Covering up injuries big part of game
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Dwight Freeney headed for the elevator in the team hotel, trailed by a few intrepid members of the media.
One focused a camera on his ailing right ankle. Another snapped pictures. Yet another jotted down notes.
No sign of anyone in a trench coat, but that wouldn't have been too far-fetched.
NFL teams are downright cloak-and-dagger when it comes to injuries, giving medical reports a significance roughly akin to state secrets. Everyone else tries to figure out what's really going on inside the human body, looking for the slightest hints.
The biggest question of Super Bowl week: Will Freeney, the Colts' star defensive end, be on the field Sunday night when Indianapolis takes on the New Orleans Saints?
This is about all you'll get out of Freeney: "I'm feeling better."
Late in the AFC championship game, he landed awkwardly on his right ankle and tore a ligament. Now here he is, less than two weeks later, desperately hoping that he'll be recovered enough to play in an even bigger game.
Freeney hasn't practiced since his injury. So he's not playing, right?
The Colts weren't saying. They don't have to. NFL rules merely require that teams disclose Wednesday and Thursday which of three categories their players fall into: didn't practice, had limited participation or went through the entire workout.
Come Friday, the report gets a little more detailed, with coaches required to assess whether a player is doubtful (25 percent chance of playing), questionable (50 percent) or likely (75 percent). About the only way an opponent — and all the rest of us — really know for sure is if a team lists a player as out.
While commissioner Roger Goodell has tried to crack down on teams that abuse the injury report, there's little incentive for a team to be totally forthcoming. Just say doubtful and you're largely covered if the star player doesn't dress out. Hey, a team can say, we only gave him a 25 percent chance of playing.
In early December, Saints coach Sean Payton said cornerback Jabari Greer was getting better after being hobbled by a hernia injury.
What the coach failed to mention was Greer had surgery one day earlier. Then again, he probably was doing better the next day, so maybe Payton gets by on a technicality.
Freeney acknowledged that there's plenty of subterfuge and deception going on when a teams talks about injuries, especially to key players. Knowing that someone is out can make it easier for an opponent to work on its game plan. Plus, a banged-up player has reason to worry about providing too much information to those guys on the other side on the line. A player with a sore right ankle, let's say, might be vulnerable to reinjuring himself on certain plays. There could even be an opponent with more sinister motives, looking to deliver a little extra blow to the ailing part of the body.
So, Mr. Freeney, even if you knew for sure whether or not you're playing Sunday, would you tell us?
"Probably not," he said with a sly grin.
