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Indianapolis Colts S Antoine Bethea (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
In the 11th of a series, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser continues to break down the Colts' roster entering the 2010 offseason . . .
As if they hadn't already, the members of the Indianapolis Colts' safety position proved something very important very true this past season.
With or without Bob Sanders, this group can play.
And while Sanders, the 2007 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year, missed double-digit games for a second consecutive season, Antoine Bethea and Melvin Bullitt combined to give the Colts a capable tandem at the position.
For a lot of the season, they were better than capable.
Bethea, who is entering his fifth NFL season, had perhaps the best season of his career, making the Pro Bowl for a second time in three seasons and giving the Colts' secondary something they needed this past season: a consistent, reliable present in a year in which that was rare in the defensive backfield.
Bethea, a sixth-round selection in the 2006 NFL Draft from Howard University, started 16 games for a second consecutive – the only member of the Colts' secondary to do so in either season – and he finished the season with 120 tackles. He had 126 tackles the previous season.
Bethea not only led the team in tackles, he also had a team-high four interceptions and four passes defensed with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
While Bethea has been the Colts' most consistent, reliable defensive back in recent seasons, Bullitt has emerged as a player perhaps as important to the team's success.
That's because he has been consistently ready when needed.
And that's an attribute not to be underestimated in the Colts' defense.
Sanders, a two-time Pro Bowl selection – 2005 and 2007 – is one of the elite players at his position, a player with big-time speed and hitting ability and a player capable of changing momentum and making game-changing plays on th defensive side of the ball.
But in six NFL seasons, those two seasons – 2005 and 2007 – are the only one in which Sanders has played more than six games. He played six games in 2004 and 2008, and four in 2006. This past season, after missing 10 games in 2008 with a knee injury, he started the season inactive with a knee injury and returned to play two games before sustaining a season-ending biceps injury.
And whereas Sanders was a key to the Colts' defense in 2007, when he was the NFL's dominant defensive player, the defense has remained a solid unit the past two seasons.
Bullitt is a major reason for that.
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