Brown out temporarily, Ballard steps up

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The injury news didn’t look so bad coming out of the Green Bay game, but that changed Wednesday.

”Donald had surgery yesterday, looked like everything went well. We hope to have him back quickly," said coach Bruce Arians.

Surprising news, after Brown ran for 84 yards in the win against Green Bay, Arians said he tore knee cartilage on his two point run after Reggie Wayne's go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds left.

Brown should miss two to three weeks, meaning Vic Ballard will step into the starting lineup, and he thinks he's ready.

"I don't think no task is too big for me. All I can do is go out there and do what I've been coached to do, not try to be superman, not try to play outside myself, just try to do my job," said Ballard, a first year player out of Mississippi State.

Andrew Luck says it’s time to shine.

"Next man up, which is not to discredit Donald, who is a phenomenal back. Guys gotta step up, no matter who that might be, Vic, Mewelde, Delone, and keep right on track."

Tackle Winston Justice needs to take notice.

"My take on Vic? I don't really know much about Vic, but I will in this upcoming week, and this upcoming game, it's something that we're going to focus on."

After practice, the Colts also found out they'll miss sack specialist Robert Mathis for two or three weeks. After spraining his knee on this second half sack of Aaron Rodgers, that means more playing time for Jerry Hughes, a former number one draft pick.

It's also been over a month since the Colts played on the road - a not too memorable finish in Chicago in the season opener. This time, the guys think they'll be more prepared.

"I certainly hope so. One of the things Coach Pagano always said was great teams always know how to win on the road," said rookie tight end Dwayne Allen. "We're going on the road and our first road trip wasn't the result we wanted, but we have another one. I believe we'll be prepared for it."

They have to be. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Met Life Stadium.