Dwight Freeney - Defensive End

6-1, 268 Syracuse 8 years in the NFL D1-02 DOB: 02/19/1980

2009:  Appeared in 14 games, starting nine at RDE…was inactive at Houston 11/29 and at Buffalo 1/3…had 31 tackles, 24 solo, 13.5 sacks, 20 QB pressures, one FF and one pass defensed…earned fifth career Pro Bowl selection…was sixth career 10+-sack season…finished t-3rd in NFL with 13.5 sacks…sack total ranks as second-highest single-season amount in franchise history…recorded a sack in nine straight games (dating to 2008)…sacks streak is franchise record and t-3rd-longest streak in NFL history (10, Simon Fletcher; 10, DeMarcus Ware; 9, Bruce Smith; 9, Kevin Greene)…tied teammate Robert Mathis’ NFL record with sack in eight consecutive games to start a season…recorded two tackles, one sack and four QB pressures vs. Jacksonville 9/13…had four tackles, one sack and one QB pressure at Miami 9/21…recorded two tackles, two sacks, one FF and six QB pressures at Arizona 9/27…was 18th career multiple-sack game…recorded one tackle, one sack and one QB pressure vs. Seattle 10/4…recorded one tackle and one sack at Tennessee 10/11…recorded four tackles, one sack, one pass defensed and three QB pressures at St. Louis 10/25…recorded two tackles and one sack vs. San Francisco 11/1…recorded seven tackles and 1.5 sacks vs. Houston 11/8....1st-quarter sack marked ninth straight game with sack, setting franchise record (previous 8, Robert Mathis, 2005)…recorded two tackles and one QB pressure vs. New England 11/15…recorded two tackles, two QB pressures and one sack vs. Tennessee 12/6…posted sixth career double-digit sack season…recorded two tackles, one sack and two QB pressures vs. Denver 12/13…recorded two tackles and two sacks vs. NY Jets 12/27…was 20th career multiple-sack game.  POST-SEASON: Started two games at RDE…had four tackles and two QB pressures vs. Baltimore 1/16 in Divisional Playoffs…recorded three tackles vs. NY Jets 1/24 in AFC Championship Game.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS (THROUGH 2008 SEASON):  Ranks as the Colts career sack leader (70.5) and the only Colts player with five double-digit sack seasons, including four consecutive (2002-05, 08, since sacks became official in 1982)…has recorded five of the 14 double-digit sack seasons in club history (16, Freeney, 2004; 13, Freeney, 2002; 12, DE-Chad Bratzke, 1999; 11.5, LB-Johnie Cooks, 1984; 11.5, DE-Robert Mathis, 2008; 11.5, Mathis, 2005; 11, LB-Vernon Maxwell, 1983; 11, Freeney, 2003; 11, Freeney, 2005; 10.5, LB-Tony Bennett, 1995; 10.5, DE-Dan Footman, 1997; 10.5, Mathis, 2004; 10.5, Freeney, 2008; 10, DE-Jon Hand, 1989)...was T5th-most sacks for the first five career seasons in NFL history with 56.5 (81, Reggie White; 66, Derrick Thomas; 61.5, Richard Dent; 57.5, Bruce Smith; 56.5, Charles Haley)…51 sacks in first four seasons ranked as 3rd-highest total (70, White; 58, Thomas)…Freeney (24) had ranked 4th among NFL players in career sacks after two seasons (31, White; 30, Thomas; 26, Jevon Kearse) and 3rd (40) in career sacks after three seasons (52, White; 43.5, Thomas)…has 17 career multiple-sack games (3, at Miami 11/2/03; 3, vs. Tennessee 12/5/04; 3, at Houston 12/12/04; 3, vs. Cleveland 9/25/05; 3, vs. Cincinnati 12/18/06; 2, vs. Dallas 11/17/02; 2, at Cleveland 12/15/02; 2, vs. Jacksonville 12/29/02; 2, vs. Carolina 10/12/03; 2, vs. Jacksonville 10/24/03; 2, vs. Minnesota 11/8/04; 2, vs. Baltimore 12/19/04; 2, vs. Tennessee 12/4/05; 2, at Jacksonville 10/22/07; 2, at Pittsburgh 11/9/08; 2, vs. Houston 11/16/08; 1.5, vs. Cincinnati 12/7/08)…is one of 12 Colts players with a 3+-sack game…has sacks in 51 of 103 career games and 45 of 89 starts…Colts are 41-10 when Freeney produces a sack…has five career three-game sack streaks and two career four-game streaks…four-game streaks are T4th-longest (since 1982) in Colts history (8, Mathis, 2005; 6, DE-Dan Footman, 1997; 5, Bickett, 1985; 4, Hand, 1991; 4, Bennett, 1995; 4, Bennett, 1996; 4, DT-Ellis Johnson, 1998; 4, Freeney, 2003; 4, Freeney, 2004)…has six career games with multiple FF (3, at Philadelphia 11/10/02; 3, vs. Cincinnati 12/18/06; 2, at Tennessee 12/8/02; 2, at Miami 11/2/03; 2, vs. Denver 9/30/07; 2, at Jacksonville 10/22/07)…has 35 career FF (9, 2002; 4, 2003; 4, 2004; 6, 2005; 4, 2006; 4, 2007; 4, 2008) and club is 22-5 in games when he has a FF…70.5 sacks ranks T2nd in NFL since 2002 (81.0, Jason Taylor; 70.5, Julius Peppers) while 35 FF leads NFL during that span…earned first Pro Bowl bid in 2003 to join Bickett (1987) as club's only defensive Pro Bowlers in team's Indianapolis era and became club's first Pro Bowl DL since DT-Mike Barnes and DE-John Dutton in 1977…earned second consecutive Pro Bowl bid in 2004 to become first Colt since Dutton (1975-77) to have consecutive Pro Bowl bids and matched Dutton with third consecutive nomination in 2005…earned fourth Pro Bowl selection of career in 2008…four Pro Bowl bids rank behind only DE-Gino Marchetti (10) and DT-Art Donovan (5) among Colts defensive linemen…was named to Associated Press NFL All-Pro First-Team for second consecutive season in 2005…earned Pro Bowl appearance along with DE-Robert Mathis, the first time in club history two ends made the same Pro Bowl…Freeney (70.5) and Mathis (53.5) rank first and second in Colts career sacks and have combined for 124 sacks, 65 FF and 13 FR…the duo combined for 22 sacks in 2008, the third time they have topped 20 sacks as a tandem (26.5, 2004; 22.5, 2005).

