After his forced fumble against the Ravens, I made sure Brock got a spot in my book
Brock seems genuinely excited about the chance to step into the spotlight. When he came to Indianapolis in 2002, he was a rookie free agent who had been cut by Philadelphia. But it wasn’t a lack of talent that led the Eagles to dump their seventh-round pick that year. Because they had used up their rookie salary-cap space, they had to cut Brock right before the start of training camp.
That was a tough lesson that Brock had to learn about NFL life, especially because he had been a college standout at Temple and was the son of Zachary Dixon, who had spent part of the 1980 season with the Eagles.
“After growing up in Philly, I had the chance to play for the Eagles until I got that call right before camp,” Brock said. “But that opened up another opportunity for me to come here and play for [former Colts coach] Tony Dungy. And I’m glad everything worked out.”
All Brock has done since then is become one of the Colts’ unsung heroes. Although Freeney has generated 84 sacks in the past eight seasons, Brock has more tackles (288 to 242). Brock also is responsible for making the defensive-line calls and mentors younger teammates. In many ways, he has been the ideal teammate. Now he’s poised to show the entire football-watching world what he can do in a pinch.
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