A story with some legs
Three of the four teams in today’s NFL playoff games -- the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts -- spent the last week patiently answering below-the-belt questions about their top receivers.
Below-the-thigh questions, in fact.
Intrigue swirls around the toe of Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, the ankle of Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens and the knee of Indianapolis receiver Marvin Harrison. The availability of each player could play a big role in the success of his team.
Harrison has been out the longest, missing 11 of the last 12 games after suffering the injury Sept. 30 against Denver. There was speculation he would return for the regular-season finale against Tennessee, but that game was meaningless for the Colts, and apparently their eight-time Pro Bowl receiver wasn’t quite ready to come back. He participated in two days of practices before that game but only one last week.
Indications are that Harrison will play today when the Colts play host to San Diego, but there’s no guarantee.
“I probably can’t say without any doubt that he’ll play, because I thought he might play the last week and it didn’t work out that way,” Colts Coach Tony Dungy told reporters last week. “But he’s practicing. We’re planning on him starting, but we’ll see how it goes.”
It’s worth noting that, as good as Harrison is, he has gone nine consecutive postseason games without a touchdown reception.
The Colts are looking to avoid losing for a third consecutive time to the Chargers, who posted a 23-21 victory over them in San Diego this season, intercepting Peyton Manning passes a career-high six times.
Owens suffered his high ankle sprain Dec. 22 in a game against Carolina. That injury is more insidious than it sounds and often sidelines players for a month or more. He wore a protective boot for 10 days and jogged during the week off. He returned to practice Thursday and, observers say, looked to be at full speed but for a slight limp when he wasn’t running routes. On Friday, Owens said he felt good and was confident of playing today.
“I thought he moved well and ran at the level that we were practicing, and those weren’t half-speed,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, whose team plays host to the New York Giants, said Thursday.
Owens has a history of playing through pain in big games. He played for Philadelphia in Super Bowl XXXIX despite a fractured ankle suffered seven weeks earlier. Not only that, he had an outstanding game, catching nine passes for 122 yards.
“T.O.’s the type of guy, if they allowed him, he would probably go out there with a crutch in his hand,” Giants defensive end Justin Tuck told the New York Daily News last week.
“There was a question how effective he was going to be in that Super Bowl, and he answered that question too. I’m expecting him to be 100%.”
The Giants know Owens well. He has 11 touchdown receptions against them and, according to STATS LLC, needs one more to tie his career high against any team; he has caught 12 against New Orleans.
Gates, arguably the best tight end in the league, suffered a sprained left big toe in San Diego’s first-round victory over Tennessee. He’s a vital cog in the Chargers’ offense, and late in the week was deemed a game-time decision by Coach Norv Turner.
“It’s a tricky situation, really it is,” Gates said. “As far as the risk and reward, I’m trying to measure that. If all else fails, I’m going to definitely be cheering.
“The most frustrating part is I’m not used to dealing with injuries, but I understand. I’m fully aware of what’s going on and the type of sport we play. . . . Injuries are part of it. Pain is part of it.”
