As long as we don't see this happen, Orlovsky should do fine

Quarterback Dan Orlovsky turned in this stat line on Sunday: 30-for-37, 353 yards, and two touchdowns.  Pretty impressive stuff in his first start of the year for the Indianapolis Colts. However, the most impressive part of his game was his ability to rally the troops late in the fourth quarter to bring the Colts back from a 31-3 deficit to pull within seven points of the mighty New England Patriots. Sure, most of the credit for that rebound should be given to the Patriots 32^nd ranked pass defense, but Orlovsky looked like a pro quarterback, something the Colts haven’t exactly had over the last couple of weeks.

By no means is Orlovsky the guy to get us to the promised land, but he proved to be an efficient quarterback by putting the Colts in position to score points, which is something Curtis Painter was struggling with.  The big question for Orlovsky is, can he carry momentum from this game into the next one against the Baltimore Ravens. While the Ravens may rank in the top five for pass defense, they are susceptible to air attacks on occasion, and the Colts clearly have talented receivers who can get open.

It was refreshing to see Orlovsky stay cool in the pocket even while it was collapsing around him.  Seeing that kind of confidence should have Colts supporters looking forward to the next few games. Orlovsky will to need to remain calm next week as well when the Colts take on Terrell Suggs and company, who are known for rushing the passer extremely well. As long as Orlovsky doesn’t relive his Detroit Lions glory days and run out of the back of the end zone for a safety, he should remain the starter in Indianapolis.

Start’em

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills

Fitzpatrick has seven touchdowns in two games against Kansas City and Oakland, who have had subpar starts to the season.   Now enter the New England Patriots who have torched opposing defenses, while in fact being torched themselves. I could easily seeing Fitzy continuing his trend of throwing three or more touchdowns this week against a bad Patriots defense that allowed Philip Rivers to throw over 350 yards and two Touchdowns.

Sit’em

Eli Manning, New York Giants

When Matt Ryan played against the Eagles last week, he threw four touchdowns against their vaunted defense.  The kicker is that Ryan had Tony Gonzalez to throw to,  and Eli won’t have a solid tight end to target because Hakeem Nicks is going to be covered by either Nhamdi Asomugah or Asante Samuel. So I will expect a lot more forced balls into tight coverage, and I’ll be surprised if Manning throws for 200 yards or a touchdown.

Running Back

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Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons

We’ve seen back-to-back 100-yard games for the burner against the Eagles and the Bears, two pretty solid defenses, so I have no reason to think he won’t do it again against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, I don’t think he will go too far over the century mark, although he should be good for a couple of touchdowns.

Sit’em

Beanie Wells, Arizona Cardinals

Going to Seattle will prove to be more challenging than it seems for the Cardinals; they can torch the Seattle corners easily and shouldn’t have much reason to hand off the ball to Wells, and even then I would say the Seahawks have a not-so-bad run defense that plays a lot better at home than they do on the road.

Wide Receiver

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Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

No corner on the Seattle roster can keep up with Larry Fitzgerald.  It’s that simple.  The Seahawks’ cornerbacks are too young to be able to double cover the Fitz properly. Also, it’s not like last year when the Cards were playing musical chairs at the quarterback position. Kevin Kolb is a solid guy who can get the ball downfield.

Sit’em

Dwayne Bowe Kansas City Chiefs,

Look, the Chiefs aren’t beating anyone this season, so there is no reason to stack the line now that Jamaal Charles is done for the year. Bowe is a very talented receiver, but there just isn’t anything special around him.  Matt Cassel is laughable as a starting quarterback, and the offensive line is bad.

Minicamp begins for most of the NFL’s teams today, including the Indianapolis Colts (Arizona, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Kansas City, Miami, Minnesota, New England, the New York Giants and Jets, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Tennessee). Time for teams to start seeing where some of the new blood fits in, if the old blood needs to go, how much guys have forgotten, and just how intense that drive to win is.

For Indianapolis it will likely be to see if there is anyone out there that can help bring a championship caliber team to the big dance in Dallas. For a team that has had the success it has had over the last decade it is easy to say that there is not much wrong with the club, that much is for certain. However, for a team to go down in history with legendary status like the Colts have the potential for being, it will need to find that one or two needles in the haystack.

Many teams throughout the history of the NFL have been good; lots of clubs have had tremendous success in the regular season. Indianapolis has been that team for the last decade; good, but not good enough to make the big dance. Yes, I know that they have made it twice, winning once, which is more than most teams can say. However, with the talent, ability, coaching, and front office that the Colts have their is no reason that they be satisfied with only being good.

So good luck this weekend Colts prospects! Who knows, maybe Tim Hiller, Javarris Mike Newton, Vuna Tuihalamaka, or Andrew Tyshovnytsky could be that piece the team has been searching for!