Colts stars are ‘iffy’ for Sept. 7 opener against Bears

By Tom James
Tribune-Star Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS August 26, 2008 10:33 pm

— When it comes to the question of whether quarterback Peyton Manning and center Jeff Saturday will be ready to play in the Indianapolis Colts’ Sept. 7 season opener with the Chicago Bears, Tony Dungy has coined a new medical classification.
Instead of the usual phrases of probable, doubtful or out in his daily injury list update, Dungy is opting to use the term “iffy” as it relates to either player’s availability for the Bears’ game. The good news is that Manning — who underwent surgery July 14 to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee — was able to take part in a full practice Tuesday for the first time in nearly three months.
“We want to be limited [with the quarterback’s practice time]. We’re going to monitor him. [Rookie tight end] Tom Santi’s going to start practicing [Tuesday] also. And we just can’t let those guys step in and do everything,” the Colts coach said.
“We’ve got kind of a pitch count and monitor some things. It’ll depend on how they feel and how they go. But we do have a maximum [practice schedule] on both of those guys.”
During the early stages of Tuesday’s workout, Manning moved around and threw the ball without any apparent discomfort.
“I am looking forward to getting back out there. It’s been awhile,” he said prior to the practice session. “I’ve been doing some things on my own, but it’s not quite the same because you are out there with the team and doing some different drills in practice. So I do look forward to getting back out there.”
While stressing that he is not setting any kind of timetable for when he will be ready to play in a game, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player selection admitted that he would like to be in the lineup when Chicago comes to town.
“It’s probably not for me to answer when percent [of being back] I am. Some of the trainers are still evaluating me and giving their opinions. But we are, at this point, where I can get back out there and do some of the things involved in practice. I just need to keep progressing as time goes forward. Like I said all along, the goal is to be ready for the season opener and I certainly hope to be. And, at this point, I expect to be,” Manning said.
“I hope to be ready and that is certainly the plan. I certainly didn’t want to create this dramatic announcement one way or the other. Every day, you hope you’re making progress and you wake up the next morning hoping you still feel good. So far, that’s what we’ve been dealing with. You hope that still is the case throughout this week and going into next week. I may even dress for the game on Thursday, I don’t think I’ll be playing at this point, and then have the weekend. The idea would be to try and be practicing a short practice Monday and then be full go on Wednesday.”
• • •
• No news on Saturday — The Colts’ Pro Bowl offensive lineman injured his right knee in the third quarter of Sunday’s 20-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills and did not return. He did not return to the game and results from a magnetic resonance imaging test, which was performed Monday, have yet to be revealed.
Saturday has, however, opted to have his additional evaluation on his knee before a decision is made on what kind of treatment will be necessary or how much time he might miss.
“Jeff is getting evaluated. We really don’t know at this point where [where in the knee the injury] is. It could be anywhere from [being out] a couple of weeks to a major injury. And we’re still trying to sort that out right now,” Dungy said, adding that he doesn’t expect to know if Saturday will be in the lineup against Chicago for a few more days yet.
“Don’t know that. And, again, I came here and told [the media] a couple of years ago that we were putting [tight end] Dallas Clark on [injured reserve] and he ended up being probably the most valuable player in the [Super Bowl] playoff run. So I think we’re still at that point, where Jeff has some options. We don’t really know how bad [the knee injury] is. And we’re going to look at him and probably it will be through this weekend until it gets sorted out. But it could be the type of thing where he could be back next week or it could be something major if he needs surgery. We don’t know right now.”
• Rushing, Herold placed on injured reserve — The news was even worse for kick returner/cornerback T.J. Rushing and tight end Zac Herold, who were both placed on injured reserve Tuesday.
Rushing suffered a season-ending knee injury while covering a kickoff in the first quarter of the Buffalo game and never returned.
“He has a [knee] ligament [injury]. I don’t know the exact, what it is. But it’s a ligament injury that’s going to keep him out all year,” the Colts coach explained. “It’s really one of those freak things. He was just running down as a gunner and ran past the return man and came up hobbling. That was a tough one. Really, a tough break for him.”
Herold also hurt his knee against the Bills and is done for the year.
“He got hit in the knee in the [Buffalo] game and it ended up being a little more severe than we had hoped,” Dungy said.
• Other roster moves — In addition to placing Rushing and Herald on injured reserve, the Colts trimmed three players from its preseason roster: running back Clifton Dawson, rookie placekicker/punter Adam Crossett and linebacker Marcus Richardson.
Indianapolis is now down to the league-mandated limit of 75 players on its roster. The final cut down to 53 players is set for Friday.
Santi, who underwent a similar type of medical procedure as Manning did, was activated from the physically unable to perform list Tuesday.
• More injury news — Among those also sitting out Tuesday’s practice were rookie offensive guard Mike Pollak [knee], quarterback Jim Sorgi [knee], cornerback Kelvin Hayden [foot], offensive guard Ryan Lilja [knee], defensive ends Curtis Johnson [shoulder], Raheem Brock [ankle] and Robert Mathis [ankle], safety Melvin Bullitt [knee], and safety Matt Giordano [leg]. Lilja remains on the physically unable to perform list.
“I don’t know [Pollak’s] timetable. He’s not going to play [Thursday], but we’re hopeful of having him back next week,” the Colts coach said.
Sorgi’s injury situation is still up in the air. The early reports would seem to be positive, but an update on his status is expected today.
“All the x-rays, all the tests are negative,” Dungy said. “He has some swelling in that knee that we’re trying to get to go down. He’s kind of staying immobilized right now.”
• Clarification — In clarifying a portion of the Colts story that ran in Tuesday’s Tribune-Star, it was stated that Manning had seen limited work in practice last week.
While he participated in a walkthrough session during a morning workout, Manning did not actually practice since he was still on the physically unable to perform list.