Rodgers and Manning will be wearing different head gear when the Packers and Colts meet on Friday.

The Colts have closed up training camp at Anderson and are halfway through their pre-season schedule, having dropped both games in ugly fashion.  They play the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers on Friday night at 8 PM, and the game will be televised nationally on CBS.    This is the game, the third of the pre-season, that teams generally treat like a real contest, prepping in mid-season form and going for the win.    With a bushel of questions remaining for the Colts to answer, this game will be unlike almost any exhibition that we have seen during the Peyton Manning era.  Here are some developments to watch as the Cheeseheads approach Indy.

Quarterback

If Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky are still  the only quarterbacks on the roster (with apologies to Mike Hartline) by the time the Packers roll into town, then you can bet the Colts are still planning on Manning to be ready for the Houston opener on September 11.  If not, then we may get to see Brett Favre suit up against his former team and understudy Aaron Rodgers.  I’m kidding.   Maybe.

Running Back

There is a glut of bodies vying to carry the ball right now, and the competition is strong.   Joseph Addai is obviously the featured back, but Delone Carter looks like a brute and potential star.   Local product Darren Evans has also made a strong case for playing time, which Javarris James and Donald Brown have been so-so.  Watch the running game closely on Friday.

Defensive Line

As many observers commented after the Redskins game, the defensive line is in mid-season form, surrendering more than 200 yards on the ground to Washington.  Obviously, the line is still a problem, and with DT Drake Nevis’ strong play, there seems to be a place in the starting lineup for the rookie.  Can the Colts regroup and stifle the Packers RBs?

Offensive Line

The offensive line, too, is a work in progress.   The Colts struggled again on third-and-short against the `Skins, but at least here there may be a more clear path to healing.   Rookie Anthony Castonzo has been installed at LT, and Ben Ijalana is waiting in line at RT.   The guards have been shuffled, too, as Indy tries to get the right mix, and that should continue against Green Bay.

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We won’t see Manning on the field this week, but we should have a better feeling for the true expectation level for this Colts team a week from now.   Hopefully, the Blue and White will look a little rosier by then.

• Curtis Painter looked bad early in the first quarter, and the Pierre Garcon made him look good with a ridiculous catch.
• Jerry Hughes added little credence to the reports that he is turning things around this season.   Looked pretty bad.
• Chad Spann muffed a ball in the end zone and was pretty pedestrian on his other kickoff returns.  Poor showing on special teams in first half.
• Spann redeemed himself somewhat with strong running and pass-catching in first drive or second half.   He could go either way but probably needs to contribute on ST to stick with team.
• Joe Lefeged made some decent plays but looks inexperienced.  Of course, he is.
• Drake Nevis looked like a real Colt: undersized, but making plays and pressuring the QB.
• Donald Brown actually showed a little running pop for a change.
• Young O-line did good job of buying time for QBs and RBs.   Strength here could be difference between Super Bowl and missing playoffs.
• Stop me if you’ve heard this before … third-and-one, up the middle, no gain.   Ugh!

Colts-Rams is on!

The Colts will finally get back on the field for semi-real tomorrow night when they visit the St. Louis Rams for their first pre-season game of 2011.  Here are the Colts angles I’ll be watching closely.

Offensive Line

This has become a real area of concern over the last few seasons, and that’s especially true with an ailing Peyton Manning still PUP.   I’ll take the Colts at their depth-chart word and assume that Jeff Linkenbach will start at LT and that Ryan Diem will start at RT, but I expect to see a lot of rookies Anthony Castonzo and Ben Ijalana in tomorrow night’s game.  I also wouldn’t mind seeing a little of undrafted free agent center Jake Kirkpatrick.  The development of these three will be key to the Colts’ future success, particularly in the case of the two tackles.

Quarterbacks

Yeah, whoever backs up Manning *should* be your basic scrubini, but this is a more important position than in most years.  Manning is injured, aging and rusty, so he may not take every snap this season.   Curtis Painter has done little to instill any confidence, Dan Orlovksy has directional issues, Nate Davis couldn’t stick with the 49ers and rookie Mike Hartline has had some legal problems and went undrafted.  The Colts may keep three QBs on the roster this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they need every one of them.

Running Backs

Joseph Addai is a given, but Donald Brown is not.  In a way, Brown is to the Colts what Lance Stephenson is to the Pacers: the club keeps telling us how good he is, but he continues to deliver very little.   I’m anxious to see what Delone Carter can do in some live action, and I think he at least has a chance to solve most of Indy’s short yardage problems, assuming the line is not more of just a point.

Defensive Line

DE Jerry Hughes is looking to prove that his disappointing rookie season was an aberration and earn a rotation spot with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.  Free agent pick-up Jamaal Anderson also hopes to be in the mix at DE.  At tackle, the Colt took a chance on Tommie Harris to see if he can help plug the run defense, and, if he can, the Colts could be more dangerous than ever this season.

Secondary

The Colts have lost safety Bob Sanders and cornerback Kelvin Hayden since last season ended, and now they have to make the existing pieces work.  That shouldn’t be such a big deal at safety, because Sanders has been a non-factor for three years.  Whether Melvin Bullitt and Antoine Bethea play much against the Rams is yet to be seen, but they should be the starters going into the season.  The situation at CB is a little dicier, where Jerraud Powers is the only sure thing right now.  Jacob Lacey is listed at the top of the depth chart on the left side, but Justin Tryon will probably get a hard look, too.  There should be a lot of action against the DBs on Saturday courtesy of Sam Bradford, so we could see quite a few different guys out there in various situations.

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Regardless of what happens against the Rams, isn’t it great, finally, to be able to discuss an actual game?  Enjoy the action!