INDIANAPOLIS — Team president Bill Polian has not set a timetable for when strong safety Bob Sanders is expected to return to the practice field. But when he does come back, don’t expect to see any change in the way that the National Football League’s 2007 “Defensive Player of the Year” conducts his business on the field or in practice.
After missing five games with a high right ankle sprain, suffered in the team’s 18-15 win at Minnesota in the second week of the regular season, Sanders has been experiencing swelling in his right knee. He sat out the last two weeks, not playing in wins over Houston and San Diego, and remains doubtful for Sunday’s game at Cleveland.
“As to getting him back, we will do our level best to get him back there, but it is a function solely of Mother Nature. We can adapt his practice schedule. We can adapt his workout schedule. In the end, when his knee quiets down, he’ll be back out there. We’re never going to put a player out there if he is not able to defend himself, if he is not able to play well enough to avoid further injury,” Polian said recently on his weekly radio show.
“If Bob does not have the swelling gone out of his knee, we’re not going to put him out there. It’s that simple. Whoever else plays is going to have to play and play well. Melvin Bullitt has done that for the last little while and I fully expect he’ll continue to do that, because he’s a good player. But the idea that Bob can someone slow himself down to the point where he can just tap people and knock them down or whatever to avoid injury is not realistic.”
As for suggestions that Sanders should ”go easy” in practices or games in order to prevent additional injuries — he has only played in four of the team’s 11 games this season and has missed 33 out of a possible 75 games during his five-year NFL career — Polian disagrees.
“First of all, Bob only knows one way to play and that’s the way he plays. It’s impossible for Bob Sanders to run as fast as he can and not hit someone hard. It’s physically impossible to do that because he is a very large man who runs inordinately fast and when he hits you, he’s going to hit you hard. There’s no way for him to pull off. No football player can do that. In fact, if you did that, you would be inviting further injury to yourself,” he pointed out.
“It is an axiom in football from Day One that if you play very hard and you give your all on every play, if the competitive issues are relatively equal — meaning that it’s not a 350-pound man going against a 175-pound man — the harder you play the less likely you are to be injured. The way for Bob to avoid injury is to play as hard as he possibly can, which he does all of the time.”
Colts coach Tony Dungy said Thursday that there remains a slight possibility that Sanders, who has yet to practice this week, might be back for the Cleveland game.
“He did not practice. I don’t think he’ll practice [today],” he said. “I said [Wednesday] he was doubtful. I doubted he would play. And [Thursday] I’m saying there’s a better chance than I thought.”
n Close is okay — En route to a 7-4 record this year, the Colts have been involved in seven games that have been decided by a touchdown or less. Indianapolis has won six of those contests.
“A win is a win is a win. As [Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach] Herman Edwards said, ‘You play to win the game. That’s what you do.’ There has been a myth created by these report cards and all of these power rankings and all the other chatter that somehow if you don’t win every game in the National Football League 37-0 and hold the other team under 200 yards that you’re a flawed team and there’s something wrong. That isn’t the way the National Football League is,” Polian said.
“The National Football League is what we see every week — hard-fought games that turn on one, two or three plays where the matchups are very, very even and you’re in a situation where you have to fight and scrap for every single game. We make no bones about the fact that that’s the way it’s going to be the rest of the way. We said it at the outset when we had all of the injuries that that was likely the way it was going to be all season long. Coulda, woulda, shoulda doesn’t count either way. Either you won or you lost, and then from our perspective, ‘How did we play?’ We play to a certain standard. Every week we want to adhere to that standard. We want to reach that standard and if we do it, then we’re fine. All of the other things — the so-called style points — are totally meaningless in the NFL.”
n Injury list — Wide receiver Roy Hall (knee/hamstring) is back and has practiced the last two days. Dungy, however, doesn’t think he’ll play much, if at all, on Sunday.
“I doubt it. He’s actually done pretty well [in workouts] and moved around well. But we’ll probably get another week of practice in,” he said after Thursday’s workout.
