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06 Nov 2009

UPDATE: Bob Sanders Out For Season

Colts safety Bob Sanders will be undergoing elbow surgery and be out indefinitely.

In addition, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez had his knee scoped, and is expected to miss 2-3 more weeks.

UPDATE: Sanders has been placed on IR and will miss the remainder of the season.

Posted by: Bill Barnwell on 06 Nov 2009

22 comments, Last at 07 Nov 2009, 9:29pm by Paul R

Comments

1
by dryheat :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 2:56pm

Out for the season. Too bad for Indy...between Sanders, Jackson, and Hagler, their chances for a Super Bowl title just took a nosedive this week

6
by Dave :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 6:05pm

Don't forget that Kelvin Hayden is out for the next month too. That's four defensive "starters" lost in four days. And a delay on Gonzalez for good measure.

Of course, I put that in quotes because Sanders has been a non factor this year, and Jackson was the starter in theory but actually only played in the nickel. Hagler started but the dropoff to Wheeler isn't that bad. Hayden is actually the most important loss there - now they're relying 100% on rookies with Tim Jennings in the nickel. They're good rookies, for sure, but they can be beaten by guys like Schaub and Brady. Tough month to lose 3 guys from your secondary.

Still, I'd say there's a pretty good chance they keep winning. They just need everyone else to stay healthy now. Losing another CB means that TJ Rushing has to see the field on defense. That's not so good.

2
by Bip (not verified) :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 4:45pm

@dryheat

Cause all three of these players have played so much so far this season already..... Oh wait, only Hagler, and even then he was marginal at best as it is.

3
by DrewTS (not verified) :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 5:07pm

Get rid of him, for the love of god. I'm serious. I love him, but he's freaking useless. I don't care if he's great when he's healthy -- he's never healthy, and he claims to have no intention of altering his playing style to help himself stay healthy. So what good is he? If health is a skill, his Madden rating would be about a 5 out of 100.

8
by Theo :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 6:37pm

R 2004: 6 (backup, but had injuries)
2005:14
2006:4
2007:15
2008:6
2009:2

All sides should be better off with a new environment. Maybe he can stay healthy somewhere else. I hope so.

13
by The Guy You Don't Want to Hear (not verified) :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 11:21pm

Wow--I knew he was hurt a lot, but seeing right there how often he really is hurt, it's amazing. He just can't have much of a career left, can he? Does anyone get hurt this much early in a career and go on to play for a long time?

I immediately thought Fred Taylor might be an example, so I'm going to guess someone else might think that and tell you I already looked it up to see how similar he was. He missed 24 games his first 4 years, played two full healthy seasons, then missed 11 over the next 5. Sanders will have missed 49 games in his first six years where "Fragile Freddy" only missed 24.

4
by dmstorm22 :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 5:25pm

These injuries would matter if this was 2006. Melvin Bullitt is definitely adequate in replacing Sanders. Hagler barely was the starter, adn MJax was the nickel if not dimeback, and was getting outplayed by rookies.

Unless Freeney/Mathis/Brackett/Bethea join them, its not too much of a problem.

5
by Purds :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 5:51pm

Jackson played more than you guys suggest, but at Nickel, not starting CB. Hagler started, barely or not. Look, the team will be impacted, and it will get bad very quickly if any other DB gets hurt -- then you'll need to rely on Giordano or someone like that. They're already playing two rookies at CB, and neither was a high draft pick. Does anyone think all four DB's will go without injury for the next 9 weeks and then the playoffs? We know run defense hasn't been a strength, but if Indy gets another DB injury, then pass defense will falter. If everyone they have on the roster today stays healthy, they'll be fine. But they have no margin for error.

7
by Dave :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 6:08pm

Giordano is on the Packers. If one of the safeties gets hurt, Jamie Silva or Aaron Francisco would be next man up. I suspect that when/if the Sanders move becomes official they'll pick up another DB. Possibly someone like Michael Coe, just because he was a Colt backup for a few years before.

15
by Purds :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 12:39am

Ah, you're right. I'm living in the past -- always liked having Giordano on Colts kickoff teams, because at least he had a chance of running down the opponent's kick returner before the guy took it all the way to the house. Happened multiple times when he chased down Hobbs in the 2006 AFC Championships against the Pats, if I recall correctly.

9
by MJK :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 7:44pm

Well, there's always Earthwind Moreland and Hank Poteat!

12
by PatsFan :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 10:49pm

Maybe they can get Troy Brown to come out of retirement, too...

16
by Purds :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 12:45am

Speaking of crappers from the past, I saw Craphonso Thorpe on the UFL game last weekend. Can't believe we were trying to win a game against SD a few years ago throwing to him, as all the other WR's were out that game. (By the way, he's not any better in the UFL than he was in the NFL).

10
by turbohappy (not verified) :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 8:36pm

I agree that the Hayden injury is actually the biggest one on defense. The Gonzales one is pretty significant for the offense as well. I don't think the others cause a huge loss, but they do completely kill the depth. If they are hit with any more injuries at any of these positions it's going to get bad fast.

11
by Raiderjoe :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 10:48pm

If Raiders don't rally and win west, good chancne to do it ebcuause BNrocnso aren;t any good and chargers are crap. Raiders got defense and run game to come back just need Qb to play better. If happen then team going to win divisons and if happen that mean Raiders on big streamroll into pklayoffs and going to scary other teams. Raiders or colts is best chance teams to win AFC. Laugh about now, cray later. Al,so, if Colts get there that mean they make it to super Bowl and Araon Francisco going to play in Super bolw for 2nd straight year in row so that's something you dont' see everyday. How many times did guy play in super Bowl in two years in row but for diffentn team?

14
by The Guy You Don't Want to Hear (not verified) :: Fri, 11/06/2009 - 11:28pm

Deion Sanders did, I know. '94 with the 49ers and '95 with the Cowboys. He even won the Super Bowl both years. No one else comes to mind, but there could easily be others.

18
by Chris Owen (not verified) :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 11:20am

Indeed. At the other end of the spectrum from Sanders, you've got Gale Gilbert, who was a backup QB for all 4 of the Bills' Super Bowl teams before going back the following year as a backup behind Stan Humphries and the San Diego Chargers.

17
by Joshua (not verified) :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 3:44am

Ahem. Oakland has the 25th defense and the dead-last offense in the league, RaiderJoe. Seymour has had some good moments, and Asomugha can play. Poor fellas. The rest of your team leaves something to be desired.

19
by Phil O'sopher (not verified) :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 4:13pm

Charles Haley

20
by The Guy You Don't Want to Hear (not verified) :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 5:30pm

He was the first person I thought of, but the 49ers didn't go to the Super Bowl in '91 ('89 was their last trip before Haley left). I had thought that Haley was in San Francisco for the '94 season (just guessing from the memory of a 9-year-old) and then went to Dallas, but he actually switched 3 years earlier.

21
by Bowl Game Anomaly :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 7:36pm

n/m

22
by Paul R (not verified) :: Sat, 11/07/2009 - 9:29pm

The same laws of physics that prove bumblebees can't fly also prove that Bob Sanders can't play in the NFL. There is no way Bob Sanders can knock to the ground a man six inches taller and eighty pounds heavier, who is traveling at a high rate of speed in the opposite direction, but he manages somehow. Mostly by becoming a human cannonball.

(This is probably the same technique he uses to hail a cab. "Taxi..." WHAMMO!)

Speaking as a Colts fan, it is sure inspiring to watch, but you know, deep down, that it can't last. There aren't many veteran Kamikaze pilots.

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