Strong-side linebacker Rob Morris is scheduled for surgery today to repair a torn tendon in his left knee. His season likely is over.
Uncertainty hovers over the other four prominent players injured in the game: eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Marvin Harrison (bruised left knee), former Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders (bruised ribs), running back Joseph Addai (bruised shoulder) and tight end Ben Utecht (concussion).
Until doctors clear the ailing players, Dungy will follow instincts engrained in him since he first became an NFL assistant coach with Pittsburgh in 1981. "If as coaches we were planning, we'll plan for all of them to be out,'' he said.Dungy and team president Bill Polian were to meet with the medical staff Monday night for an update. On his weekly radio show prior to meeting with team physicians, Polian said Morris was "going to have surgery (today), so I think that's probably it for him this year."
"All the rest . . . are bumps and bruises type things,'' he added. "I think those will be Wednesday, Thursday, maybe even Friday decisions. But that's the National Football League. That's the way it is."
Tough break for Morris, he was really starting to get in a groove at the OLB spot for us. I'm confident that Boiman can step in and play well. Still, Morris was excellent against the run.