INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -The Indianapolis Colts don’t expect a change in their defensive game plan against Jacksonville, even with second-year safety Melvin Bullitt subbing for injured Bob Sanders, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Sanders could be out up to six weeks with a right ankle sprain he suffered last week against Minnesota. But Bullitt, an undrafted free agent last year, played well in Sanders’ place in the fourth quarter of the Colts’ 18-15 come-from-behind win against the Vikings on Sunday.
“Obviously when you lose a great player, other guys have to step up their performance,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said Friday. “You can’t expect the player who comes in to be able to do all the same things, but we’re not going to really change what we do. And Melvin Bullitt is going to play and he’ll do a great job.
“You really don’t change a lot. You may simplify a little bit and maybe not do quite as much when you have a lot of young guys in there. But we’ve been in this situation before.”
nders also was out of the lineup. But the Jaguars (0-2) are averaging just 65.5 yards rushing this season.
“That’s not characteristic of Jacksonville. We know they’re going to try and get that thing going,” Dungy said. “You see even on tape some of the runs they’re making are unbelievable and still making guys miss and running through people. So we know we’re going to see a heavy dose of that.”
Dungy said center Jeff Saturday and tight end Dallas Clark, both out last week with knee injuries, are expected in the starting lineup for the Colts (1-1) on Sunday. Both players went through full workouts this week, and defensive tackle Keyunta Dawson returned Friday after missing two days of practice.
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