2008:  Appeared in 15 games with 14 starts at RDE…saw action as reserve DE vs. Baltimore 10/12 as club opened in rush package and was inactive vs. Tennessee 12/28…had 30 tackles, 23 solo, 10.5 sacks (for 78.5 yards), 33 pressures and four FF…earned fourth career Pro Bowl selection…was fifth career 10+-sack season…had three multiple-sack games and has 17 for career…had two tackles and one sack vs. Chicago 9/7…had four tackles, one sack and one FF at Minnesota 9/14…had six solo tackles, one sack and one FF at Houston 10/5…had two sacks, four pressures and one FF at Pittsburgh 11/9…had two sacks vs. Houston 11/16…had one sack, one FF and four pressures at Cleveland 11/30…sack-fumble led to 37t FR by Robert Mathis for game’s only TD in 10-6 victory…was named AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Month for November…had three solo tackles and 1.5 sacks vs. Cincinnati 12/7 for 17th career multiple-sack outing…had five tackles, four solo, one sack and six pressures at Jacksonville 12/18. POST-SEASON: Started at RDE in Wild Card Playoffs at San Diego 1/3 and had two tackles, two sacks and three pressures.

2007: Started nine games at RDE before suffering foot injury at San Diego 11/11…was placed on injured reserve 11/14…had 34 tackles, 3.5 sacks (15.5 yards), 19 pressures and four FF…19 pressures led team, while FF tied for team lead and sacks ranked tied for 2nd…had three solo tackles vs. New Orleans 9/6 and at Tennessee 9/16…had seven tackles, five solo, one sack and two FF vs. Denver 9/30…was fifth career multiple-FF game…had three solo stops and 0.5 sack vs. Tampa Bay 10/7…had seven tackles, five solo, two sacks (including one for safety) and two FF at Jacksonville 10/22…was first safety since DT-Josh Williams vs. Detroit 10/29/00 and was named AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week…had two solo stops vs. New England 11/4…had two solo tackles at San Diego before leaving in fourth quarter with foot injury.

