Fans freak out.
Fans spread rumors.
Fans are irrational.
Sometimes, fans do great research.
Yesterday was one of those times. Yesterday we linked to 18to88 reader Cass’s fan post on Stampede Blue where tried to play junior medic and diagnose Dwight Freeney based on the symptoms and known issues. At the time, he thought Freeney’s injury would cost him a handful of games because of a strained quad.
Then Bill Barnwell of footballoutsiders tweeted that it was a torn quad. We wept. We gnashed our teeth. We cursed. Freeney was done!
That is until Cass pointed out that a strained quad and a torn quad are essentially the same thing. Whew.
Since then there have been two different reports as to when to expect Freeney, the most recent claiming he’ll be out 2-3 weeks. While that certainly makes it doubtful he’ll play in the Tennessee game, with a bye and then the hapless Rams on the docket, it now appears that Freeney will hopefully be in good shape for the tough stretch of games starting with San Francisco in November. The Colts schedule in November is manageable, but more difficult than the early section. Indy plays SF, Hou, NE, @Bal, @Hou, and Ten. That’s the stretch when they’ll need to have Freeney. With any modicum of luck, the Colts should be able to go at least 2-1 or 3-1 without him. Because neither the Rams nor the 49ers have explosive passing offenses, the Colts don’t need to rush Freeney back. They can give him an extra week or two of rest if necessary. I realize the 49ers are a solid club, but they’ll try to beat the Colts by running the ball so if you had to pick a game against a solid team for Freeney to miss, that would be the one.
To date the single most informative article written about what to expect from Freeney’s injury was written by a fan. Will wonders never cease.
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