Published: August 01, 2008 04:35 pm            

Harrison to sit out Washington game

TERRE HAUTE — Marvin Harrison’s first 2008 preseason appearance is on hold for a couple of weeks.

Harrison — who is recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the 2007 season —is expected to be one of 11 Indianapolis Colts players who won’t suit up for Sunday evening’s nationally televised NFL Hall of Fame game with the Washington Redskins.

The eight-time Pro Bowler will join quarterback Peyton Manning (knee), strong-side linebacker Tyjuan Hagler (pectoral muscle), defensive end Dwight Freeney (foot), safety Bob Sanders (shoulder), offensive guard Ryan Lilja (knee), rookie tight end Tom Santi (knee), safety Melvin Bullitt (thumb), defensive end Ben Ishola (foot), middle linebacker Gary Brackett (hip) and strong-side linebacker Clint Session (calf) on the sidelines for the Washington game.

“I don’t think [Harrison] is going to play [against the Redskins], but they’ll make that determination later on,” Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy said Friday. “We’re going to see where the doctors are [regarding his progress]. We’ll see what the doctors have to say, when they actually want him to go live [in a game].”

Not only will Harrison sit out Sunday, but he probably won’t play in a road preseason game at Carolina on Aug. 9.

“It’s more a doctor’s schedule [as to when Harrison will play]. He’s right on schedule in terms of practicing and running. And when we want the live work [in a game], whether it will be [preseason] week three or week four, we’ll see,” Dungy said.

“But he’ll get his share in before, but it won’t be these next two weeks. You can say he’s not going to play this week, for sure. I’ll say it’s doubtful that he’ll play next week, but you never know. We’ll see how practice goes.”

Dungy added that have been setbacks with Harrison’s rehabilitation or anything that’s happened during any of the training camp practices.

“[There’s] no issues. That’s just the schedule they’ve [team doctors] got him on,” he said.

By all accounts, Harrison has made a strong recovery from surgical procedures on both knees. After having surgery to repair damage suffered to his left knee in last year’s game with Denver, he had minor work done on his right knee during the offseason.

Since reporting to training camp more than a week ago, Harrison has appeared to be rounding back into the form that made him one of the league’s best receivers. His footwork and cutting ability seems to be back to where it had been before last season’s injury occurred.

n Looking ahead to Washington — After a week of getting acclimated to training camp, the Colts began preparing for the Redskins game on Friday.

Colts coaches have been looking at video from last year’s Washington team as well as taking a look at offensive footage from several other teams in order to be ready for Jim Zorn’s team. Zorn is in his first year as the Redskins head coach after serving as an NFL assistant with the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions.

“We looked at a little bit of their defense [from] last year, and we’ve looked at Seattle’s offense in trying to piece together what we think they might do,” Dungy said. “For the most part, it’s going to be just going out there and preparing to play and letting our system handle things.”

n Not sure about playing time — Indianapolis’ number one offensive and defensive units will see early work against the Redskins before the coaching staff begins to mix-and-match as the game progresses.

“We are going to start with our first groups. I think our first offense may play a little bit more than our first defense,” Dungy said. “Then midway through the first quarter, we’re going to start to get a look at some of our younger guys and guys we want to see. I would say it’s probably likely that the offense will play a bit more than the defense.”

Dungy added that total number of plays, rather than clock time, will most likely dictate how much work everybody gets.

“It probably will be plays. I haven’t really decided [how many] yet, but it will definitely be by plays and we will discuss that [prior to today’s practice],” he said. “Jim [Sorgi] will play a little bit more than Peyton [Manning] normally would have played. We won’t necessarily have all the first [offensive] group in with him all the time. He will get his share of work.”

It has yet to determined exactly when backup quarterbacks Quinn Gray and Jared Lorenzen will get into the game.

“I don’t really know that yet. I’m going to talk with [quarterbacks coach] Jim Caldwell and see what his feelings are. I’ll probably be able to let you know that [today],” Dungy said.

n Hall of Fame visits — The Colts will visit the NFL Hall of Fame on Saturday when they arrive in Canton.

Dungy plans on taking the team’s rookies on a tour, but several of the veterans — including middle linebacker Gary Brackett and Sorgi —want to take advantage of the opportunity as well.

“I think, especially our young guys, when they see some of the exhibits and see some of the guys that are in there, it will be a little bit special,” Dungy said. “I know the couple of times that I have been there as a coach, when you go out and play the game and your are being introduced and they actually bring the inductees in between the two teams, it will be a special moment. And hopefully the guys will have a feel of the history they are a part of.”

Brackett can’t wait to take a look at what the hall has to offer.

“This is a chance to find out more about the guys who made our game what it is today,” he said earlier in the week. “I’ve never had the chance to go before. I want to look at everything they’ve got there. What we’re doing today is because of what the guys in that building accomplished before us.”

The trip may also include some of the Colts’ injured players, including those on the physically unable to perform list. They want to see the Hall of Fame too, but their travel must first be cleared by team medical personnel.

“At this point, yes, they are all lobbying to make the trip,” Dungy said. “We have some guys that medically we aren’t going to allow, but I would say most of the guys are going.”

n Roster moves — The Colts released rookie wide receiver Charles Dillon on Friday and signed former Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Archer to the squad.

Archer played collegiately at Kansas State and was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Indianapolis in 2007. He was waived by the Colts in February and spent this past offseason with the Broncos.

“It’s just a matter of sitting down and really kind of going over [the defensive system]. Obviously, at this point in time, you’re not going to get a whole lot of reps. It’s just trying to hit the [play] book as hard as possible over the next couple of days. I’m going to take up my [position] coach’s time as much as possible right now and just kind of clear out everything I learned at Denver and get back to what we have here,” he said after practicing with the team Friday afternoon.

“It’s coming back. A lot of it came back [Friday]. It’s just a matter of time and a lot of book work. But it feels good. I know what’s going on and I’ve been here obviously. So it feels comfortable. It’s a little easier to adjust knowing the situation.

        

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