Indianapolis Colts and 5 Teams That Should Be Very Worried

It's easy to blow off the preseason as nothing more than a nuisance that teams don't take seriously for nothing more than evaluation.

That doesn't mean these teams shouldn't be scared.

The preseason is still telling, and exists for maybe nothing other than scaring the life out of fans. Watching these five teams during the preseason, we've been able to see the biggest question marks these teams will have going into the year.

San Francisco 49ers

Alex Smith remains the starter in San Fran, but he might not for long.

Though it should be noted that he hasn't exactly been given a lot of help. The 49er's offensive line has let him harassed relentlessly, giving up nine sacks in their first preseason game against the Saints.

Michael Crabtree, the typical problem child, has been nursing an injury and hasn't exactly had the best endorsement of Alex Smith. Then again, who really does.

The defense lost stalwarts Takeo Spikes, Aubrayo Franklin, and Nate Clements on defense. Ryan Mathews tore up the 49er's on the ground with five carries for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Ben Tate had 11 carries for 52 yards in the game before that. Patrick Willis can only do so much on his own, and the team clearly looks weaker in a phase of the game that has been a strength.

I think Jim Harbaugh will eventually turn this team around, but this year is quickly looking more and more like a rebuilding phase.

Seattle Seahawks

If you've seen Tavaris Jackson play in the preseason, you know why the Seahawks should be worried.

Jackson has looked pretty bad this preseason. He seems out of place and doesn't seem to have any rhythm in the offense at all.

Charlie Whitehurst on the other hand has looked better, even he hasn't looked great.

The Seahawks have been investing in their offensive line the last couple of years, but the line has played absolutely abysmally.

The Hawks will need the offensive line to be a strength this season, considering they don't exactly look like they have many strengths elsewhere.

The Seahawks defense could go either way. They haven't looked terrible in the preseason, but they definitely haven't looked good either.

If I were a Seahawks fan, I'd be praying for Whitehurst to start. Or for a visit from Carson Palmer.

Kansas City Chiefs

Under Todd Haley, the Chiefs preseason has been all about evaluation and finding out who's going to make the team. The Chiefs are 1-11 in the preseason with Haley as head coach.

That's why it was so surprising that Haley let out the dogs against much of Green Bay's second stringers last night.

Many of the starters played well into the fourth quarter last night, and the Chiefs still suffered a 20-19 loss. The Chiefs committed five turnovers, including two Jamaal Charles fumbles, two Palko interceptions, and a Palko fumble.

On the bright side, Cassel threw 15/17 for 129 yards and touchdown. On the down side, he was sacked and left the game early.

The injury doesn't appear serious; he sat on the sideline with his helmet on as if he could go back in. If the Chiefs lost Cassel for the season, they might as well call it in.

Eric Berry, Barry Richardson, and Tony Moaeki also all left early with undisclosed injuries. Losing Berry or Moaeki would be a huge loss for the Chiefs, even if it were just for a couple of games. The Chiefs were a very healthy team last year, so it seems like they might be due for some bad news.

It could be just another preseason loss, but it should scare Chiefs fans how poorly their team has performed so far. They need to get their get their act together in time for the home opener against the Bills.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colt's preseason games are proving that they live and die by Peyton Manning.

Curtis Painter doesn't inspire confidence. He had one decent game, but the Colt's were still worried enough to reach into the hall of shortly not-so-retired for Kerry Collins.

If Collins ends up starting the season he'll walk into an offense that is driven by Manning's field general style, and it won't look pretty.

The defense has long been the problem with this team, and it's showing. The Colt's have problems covering and stopping the run.

The aging Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis cannot support them forever, and if this is the year either one of them dips the defense could be among the leagues worst.

Manning is still up in the air, and even if he plays week one this is not the year the Colt's can afford a slow start.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals have just been absolutely woeful.

Some are predicting the Bengals to be strong on defense this year, but they let up 34 points to the Lions in week one, and 27 to the Jets in week two.

The loss of Jonathan Joseph will have unknown effects on the defense. Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph are similar in skill level, both good young corners.

However, Leon Hall will face the challenge of working without Joseph this year and working instead with the aging Nate Clements. Getting older isn't a good strategy at a key position.

Andy Dalton is in for a rough season. It's already bad enough he has to deal with Baltimore and Pittsburgh a combined four times during the year, and he doesn't exactly have a lot of help.

Cedric Benson averages 3.7 yards per carry, but they refuse to play Bernard Scott for some reason. A.J. Green can't be expected to make a huge impact as a rookie, and outside of that there's a lot of young, unknown talent.

The Bengals have a lot of questions, and chances are the answers won't be pretty.