The Colts will be without 25-year old RB Delone Carter for the next couple of weeks due to an ankle injury.  Carter has played in 10 games for the Colts so far this year and he has carried the ball 32 times for 122 yards (3.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 1 pass for 13 yards so far this year.  Carter has now played in 26 games in his first two years with the Colts and he has carried the ball 133 times for 499 yards (3.8 ypc) with 5 TD grabs.  He has also caught 6 passes for 31 yards (5.2 avg) so far in his career.  The Colts are going to miss Carter’s power running style while he’s out of action.

The Colts have lost 25-year old Donald Brown (ankle) and 23-year old fullback Robert Hughes (undisclosed injury) on the Injured Reserve List, ending their 2012 seasons.  Brown played in 10 games for the Colts this year and he carried the ball 108 times for 417 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 9 passes for 93 yards (10.3 avg) in 2012.  Brown has now played in 50 games in his first four years with the Colts and he has carried the ball 449 times for 1,840 yards (4.1 ypc) with 11 TD grabs.  He has also caught 56 passes for 553 yards (9.9 avg) so far in his career with the Colts.  Robert Hughes played in 5 games as a rookie for the Colts this year and he carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards.  The Colts are really going to miss Brown the rest of the year, as he would give rookie RB Vick Ballard a break whenever he needed one.

The Colts have placed 27-year old DT Fili Moala and 23-year old DT Josh Chapman.  Moala played in 8 games for the Colts this year and he had 14 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 48 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 69 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Rookie Josh Chapman didn’t get into any games due to a knee injury.  Moala’s injury is a torn right ACL.  This is really going to hurt the depth of the interior of the Colts’ D-Line.

24-year old CB Vontae Davis is out for this weekend’s game against the Patriots due to a knee injury.  Davis has played in 5 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 19 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  25-year old Cassius Vaughn will take over as one of the starting CBs for the Colts this weekend.  He has played in 9 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 27 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  The Colts will be without both of their starting CBs this weekend (Vontae Davis and Jerraud Powers), so the defense could be in big time trouble against Tom Brady and his receivers on the Patriots this Sunday.

The Colts have placed 25-year old CB Jerraud Powers on Injured Reserve due to a toe injury, ending his 2012 season.  Powers played in 8 games for the Colts this year and he had 40 tackles, 1 interception, 8 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 42 games in his first four years with the Colts and he has 210 tackles, 33 passes defensed, 6 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 11 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  26-year old Darius Butler will take over for Powers in the starting lineup.  He has played in 4 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 11 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD) and 1 fumble recovery.  The Colts better hope that Butler is up for the challenge.

The Colts have placed 23-year old DT Drake Nevis on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a hand injury.  Nevis played in 9 games for the Colts this year and he had 16 tackles and 1 sack.  He has now played in 14 games in his first two years with the Colts and he has 35 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  This will hurt the Colts’ depth along the interior of the D-Line.

The Colts will be without 31-year old OLB Robert Mathis for the next 2-3 weeks due to a sprained left knee.  Mathis has played in 4 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 16 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 tackle for a loss.  This is a HUGE loss for the Colts’ D as Mathis’ production just can’t be replaced no matter who they play in his spot.

The Colts will be without 25-year old RB Donald Brown for the next 2-3 weeks after undergoing knee surgery this week.  He has played in 4 games for the Colts so far this year and he has carried the ball 60 times for 239 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Brown has also caught 3 passes for 47 yards (15.7 avg) so far this year.  22-year old rookie Vick Ballard will move into the starting lineup to replace Brown while he is out of action.  Ballard has played in 4 games for the Colts so far this year and he has carried the ball 21 times for 42 yards (2.0 ypc).  He has also caught 1 pass for 4 yards so far this year.

The Colts have placed 26-year old OG Seth Olsen on the Injured Reserve List due to a knee injury.  He was also designated as the player eligible to return from the I.R. list.  Olsen has played in 3 games (all starts) for the Colts so far this year.  He has played in 12 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the NFL.

Coach Pagano will be celebrating his 51st birthday tomorrow in the hospital as he has been diagnosed with leukemia.  He went to the doctors during the bye week and that is when they found out he was sick.  This is a bad break for Pagano, as he was really getting the Colts to play decent football in his first shot as a NFL head coach.  Here’s to hoping he will have the full recovery that doctors are projecting for him.  Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians will take over as the interim head coach until Pagano is ready to return to coaching.  Arians has done a decent job with rookie Andrew Luck and the offense so far this year.  Now he will also have to concern himself with defense and special teams.