On Bad Ankle, Dwight Freeney Comes Up a Foot Short

Filed under: NFL Injuries, NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl, NFL Analysis MIAMI -- Dwight Freeney never took a pain killing injection. He taped his badly sprained right ankle at least three times -- twice at halftime -- trying to keep the torn ligaments from ruining what was left of his speed and mobility. Freeney played all four quarters of Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV, but the Indianapolis Colts' top defensive player and the rest of his teammates were simply no match for Saints quarterback Drew Brees' astonishing efficiency (32-of-39 passing) in New Orleans' eye-popping 31-17 victory. Freeney was limited, as was right cornerback Jerraud Powers (left foot fracture), yet both were active. How effective were they? Powers didn't start. But Freeney, who bull-rushed his way to a 7-yard sack of Brees midway through the first quarter -- a clutch third-down stop that forced a 46-yard Garrett Hartley field goal -- said he played almost a normal rotation with defensive end Raheem...