2006: Started 16 games at RDE…had 45 tackles, 35 solo, 5.5 sacks, 33 QB pressures and tied for team lead with four FF…had tackles in 15 games and multiple stops in 13 games…had five tackles at NYJ 10/1…had five solo stops and 0.5 sack at Denver 10/29…had one sack vs. Buffalo 11/12…had two solo stops, one sack and one FF at Dallas 11/19…had six tackles at Jacksonville 12/10…had five solo tackles, three sacks and three FF vs. Cincinnati 12/18…marked fifth career three-sack game and second career game with three FF…earned AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors. POST-SEASON: Started vs. Kansas City 1/6 in Wild Card Playoffs, at Baltimore 1/13 in Divisional Playoffs, vs. New England 1/21 in AFC Championship Game and vs. Chicago 2/4 in Super Bowl XLI…had five tackles, two sacks, one FF and one FR…had three tackles, two sacks and one FF vs. Kansas City…had two stops vs. New England and one FR vs. Chicago.

2005: Started 13 of 16 games at RDE…earned Pro Bowl honors for third consecutive season…did not start vs. Houston 11/13 as club opened in rush package…played in coverage package but did not start in final two games at Seattle 12/24 and vs. Arizona 1/1…had 39 tackles, 37 solo, eleven sacks (71.5 yards), 24 QB pressures, one batted pass and six FF…line produced 42 of team’s 46 sacks…had tackles in 13 games…had seasonal-best seven tackles, five solo, three sacks and one FF vs. Cleveland 9/25…performance vs. Cleveland marked fourth career 3+-sack game…had two solo stops and one sack vs. Jacksonville 9/18…was named AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Month for September with 11 stops, nine solo, four sacks and one FF in three games…had three solo stops, one sack and one FF at San Francisco 10/9…had two solo stops and one FF vs. St. Louis 10/17…had four solo tackles, one sack and one FF at Houston 10/23…marked third consecutive game with FF…had three solo tackles, one sack and one batted pass vs. Houston 11/13…had two solo tackles and 0.5 sack vs. Pittsburgh 11/28…had four solo tackles, two sacks and one FF vs. Tennessee 12/4…had one tackle and 0.5 sack vs. Arizona 1/1...was named to AP NFL All-Pro first-team and PFW/PFWA All-NFL and All-AFC Teams. POST-SEASON: Started at RDE vs. Pittsburgh 1/15 and had one solo stop, 1-4 sack and one pass defensed.

2004: Started 16 games at RDE, his first season with starts in every contest…had 47 tackles, 39 solo, 16 sacks (120 yards), 47 QB pressures, one pass defensed, one batted pass and four FF…is only player in Colts history with three consecutive double-digit sack seasons (since sacks became official in 1982)…followed up 13-sack season in 2002 and 11-sack season in 2003 with NFL-leading 16 sacks in 2004…became first Colts player to win league sack title…position mates as line tallied 41 of team's 45 sacks…along with DE-Robert Mathis (10.5), produced 9th and 10th double-digit sack seasons in club history...had tackles in 14 games with six at Tennessee 9/19 for top total…had five stops vs. Jacksonville 10/24, vs. Minnesota 11/8 and vs. Tennessee 12/5…was 3-19 sacks vs. Tennessee and 3-28 sacks at Houston 12/12 for top sack totals…had two sacks vs. Jacksonville 10/24, vs. Minnesota and vs. Baltimore 12/19 and had solo sacks at New England 9/9, at Tennessee, at Chicago 11/21 and vs. San Diego 12/26…is one of 11 Colts players with a 3.0+ sack game…sacks in games 12-15 marked 2nd career four-game streak…had FF at Chicago, at Detroit 11/25, vs. Tennessee and vs. San Diego 12/26…has three career games with multiple FF (3, at Philadelphia 11/10/02; 2 at Tennessee 12/8/02; 2, at Miami 11/2/03)…earned AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Month honors for December/January…was named to AP NFL All-Pro first-team, PFW/PFWA All-AFC and All-NFL Teams and CPFN NFL All-Pro first-team. POST-SEASON: Started at RDE vs. Denver 1/9 and at New England 1/16…had two tackles, one sack and six pressures…had one tackle in each game and had sack at New England.

