Dungy: Gronk may be only half-good

INDIANAPOLIS - Two years ago, the Indianapolis Colts' best defender, Dwight Freeney, went into the Super Bowl against New Orleans with a badly sprained ankle.He had a solid first half - even coming up with a sack - but during the interminable halftime, Freeney's ankle stiffened and he was ineffective after the break. "I dont know if you saw me on the sidelines, Freeney said after that game. I kept on running back and forth to get it going again. I re-taped, and tried to figure out ways to keep it warm. The problem is, once it gets stiff, its tough to bring it back.In 2006, another Colt defender - corner Nick Harper - saw his Super Bowl effectiveness waylaid by an ankle sprain. Former Colts head coach Tony Dungy, in Indy this week in his role as an analyst for NBC's Football Night in America, recalled the Harper situation. "Nick Harper got rolled up in the championship game against New England," Dungy explained Tuesday afternoon. "Didn't practice the whole two weeks. All those guys will tell you, 'I can go, I can go.' You watch them warm up, they look pretty good and they are going. "Nick made it almost to halftime before his performance tapered," Dungy pointed out. "We were fortunate Harper's backup Kelvin Hayden was able to come in and make the big interception in the win over the Bears."Thata sprained ankle will stiffen isn't a matter of if, but when. "At some point, they're not gonna be as effective as the game rolls on," Dungy stated. "When is that gonna be? Is that gonna be first quarter? Is it gonna be halftime? I think it's gonna be significant how much they can get out of Gronkowski because he's a big part of their offense."That's not an injury that heals up in two weeks," he reiterated. "At some point, you're going to pound on it enough so that you're not going to be as effective. Guys can still play but are they the same player. In those two cases (Freeney and Harper), they were not." Gronkowski, who shed his walking boot for Tuesday's media session says he's fine and sources have indicated he will play.