Dwight Freeney Down: What the Injury Potentially Means for the Colts

Peyton Manning may have seemed all smiles on Sunday in Miami while attending his 10th Pro Bowl, but deep down a low blow to the Colts core had occurred, and there was no covering up by the media in regards to letting the public know.

With the Saints fans and players booming with smiles a mile wild, and more confidence than Roger Federer in the Australian Open, the Indianapolis Colts were in a different frame of mind yesterday when thinking about their legitimate chances in the Super Bowl.

The news had been good up until this point, but with a headline stating that defensive end Dwight Freeney has been listed as questionable, head coach Jim Caldwell had another item to add to the list of woes leading up to Sunday. 

Now over two weeks ago since the definite blockbuster game between the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets, Freeney originally tweaked his ankle attempting to sack rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.  Notably limping after the play, many NFL fans blocked the injury out of their minds for a week or two, as the Saints' Super Bowl party was more important.

Not only does this come as a disadvantage to Freeney, who has a love and passion for the game like no other, it significantly challenges the Colts to maintain stability and balance defensively, as one of their "leader" type guys is now possibly missing.

One thing that the Colts may end up lacking is pressure. Not mentally, but physically.  With Dwight Freeney racking up 13.5 sacks already during the 2009 season, Drew Brees may be able to take as long as he likes in the backfield, as there is no real rush coming from a force player.

As for the people that will be feeling pressure, well it won't just be the Colts players, it may also be their staff. Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer has done nothing short of an amazing job this season with the Colts defense, but with his leading man out, something may just be missing. Whether it's the spark or just the overall presence of Freeney's absence, Coyer may have to shift his work ethic into sixth gear to see his Colts succeed in a weeks time.

One man that doesn't seem too stressed out just yet is quarterback Manning. 

"Dwight is one of our best players, we know that, but all season long, coach Caldwell has talked about picking up the bayonet. Someone's got to step up. If Dwight were not to be able to go, that would be tough, but somebody else will step up, and we'll feel confident in whoever that is."

If there's one thing that the Colts don't lack, it's confidence. With the media primarily focusing on New Orleans this week, the Freeney headline has relatively been the first for the Colts all week.

Whether or not Freeney plays is questionable. At the moment it's a "could he?" rather than a "should he?". We've seen it before with players in the Super Bowl, and nine times out of ten they decide to throw caution to the wind and give it their all. Expect Freeeney to be the same case. Colts fans, don't panic, like Manning said, someone will step up. The question is, who will it be?

Well that is for Caldwell to decide. As for Freeney, his emotions may be on a high right now, but he needs to not put himself before the team. Is his injury really that unbearable? Or would be doing more harm than good playing on Sunday?

These are all question I don't have an answer for, and neither does ESPN. Just sit back and wait, this story has only just begun.