The QB cupboard is looking pretty bare in Indianapolis. The Colts put QB Kerry Collins on injured reserve yesterday, ending his season. The Colts have left Peyton Manning on the roster in the hopes that he can return late in the season, but he appears nowhere near ready to play.
That leaves the Colts with two active quarterbacks – Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. Maybe its time to think about some other options?
Painter played well in his first two outings against the Bucs and the Chiefs, throwing for over 270 yards in each game while the Colts were competitive in those two losses. The whole team has taken steps backwards in the last two weeks – a 10 point loss to Cincinnati, followed by the 62-7 debacle against the Saints, both of which they had under 200 yards passing and under 300 yards of offense, and Painter struggled mightily in the Saints game, going 9 of 17 for 67 yards and an INT.
Orlovsky played well in the preseason, including a 10 of 18 for 178 yard half against Cincinnati, but no one believes he is the answer. And the team seems to have gotten so bad so quickly, that even if Manning were healthy in another month, it would be crazy to throw him on the field. Particularly for a team that is likely to be 0-12 by the time Manning is healthy.
The only moves the Colts have made this week are singing a couple of new faces to the practice squad this week, RB Darren Evans and WR David Gilreath.
The Colts need to get help fast, and to be fair – not just at quarterback. In spite of Painter’s poor performance against the Saints, he didn’t give up 62 points. That was a terrible defensive performance as well.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has been making more and more cryptic quotes via Twitter, referring to having “solutions.” These include:
“Just because you perceive problems on the horizon, and you possess solutions..doesn’t mean they are avoidable and implementation is instant”
And:
“Things are made worse when panic looks friendly.”
And finally, my personal favorite:
“Opinions are like mirrors,they reflect our own self worth and are spiritual condition..the illusion 2 deflect produces a canvas 4 self truth”
Someone better check on Irsay, before he starts a Colonel Kurtz-like monologue. Although “the horror” is an apt description of the Colts last game.
And someone better check on the Colts as well. The “Suck for Luck” campaign seemed to be a joke a few weeks ago, but the way the Colts are playing, and looking ahead at their schedule for the rest of the season (New England, Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville, Atlanta…), 0-16 is now starting to seem plausible.
