Colts' Raheem Brock, of Dobbins Tech and Temple

Raheem Brock grew up in Germantown, rooting for the Eagles of Reggie White, Clyde Simmons and Randall Cunningham.

And even after 8 years with the Indianapolis Colts - including a stretch of 72 consecutive starts at one point - and a Super Bowl ring, Brock's Philly ties still run deep.

Brock, who attended Murrell Dobbins Tech and Temple, opened a national chicken-wing franchise store near the Temple campus last spring and he continues to return to the area to help build his Brock's Kids Foundation.

"I'm happy with the way things have happened," he said this week during an ESPN.com chat. "Eight years here [in Indianapolis], it's been great. What a way for things to happen. It was a big thing when I first got here."

Brock was initially a seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2002, but was a salary-cap casualty when the Eagles did not have enough money in the rookie pool to sign him.

He signed as a free agent with the Colts and started six games as a rookie. He became a full-time starter until an injury snapped his streak late in the 2007 season. He spent most of that time as the left defensive end, but started the entire 2006 season as the right defensive tackle and 2007 as the left defensive tackle.

This season, he appeared in 16 games, starting eight at left defensive end. He recorded 43 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and forced two fumbles. In Saturday's divisional-round win over Baltimore, he forced a Ray Rice fumble, one of three Ravens turnovers. "I just thought I had made a great play, a play we needed to make," Brock said.

Linebacker Gary Brackett, Glassboro, N.J.

 

Another local star for the Colts is linebacker Gary Brackett, who starred at Glassboro (N.J.) High and Rutgers University. Brackett, a defensive captain who has been with the Colts for 7 years, was second on the team this season with 99 tackles, including three against the Jets in December. He had five tackles and a sack against the Ravens. *