Sports

Experts: Even if Freeney is in game, he won’t be the same

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Dwight Freeney is the most dynamic defensive player on either team in Super Bowl XLIV.

If he plays or not, and how effective he can be, has become the centerpiece issue of Super Bowl week.

Speaking to Freeney, as well as some of the top analysts in the game yesterday, you got the distinct feeling the Colts defensive end will be in uniform but could be a shell of himself physically because of the torn ligament in his right ankle.

“Obviously, the competitor in me says nothing is going to stop me [from playing],” Freeney said yesterday, speaking publicly for the first time since he arrived in South Florida on Friday. “But that said, it’s not up to me. It’s up to the coaches and the staff. But I can’t see myself on the sideline watching my guys go out there and play. I have to think that way.”

Freeney, who has 13 sacks this season and has been the league’s most prolific pass rusher since he entered the NFL in 2002, insisted he’s doing everything humanly possible to play and be effective.

There are many, however, who believe that’s not possible, given that Freeney suffered the injury less than two weeks ago when he pulled up to avoid a late hit on Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez in the AFC Championship game.

“He’s got a torn ligament in his ankle, and there is no way, in my estimation, that he’s even remotely going to be the player that he is when he’s healthy — not even close,” said CBS studio analyst Boomer Esiason, who spent time with Freeney for a feature on the pregame show.

Esiason said he believes the Colts publicly are holding out hope for Freeney to start and be effective as a decoy to the Saints, to dupe them into thinking he’ll be all right.

Bill Cowher, a CBS studio analyst and former NFL head coach, said Colts defensive end Robert Mathis and potential Freeney replacement Raheem Brock are good players, but added, “I think Drew Brees will have a little bit more comfort” without Freeney chasing him down.

The biggest issue, should Freeney play, is his strength, speed on the edge and spin moves. Those things cannot help but be hampered by the injury.

“His whole game is playing with the lower extremities,” CBS studio analyst Shannon Sharpe said. “He’s a guy that tries to get on edges, get up the field, cross your face, spin on you, and I don’t know if you can do that if you’ve got a bum ankle.”

Freeney, who called himself “day-to-day,” sounded uncertain of how effective he can be.

“That’s going to be something I’m going to have to determine when I get on that field when I actually test it out,” he said. “I don’t know exactly how much mobility I will have. I don’t know how much explosion I will have.”

Phil Simms, who’s doing the color commentary on the broadcast for CBS, recalled dealing with ankle problems when he played, and he didn’t sound as if he expects Freeney to be a big factor.

“I hurt my ankle one time in my career really bad, and I played with it,” Simms said. “It starts out OK in a game, but it dies fast. It’s like a tire — feels good, rolls good, but man, it loses air fast. You look up midway in the second quarter, and you got a flat.”