Jump to content
[[Template core/front/custom/_customHeader is throwing an error. This theme may be out of date. Run the support tool in the AdminCP to restore the default theme.]]

Colts new strong-side linebacker?


Recommended Posts

For two years, Gilbert Gardner has worked.

 

He has waited. Has studied.

 

He has practiced. He has rehabbed.

 

Actually, he has done a lot of the latter – more than he expected, and certainly a lot more than he wanted.

 

Now, entering his third NFL season, with Colts veteran outside linebacker David Thornton having signed with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent, Gardner has what he has wanted throughout two seasons of working, waiting, studying, practicing and according to him, way too much rehabbing.

 

He has an opportunity.

 

“It’s a bad thing to see David leave, especially a great leader and a great player like that,” Gardner said Monday during the Colts’ off-season workout program, now ongoing at the Union Federal Football Center. “But when one door closes, another opens.

 

“Hopefully, I can take advantage of it.”

 

Gardner, a third-round selection by the Colts in the 2004 NFL Draft, has played extensively on special teams when healthy the past two seasons, and when healthy, he has played a significant role as a backup.

 

Now, with Thornton gone, the Colts have three linebackers with extensive NFL experience – middle linebacker Gary Brackett, reserve middle linebacker Rob Morris and Pro Bowl outside linebacker Cato June.

 

In a recent interview, Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said Gardner likely will move into the starting strongside linebacker role.

 

“You plan for those things, and we knew there was a possibility of losing David,” Dungy said recently. “Gilbert played and started for us in the Jacksonville game (on December 11) when we had to clinch the division. We played well defensively and he was a big part of it.

 

“He’ll move over and he’ll line up over there.”

 

Gardner, an athletic, physical player who has 25 special teams tackles in 22 games over his first two seasons, has the ability to move into the starting rotation, Brackett said Monday.

 

“He’s ready,” Brackett said. “It’s his third year in the system. He got a chance to play last year. He actually started two or three games at the end of the season and that helps tremendously, so he knows what he’s up against.

 

“He knows what the competition level is. He knows what we expect of him and he knows the defense. He’s a very smart guy, and a very athletic guy, so he’s a good fit for what we do. Now, it’s just a matter of going out there and making plays.”

 

And, Gardner said, a matter of staying healthy.

 

As a rookie in 2004, Gardner played in 11 games as a reserve outside linebacker, making seven tackles and defending a pass despite missing time with an ankle injury, a hamstring ailment and a shoulder injury.

 

“There have been some (injuries) I can’t explain,” said Gardner, who played collegiately at Purdue University. “Some of my doctors have been like, ‘I don’t know how you got this one, but you did.’

 

“But it’s football. You can’t help that. You just have to get better and keep moving.”

 

Last season, he missed the first five games with an ankle injury, but played extensively in the last half of the season, starting three of the final four games and finishing the season with 24 tackles, a sack, a pass defensed and an interception.

 

“If you’re not confident in yourself, this isn’t the game for you,” Gardner said. “I know I can play. That’s not the problem. I just have to stay healthy, and take it week by week.”

 

The first step in the process is now, Gardner said. Although he participated in the off-season conditioning program last off-season, he said he also spent a significant amount of time rehabilitating from the previous season. Now, he said he is fully healthy entering an NFL off-season for the first time.

 

“Hopefully, I can keep working like I have been and keep climbing and not peak,” Gardner said. “You want to peak with your workouts right before the end of the workout session, so hopefully, I can plan this out right and be 100 percent going into the season. This is huge. This is where you prepare your body to stay healthy.

 

“The time you put in will be the time you get out.”

 

And while Colts fans may not be overly familiar with Gardner as a defensive player, he said the past two seasons have helped him prepare for what he hopes will be a starting role. He made 12 special teams tackles in 2004 and 13 last season, and with the Colts resting injured players in December of last season, he started three of the last four games.

 

During that four-game span, he recorded 20 tackles, and in the regular-season finale against Arizona, he had a team-high 13 tackles and an interception.

 

“I think it’s been unbelievably important,” Gardner said of the past two seasons. “I think when this year rolls around, I’ll be more prepared. I think it was very beneficial what I did the last two years.

 

“When you’re coming out of college, you’ve played special teams a little bit, but not a lot. You can kind of forget how important special teams are. It really brings you back home to what football is all about. I think that’s keyed me in to where I need to be.”

 

And Gardner said the first place he needs to be next season is healthy. That’s his focus beyond where he will line up, and beyond where he will be listed on the depth chart.

 

As far as his approach to next season?

 

Whether or not he believes the starting job is his to lose?

 

That’s not how he thinks of it, he said.

 

Not yet, anyway.

 

“My stance is I’m going into it like everybody else,” Gardner said. “I’m trying to win a spot. I’m trying to prove to my coaches, my teammates, to this league, that I belong. That’s my stand on it. I know I can play. I just have to be able to go out and show it.”

 

link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe he can finally get off my DTS. I had thought he would start sooner, but I'm glad he's getting his shot.

 

He did well at the very end of last year in injury replacement of June.... but that was on the weak side. On the strong side, I'm not sure if he'll be consistent enought to be a starter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information