Colts receiver Marvin Harrison goes

about his business without fanfare

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – When Marvin Harrison catches a touchdown pass – and there are a lot of them – he simply jogs to the bench with the ball in hand.

He doesn’t need theatrics, such as making a cell-phone call or autographing a ball in the end zone. He acts like he’s been there before, and he has.

Harrison has always gotten a steady diet of passes, in part because he’s paired with one of the league’s best quarterbacks, Peyton Manning, on the Indianapolis Colts.

“It’s like something you can’t get enough of,” Harrison said Wednesday. “It’s like something you keep eating, but you can’t get full.”

Harrison and Manning have combined for the third-most touchdowns passes (68) of any combination in league history, and need just 51 completions to break the NFL record set by Jim Kelly and Andre Reed (663).

Since Manning’s arrival, Harrison’s consistency has been almost as unparalleled as his soft-spoken demeanor.

He owns the league record with four straight 100-plus catch seasons and has five straight years with at least 10 touchdown receptions. Last year, Harrison shattered the NFL’s single-season reception record with 143 catches, breaking the previous mark by 20.

This year, Harrison’s numbers have dropped, but he’s still one of the primary reasons Manning leads the league in touchdown passes (28) and yards passing (3,901) and is a top MVP candidate. Despite missing one game and half of another, Harrison is tied for the AFC lead in touchdown receptions (10), ranks second with 86 catches and third with 1,153 yards.

Yet his craving to do more never subsides.

“He’s happy,” coach Tony Dungy said with a smile. “But he’s not getting enough balls. He never thinks he gets enough balls.”

What separates Harrison from other top receivers such as Randy Moss, Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson is his personality. In a league that has become increasingly filled with boisterous celebrations and choreographed touchdown routines, Harrison is a throwback. He doesn’t spend endless hours in the film room. He doesn’t talk trash.

He doesn’t taunt and he doesn’t seek out publicity.

Instead, Harrison unceremoniously works on what he does best – catching passes – and leaves the sideshows to others.

“That’s a rare characteristic to see in a person,” wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. “It’s nice to see someone so humble and be the best at his position.”

Harrison’s skills also are unique.

Opponents can game-plan all week for him, use double coverage, nickel and dime packages to try and stop him, and yet Harrison still makes his catches.

In 122 career games, Harrison has caught at least two passes 120 times; has had at least three catches in 58 of his last 59 games; and Oakland’s Jerry Rice is the only player with more yards receiving in his first eight seasons.

He has 751 catches and needs 48 yards Sunday against Denver to become the 21st NFL player to top 10,000 yards.

Teammates and opponents say what Harrison does best is make every route look the same.

So when he cuts, he’s usually open, and if he’s open, Manning usually finds him.

“When I came here, I wanted to watch and see how this guy gets open,” Stokley said. “But every play he does things with his body that you can’t duplicate.” Others marvel at the catches he makes.

Dungy has compared Harrison to two Hall of Famers he played with in Pittsburgh, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.

This year’s highlight reel includes an amazing one-handed, diving grab against Tennessee that postgame shows replayed constantly, but that hardly wowed the Colts. “He makes so many great catches, it really stopped amazing me in practice a couple years ago,” Manning said. “I probably take that for granted.”

Harrison’s best catch of the season might have come Sunday against Atlanta on a play that didn’t even count. He tipped a ball intended for Stokley, caught it himself and tiptoed the end line for an apparent touchdown that was wiped out by a holding call.

Naturally, he didn’t even spike the ball.

A few plays later, Harrison scored by reaching back for an underthrown ball and staying in bounds. Then he did his usual routine – taking the ball and jogging politely to the Colts bench.

“When I make catches like that, it’s not a big deal given all the crazy stuff that happens at practice,” he said.

“To me, it’s not a surprise. That’s what I’m supposed to do.”