The Colts are awaiting the news on Gary Brackett's x-rays to his ankle. The positive is it is not his knee. The negative is x-rays to an ankle could suggest a break or a severe sprain. One thing is certain about Brackett: He will not play against the Bengals this Sunday. Replacing him at MLB is Freddie Keiaho. Sliding over to replace Keiaho at WILL is Clinton Session and jumping in to replace Session is Tyjuan Hagler. That is a pretty good group of LBers, and if Brackett is out for a few weeks, they should hold the fort nicely. Backing up Keiaho are Philip Wheeler and Buster Davis.
The other injury of note is to DT Keyunta Dawson. He has a pulled hamstring and is likely out a few weeks. Dawson, an under-sized DT at 260 pounds, has played the under tackle spot most of the season. For an under-sized kid, he has played extremely well. But, with Dawson on the mend, look for the Colts to FINALLY activate DT Daniel Muir and actually PLAY him. Why the Colts have deactivated a quality DT for 10 of 12 weeks when the DT position is THE weakest position on the team right now, I have no clue. But, the positive is Antonio Johnson is starting to develop into a good NT for this team. He had 6 tackles against the Browns, and he has done a fine job helping the Colts stop the run. Since Johnson started playing, the Colts have surrendered a respectable 113 yards a game on the ground. Many of those games have been without Bob Sanders. Prior to Antonio Johnson playing, the Colts surrendered 143 yards rushing on the ground.
Speaking of Bob, it seems "The Chuck Norris of the NFL" is slated to return this week against the Bengals. As always, the key to Bob coming back is him playing well and staying on the field week, after week, after week. If Bob plays, that is a big boost to the entire defense, especially with Brackett is out.