Wide receiver Reggie Wayne was rested on Thursday, but is expected back for today’s practice. A few of the players who sat out Wednesday — defensive ends Dwight Freeney (rest) and Robert Mathis (rest), strong safety Melvin Bullitt (rib), cornerback Tim Jennings (rest), outside linebacker Tyjuan Hagler (knee), offensive tackle Tony Ugoh (quadraceps) — took part in Thursday’s workout.
Safety Antoine Bethea (ankle) and middle linebacker Gary Brackett (hamstring) missed a second straight day of work. Both are scheduled to play against the Browns, however. Center Jeff Saturday (calf) also sat out Thursday and will be out for several weeks.
“We are [in good shape], for the most part. Had a good day of work. Thought they did a good job for Thanksgiving Day. It was good tempo, crisp and pretty good shape,” Dungy said. “We rested Reggie Wayne. But some of the other guys that didn’t work [Wednesday], those guys got back into it. So it was a good day.”
n Party at Peyton’s house — For those Indianapolis players who didn’t have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving Day, the door to Peyton Manning’s house was wide open Thursday.
Manning and his wife Ashleigh invited the team over for a mega dinner Thursday afternoon and evening.
“When Peyton made the announcement [on Wednesday] that anybody who didn’t have family here or any of our new guys, they could come over to his house. I tried to tell the guys he wasn’t just saying that. He’s serious about it,” Dungy said.
“Even though my family will be here, we may go over to Peyton’s house. He’s had a lot of the rookies over and it’s a pretty good time and pretty good food. We’re going to try and take care of everybody, especially the guys that don’t have family here.”
The Indianapolis quarterback acknowledged earlier this week that his house will be well stocked.
“It’s a lot of food, obviously, for football players. We got four turkeys, I think. Some of these linemen can eat, without a doubt. Coach Dungy has always talked about this, that it’s a time to work and focus on Cleveland. But it’s also time, when the time is right, to be thankful for the things that we have. [Thanksgiving] is always a special day,” Manning said.
“We have a lot of new players, first-year players, guys that have just signed in the past couple of weeks. Nobody should be eating alone on Thanksgiving, so we go open house at the Mannings and make sure everybody has a place to go.”
Colts
Colts to wait patiently on Sanders' knee problem
- Colts
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Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
While the Indianapolis Colts put their rookies and a handful of second-year players through workouts this weekend at the team’s Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, a pair of first-year coordinators are getting a chance to do some valuable on-field work as well.
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Werner, 36 others open Colts’ mini camp
The Indianapolis Colts welcomed 37 players to the start of the team’s rookie mini camp Friday at the West 56th Street headquarters.
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Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts received high marks for the impact players the team added through the NFL draft.
Of the 10 players selected, five ended up either starting or seeing extensive playing time (quarterback Andrew Luck, tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and running back Vick Ballard) during the Colts’ 11-5 season.
While this year’s class may not rival that group in terms of name recognition and flash, it may produce just as many major contributors once the 2013 season gets underway. -
Werner at top of game
Bjoern Werner was a late comer to football. But after being selected in the first round of the 2013 National Football League draft by the Indianapolis Colts, Werner realizes that he has reached the pinnacle of the sport in a relatively short amount of time.
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Colts select pass rusher Werner in first round
The Indianapolis Colts selected Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner. The 6-foot-3, 266-pound defensive lineman can also play left outside linebacker.
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Colts in wait-and-see mode for tonight’s NFL draft
As the 2013 NFL draft gets underway tonight at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the Indianapolis Colts are continuing their wait-and-see stance in regard to the first-round pick.
The draft begins at 8 p.m. — televised by the NFL Network and ESPN — with the Kansas City Chiefs making the night’s first selection. Teams will have 10 minutes to make their decisions during the first round. Indianapolis will have the 24th overall pick in the first round.
There will be only one round tonight. The second and third rounds are scheduled for Friday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with seven minutes allotted per pick in the second round and five minutes allowed in the third. The final four rounds are slated to begin at noon Saturday with four minutes between selections.
