Sephiroth
March 18th, 2002, 9:34:31 PM
INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts had the No. 2-ranked offense in the NFL last season. Quarterback Peyton Manning passed for more than 4,000 yards for a third consecutive season. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison made the Pro Bowl for a third consecutive time.
Monday, the Colts added a weapon to the already potent group.
Actually, they added a missile.
Qadry Ismail, who had more than 1,000 yards receiving two of the past three seasons while playing for the Baltimore Ravens, signed with the Colts Monday afternoon as an unrestricted free agent.
Length and terms of the deal for Ismail, who is nicknamed "the Missile," were not disclosed.
"I seem to have gone from the city of the Baltimore Ravens/Colts, to where now I am an official Colt," said Ismail, who was released by the Ravens - a team he helped win the Super Bowl following the 2000 season - for salary cap reasons in late February.
The addition of Ismail gives the Colts a proven deep threat opposite Harrison, who has caught more than 100 passes each of the past three seasons.
"I know my role," Ismail said, "but at the same time, when you do have the opportunity to play with a quarterback like Peyton, you know there are a lot of opportunities to be had."
Developing a consistent receiver to complement Harrison has been a goal for the Colts for several seasons, and this past season, it appeared the task had been accomplished when veteran Jerome Pathon had 100 yards receiving in each of the first two games.
In Week 3, however, Pathon sustained a foot injury and played in only one game thereafter. Pathon, a 1998 second-round draft choice, is an unrestricted free agent, and his future with the team has not yet been decided. Wide receiver Terrence Wilkins, the team's leading punt returner the past three seasons, also is a free agent.
Ismail, 31, caught a career-high 74 passes for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns last season. The receptions and touchdowns were career highs.
"Just a little present for Peyton," Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy told ESPN.com while attending the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. "He really is a good player and we're fortunate to get him.
"It gives us some pretty good depth at a position where we really need it."
Ismail said Manning was among several reasons he liked the idea of playing for the Colts. Another is his relationship with Dungy, who was the defensive coordinator in Minnesota when the Vikings drafted Ismail in the second round in 1993.
Another is his relationship with Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who was the wide receivers coach in Minnesota in Ismail's rookie season.
Still another is having played collegiately with Harrison. Ismail was a junior and senior during Harrison's first two years while the two were at Syracuse.
But he said playing with Manning, a Pro Bowl selection in 1999 and 2000 and a player the Colts considered the foundation of the franchise for the future, was an overriding factor in his decision.
"He's worth his weight in gold," Ismail said of Manning. "Just the way he has been able to manage his game and grow and mature as a quarterback - it speaks well. I'm the type of receiver who likes to have a lot of communication with my quarterback. I like to look at a lot of little details and exploit defenses. He obviously does that well.
"The icing on the cake was definitely having a chance to work with Peyton. There are a lot of little details that go on in this game that the outsiders could care less about. All they care about is production. When you have a guy who can make those details work and make it look easy, you've got to love it.
"That's why I'm so excited to be here."
Ismail, entering his 10th NFL season, spent the last three seasons with the Ravens after signing as a free agent in the 1999 off-season. While with Baltimore, he produced two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, helping the Ravens to a victory in Super Bowl XXXV.
This past season, Ismail had his second 1,000-yard receiving season in three years and the second of his career. In three seasons with the Ravens, he caught 191 passes for 2,819 yards and 18 touchdowns.
During nine NFL seasons, Ismail has 309 receptions for 4,675 yards and 30 touchdowns with a career average of 15.1 yards per reception.
Ismail, originally drafted in the second round (52nd overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in 1993, played four seasons in Minnesota, then signed with the Green Bay Packers as an unrestricted free agent in June of 1997.
The Packers traded Ismail to the Miami Dolphins in August of 1997. He played three games for the Dolphins that season, then signed with the New Orleans Saints as an unrestricted free agent the following off-season. He was released by the Saints the next off-season, after which he signed with the Ravens.
Ismail emerged as a top receiver in Baltimore after two seasons - 1997 and 1998 - without a reception. He set single-season highs in 1999 with 68 receptions for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns.
"The last three years in Baltimore, I think I've been able to establish my game as a complete player," Ismail said. "Going through the wilderness experience I went through before that, I had to learn and define my game a lot better. But the last three years, being able to have two seasons with over 1,000 yards and winning the Super Bowl, I look at myself as not necessarily typecast any long as not just a deep threat.
"When I look at Qadry Ismail, I look at a player who can go across the middle and beat a person deep. Whatever the aspect might be, I can do that."
The 1999 season included Ismail's breakout game, a December 12 game against the Steelers in which he established himself as one of the NFL's top deep threats, catching six passes for a team-record 258 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 victory over the Steelers. At the time, the 258 yards was the 11th-highest total in NFL history. He was the 15th player in NFL history with more than 250 yards receiving in a game, the first to do so with as few as six receptions.
Prior to joining the Ravens, Ismail played two seasons primarily as a kick returner, returning 28 for a 21.1-yard average with the Saints in 1998 and eight for a 20.8-yard average for the Dolphins in 1997. He was inactive five games in 1998 and 13 in 1997.
