When the Indianapolis Colts drafted wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez out of “the” Ohio State University, we were led to believe that he would be the replacement for an aging Marvin Harrison. Well, he did replace Harrison in 2007 and had a very good year despite some inconsistencies.
Let’s take a step back and peer back at 2007, Gonzalez’s rookie season. As the third option in the Colts offense, Gonzalez reeled in 37 receptions for 576 yards and 3 TDs. This is the year where Harrison missed most of the season. Gonzalez put up very respectable numbers despite being “the new guy” in the Colts’ somewhat-complicated offense.
In 2008, Harrison returned and started 15 games for the Colts. This was not the Marvin of old. Still, Gonzalez got to see plenty of time on the field and he improved on his rookie numbers. He grabbed 57 catches for 664 yards and 4 TDs.
These numbers were not great by any means but tight end Dallas Clark earned some of Marvin Harrison’s portion of the offense, increasing his role dramatically despite being a top-flight tight end already.
Enter 2009. Gonzalez started week one at wide receiver but after a knee injury, we have not seen him since. He has no stats on the year and we have been waiting and waiting for his return. Every four weeks or so, we have expected to see him come back only to get news that he is still not ready to go.
Well, health is the numero uno issue for any football player but his chances at maintaining his placement on the depth chart as the No. 2 receiver have just been flushed down the drain.
Anthony Gonzalez has screwed the pooch with this knee injury, indirectly I may add, thanks to the emergence of Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie.
Garcon, a product out of tiny Mount Union, is setting himself up to the long-term starter at flanker for the Colts. He may be fifth in terms of receptions on the Colts (41) but his 688 receiving yards are third best behind Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Garcon has reached “pay dirt” four times this season while averaging a team-best 16.8 yards per reception.
Austin Collie has also cemented his place on the gridiron first by working hard outside of Sunday’s with Peyton Manning and secondly becoming the perverbial Wes Welker of the Indianapolis Colts. This sure-handed receiver is third on the team with 46 receptions. He has also tallied 485 receiving yards and 5 TDs.
Collie has even played injured this year, proving his worth to the Colts.
Anthony Gonzalez is a tremendous talent that should not be overlooked but we have seen it all before with injuries. Garcon and Collie have emerged as durable threats that are contributing immediately as well or better than Anthony Gonzalez did.
With the recent news coming out of Indianapolis where Colts president Bill Polian stated that Gonzalez had another setback with his knee injury and will require more arthroscopic surgery, the sun may be setting on Gonzalez’s chances at becoming what Marvin Harrison used to be–Peyton Manning’s cop-out.
Gonzalez’s contract is not as ripe as Reggie Wayne’s. As a matter of fact it isn’t close. Still, he is not set to be a free agent until 2012 so he will have plenty of time to regain ground within the wide receiver depth chart if he can get back onto the field.
