Bob Sanders, Joseph Addai to Make Special Appearance Against Patriots

It was almost a year ago that the Patriots and Colts were meeting in what was then hailed as the biggest game of our lives (for that week, anyhow). Both teams were undefeated and would almost certainly meet in the AFC Championship game. Or so went conventional wisdom.

The Pats would win the Week 9 regular-season get-together and the championship game never materialized thanks to those pesky Chargers. Now nine weeks into the 2008 season and just about everything has changed. Tom Brady is out (for the year and maybe longer) and the Colts suddenly look old and vulnerable.

New England is 5-2 but that has everything to do with their cream puff schedule; Indianapolis is 3-4, has virtually no shot at the AFC South title, and their wild card prospects aren't much better.

So, yeah, this matchup isn't as glamorous as it seemed back in the spring. Whatever, it's still a huge game for the Colts who have truly entered (for the fourth week in a row now, it seems) "must-win" territory, and this is welcome news:

Colts head coach Tony Dungy held a conference call with New England reporters today and was asked about the injury status of running back Joseph Addai and safety Bob Sanders.
Dungy indicated that both Addai and Sanders are expected to practice today, and that as long as there are no setbacks this week, they should be ready to play Sunday against the Patriots.

The Colts defense fared surprisingly well against the Titans run-first scheme on Monday night, and given the Patriots' inability to rush the ball against anybody other than the Broncos, making this about Matt Cassel seems like a swell game plan. Especially with Sanders in secondary wreaking havoc.

Now if only Indy's offense could string together a complete effort, something they haven't been able to do for most of the season. Oh, and Peyton, watch out for this guy, he's dangerous.