Trenches Talk: Colts Want Sanders for 2010
"He is no different a player-and I think everybody saw that in the couple of games he played this year-than when he was Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL. He's just had a lot of tough luck with injury," Polian told WLHK-FM. "There's no reason to believe Bob won't be the same player he was after these injuries as long as he continues with rehab and works out religiously." …
Patriots coach Bill Belichick won't automatically reinsert LT Matt Light(notes) (knee) back into the lineup once healthy. After all, rookie Sebastian Vollmer(notes) has done a nice job in Light's absence.
"We'll deal with the situation when he comes back," Belichick told the Boston Herald. "I don't know when that's going to be. In all honestly, too many good players, not a problem. Not enough, that's the problem. Both guys have showed they can play that position very competitively."
Light is under contract through 2010 at a base salary of $4.25 million this year and $4.5 million next season. Vollmer, a second-round pick, is under contract through 2012 at league-minimum base salaries. …
DT Anthony Hargrove(notes), out of football in 2008 while serving a one-year suspension for violations of the league's substance abuse policy, has become a key member of the Saints' line rotation. Last week, he scored a clinching TD on a fumble return against Carolina and has three sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble for the season.
This week, Hargrove returns to St. Louis, where he was a third-round pick in 2004. In an interview with Sporting News Radio, Hargrove said, "That's where my NFL career started and I'm not going to lie, it's a very emotional situation going back there. There's a lot of guilt, there's some shame for letting the people down and letting the organization down. I wish I could have been the man they wanted me to be at that time." …
Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams(notes), who lost one fumble in his first three years, has fumbled three times in eight games this season. Coach John Fox, however, doesn't think it's a trend. "There isn't anything wrong," he told the Gaston (N.C.) Gazette.
Meanwhile, the Panthers signed LB Kelvin Smith(notes) off their practice squad and placed LB Thomas Davis(notes) (knee) on season-ending injured reserve. Smith will provide depth behind Landon Johnson(notes), who will replace Davis in the lineup. …
—> Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he isn't considering a change in his staff to address offensive-line problems. Coordinator Joe Philbin was a well-respected line coach before moving into his present position, but he said McCarthy has said nothing to him about directly overseeing the line.
The Packers have allowed a league-high 37 sacks, but McCarthy said he doesn't have any concerns about how the linemen are being trained by line coach James Campen and assistant line coach Jerry Fontenot. "Our problems, to me, aren't teaching and scheme," McCarthy said.
Both he and Philbin said the problems stem from players making physical and mental errors at the wrong time.
More from Sporting News: For Tomlinson, Time to Reflect Has Arrived
Updated Nov 11, 8:16 am EST
