The biggest name on the Colts’ injury report remains TY Hilton, who is officially questionable (foot) and has not practiced all week. If Hilton can’t go Sunday, he’ll join fellow receiver Phillip Dorsett (ankle) on the bench. Old friend Nate Irving (knee) will also miss the chance of playing against his former team.
Meanwhile, there should probably be a separate report for all of the dissension going on behind the scenes in Indianapolis. The latest news to emerge, via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, is that a players-only meeting was conducted in an effort to drown out the conflicts between the coaches and the front office.
The players, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the situation inside Colts headquarters, outlined a number of concerns.
Chief among them: coach Chuck Pagano and his staff are being directed to follow lineup decisions — usually the coaches’ prerogative — made by the front office, something numerous NFL sources confirmed. This has been a recurring source of irritation for Pagano and his coaches. During the past several weeks, and even dating to last season, there have been instances in which, sources said, players approached Pagano or his assistants with suggestions or requests, only to be told they could not act on the ideas because of forces beyond their control.
Whenever a players-only meeting is held, you know relations are bad with at least the coaches. With the Colts’ bye week coming up after this game amid all this drama, it’s led many to guess that the only thing more inevitable than a Broncos blowout is that someone major is getting fired next Monday.
But let’s hope the Broncos’ own coaches make sure the players are cognizant that the Colts took a very good Panthers team to deep overtime last Monday in Charlotte. Whenever you start to take a game for granted, that’s when you run the risk of getting upset.