Maybe there is a curse.
Yeah it sounds ridiculous. But watching what the Colts (4-2) have been forced to overcome less than halfway thru the season is remarkable.
I didn’t believe in the curse. I thought it was total bologna, a phenomenon created by the media. But with the Colts losing two uncharacteristic losses to Houston and Jacksonville and the compounding injuries, maybe it is possible.
As for the curse: In eight of the past 11 seasons, the Super Bowl loser from the year before has failed to make the playoffs. Only the 2009 Cardinals, the 2006 Seahawks and the 2000 Titans defied the trend. However those three teams combined to go 2-3 in playoff games the year after their Super seasons.
Only the Buffalo Bills in 1993 have returned to the big game after losing in the finale the year before. Those four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl were led by Colts GM Bill Polian.
With the recent drama and injuries piling up, maybe there really is such a thing.
Today the Colts announced that Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark will undergo wrist surgery next week and be placed on injured reserve.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s been confirmed that surgery is necessary to repair the injury to my wrist,” Clark said. “I have met with three great surgeons, Dr. (Arthur) Rettig of the Colts, Dr. (Thomas) Wiedrich in Chicago and Dr. (Thomas) Graham in Cleveland. All three have helped me and my family out tremendously during this process. I look forward to supporting my teammates the rest of this season and rehabilitating my wrist back to full strength for next season.
The Colts are playing without their former defensive MVP Bob Sanders, along with THREE backups: Melvin Bullitt, Jamie Silva (placed on IR in training camp), and as recently as Wednesday, rookie Brandon King. The safety position is completely torn apart.
Now let’s turn to the wide receiver position. To this point, only Reggie Wayne has remained healthy (knock on wood). Anthony Gonzalez has missed time with a sprained right ankle, and Pierre Garcon has missed game time with a lingering hamstring. Plus, Austin Collie will be out for a a few upcoming games after having surgery this week on his thumb.
Keep reading, were not done.
Now to tailback. Joseph Addai’s status remains in question due to nerve damage in his left shoulder. He has taken a couple brutal hits to the shoulder and was driven into the ground a week ago. His injury may take some time because his shoulder is just dead…he can’t raise his arms. His backup Donald Brown has been absent from the previous three game with a hamstring injury. Before the Colts next game, he will have had five weeks of rest and hopefully could return. Mike Hart for now will continue to pick up the slack.
Let the list continue. Jeff Saturday had arthroscopic knee surgery just before the season. Clint Session was out for the first few games as he too was battling a hamstring injury. Charlie Johnson and the uncertain offensive line missed time and has been forced to shuffle around. And just last week, the Colts were without their defensive captain Gary Brackett at Washington.
So just this week, their bye week—Dallas Clark to IR, Austin Collie has thumb surgery and defensive tackle Antonio Johnson has knee surgery and is out indefinitely.
So much for a productive bye week of ‘getting healthy.’
When will this non-sense end.
The Colts will say ‘next man up.’ But how deep can that go. Gary Brackett said this week, “It’s not an attitude, it’s a lifestyle.”
Maybe this isn’t the Colts year. Is this the year the Colts take a couple steps down, back to average and comparable to the rest of the league. I don’t think so yet—but as these injuries continue to mount, the blows get even more devastating.
This will be another test of Bill Polian’s wisdom for drafting and acquiring the right free agents. Just this year, the Colts drafted TE Brody Eldridge in the fifth round, and now he may play a pivotal role with Clark out. Polian is saying all the right things and understands this team must focus on who can play, rather than who cannot.
There’s no sense crying about it, or even worrying about it. You just have to get ready to play with the people you have, and you hope that you’ve trained them well enough and you hope that you’ve picked the right people and when the time comes they can step in and play.
Hangover or not, it’s certain the Colts wish they had some chaser prior to the 2010 season. Obstacles and adversity are apart of the game—it is in these times when great players carry the new faces, and those new faces prove they can play.
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-The team re-signed tight end Gijon Robinson on Wednesday. Eldridge, Robinson and Jacob Tamme will all try to fill Clark’s void. Robinson and Eldridge are more blocking tight ends so Tamme may be called on to replace Clark’s receptions.
-Clark had 37 receptions through six games this season and had caught three touchdowns.
-The Colts will be without 2nd-year punting Pat McAfee in a crucial game versus Houston because he was suspended by the team for one game after his drunk escapade in Broad Ripple. Today he was formally charged with public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor. McAfee’s arrest was the fourth alcohol-related charge brought against a Colts player this year.
—I was going to blog about the McAfee incident…but my friend Bob Kravitz has the same thoughts in this great column.