Indy’s Insiders: Illini Colts know Turner’s offense inside and out
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By Craig DeVrieze | Friday, January 26, 2007 |
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Aaron Moorehead, right, and tight end Dallas Clark talks as they stretch before football practice in Indianapolis, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007. The Colts face the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 4. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Fans celebrate with Indianapolis Colts' Kelvin Hayden after the Colts defeated the New England Patriots 38-34 in the AFC Championship football game Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
The Chicago Bears offense may need a whole new playbook for Super Bowl XLI.
A couple of Indianapolis Colts have this one down cold.
Wide receiver Aaron Moorehead ran many of Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner’s pass routes while a standout receiver for Turner’s Illinois Fighting Illini from 1998 through 2002.
Defensive back Kelvin Hayden ran the routes as an Illini junior in 2003 before trying to shut them down in practice as a converted senior cornerback in 2004, Turner’s final Illini season as Illini head coach.
“It’ll be fun,’’ Moorehead said of taking on Turner’s Bears.
He said he and former Illini receiving corps compadres Greg Lewis, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Walter Young, of the Pittsburgh Steelers, have been tracking Turner and the Bears.
“We’ll be watching Bears games and text messaging plays (before they are run) to each other,’’ Moorehead said. “It’ll be fun to see it live and in person.’’
Hayden thinks so, too.
“It’s crazy, me being part of the defense,” said the second- year Colts DB, who could play a crucial role a week from Sunday in Miami if starting left cornerback Nick Harper is sidelined by a sprained ankle. “I will catch myself watching film (of the Bears this week) and calling out plays.”
In the fairly close quarters of professional sports, it is not surprising to see Turner fighting a pair of his former charges for a coveted Super Bowl ring.
What makes this big game at Dolphins Stadium especially intriguing for Moorehead and Hayden is that both grew up in Chicago, rooting for the Bears.
Hayden hasn’t stopped.
“I am a real diehard Bears fan,’’ he said via a conference call on Thursday. “I wish the best for them every week. I was cheering for them (before the Colts played in last Sunday’s AFC Championship game). Guys were looking at me like ‘We got a game to get ready for.’’’
For Moorehead, the ties are even closer. His father, Emory, was the starting tight end for the last Bears team to win an NFL championship, the fabled Super Bowl XX champion Bears.
Of course, the father is rooting for his son’s Colts this time, right?
Well ...“He is not necessarily 100 percent anything,’’ said the son. “He is kind of on the fence right now. He wants us to win but something in him loves the (Bears) fans and Chicago. He feels like their fans deserve another championship.’’
Moorehead was just 5 years old when his father’s Bears stormed New Orleans in January of 1986. He, his mother and his sister stayed home.
Still, he grew up a “huge’’ Bears fan and got to know his father’s famous teammates well as years went by and reunions and golf tournaments cropped up.
He has been with the Colts since signing on as a free agent out of Illinois, but said he could see himself landing with the Bears at some point in his career.
Which is not to say his loyalties will conflicted at Dolphins Stadium.
Moorehead is enjoying the most productive of his four Colts seasons, stepping into a larger role as a result of a season-ending injury to No. 3 receiver Brandon Stokely.
He had just eight regular-season receptions but six came in December, after Stokely went down.
Hayden, a second-round draft choice in 2002 is growing on the job. He had 36 tackles, a pass defense and a fumble recovery for a touchdown this year.
He said he expected to reach the Super Bowl with the high-powered Colts last year, and predicted as early as last fall that the Colts would see the Bears in Miami.
“Look what happened,’’ he said.
Moorehead just is grateful to reach pro football’s ultimate game after watching Illini teammates like Lewis, Young and Patriots defensive back Eugene Wilson get there before him.
Not to mention his father, of course.
The senior Moorehead has offered a word or two of advice this week.
“The biggest thing he is telling me is to limit the distractions,’’ said the son. “Focus on the game and get yourself prepared. We’re down there to win the game.’’
Losing to the Bears is not an option, Hayden agreed.
“I don’t want to go back to Chicago being part of the team that lost to the Bears,’’ he said.
Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com
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