Injuries Stealing Headlines

Whenever someone begins to talk about this year’s Super Bowl, the conversation always seems to stray towards the health and availability of Dwight Freeney. Granted Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are receiving their fair share of the discussion, but many of the other players who will have an impact in this game are being overshadowed. As if the Colts did not have enough to worry about with the injury to Freeney, Reggie Wayne left Friday’s practice early after irritating his knee. Wayne is still probable for the game and will surely play, but football fans do not want to see headlines about injuries opposed to headlines about how great the game will be. 

Over the past few seasons the Colts have had their fair share of key injuries, and depth has always been a key to the success of this team. Anthony Gonzalez, Dwight Freeney, and Bob Sanders are just a few of the players who the Colts have had to worry about replacing over the seasons, and the Super Bowl is becoming a microcosm of the Colts injury history. With the exception of Peyton Manning, it seems that the Colts are constantly calling on players to step up at key positions. So even though Colts fans have to be more nervous then they were before Friday’s practice, the Colts have been in this position before and are mentally prepared for these types of situations. 

With the biggest game of the season a day away, the Colts are clearly suffering from what they tried to avoid by resting their players for the final two weeks of the season, injuries. Freeney and now Wayne have shown how important it is to be healthy come playoff time, while also showing how easy it is to suffer an injury at any moment.