Freeney feasts on QBs
INDIANAPOLIS – It was lunchtime, and Dwight Freeney was providing food for thought.
While alternately scooping up a forkful of sweet potatoes and tearing into one of the four pork chops on his plate, the Indianapolis Colts’ disruptive defensive end attributed a portion of his ever-evolving career to what he puts into his body.
Freeney is convinced he is what he is – which is arguably the NFL’s preeminent sack producer – in large part because of what he eats. And doesn’t eat.
“What’s making me my money is my body,” said Freeney, who triggered a $5 million escalator in his 2006 base salary by registering his 40th career sack in Sunday’s win over San Diego. “If I don’t take care of my body, I’m not going to be here long, especially because of the way I play.”
Freeney toils in the congestion and mayhem of the line of scrimmage. He routinely bangs into walls disguised as 315-pound offensive tackles. He fends off chip-blocks of running backs and tight ends.
Like all defensive linemen, he gets bruised, banged up, worn down.
“I heal faster from injuries because of the way I eat,” Freeney said. “I can play at different weights because of the way I eat. I feel stronger, faster.”
Informed that the Colts’ defensive mainstay attributes a measure of his success to nutrition, coach Tony Dungy smiled while digesting the information.
“I would suggest that a lot of people could eat what he’s eating and it wouldn’t impact on the game,” he said.
“We have some guys that eat a lot of different ways. When you’re successful, then everything’s good.”
These days, everything’s very good with Freeney.
On the field, he has established himself as a viable NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate in just his third season. Look at the league-best and career-high 16 sacks, nine of which have come in the past four games. Consider the 47 pressures and four forced fumbles. Take into account how the opposition must plan to limit his opportunities to turn a game.
Sunday, San Diego led 31-23 early in the fourth quarter and was in position for a 42-yard field goal. Freeney had other ideas as he moved from his normal right-side launching pad to left end in the nickel package. His 9-yard sack of quarterback Drew Brees on third-and-9 pushed the Chargers out of field-goal range, keeping the deficit manageable.
The Colts won in overtime, 34-31.
“If you don’t account for him, you’re going to be in for a long day,” said Denver coach Mike Shanahan, whose Broncos entertain Freeney and the Colts Sunday.
Freeney, added Broncos’ Pro Bowl safety John Lynch, “changes the course of a game.”
Freeney recalled a conversation he shared with New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis following the Patriots’ season-opening 27-24 victory over the Colts. Freeney spent much of the evening in the vicinity of Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, collecting one sack and five pressures.
“He told me he didn’t remember ever having to prepare as much for one guy before,” Freeney said. “I was honored.”
Freeney’s reputation as an elite pass rusher can be traced to Syracuse University. He totaled 34 career sacks, including an NCAA-leading 17.5 as a senior.
But that’s also where he determined something was amiss with his body. He cramped up. Frequently, violently.
“Awful cramps,” said Joy Freeney, Dwight’s mother. “He didn’t cramp up like normal people. His whole body went into it.
“It used to really trouble me. It was like he couldn’t move. One time I swear his vocal cords cramped up and he couldn’t talk.”
To battle cramps, Freeney devoured bananas. By the bunch.
Cramping remained a problem until Freeney departed Syracuse and was introduced to Sari Mellman, a noted Miami, Fla., nutritionist.
Mellman’s premise is basic: Nourish your body with food that works best for you; rid it of food that works against you. There is an initial, extensive blood work-up and food panel test where the blood is analyzed using approximately 150 foods, chemicals and food additives.
“She calls it re-energizing your body,” Freeney said.
The lab work revealed the root of Freeney’s cramping.
“It happened that bananas, which have potassium, were causing me to cramp up,” he said, smiling.
So, adios, bananas.
“I know my body so much more now,” Freeney said. “(Mellman) develops a program that’s unique to you. What works for me probably won’t work for you.”
Freeney still can consume a wide variety of food, but must determine how each interacts with the other. A normal breakfast might include eggs and bacon or beef. He recently favored rice and steak for dinner. Once the season starts, he rarely strays from a specific regimen.
Each day starts the same: Freeney steps on a scale that reads to tenths of a pound. His playing weight fluctuates between 260 and 263.
“If I’m down an ounce the next morning,” he said, “I know that food works in my system. If it’s even or goes up, somewhere or somehow that food has affected something.”
The main drawback to the program?
“Seasoning,” Freeney said. “I can’t have black pepper. I can’t have onion powder. I can’t have garlic. Things that make food taste really great, I can’t have.
“Guys make fun of me because I can’t have half of the stuff that everybody has.”
No one should doubt Freeney’s conviction when it comes to his nutritional program. He convinced his mother and grandmother to follow it as well.
Joy Freeney battled allergies for as long as she could remember.
“I was taking two pills a day for that,” she said. “Dwight kept telling me (Mellman) can help me with that. I’ve been on it for two years and I haven’t taken one pill.”
Pre-program, Ruby Williams, Joy’s mother, was taking medication for diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure. She still takes a pill to address her blood pressure, but nothing else.
Hugh Freeney, Dwight’s father, hasn’t made it a total family affair. He jogs to stay in shape.
“But it’s obvious it works for (Dwight),” Hugh said.
Despite the obvious benefits, Freeney admits he’s somewhat surprised he’s developed into such a devoted follower.
“I never thought it would be to this extent,” he said. “But I wanted to maximize my potential. … I saw it was a lifestyle.”