-29-0 rushing
Combine numbers: 6034/257/4.65 in 2003
Who's he: A four-sport star at Twin Rivers Valley High School in Bode, Iowa, Clark went to the University of Iowa in 1999 as a walk-on linebacker. An emergency appendectomy limited his playing time at first, but he made a name for himself with his heads-up play on special teams. Before the 2001 season, the coaches switched him to tight end. He responded by catching 81-1281-4 and helping lead Iowa to a 24-2 record in two seasons. He cultivated a reputation not just as a talented player, but also as a team leader as well; and he's still considered one of the school's favorite sons. After his junior season, Clark won the John Mackey Award —given to the nation's top collegiate tight end — and declared for the 2003 draft. After wowing scouts with workouts and interviews (drawing comparisons to greats like Jay Novacek and Marv Cook), he was selected by Indianapolis with the 24th pick of the first round. It was a surprise — not because he wasn't worth it, but because many observers thought the Colts needed defensive players more urgently and that the team was set at the position with incumbent starter Marcus Pollard. Clark played behind Pollard for a season, then took over the starting job. In five seasons with the Colts, Clark has played 67 games, starting 57 and missing 13 to injury. He has caught 179-2234-25 and rushed 2-29-0.
As a player: If you closely analyze Clark's numbers with the Colts' you'll see that they mostly fall between where you'd expect to see a very good tight end and a very good wide receiver. And if you look at the game tape, you'll see why. The Colts play Clark at tight end, they split him wide, line him up in the slot, send him in motion and even put him in the backfield. While he does well at each of those positions, my eyeball test says he is most productive from the slot. Maybe that's because that's where he belongs — somewhere between a tight end and a wide receiver. Clark has the attributes of both positions. He is a natural receiver who runs like a deer (he plays much faster than his 40 would lead you to believe) and can handle any route or assignment. But he's also an honest 257 pounds who will flatten any nickel corner who tries to get between him and the ball. Over the years, Clark has become one of Peyton Manning's favorite receivers — often serving as the "hot man" on blitzes. More important, though, is how deadly Clark has become in the red zone, proving almost uncoverable on corner routes and using his big hands and arms to wrestle away defenders on jump balls. There are some drawbacks to this hybrid, though. His blocking is also somewhere between tight end and wide receiver levels. Though his footwork isn't bad, he doesn't bring much pop, certainly less than you'd expect from a player his size. As you might expect, he's much better on the move than he is in-line. Similarly, Clark can be thrown off his routes by many linebackers some harder-hitting safeties. More important, perhaps, is the fact that Clark is injury-prone and will always miss a few games and be noticeably nicked up in others.
Analysis: Players like Clark are very hard to replace, and the Colts are unlikely to even try this year. Unlike Pollard when Clark arrived, he's still quite young and he brings a skill set that's even harder to match. The other notable tight ends in Indy — Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher — have nowhere near Clark's talent and are both restricted free agents. There's been talk of making Roy Hall a Clark-like player, but I'll believe that when I see it. And even if the Colts had a first-round draft pick, there are no prospects available who could replace him. The Colts, then, will work very hard to keep him, and wouldn't hesitate to use a franchise tag if that's what it takes. But I'm pretty sure they won't have to. Clark is a Midwestern kid through and through and clearly enjoys playing for the Colts and with Manning. He's likely to sign a healthy, but reasonably sized, contract to stay where he's happy and appreciated.
Notes:
Doubters of Clark's athleticism may way want to watch this: http://homepage.mac.com/scothawk/DallasClark/iMovieTheater75.html
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