Saturday Will Need At Least Six Weeks

Yesterday I outlined the tough choice for the Colts Pro Bowl center, Jeff Saturday. Today the news is worse for Peyton Manning, the Colts, and their fans ... according to Saturday's agent, Ralph Cindrich:

If Saturday opts against surgery, "I don't think he'll be able to get back on the field for at least six or seven weeks,'' Cindrich said. "He's down for a while.''

If Saturday has surgery, his recovery might last 11 weeks, Cindrich said. "But from all reports,'' he added, "he could be back before the end of the season.''

Ouch. This has to be a stomach punch to the Colts, as they've been slowly and surely getting all their injured players back on the field this preseason, culminating with Peyton Manning's hopeful return in the regular season opener.

Now -- barring something absolutely unforeseen -- Manning will be taking the first Colts' offensive snap in their new building from rookie Steve Justice, not his trusted leader of the line for the past four years. Week one against a stout Bears defensive front should be a good test for the kid.

It's hard to tell how this will affect the offense's ability to churn out points. On paper, the offensive machine revolves around Tom Moore's scheme, Peyton Manning's ability to play coach on the field, and the talent of the other skill positions. The flipside of that, though, is that you cannot ever overstate the importance of protection. Just look at the Colts home loss to the Steelers in the '05 playoffs -- played in January '06, of course.

Fantasy Spin:
Don't let this severely downgrade the Colts offensive players. They'll find ways to put up points. Where I'd let it enter into the equation is if you are at a standstill in deciding between two guys. If you don't know whether you want Joseph Addai or Brian Westbrook and you're ready to flip a coin, for example, this is your proverbial coin toss. Westbrook it is.

Other than those situations, though, you should still feel confident in the Colts ability to make plays. They replaced Tarik Glenn with Tony Ugoh last year and didn't miss a beat.