Howard's Bethea Shines at Safety

Productive Rookie Has Been an 'Eye-Catcher' and Plays With a 'Chip on His Shoulder'

Bethea picks off a pass intended for the Chiefs' Samie Parker in the Colts' first-round win. (By Andy Lyons -- Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 19 -- The Indianapolis Colts still had one game remaining in the preseason, but the praise was already coming.

Colts Coach Tony Dungy had seen enough of Antoine Bethea to figure the safety from Howard University had a chance to be a factor as a rookie.

"He has been a real eye-catcher in practice and in summer school and all of the way through, and it's continued on," Dungy said in late August. "He's gotten in the games and been very productive. He's been -- I won't say pleasant surprise because we expected that -- but he's done really well."

Bethea ended up as an opening-day starter for the Colts and has remained there the entire season, even as injuries have forced others to shuffle in and out of the lineup.

Bethea has had an interception in each of the playoff victories that put the Colts into Sunday's AFC championship game against New England.

"All around, he's just done a great job," fellow safety Bob Sanders said this week. "He's handled the pressure well. I know coming in as a rookie is tough, going out there and playing right away, and he came and ended up playing right away."

A sixth-round draft pick, Bethea, who was unavailable to comment Friday, finished the regular season as the Colts' third-leading tackler with 105. He started at both safety spots during the regular season, switching whenever Marlin Jackson or Mike Doss were healthy.

In the postseason, Bethea has started at strong safety with Sanders helping in run support at free safety. Bethea's interception of Trent Green late in the fourth quarter sealed the Colts' 23-8 victory over Kansas City in the first round of the playoffs.

In the second round, his interception at the 1 stopped a Ravens drive that could have ended the Colts' playoff run. Instead, it helped preserve a 15-6 victory in Baltimore.

When asked about what factors turned around the team's defense in the playoffs, Colts President Bill Polian listed several factors. Bethea's return was second only to the return of Sanders. Bethea, who hurt his shoulder, was inactive in Weeks 12 and 14.

"He's done a magnificent job," Polian said in November when asked to assess Bethea's impact. "He's really doing a terrific job. He's an example of a lot of what goes on with our players. I was looking through a magazine. Some guru had picked all the impact rookies. Antoine was not among them. Why? Likely because he doesn't even know who he [Bethea] is. There's no rookie in the secondary [in the AFC] who has had as much impact as Antoine Bethea, except perhaps Donte Whitner in Buffalo."

Interestingly, he had one of his best games against Sunday's opponent. In a 27-20 victory in New England on Nov. 5, Bethea had nine tackles and his only interception of the regular season.

"He's done a good job," Dungy said the next day. "He's communicated well in the secondary. He's been where he's supposed to be. He's getting better every week as a tackler and, overall, doing a very solid job for a rookie."

Bethea was a three-year starter at Howard, leading the team in tackles each year. The Colts, who in recent history have seen later-round draft picks move into key roles, nabbed him.

"Antoine is a guy that hasn't been over-awed by anything," Dungy said after the Colts' 9-0 start. "I think he's kind of had a chip on his shoulder coming in from I-AA to show everybody that it's still football.

"He's been real mature and hasn't made many errors, but just hasn't taken anything too seriously. He's just done his job and that's probably been the biggest thing."