On the Bill Polian Show last night, the big redhead gave us a few updates on the status of players, like injured wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who has not played since he suffered a a knee injury in Week One against the Jaguars. Per usual, John Oehser does the yeoman's work, picking out the important quotes from the show and transcribing them for us lazy bastards who would rather play Left 4 Dead 2 than listen to Bill talk about the "pragnosticators," the "pundits," and the "Pa-tree-ots." Love that Hard Rain campaign:
Gonzalez, who began the season as the Colts’ starting wide receiver opposite three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Reggie Wayne, sustained a knee injury in that game. After having a setback, Gonzalez has yet to play, and Polian said the hope is still that he will return this season."Anthony is a bit behind schedule," Polian said Monday on his weekly radio show on Hank FM 97.1 in Indianapolis. "We thought perhaps that he might be back starting to practice this week, but as you know, he had a setback. He had to have some arthroscopic surgery to just tweak the knee a little bit. My hope is that we get a breakthrough here one of these weeks and that he’ll be back before the season is over.
"Part of the problem here – and it’s true with any injured player – is the doctors give you a prognosis, but it’s only that. It’s a prognosis. It’s an estimate. Players heal – and human beings heal – at different rates. Anthony’s just been a little slow coming around. But we know what the issue is and we know it will come around probably sooner rather than later and we’re hopeful it will be even quicker than that."
Here is what I do not want: A repeat of the Marvin Harrison situation in 2007. If Gonzo cannot play by Week Seventeen, he should be IRed. While I absolutely love Gonzo and think he is a very good football player, the fact of the matter is the Colts have not missed him. They currently have the #2 passing offense in football, averaging 309 yards a game with 8 yards per completion. Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie have developed very well, and a big reason for their quick development has been the unfortunate absence of Gonzo. Hank Baskett, signed after Gonzo went down, has also played well on special teams.
While it seems Polian holds out hope that Gonzo will pull a Brandon Stokley, circa 2003, I am not holding my breath. If Gonzo comes back, then GREAT! I am as happy as a clam. However, if Gonzo is not playing in a live game by Week Seventeen, my sense is to IR him. Why have the distraction of "Will he? Won't he?" looming over the team as they enter the post-season, especially since Garçon and Collie have played so well.