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INDIANAPOLIS – In the midst of a three-game stretch over 12 days, the Indianapolis Colts will travel to Washington D.C. this weekend for their third preseason game of 2012.
The Colts (1-1) and Redskins (1-1) will kickoff at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. This will conclude the club's road slate during the preseason.
With starters expected to play into the second half on Saturday, quarterback Andrew Luck will get some extended playing time. Luck is 26-of-41 for 363 yards and a pair of touchdown passes through two games.
The offense leads the league in averaging with 31 points per game and has seen production from the starters through the third unit.
Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians was pleased with how his first-team offense bounced back in the second quarter against the Steelers on Sunday evening and is looking forward to seeing them react out of halftime this weekend.
"This is the one that the guys will play the most," said Arians. "We got a nice half in last week and coming out of the locker room, hopefully, we can put together a half like that one again and come out of the locker room simulate a real ballgame and then get the guys out of there."
With the regular season opener a little more than two weeks away, Arians said the offense is using about 60 to 70 percent of its playbook right now.
That number is not too much of a worry to Arians but rather, it is producing as a unit that he will be looking for against the Redskins.
"For us right now, being successful is more important than hiding anything," Arians said. "We want to be successful, build confidence in everybody, not just Andrew (Luck), the whole unit. Offense builds confidence in the defense, defense builds confidence in the offense as a football team."
That confidence is vital for an offense that is so young at many skill positions.
Wide receiver Reggie Wayne has been seen throughout training talking with many of his young receivers, and he loves the talent that is in his position group.
"This is probably, maybe not, but probably the most talented bunch I've been around as a corps," Wayne said. "We've got some guys that can run really fast. We've got some smart guys, guys that enjoy taking notes and want to be good. Whenever you see that, there's a promising future for those guys."
The next week will have extra importance to many of the young players on the Colts roster with two games in seven days.
Rosters will be cut to 75 players on Monday before final cuts are made to 53 the following week.
Arians admitted that this is probably the hardest week each season in seeing so many guys leave that he has worked with for much of the offseason.
It will be a bit of a juggling act this next week for Arians and the Colts staff as they maintain their goal of winning while trying to establish a complete roster.
"It's a fine balance because you want to get a look at some guys," Arians said. "Most of those young guys need to find a place on special teams, and then we'll find a place for them on offense. It's a fine line between getting reps, evaluation and winning."
PLAYER QUOTE OF THE DAY
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Wide receiver Reggie Wayne on how often he gives tips to the young receivers:
"I give my two cents every once and a while, but those guys have a lot of stuff going on in their heads already. I try to keep it down to a minimum, unless they ask me a question about something, which they do a lot. But those guys are professionals. They understand what to do or what to look for. When there's something tricky, that's when they ask me what my thoughts are and how I'm seeing this or seeing that. I do the same thing with them, you know. It works hand in hand. Like I said, everything is coming along. As a team, I think everyone is buying into the system and understanding what is going on. As a whole, we believe that we can be a really good bunch and surprise a lot of people so hopefully, we continue to have that mindset and keep moving forward."
COACH ARIANS SAYS
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Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians on the challenge of this week knowing that cuts are coming:
"To me it's the hardest part of football. It's the bad side of the business. You work with the guys for so long and normally the guys that get cut are the guys who are over-achievers. They are the easily-coached guys. Their ability isn't going to match up. You build a bond with them because they are smart, intelligent players. The guys that don't get it, they don't hurt you as bad. The ones that get it, work hard, are there every day, it's really hard week when you cut these guys."
TRIVIA QUIZ
Thursday's Trivia Question: What is the fewest number of sacks allowed in a season and when did it happen?
CAMP SCHEDULE
The Colts had one practice on Thursday morning. Friday morning will call for one final walk-through before the team heads to Washington D.C. during the afternoon.
WEATHER REPORT
Temperatures rose into the mid-80s in Indianapolis on Wednesday as sunny skies once again greeted the players. Saturday's forecast in the nation's capital looks to be gorgeous with temperatures in the high-80s and sunny skies expected for the 4:00 p.m. kickoff.
TRIVIA ANSWER
Thursday's Trivia Question: What is the fewest number of sacks allowed in a season and when did it happen?
Answer: In 2009, the Colts allowed just 13 sacks during the 16-game regular season.
