If you watched yesterday's game (and didn't have your signal blocked by the Nazis that run Brighthouse) you saw Jim Nantz and Phil Simms confirm that Peyton Manning did indeed have a second surgery on his knee. This second surgery was first reported by former NFL GM Mike Lombardi at National Football Post back in late August. When Stampede Blue readers emailed Lombardi about the story, he stood by it 100% despite a very vocal fan backlash.
This backlash was a bit unnecessary in that the Lombardi had no real reason to lie about the second surgery, and the Colts have a very checkered history when it comes to accurately reporting and addressing injuries. Let's be honest folks, the two teams in this league that are known to flat out LIE about injuries are the Colts and the Patriots. And the policy has served them well.
The second surgery was a result of another infection getting into Peyton's knee after the first one in late July. As Lombardi said, the Colts medical people were having trouble keeping the inflammation down. The second surgery cost Peyton Manning all the preseason, and the first regular season game against the Bears. Peyton was not healthy enough to play well in that game, no matter what others suggest. If an injury prevents you from running the bread and butter stretch run play, you have no business playing QB for the Colts offense. It is as simple as that.
So, some vindication for Mike Lombardi, who did a spot job reporting this back in August. Some Colts fans owe Mike an apology, and the Colts themselves owe their fans a bit of an apology. This entire knee surgery fiasco was a mess from start to finish. The Colts should have been pro-active in dealing with Peyton's grapefruit knee 9which we knew about since the Pro Bowl), not wait for it to become a problem in late-July. Knees are not supposed to swell to the size of one's own head, let alone the size of Peyton's. His knee should have been worked on in May, not late-July. I know some here disagree with me on that, and that is fine. Hopefully, this screw-up will not cost the Colts anything in the long run for the 2008 season. In the short term, I think it cost the Colts Week One against the Bears.
If it does cost Indy something in the long run this season, the Colts medical staff needs to be F.I.R.E.D. I harp on this because I expect accountability from everyone involved with the Colts, and this rash of injuries has not given me much confidence in the Colts medical or training staff. Injuries happen. I accept that. But, the Colts haven't had "injuries" the last three year. They'd had catastrophes. Three years in a row is not "bad luck." Something isn't working, and it is pissing me off.
And the Colts should have been up front about this second surgery thing. Thinking they could hide it was just petty ignorance on their part. This is the 21st century and the Internet leaks everything. Best to just be honest and deal with it. Lying and covering up something that didn't need such antics is not consistent with the high "moral values" the Colts claim to live and work by. And keeping it close to the vest did not give them any competitive advantage. They lost Week One, remember?
OK, so lesson learned. Hopefully, Mike Lombardi wins some brownie points in the eyes of Colts fans. Maybe the reason the Colts officially do not comment on reports from blogs is because the blogs are the ones reporting actual news while the rest of mainstream media is happy to follow lockstep with the Colts, even if it means failing to report accurate or complete information to paying fans.