Indianapolis Colts: Frank Reich spills details of Rodrigo Blankenship injury
By Adam Weinrib
Something serious was plainly wrong with Indianapolis Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship nearly every time we saw him take the field in Monday night’s late-game massacre in Baltimore.
Unfortunately, those moments came far too often for any fan’s sake.
Blankenship was obviously hobbled when he took the field — finally — at the tail end of the first half, a bizarre sequence that briefly featured punter Rigoberto Sanchez seemingly considering a kick of his own.
Shortly thereafter, fans were told that the reason things had gone so haywire was that Blankenship was battling a hip issue, leaving him compromised.
Sure. But why, in that case, wasn’t the team prepared for whatever was ailing him? Why was their game plan and lack of aggression seemingly built around a healthy kicker? Why was the end of the first half so discombobulated?
In the aftermath of one of the worst losses you’ll ever see, regardless of context, Head Coach Frank Reich tried to explain what we just saw. First of all, Blankenship hadn’t felt any pain until warmups. This really was unprecedented.
Frank Reich said Rodrigo Blankenship was injured in the first quarter of this game. Wasn’t a pre-existing injury.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) October 12, 2021
Colts K Rodrigo Blankenship injured himself Monday night.
Reich was clearly caught off guard by Blankenship’s injury, and never found the adjustment he sought, especially as this game reached winning time.
In the aftermath, Reich admitted he probably should’ve been more aggressive on the crucial third down that preceded Calais Campbell’s blocked field goal, featuring a bull rush that started a few moments early because he knew he had a tentative special teams unit ahead of him. “Probably should have gone for the jugular,” the coach admitted.
But was that the whole story? Early-game injury, game plan out the window, Colts unable to close? Not quite.
According to Blankenship himself, the pain began during warmups, and featured a creeping, “stabbing” sensation every time he tried to kick.
Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship said he felt “a stabbing pain” every time he went back to kick tonight. The pain crept up in warmups and intensified throughout.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) October 12, 2021
Clearly, there’s something more here that needs to be diagnosed. This doesn’t sound like a one-night issue.
Though it was a massive inconvenience in a game where, even up 16 in the fourth, things had to go perfectly to secure the victory. They did not go perfectly.