2002: PFW/PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team…NFL Defensive Rookie-of-the-Month (November)…NFL Defensive Rookie-of-the-Month (December)…AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week (11/10 at Philadelphia). 2003: Pro Bowl Starter…Associated Press NFL All-Pro (Second-Team)…PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team…Football Digest NFL All-Pro Team…AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week (11/2 at Miami)…Phil Simms Ironman Team. 2004: Pro Bowl Starter…Associated Press NFL All-Pro (First-Team)…PFW/PFWA All-NFL Team…PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team…College and Pro Football Newsweekly NFL All-Pro (First-Team)…Sporting News NFL All-Pro Team…NFL Alumni Pass Rusher-of-the-Year…AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Month (December/January).  2005: Pro Bowl Starter…Associated Press NFL All-Pro (First-Team)…PFW/PFWA All-NFL Team…PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team…The Sporting News NFL All-Pro Team…AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Month (September)...Kansas City Committee of 101 AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Year.  2006:  AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week (12/18 vs. Cincinnati).  2007:  AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week (10/22 at Jacksonville).  2008:  Pro Bowl Starter…AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Month (November).

Two-year starter who opened 22 of 39 career games at RDE…was school's premier career pass rusher…ranked second in school history with 34 sacks, topped only by Tim Green (45.5)…totaled 104 tackles, 68 solo, 14 FF, three FR, 51 tackles for losses, 43 QB pressures and six passes defensed for career…holds NCAA seasonal record for FF and FR (11, eight forced, three recovered, 2001)…had string of 17 consecutive games with at least one sack end in 2001 Pittsburgh contest…started every game as senior, leading nation with 17.5 sacks…sack total broke Green’s prior seasonal school mark of 15…had 50 tackles, 33 solo, eight FF, 26 tackles for losses, three FR and 26 QB pressures…had 2.5 sacks against Temple and two sacks against Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Central Florida, Auburn, East Carolina and West Virginia…was consensus All-America and All-Big East Conference first-team…named Big East co-Defensive Player-of-the-Year…was finalist for Lombardi (best lineman), Bednarik (top defensive player) and Nagurski (outstanding defensive player) Awards...eight FF set conference record…earned Big East Player-of-the-Week honors four times, matching conference seasonal record…started first seven games as junior…had 32 tackles, 23 solo, 13 sacks, 18 tackles for losses…deflected one pass, had three FF and eight QB pressures…was BCSfootball.com All-America second-team, All-ECAC and All-Big East Conference first-team selection, despite missing final four games with spleen dis-order…started two of 10 games as sophomore…had 19 tackles, nine solo, 3.5 sacks, five tackles for losses, three QB pressures and one FF…started one of 10 games as freshman…had three tackles, two tackles for losses, two FF and six QB pressures.

Full name is Dwight Freeney…born in Bloomfield, Conn….attended Bloomfield (Conn.) High School…was SuperPrep, Prep Football Report, USA Today, New Haven Register, Hartford Courant and Blue Chip Illustrated All-America selection, adding PrepStar All-Regional honors as DE…also lettered at TE…was All-Central Connecticut West pick and served as team captain…was four-sport letterman, including three letters in football, four in basketball and baseball and one in soccer…participated in the “Shop with a Colt” program, leading a group of underprivileged children on shopping spree for bicycles, sports equipment and apparel…established the Dwight Freeney Full-Contact Football Camp with proceeds benefiting various charities...also launched Dwight Freeney Foundation...single…resides in Bloomfield, Conn.

HEADLINES

12/31/09 - COLTS NOTEBOOK

12/30/09 - MOVING FORWARD

12/30/09 - A HUMBLING HONOR

12/29/09 - THE WAIT IS OVER

12/27/09 - READY TO MOVE ON