Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Thanks to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it has come out that Indianapolis Colts running back Vick Ballard injured his knee in practice Thursday and is out for the rest of the season.
Colts beat writer Mike Chappell said Ballard suffered a torn ACL, and the Colts followed up to say he is heading straight to IR. Ballard has done wonders in his short career with the Colts so far and will surely be missed; so, is the Colts’ running back situation good enough to help accompany Andrew Luck to the playoffs?
With Ballard out, Ahmad Bradshaw will undoubtedly be the new starter. Behind Bradshaw is Donald Brown, who has done good and bad with Indianapolis. Bradshaw is extremely unpredictable. He can be a really good back, and then get hurt the very next game. Bradshaw sat out of this year’s preseason to help heal his surgically-repaired right foot, which has been giving him problems for who knows how long now.
I think it would be smart for the Colts to split carries between Bradshaw and Brown so Bradshaw doesn’t get overworked, which would increase his chances of getting hurt again.
Brown, on the other hand, is a different type of back than Bradshaw. Bradshaw likes to run up the middle, while Brown likes to take the outside route and take it the distance along the sidelines. Brown can be very effective if you give him the ball enough.
The Colts’ running back situation isn’t necessarily in trouble even with Ballard out. It will be important to get some production out of the running backs in order to make the playoffs, so they’ll just have to make the best out of their situation.
