Mike Chappell

mike.chappell@indystar.com

It was evident to Peyton Manning from the outset: Dallas Clark was something special.

Manning already had established himself as the face and catalyst of the Indianapolis Colts in 2003 when the team added Clark to his arsenal. The decorated tight end out of Iowa was selected with the 24th overall pick in the draft.

Clark stood out. Immediately.

"I can remember when we drafted Dallas back in 2003 noticing what an incredible athlete Dallas was,'' Manning said. "You could see it right away.

"Dallas is what you would call a 'freak' in the weight room. His ability to perform certain exercises and his display of athleticism and flexibility was impressive to witness. You saw that transfer to the playing field. He had unbelievable speed. I can remember many a time him catching a 15-yard seam route and taking it 80 yards for a touchdown.''

Now, following a record-setting 11-year career, Clark is running into retirement. It becomes official Wednesday morning when he retires as a member of the team with which it all began. Clark spent his first nine seasons with the Colts.

Manning, who is entering his third season with the Denver Broncos, was quick to reach out to his former teammate. He and Clark collaborated on 44 touchdowns, third-most in NFL history by a quarterback-tight end tandem.

"I communicated with Dallas (Monday) and just told him what an honor and privilege it was to be his teammate for those years in Indianapolis,'' Manning said.

Manning operated a pick-your-poison offense that featured wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne and running back Edgerrin James. Clark represented yet another potentially lethal option.

"Let's face it, Dallas was a problem for teams,'' Manning said. "I've always said you'd like to have teams have a conversation about how they would handle a certain player. I know for a fact that Dallas was a guy teams were having a conversation about. 'Do we keep a linebacker on him? Do we keep a safety on him? Do we bring in a third cornerback to play against him?'

"All of those different types of defenses came up because of Dallas. It was nice having a guy who could somewhat dictate what the defense would have to do. It just said so much about his versatility.''

Among tight ends, Clark set club career records with 427 receptions and 46 touchdowns, and finished second with 4,887 yards. In 13 playoff games, he had 64 receptions and 847 yards, NFL post-season records by a tight end.

Manning recalled Clark's presence during the Colts' 2006 playoff push that culminated with a 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

Clark suffered a sprained right knee Nov. 26 against Philadelphia and the team nearly placed him on the season-ending injured reserve list. But the decision was made to keep him on the active roster and allow him to rehabilitate the knee.

Clark missed four games and returned for the regular-season finale against Miami – four catches, 56 yards – then embarked on a historic playoff run. He had 21 receptions, second-most by a tight end since 1970, and 317 yards, the most by a player at his position since '70.

There was a nine-catch, 103-yard outing against Kansas City in the playoff opener and a six-catch, 137-yard game against New England in the AFC Championship game. He also made a critical third-down catch in the fourth quarter of the conference divisional round win at Baltimore.

The playoff run, according to Manning, "will go down as one of the most impressive accomplishments for any tight end. Basically, he was our slot receiver for that entire playoff run when Brandon Stokley got injured.

"Teams were playing defensive backs and cornerbacks on him, and it didn't matter. He was still getting open. He had a couple of huge catches against Baltimore, some huge plays in our comeback win against New England and a couple of pivotal catches in the Super Bowl against Chicago.

"All when defenses were keying on him and targeting him.''

On the grand scale, Clark was good to have in the huddle.

"Dallas is one of my favorite teammates and a guy that truly loved football,'' Manning said. "He was always one of (former offensive coordinator) Tom Moore's favorite players because of their Iowa Hawkeye connection.

"Tom liked him, and all the players did, too. Dallas was a fun guy to play with and a great guy as well. I am proud of his career and proud that I was part of it and witnessed all that he accomplished.''

Call Star reporter Mike Chappell at (317) 444-6830. You can follow him on Twitter at @mchappell51.

DALLAS CLARK: Tight end tape measure

>> Ranks No. 1 in club history with 427 receptions and 46 touchdowns, and No. 2 with 4,887 yards and seven 100-yard games during the regular season.

>> Set club single-season records with 100 receptions and 1,106 yards in 2009 and 11 touchdowns in 2007. At the time, joined Tony Gonzalez as only tight ends in NFL history with at least 100 receptions.

>> Also set single-game marks with 14 receptions against Houston in 2009, 183 yards against Miami in '09 and three touchdowns (twice).

>> Broke John Mackey's record for receptions (320) with a 3-yard TD Nov. 22, 2009 at Baltimore. It was his only catch of the game.

>> Finished career with 505 receptions, 5,665 yards and 53 touchdowns in 143 games. Just fifth tight end in NFL history with at least 500 receptions, 5,000 yards and 50 TDs, joining Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten and Shannon Sharpe.

>> Ranks No. 6 in league history in TD catches, tied for No. 8 in receptions and No. 15 in yards.

>> Amassed 64 receptions for 847 yards in 13 playoff games, both NFL records for a tight end.

>> Missed Games 12-15 of the 2006 regular season with a sprained right knee, but returned and was instrumental in Colts reaching Super Bowl XLI and defeating the Chicago Bears. Had 21 receptions, second-most by a tight end in the postseason since 1970, and 317 yards, the most since '70.

>> First NFL touchdown catch was an 11-yarder from Peyton Manning at New Orleans in 2003, one of Manning's six in a 55-21 rout of the Saints.

>> Posted career-long 80-yard TD catch on the first play of 2009 win at Miami.