In four seasons with the Vikings, Ismail caught 118 passes for 1,856 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 1995, he finished second in the NFC in kickoff returns with 42 returned for a 24.7-yard average.
Monday, the Colts added a weapon to the already potent group.
Actually, they added a missile.
Qadry Ismail, who had more than 1,000 yards receiving two of the past three seasons while playing for the Baltimore Ravens, signed with the Colts Monday afternoon as an unrestricted free agent.
Length and terms of the deal for Ismail, who is nicknamed "the Missile," were not disclosed.
"I seem to have gone from the city of the Baltimore Ravens/Colts, to where now I am an official Colt," said Ismail, who was released by the Ravens - a team he helped win the Super Bowl following the 2000 season - for salary cap reasons in late February.
The addition of Ismail gives the Colts a proven deep threat opposite Harrison, who has caught more than 100 passes each of the past three seasons.
"I know my role," Ismail said, "but at the same time, when you do have the opportunity to play with a quarterback like Peyton, you know there are a lot of opportunities to be had."
Developing a consistent receiver to complement Harrison has been a goal for the Colts for several seasons, and this past season, it appeared the task had been accomplished when veteran Jerome Pathon had 100 yards receiving in each of the first two games.
In Week 3, however, Pathon sustained a foot injury and played in only one game thereafter. Pathon, a 1998 second-round draft choice, is an unrestricted free agent, and his future with the team has not yet been decided. Wide receiver Terrence Wilkins, the team's leading punt returner the past three seasons, also is a free agent.
Ismail, 31, caught a career-high 74 passes for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns last season. The receptions and touchdowns were career highs.
"Just a little present for Peyton," Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy told ESPN.com while attending the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. "He really is a good player and we're fortunate to get him.
"It gives us some pretty good depth at a position where we really need it."
Ismail said Manning was among several reasons he liked the idea of playing for the Colts. Another is his relationship with Dungy, who was the defensive coordinator in Minnesota when the Vikings drafted Ismail in the second round in 1993.
Another is his relationship with Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who was the wide receivers coach in Minnesota in Ismail's rookie season.
Still another is having played collegiately with Harrison. Ismail was a junior and senior during Harrison's first two years while the two were at Syracuse.
But he said playing with Manning, a Pro Bowl selection in 1999 and 2000 and a player the Colts considered the foundation of the franchise for the future, was an overriding factor in his decision.
"He's worth his weight in gold," Ismail said of Manning. "Just the way he has been able to manage his game and grow and mature as a quarterback - it speaks well. I'm the type of receiver who likes to have a lot of communication with my quarterback. I like to look at a lot of little details and exploit defenses. He obviously does that well.
"The icing on the cake was definitely having a chance to work with Peyton. There are a lot of little details that go on in this game that the outsiders could care less about. All they care about is production. When you have a guy who can make those details work and make it look easy, you've got to love it.
"That's why I'm so excited to be here."
Ismail, entering his 10th NFL season, spent the last three seasons with the Ravens after signing as a free agent in the 1999 off-season. While with Baltimore, he produced two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, helping the Ravens to a victory in Super Bowl XXXV.
This past season, Ismail had his second 1,000-yard receiving season in three years and the second of his career. In three seasons with the Ravens, he caught 191 passes for 2,819 yards and 18 touchdowns.
During nine NFL seasons, Ismail has 309 receptions for 4,675 yards and 30 touchdowns with a career average of 15.1 yards per reception.
Ismail, originally drafted in the second round (52nd overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in 1993, played four seasons in Minnesota, then signed with the Green Bay Packers as an unrestricted free agent in June of 1997.
The Packers traded Ismail to the Miami Dolphins in August of 1997. He played three games for the Dolphins that season, then signed with the New Orleans Saints as an unrestricted free agent the following off-season. He was released by the Saints the next off-season, after which he signed with the Ravens.
Ismail emerged as a top receiver in Baltimore after two seasons - 1997 and 1998 - without a reception. He set single-season highs in 1999 with 68 receptions for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns.
"The last three years in Baltimore, I think I've been able to establish my game as a complete player," Ismail said. "Going through the wilderness experience I went through before that, I had to learn and define my game a lot better. But the last three years, being able to have two seasons with over 1,000 yards and winning the Super Bowl, I look at myself as not necessarily typecast any long as not just a deep threat.
"When I look at Qadry Ismail, I look at a player who can go across the middle and beat a person deep. Whatever the aspect might be, I can do that."
The 1999 season included Ismail's breakout game, a December 12 game against the Steelers in which he established himself as one of the NFL's top deep threats, catching six passes for a team-record 258 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 victory over the Steelers. At the time, the 258 yards was the 11th-highest total in NFL history. He was the 15th player in NFL history with more than 250 yards receiving in a game, the first to do so with as few as six receptions.
Prior to joining the Ravens, Ismail played two seasons primarily as a kick returner, returning 28 for a 21.1-yard average with the Saints in 1998 and eight for a 20.8-yard average for the Dolphins in 1997. He was inactive five games in 1998 and 13 in 1997.
In four seasons with the Vikings, Ismail caught 118 passes for 1,856 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 1995, he finished second in the NFC in kickoff returns with 42 returned for a 24.7-yard average.