Indianapolis Colts: Expect to See More of Andrew Luck and Starters on Saturday

It's usually no surprise to see the starters play longer in the third preseason game of the season, but Colts head coach Chuck Pagano confirmed today that the starters will play into the third quarter on Saturday afternoon against the Washington Redskins.

I was able to take part in Pagano's media availability this afternoon as he spoke on numerous topics including Saturday's game.

Pagano said, "What you’d like to do is get ‘em through the first half, get in the locker room, make the adjustments and then have your starters come out and open the third quarter and have a series coming out so that it isn’t new come Sept. 9.

“That’s what we’re shooting for.’’

That means more Andrew Luck and more first stingers in FedEx Field. The longest he's kept the first string in this preseason is halftime and that came in Sunday's loss at Pittsburgh.

Luck played most of the first half against St. Louis, going 10-for-16 with 188 yards and two touchdowns. On Sunday, Luck played the whole first half and ended up 16-for-22 passing for 175 yards with one rushing touchdown and two interceptions.

I'm curious to what the starters will do with more playing time as the game will get a lot of hype for having April's No. 1 and 2 picks playing against each other. Washington is even selling Luck vs. Robert Griffin III t-shirts in efforts to maximize sales of the game and attempt to spark a rivalry.

Griffin III hasn't had as much success as Luck this preseason, but he hasn't played as much either. Both will surely play into the third quarter as we will get to see who made the right choice on draft picks Saturday afternoon.

Eric Smith is a Featured Columnist for the Colts and quotes were obtained first-hand.