Wow, what a horrible week for the Colts.

Losing CB Marlin Jackson, one of the better zone corners in the NFL, for the season was a blow. A day later, the news gets worse: ever-injured Bob Sanders also is gone.

We always planned on Sanders coming back later each season, no matter how many times he got hurt in the past. The year the Colts won the Super Bowl, he played as many postseason games (four) as he did regular-season games.

But now the Colts must move on this season, in which they have looked like a Super Bowl contender, without him and Jackson, maybe their best two defenders on the back third.

Kelvin Hayden is a good cornerback whose responsibilities just got very big. Jerraud Powers, who had been playing ahead of Jackson (whose rehabbed ACL didn't appear fully healed), is a rookie who now has a lot on his plate. Melvin Bullitt, who has taken Sanders' spot, will be the starting safety. A great backup, Bullitt now must be a good starter.

In the next few weeks, the Colts must face Andre Johnson (twice), Randy Moss, Brandon Marshall, Braylon Edwards and Terrell Owens (or is that a good thing in the case of Owens?).

It's a tall order for a shorter, quicker group of DBs.

Really, the Colts have been without Jackson and Sanders for much of this season anyway, but we always expected them back healthy at some point. Not now.

Expect a lot of safer cover-2 and cover-3 defenses, nothing new, without Sanders' versatility and with some hefty passing attacks left on the schedule. This has been the first major bump in the road of new head coach Jim Caldwell, and two tough ones to deal with.