Sanders has missed 10 or more games in each of the other six seasons, and Colts fans by now know well the statistics, that in the last two seasons – since being one of the NFL's dominant defensive players in 2007 and a key to a sometimes-dominant Colts defense – he has played just eight of 32 regular-season games, including two last season.
Sanders missed much of the 2008 season with a knee injury, and after rehabilitating that injury much of the 2009 off-season, he missed the first five games of the season. He then returned for two games before sustaining a season-ending biceps injury.
That's the Sanders history, and while because of that history “stay tuned” is the only logical way to approach Sanders' story entering 2010, there are signs this season could be different.
For one, Sanders just looked different during the Colts' organized team activities at their Indianapolis training facility this off-season. A year ago, he was reluctant to speak to the media and declined to address his rehabilitation process. This off-season, while not thrilled to be discussing his health, he met with the media and cordially discussed the issue. Once, early in his career, Sanders was as accommodating as any of the Colts' top player with the media. In the last couple of years, he had been far less so, and the Sanders the media saw this off-season seemed more like the “old Sanders.”
Sanders' attitude answering questions, of course, has nothing to do with whether he'll be able to play a full season, and it's unwise to judge a player based on a few minutes of such ineraction, but when he discussed his status this off-season there was a decidedly optimistic feel.
“It’s been a long time,” Sanders said during the Colts' mini-camp in early June. “This is the first time I’ve been able to do OTAs in years. I was always at this time rehabbing and icing up a lot and spending a lot of time in the training room, so it feels good not to spend most of my offseason in the training room and actually be able to go in the weight room and get my weight back up and be able to compete with my teammates. Just being around that atmosphere of building that camaraderie and working with my teammates, it’s definitely encouraging and a lot of fun. . . .
“It allows me to get back to doing what I love to do. Just the past few years, it’s been all rehab, rehab, strength and conditioning. It’s been hard to really focus on keeping my head in those books, but now I can actually keep working at it, keep getting better. It’s encouraging, it’s exciting because I’m actually able to put myself in a position where I am getting better. Instead of just rehabbing myself to 100, I’m actually getting better and can go across that 100 percent.”
It's easy to understand why fans read that quote and feel as if they've read it before. The past few off-seasons have been spent monitoring some injury or other to Sanders, and it doesn't just seem as if he has spent more time out with injuries than playing. The reality is most seasons, he has been out more than he has played.
But the way the Colts approach it – and wisely so – is that one season has nothing to do with the other, and that just because Sanders has missed extensive time with injuries doesn't automatically mean he will miss extensive time in future seasons. While Sanders has missed time, he has missed that time with an assortment of injuries, none of which seem to be by themselves career-threatening, and Colts President Bill Polian has said often in recent months the Colts have no plans to release Sanders, and that there is every reason to believe he can contribute in a big-time fashion next season.
Fans almost certainly will believe that when they see it, and that's a logical approach. There's no way to predict how much Sanders will play next season, but what can be said is the vibe around Sanders' potentially playing extensively and doing so at a high level is a bit better this off-season than it has been in several off-seasons.
If that vibe turns into reality, the Colts suddenly add one of the NFL's best playmaking safeties to an already effective defense, and just as suddenly an effective defense has a chance to be a special one. Will that happen? How realistic is the possibility?
Stay tuned.
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