Pressure!

I'll bet most of America couldn't name Payton Manning's back up quarterback, and even the most casual Colt fans could not name Payton's back up which is Jim Sorgi. I don't remember most of the great quarterbacks back ups, like Dan Marino's, John Elway's, or Bret Favre's. The biggest reason why is because they never got hurt or played through the pain, so you never got a chance to see a back up quarterback. If you can't name the second string quarterback there is no way you would know the third string quarterback's name, which for the Indianapolis Colts is Curtis Painter. Jim Sorgi is hurt and Curtis has been named Payton Mannings Back up for the rest of the year, Curtis is a rookie from Purdue University and possibly could have the most pressure ever put on a rookie quarterback. The Indianapolis Colts already have locked up home field and have nothing left to play for except the perfect season, and if Coach Caldwell decides to rest Manning or start Manning and pull him after the first quarter Curtis Painter will get the call. Curtis Painter is a very capable quarterback, while in college he threw for over 11,000 yards and accounted for 80 touchdowns in his four year career at Purdue. Curtis's sophomore year was his best, he passed for 3,985 yards and 22 touchdowns, and ran for 6 touchdowns. The 3.985 yards set a Big Ten record for seasonal passing yards which Drew Brees held since 1998 (3,983). Curtis got hurt his senior year and played sparingly after his injury until he played Indiana University his last game of his senior year and lit up the Hoosiers when he threw for 448 yards and 5 touchdowns. When you watched Curtis play you just knew he had what it took to be a NFL quarterback and the team that drafted him would have a diamond in the rough. Coach Tiller from Purdue has had some successful NFL quarterbacks when you look at Drew Brees and Kyle Orton and the offense Coach Tiller ran which was really a pro offense helps out the transition from college to the pros. Will Curtis be able to handle the pressure of a perfect season riding on his arm or will he even get a chance to play at all and if he does get to play will it be in a meaningful capacity. There is no doubt that every NFL team would love to be in the Colts position but what would you do if you were Coach Caldwell, start Manning or start a rookie, unproven third string quarterback named Curtis Painter.