As it stands now, Indianapolis does not have a second-round pick. It was traded to Miami last fall in exchange for veteran cornerback Vontae Davis. But second-year general manager Ryan Grigson has nut ruled out the possibility of trading down from the first round if the Colts aren’t satisfied with the players available. -
Direction clear for Colts in 2013 draft
The Indianapolis Colts head into the 2013 NFL Draft with some definite plans.
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Colts veteran among those excited to see Luck's growth in 2013-14
Veteran defensive end Cory Redding is a big fan — literally and figuratively — of Indianapolis Colts second-year quarterback Andrew Luck.
Redding, who has become one of the Colts’ lockerroom leaders after just one season with the team, thinks he has some reasonable expectations of Indianapolis’ former No. 1 draft pick. -
Heyward-Bey feeling fortunate to hook up with Luck
Add one more player to the list of veteran free agents signed by the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
Former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey agreed to a a deal with the Colts late Monday evening. Bey, who played collegiately at Maryland, was the seventh player selected in the first round of the 2009 National Football League draft. -
Colts sign nose tackle
Another day, more player signings for the Indianapolis Colts.
Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin agreed to terms with the Colts on Tuesday evening and officially signed with the team Wednesday. Franklin (6-1, 315) is a 10-year NFL veteran with stops in Baltimore (2003-06), San Francisco (2007-10), New Orleans (2011) and San Diego (2012). -
Colts sign Matt Hasselbeck to back up Luck
The Indianapolis Colts’ roster moves just keep coming.
While the Colts haven’t yet added that big-name wide receiver that team owner Jim Irsay hinted at in tweets over the weekend, Indianapolis has addressed one area on offense.
Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had agreed Monday night to be the Colts’ primary back-up to second-year starter Andrew Luck. He officially signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the team Tuesday morning.
“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Matt Hasselbeck,” general manager Ryan Grigson said in a prepared statement. “His body of work, intangibles, and extensive league experience speak for themselves. Those factors, plus his familiarity with our offensive scheme, will make him a great asset to our team and its vision as we move forward.” -
Colts likely done signing free agents, for now
With the possible exception of adding a few lesser-priced players, the Indianapolis Colts’ big-time foray into the veteran free-agent marketplace is pretty much done.
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Landry, Jean Francois join Colts defensive unit
After adding five veteran free agent players to the Indianapolis Colts roster on Tuesday, general manager Ryan Grigson plucked two more plums late Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.
New York Jets safety LaRon Landry and San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois both signed contracts with the Colts. Landry, a strong safety who appears to be a bigger version of former Indianapolis Pro Bowler Bob Sanders, and the versatile Jean-Francois are expected to make immediate impacts on the Colts’ defensive unit. -
Colts introduce free-agent signees
What the Indianapolis Colts accomplished last season — posting an 11-5 record and earning an AFC wild-card berth with a young team plus having that kind of success without its head coach on the sidelines for 12 games — didn’t go unnoticed by players around the NFL.
That was especially true for the five veteran free agents who were added to the Colts’ roster Tuesday. Offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus (Detroit), cornerback Greg Toler (Arizona), outside linebacker Erik Walden (Green Bay), offensive guard Donald Thomas (New England) and linebacker Lawrence Sidbury (Atlanta) admitted as much Wednesday.
“I felt like this would be the best fit for me at this point in my career. I really liked what I saw was happening with the program here and the way things have taken shape. I feel like we have a really great team here and it’s on the rise. I really wanted to be a part of that,” Thomas said during a teleconference interview with the Colts’ media. -
Colts sign five free agents, filling needs at offensive line, cornerback
The Indianapolis Colts were a busy team on the opening day of the National Football League’s veteran free agent market, which got underway at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
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Jeff Saturday retires as a Colt
An Indianapolis Colt for life. Pencil in Jeff Saturday for that honor.
