Colts Hoping for Signature Day

Peyton Manning is more accustomed to signing autographs than chasing them.

But at the 2002 Pro Bowl, Manning couldn’t stop himself. With Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison as teammates on the AFC team, Manning grabbed a Pro Bowl helmet, a marker and asked two of the NFL’s most prolific receivers to sign for him.

“I don’t collect a lot of them and the only thing I have in my house is the Pro Bowl helmet signed by Jerry on one side and Marvin on the other,” Manning said. “So it tells you what I think of him.”

Today, Manning and Harrison hope to give the Oakland Raiders (2-2) their signature welcoming gift in Indianapolis -- another long day.

It’s a rare meeting between two of the NFL’s top receivers and may prove their last head-to-head matchup.

Rice, who turns 42 next week, holds all of the NFL’s major career receiving records -- catches (1,524), yards (22,533) and touchdowns (194). The numbers suggest if anyone has a chance to challenge those numbers, it might be Harrison, who will be on the opposite sideline Sunday.

Four games into his ninth NFL season with the Colts (3-1), Harrison has 785 catches, already 77 more than Rice produced in his first nine seasons. Harrison still has 12 games left to increase that gap.

And at 32, Harrison is still producing almost unimaginable stats. Despite a modest start this year, Harrison is still third in the AFC in receptions (26) and 13th in yards receiving (252).

“Marvin is pretty much the new age Jerry Rice,” said Colts cornerback Donald Strickland, who grew up in San Francisco watching Rice.

In the two previous games between Harrison and Rice, it’s been no contest. Harrison had 14 receptions for 158 yards and five TDs, while Rice had 8 catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns.

Clearly, Harrison made an impression on Rice.

“He is a worker, a small guy with a lot of heart and determination and it shows up on the football field,” Rice said. “You see them (Manning and Harrison) going through warm-ups, throwing the ball around and just running routes. Those are the guys that you have to stop.”

Now Harrison might be even more dangerous.

With more complementary receivers -- Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley and Marcus Pollard -- becoming consistent options for Manning, some teams might have to focus more attention on them and risk the losing the bigger battle with Harrison.

The Raiders know the dilemma well and it harkens to Rice’s early days with the San Francisco 49ers.

“You put the film in and it’s so familiar,” Oakland coach Norv Turner said. “You’ve seen it so many times and they’re so consistent. For us to have a chance of what we want to get done, we have to play a complete game.”