Worth the Risk?

After a poor performance against the Green Bay Packers, the Indianapolis Colts may be forced to play their starters more than they originally wanted to in their fourth preseason game. The Colts are dealing with a plethora of injuries, so while they do not want to run the risk of absorbing more injuries, they may also want to give more playing time to those who may need it. On Thursday the Colts will take on the Cincinatti Bengals, in a game that usually does not feature the starters for more than a couple of series. However, should the Colts break tradition and play their starters a bit longer?

While there are positives and negatives to extended playing time against the Bengals, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives. After Gary Brackett was injured against the Packers, coach Caldwell may have been persuaded against playing his starters regardless of how bad they looked. Another reason for not playing the starters could be the outstanding play of Pierre Garcon. Garcon had missed the first two games of the preseason, but stepped-in right away and performed well agasint the Packers. His showing proves that you don’t necessarily need to play in the preseason to be at top form, although often it helps. The spotty offensive line play may also drive Caldwell away from putting Manning out their for an extended period of time, for the simple fact that he does not want him to get sacked by the pressure that has seemingly came all offseason.

Certainly players, such as, Pat Angerer, Austin Collie, Anthony Gonzalez, and Melvin Bullitt could use the final game to stay at top form, because they do not know when or how often they will be called upon. However, players, such as, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Bob Sanders, and even Joseph Addai should not be out there too long. These players are veterans who know exactly how often they will be out there, and what they will be asked to do. If the Colts suffer another major injury to an offensive lineman, they could instantly drop to the fourth best team in the AFC. Manning has never had to deal with an offensive line this shaky before, and that does not bode well for the franchise quarterback. If any quarterback is able to overcome the inability of an offensive line to consistantly protect it will be Manning and his quick release. In the end, the Colts should not worth losing a key player for the entire season just to make sure he has shaken all of the rust off.