Bethea makes immediate impact after lengthy absence

INDIANAPOLIS -- Antoine Bethea made his first impression on the Indianapolis Colts count. Now he wants to make it last.\nWith his combination of instincts, quickness and natural coverage skills, Bethea has quickly emerged as one of the Colts' biggest surprises during the preseason -- even though the rookie safety barely had time to learn the defense.\nRookies have not always made such a quick impact in Tony Dungy's customary Cover-2 scheme.\nThe first half of Dwight Freeney's rookie season was spent primarily on the bench. All he's done since then is make three straight Pro Bowls.\nPro Bowl safety Bob Sanders battled through injuries to play in six games his rookie season, Pro Bowl linebacker Cato June didn't record a single tackle in his first season with the Colts, and last year's first-round pick, cornerback Marlin Jackson, was relegated primarily to Nickel packages in 2005.\nBethea has a chance to be different.\nWhile he's admittedly still learning how to play Dungy's patented defense, the 5-foot-11, 203-pound safety has broken the mold.\nUnlike most Colts draft picks, who come from big schools with winning traditions, Bethea played college ball at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and has made the transition to the NFL appear seamless.\n"He's made a lot of plays," Dungy said. "He can run, and he's not overcoached right now. He's just playing and going to where the ball is. But give us some time, and I'm sure we'll overcoach him."\nBethea's rapid ascent has come despite missing much of the early part of training camp with a knee injury. When he returned a couple of days before the preseason game against Seattle, Bethea honed in on the football like a radar detector.\nAnd when it mattered most, in the games, Bethea again excelled.\nIn his first preseason game against Seattle, Bethea led the team with eight tackles. Last weekend against New Orleans, he had three more, picked off one pass, knocked down two others, recovered a fumble on a kickoff and looked like a solid special teams guy, too.\nThe results have impressed teammates as much as coaches.\n"He's a good player, possibly a great player," Sanders said. "He's come in right away and made an impact. He's confident in himself, and he's a playmaker."\nNot bad for a sixth-round draft pick that most teams were uncertain about.\nBut he is not a finished product.\nHe acknowledges he's relied primarily on instincts so far, and understands the regular season will present a different kind of learning curve.\n"The hardest thing has been the speed of the game and just doing the little things the coaches really harp on," he said. "You just have to find a way to fit in."\nSo far Bethea has done everything right.\nHe's now listed third on the depth chart at free safety behind Sanders and Matt Giordano and is threatening to make another move up the chart.\nFirst, though, Bethea wants to learn the intricacies of Dungy's system and prove to everyone that he can make the jump from Division I-AA to the NFL.\n"Instincts are a big part of it because if you don't have them, the receiver is going to beat you by two steps," Bethea said. "I know the coaches will coach when they have to, but you always want those instincts on the field"