Jim Caldwell: Bob Sanders will play against the St. Louis Rams

Is far from an “average” safety.

at least i didn’t have to see that horrible game :) yes i cant wait to see what sanders does and how muir does on the line. this should be good chance to see where they are at right now

They can’t make you, can they? (Whoever “they” is)

Think he was just driving up to McDonalds and slammed on the brakes locking up his knee and twisting his ankle and then, in an attempt to keep his face from hitting the steering wheel, threw his shoulder into the wheel?

You expressed well exactly what I have been thinking – that they want Bob to truly be 100%, and then some, so he can be effective for the rest of the year.

Nice to see you back, monstersbox!

The injury excuse is the same lame excuse used over and over again. We see good safeties like Melvin and Antoine go out there and play, and they do not get hurt with the same regularity Sanders does. And the reason we have been told that Bob gets hurts so much is because of his “style.”

So, my issue isn’t exactly with Bob’s toughness (though we have seen plenty of games where he was held out because of a minor ankle or shoulder issue, while guys like Dwight Freeney are battling back hard after suffering quad tears). My real issue with Bob is he cannot play consistent football because he is not consistently on the field. And the problem isn’t just because he’s snake bit a little bit with injuries. His playing style causes the injuries. Now, Bob is not lazy and I am not accusing him of laziness. This isn’t a case of a player not doing everything he can to rehab. This is a case of a player whose playing style is not conducive to staying healthy, and an injury-prone player is NOT a player a small market team can afford to pay top tier money to.

Like a QB who doesn’t throw the ball quick enough and takes too many big hits, Bob is a safety who is far to reckless with his body. The result is Bob spending almost as many games in street clothes than he does in uniform. Such a player is not “great,” in my opinion, and is not worth his bloated contract.

My other point is with Melvin Bullitt and Antoine Bethea back there, the Colts have given up only one meaningful pass TD in 5 games, and the run defense has been outstanding. Yet, combine both those guy’s salaries, and you still don’t equal what Bob Sanders is earning this year. That’s a lot of cap money sitting in the training room for large portions of the season, and when Melvin Bullitt’s contract is up, he’ll likely go somewhere where he knows he will start consistently. So, if we are getting roughly the same production from Bullitt at a substantially decreased salary and much more reliability in terms of staying healthy, what do we need Sanders for?

I agree, Marlin’s in his last year as a Colt. But the Colts cannot lock up so much money into a player like Bullitt when they have someone like Sanders already on the books. Melvin is putting up Pro Bowl numbers, and unless Polian is willing to sink serious money into Bullitt, he’s a goner when his rookie contract is up. And even if Polian is willing to re-sign Bullitt, that a HUGE amount of salary invested in two players who play the same position. Financially, it isn’t viable.

that’s in response to monstersbox.

Bob has entertainment value for sure, but his playing style will only give us that entertainment value for a limited time. I hope he stays out of (health) trouble, but it isn’t likely.

i love the idea as i expressed in the other thread and it would work very well i think

That would mean Sanders gets injured again, and now we would be dealing with Bethea and Bullitt injuries too. The safeties would be counted on to be major run stoppers, which isn’t going to work out (see: Colts 2008). Let the big boys do their job.

when you make statements like that, how can you even think to argue with them?

coooocooo

It’s quite honestly pathetic, in my opinion.