Irsay: Jeff Saturday Out Up To 6 Weeks

[Jaco]

I think the last time he was out for a significant amount of time was when Peyton had surgery in 2008, and the O looked pretty bad for awhile. Hard to say then if it was Manning coming back from injury or the absence of Jeff that hurt them more. Saturday has a lot of responsibility w/ blocking assignments and may be in contention for the Hall some day. Important to note this info comes from the owner, not the coach or staff. The Colts like to play with injury reports, and they haven't even released which leg the surgery was on.

I think the quote from Clark in the attached ESPN article sums it up pretty well:
"It's tough, [Saturday] is the foundation of our offensive line," Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark said. "What he brings is consistency, his level of play, all those intangibles are just invaluable. It's definitely the next-guy-up theory, but it's going to be tough without him."

Considering the amount of injuries on the OL and run blocking problems the Colts already had: big deal or not? Is there any other team in which the loss of their Center impacts them more?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/traini...ory?id=5454498

[Turk Schonert]

I think the last time he was out for a significant amount of time was when Peyton had surgery in 2008, and the O looked pretty bad for awhile. Hard to say then if it was Manning coming back from injury or the absence of Jeff that hurt them more. Saturday has a lot of responsibility w/ blocking assignments and may be in contention for the Hall some day. Important to note this info comes from the owner, not the coach or staff. The Colts like to play with injury reports, and they haven't even released which leg the surgery was on.

I think the quote from Clark in the attached ESPN article sums it up pretty well:
"It's tough, [Saturday] is the foundation of our offensive line," Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark said. "What he brings is consistency, his level of play, all those intangibles are just invaluable. It's definitely the next-guy-up theory, but it's going to be tough without him."

Big deal or not? Is there any other team in which the loss of their Center impacts them more?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/traini...ory?id=5454498

Because Manning takes the clock down so far, the center must make quick and accurate calls at the L.O.S. just before snapping the ball. Tough duty for a young center. This could make Peyton a little uncomfortable, if there is such a thing.