In last week's preseason opener, Andrew Luck and the Colts starting offense played one drive. After a rough start (getting into a third and long), it looked like they might go three and out to start the preseason. But then Luck hit Hakeem Nicks on a nice comeback route, and the offense then got on a roll. Luck hit T.Y. Hilton on a couple of underneath crossing routes, Trent Richardson had a couple of nice runs, and the Colts offense just marched their way down the field on the New York Jets starting defense. And then Khaled Holmes went down with an injury. And an early snap by replacement Jonotthan Harrison on a third down and goal ended the chance at a touchdown, resulting in a field goal.
That was the lone drive by the starting offense last week, and it was an impressive one. So how much are Andrew Luck and the starters going to play this week in their second preseason game, the home opener Saturday night against the New York Giants? Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was asked on Wednesday whether Luck and the starters will play the entire first quarter, and Pagano answered, "that's the plan right now, and then we'll see how that goes."
"If we have two drives like we had in the first ballgame," Pagano continued, "you've got a 10, 12-play drive and you've got a couple scores, then it might be time to pull him if that happens before the first quarter. So we'll just play it by ear."
Also of note is that cornerback Vontae Davis and safety LaRon Landry will play on Saturday, making their preseason debut for the Colts in 2014. Pagano talked about that as well:
"You always worry about conditioning and how many plays they're going to get. If we have a eight, 10-play drive, you hope you don't have that, but see how they are from a conditioning standpoint. A mental standpoint, see where they're at from a communication standpoint. How they run around, how they tackle, how they cover, all those things that you see in practice, but practice is practice so we want to see it in a real game."
Lastly, who isn't going to play Saturday night? Is Ahmad Bradshaw going to play? What about Reggie Wayne? If you were hoping to get answers about that from Pagano on Wednesday, you're out of luck. He didn't say who was going to miss the game but rather that they'll evaluate it and then announce it. So, in other words, stay tuned, but it sounds like we'll see more of Andrew Luck and the starting offense this week than we did last week.