The 14-year veteran center in the NFL put an official stamp on a career Thursday that began in Baltimore in 1998 and ended in Green Bay in 2012. But it was those 13 seasons in between — from 1999 to 2011 in which he played for Indianapolis — when Saturday earned his greatest rewards. -
Saturday thrilled to retire as a Colt
The 14-year veteran center in the National Football League put an official stamp on a career Thursday that began in Baltimore in 1998 and ended in Green Bay in 2012. But it was those 13 seasons in-between — from 1999 to 2011 in which he played for Indianapolis — that Saturday earned his greatest rewards.
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Saturday to retire as Colt on Thursday
Former Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday will make his retirement from the National Football League official on Thursday.
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Indianapolis franchises punter McAfee
A week ago, Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano said it was a priority that the team retain the services of punter Pat McAfee.
McAfee, an unrestricted free agent who’s contract is due to expire March 12, was designated as the Colts’ franchise player Friday. The move allows Indianapolis extra time to work out a long-term deal for the team’s special-teams ace.
“He’s huge. He’s a major priority in free agency. Obviously, we’ve reached out and are working to get Pat re-signed,” Pagano said during the National Football Scouting Combine. “We saw what he did for us last year. He’s a great weapon, not only kickoffs and touchbacks. -
Colts GM enjoying time at combine
Indianapolis Colts second-year general manager Ryan Grigson makes no bones about it. He enjoys watching prospective football players strut their stuff.
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Colts keeping eye on large crop of talented linemen in NFL Draft
According to most National Football League draft observers, this year’s crop of prospects is deep with quality offensive and defensive linemen.
Among the offensive line candidates who have been showcasing their talents at the National Football Scouting Combine, which began in earnest Thursday and wraps up on Tuesday, the spotlight has been on the offensive tackles. Offensive left tackles in particular. -
Colts' Pagano back to full work schedule at combine
Back and ready to go.
That’s the attitude Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano is taking during the National Football Scouting Combine, which completed its second day of operations Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium. During a wide-ranging press conference at the combine, Pagano confirmed that he is back to a full work regimen after missing 12 games last fall as he battled a rare form of leukemia.
After undergoing cancer treatments that featured heavy doses of chemotherapy, the second-year head coach was able to return to the sidelines for Indianapolis’ final regular-season home game against Houston and for the team’s AFC wild-card matchup with eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore. -
Colts looking forward to different approach to draft in 2013
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts had the first overall pick in the 2012 National Football League draft.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Colts would select former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the selection. While Indianapolis front office and player personnel officials certainly had to do their due diligence in preparing for the draft, the Colts find themselves this year in a bit different situation.
The team will have the 24th overall pick in the first round, which is a double-edged sword. Indianapolis picks lower in the round due to a successful season. But the pool of available can’t-miss talent isn’t quite as plentiful as drafting earlier in the round. -
Former Pro Bowl selection Freeney won't return to Colts
The news coming out of the Indianapolis Colts headquarters Friday afternoon was not totally unexpected. Team officials have confirmed that two veteran players – former Pro Bowl defensive end/outside linebacker Dwight Freeney and wide receiver Austin Collie — will not be returning for the 2013 season.
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Colts’ new offensive coordinator will offer variety
Quarterback Andrew Luck running the Pistol offense? Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton lining up in the Wildcat?
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Colts moving on to the off season
Moving on. That’s the immediate plans for the Indianapolis Colts as they head into the off season.
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Baltimore ends Indy’s playoff run early
The Baltimore Ravens want one long final ride for Ray Lewis. Having disposed of Andrew Luck and the Colts, they now face a more imposing challenge.
Next up, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. -
Switching sides: Colts-Ravens matchup includes old friends on new teams
Just as Baltimore Ravens players and coaches will be seeing some old friends returning to M&T Bank Stadium today, several Indianapolis Colts veterans will also have an opportunity to renew acquaintances with a familiar face.
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Pagano prepares Colts for tough crowd in Baltimore
As a former resident of Baltimore, Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano knows all about the hard feelings that still run strong about the move of the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984.
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Pagano marvels at Colt’s progress
In the minutes after last Sunday’s win over AFC South champion Houston, Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano marveled at how the 2012 season has progressed for his team.
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