Sep 14th 2008 2:44PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Colts, Vikings, AFC South
If you thought the Colts were in bad shape with Jeff Saturday and Dallas Clark sidelined, things have gotten a lot worse on Sunday.
Starting left tackle Tony Ugoh was helped off the field at the end of the first half. With Ugoh out, the Colts have slid right guard Charles Johnson out to left tackle and brought in rookie Steve Justice at guard. Rookie Jamey Richard was already playing center for Saturday, so the Colts now have two rookies playing and a guard trying to block Jared Allen.
There’s been no word yet on the extent of Ugoh’s injury, btu he did not return to the lineup after all of halftime.
As you would expect, it’s no going well. Allen had a sack before Ugoh went out, and E.J. Henderson had one in the third quarter on a blown block by Justice, but the bigger problems is that Peyton Manning has no time to throw even when he does get the ball off. The Colts’ longest pass play is 18 yards, and Manning is averaging only 4.7 yards per attempt, which explains why the Vikings hold a 12-0 lead.
