Bennett

Bennett, who started all 16 games, tore his medial collateral ligament and also injured his posterior cruciate ligament when he was blocked by Buffalo's Antowain Smith on the Bills' opening offensive play of Sunday's game.

He watched the Colts practice Thursday and then said reports he might miss the playoffs were premature.

"I'm optimistic. I normally heal fast. The way I'm healing right now is pretty good. We'll re-evaluate on Monday," Bennett said.

The Colts have a first-round bye in the playoffs and will play either Seattle, Buffalo or Tennessee in the RCA Dome on Jan. 16. "If not next week, hopefully we can win and I'll get a chance to play the following week," Bennett said.

Bennett said his MCL was torn and that the PCL was only stretched. It had been feared that both ligaments were torn.

"I'm walking around pretty decent. It's not as loose as one would think with an MCL injury, and that's why I'm optimistic," Bennett said. "I'm hoping that I can put a brace on and be some help to these guys."

Bennett is the only player in league history to be on the losing side in five Super Bowl games -- four with Buffalo and last January with Atlanta.

If he can't play, Bennett is confident Bertrand Berry or Ratcliff Thomas can be a capable replacement.

"They're young guys. Bertrand, he's played some. He has started in the past, so it's not a totally new thing to him," Bennett said.

However, 12 of Berry's 13 starts were last year as a defensive end and his only start at linebacker was as a rookie in 1997. Until he replaced Bennett on Sunday, Berry had only five tackles on defense this season. He had four more against Buffalo.

"I told him he's just got to step up and be the man. No one expected me to come in and play the way I did this season, except for myself," Bennett said. "I came in and made an impact, and he can do the same thing."

Bennett, signed as an unrestricted free agent after being cut last year by Atlanta, has been a vital member of an improved defensive unit that helped the Colts produce the biggest turnaround in NFL history. After finishing 3-13 in 1998, the Colts won the AFC East championship.

Coach Jim Mora didn't think on Monday that Bennett could play when he held his weekly news conference. Bennett explained that the coach made that forecast before the linebacker had met with doctors.