Johnny O looks at the big reasons Colts’ fans feel good about the D this week.
“Plus, he listens,” Freeney said. “He’s a young guy who understands, ‘Listen, this is what we need.’ He goes out, does everything he needs to do and everything works out. Ed’s part of this family. Obviously, people make mistakes. He’s learned from it. The upside and what he can do out there potentialwise — it’s unlimited.”
That last part of what Freeney said when I was talking to him this week struck me and I kept thinking about it as the most important part of what he said. I’m not sure what the perception of Johnson is publicly. Possibly, it’s not great. He had off-field issues at Penn State that cost him being an early draft pick and more off-field issues last season that obviously kept him out of the league for a season. Yet, for all of that, Johnson is unquestionably well-liked in the Colts’ locker room and I’ve always thought that was for a bigger reason than his talent. At heart, Johnson seems like a good guy, and for Freeney — an eight-year veteran with little time for young player not taking things seriously and listening — to like him and praise him and publicly support him tells me that if Johnson’s not perfect, there’s something decent in him.
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