After Anthony Gonzalez went down with a knee injury in the first game of the season, I could see and hear a lot of panic from Colts' fans. I wasn't really worried about losing Gonzalez though. I had/have extreme faith in Pierre Garcon and the Colts drafted Austin Collie to be the third receiver on this team. Garcon has scored in both of his starts and Collie had three catches for 47 yards in the win over Arizona.
Gary Brackett, Bob Sanders, and Kelvin Hayden all sat out the Arizona game with their various injuries. Those injuries gave guys like Jordan Senn, Jerraud Powers, Tim Jennings, and Melvin Bullitt more opportunities to play this young season. All four played very well and helped maintain coverage so the D-Line could get to Kurt Warner on numerous occassions.
Most Colts' fans know of Jennings and Bullitt and their talents, but Powers is just a rookie, while Senn is just in his second season. I can only help but feel that the experience right now will only help out this team for later in the season. Teams are strongest when they are deep and the depth for this team in transition is getting stronger every day and every play.
The latest injury to Dwight Freeney will keep him out for two or three weeks, so it is going to be up to guys like Keyunta Dawson, Eric Foster, and Raheem Brock to maintain the pressure from the end. Are they going to be as successful as Freeney? No, probably not, but if they aren't getting blown up on every play, then they should be just fine.
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I think Brock will take over at left defensive end and Mathis will move to right. The only thing that concerns me is that Brock is kinda a third down DT in our scheme. He plays that role well and I will miss it if he is on the outside. I would like to see them use three down linemen and three linebackers on third downs with Freeney out and just blitz Sessions or Hagler.