Colts vs. Rams: Curtis Painter Battles Dan Orlovsky for Futility Award

Another preseason began ignominiously for the Colts. Yet again they were pummeled by a team that will be vastly inferior to them during the regular season. The Colts fell to the St. Louis Rams 33-10 on Saturday.

This pushes their record in the last 28 preseason games they've played to four wins and 24 losses—a truly wretched string of futility. However, year in and year out, the Colts have been able to turn it around once the games that matter start. They have often come strong out of the gate in the regular season. In doing so, they proved wrong those who took their horrible preseason record as an ill omen. 

As has been the Colts' tradition, the starters playing sparingly and then spent the rest of the evening wearing baseball caps and shooting the bull. I'd like to break down the good and the really bad for the Colts' first preseason game. 

The Good

This section will be short. Unfortunately there was not very much to be happy about, and certainly nothing that was truly exciting. Jim Caldwell and the Polians like to use preseason games to evaluate the young and the borderline players. Below are a few folks who impressed on Saturday night. 

Drake Nevis

The third-round draft pick at defensive tackle showed a great motor and a great ability to get to the quarterback. He had St. Louis QB Sam Bradford dead to rights and wrapped up like a birthday present early in the game. Bradford was able to get rid of the football for an incomplete pass at the last moment, though, and escaped a fantastic play from the rookie out of LSU.

Phillip Wheeler

I still think that Pat Angerer is the best option as starting strong-side linebacker, but Wheeler showed that he's not going to slip off the team without a fight. He was seemingly everywhere on Saturday, and he showed good speed and toughness throughout the contest.

One missed tackle at the goal line was the only bad mark against him, but that is forgiveable in light of his generally strong play.

Pat McAfee

McAfee boomed his punts and kickoffs and kept the St. Louis returners on their toes as they tried to make hay out of his deep kicks. McAfee had plenty of opportunities to punt since the Colts offense was so putrid. 

Donald Brown

The oft-maligned Brown showcased crisp running with 21 yards on four carries. He still hasn't shown much as a pass blocker, but his ability to churn out yards on the ground was impressive in his short work on Saturday.

Pierre Garcon and Jacob Tamme

Both of these gents get kudos for snagging slightly-tough-to-catch balls. Garcon's catch was truly Circus McGurkus, with a sweet grab over his head as he tumbled backwards.

The Really Bad

The rundown of the bad in this game has to start with the quarterback play, which ranged from atrocious to deplorable.

QB Play

Curtis Painter chucked his passes too high, threw an interception on 3rd down during his first series and held onto the ball too long (as has been his modus operadi so far in his uninspiring career).

Dan Orlovsky tossed two interceptions (one was the fault of the receiver, who let the ball bounce off his hands) and didn't look much better than Painter. Orlovsky at least had a better pocket presence than Painter, but his actual results were just as poor.

Nate Davis didn't throw any interceptions, but he looked pretty JV in his Colts debut. He was playing against third-stringers, and still couldn't distinguish himself. Probably due to his mediocre outing, the Ball State product was cut yesterday. All in all, the QB situation is about as grim as it gets. If Manning's neck injury causes him to miss any time, the Colts will move from being a playoff team to being a early-drafting team.

Jerry Hughes

This guy needs to show something soon. He didn't get much push on the tackles and never made his presence felt. All reports are that he's been great at training camp, but when the lights are on, he seems to shrink. I'll be watching him closely to see if he can make an impact in the remaining preseason games.

Chad Spann on Kickoff Returns

Although he shows good vision and acceleration as a running back, his two muffed kickoff returns signal that he may not be ready for a special teams job. As a guy who is very much "on the hump," he certainly didn't help himself in his quest to make the team. Devin Moore looks like the best option for the kick-off return job.

Just about Anybody in Pass Coverage

The secondary (and a few linebackers) were torched on Saturday. They are probably still treating the scorch marks left by the no-name St. Louis wide receivers and tight ends. 'Backer Kavell Conner looked good against the run, but got beat for a touchdown early in the game. Cornerback Brandon King was outpaced early and often by anyone wearing a Rams jersey.

None of the other guys showed all that much, either good or bad, and that is enough to raise the concern that after Jerraud Powers, Justin Tryon and Jacob Lacey, the Colts' cornerback situation is awfully thin.

Mike Pollack

For a guy who needs to prove himself in his third season with the Colts, Pollack didn't really show all that much. He played most of the game at center after Jeff Saturday ducked out early in the game. He missed a few blocks, and didn't seem to get much push at the point of attack.

Summary

The first preseason game was par for the course for the Colts for these type of games. They looked rough around the edges and the starters barely saw the field. The backup QB showing made me long for the Jim Sorgi days and the defense seemed to be a work in progress.

Over the years the Colts have showed us that the preseason doesn't really mean much when the games start to matter. But it would have felt better if the Colts came out and put the hurt on the Rams like the Patriots did to the Jaguars.  

Here's hoping that the QBs and the secondary shows up ready to play in the next few preseason games. In the meantime, Peyton Manning's neck can't heal fast enough.