The Indianapolis Colts are scheduled to be on television five times this year, but if Sunday night was any indication of how the season is going to go, who wants to watch a team that is going to come out of the locker room slow? The Indianapolis Colts were unable to protect Andrew Luck from being sacked and knocked down. The Colts were missing a main part of their defense, Robert Mathis, who is out for four games due to a violation of the NFL’s drug policy, but that shouldn’t matter, as the Denver Broncos are in the same situation with Wes Welker. Manning was able to get adjusted, but the Colts defense wasn’t able to get adjusted without Mathis. One wonders how Robert Mathis felt last night when Luck was being knocked around and put on his back by the Broncos. It will be interesting to listen to Chuck Pagano with the voice of the Colts’, Bob Lamey, on the home of the Colts, 1070 WFNI and 97.1 the HANK.

A.Q. Shipley, the Colts’ starting center, is young and he’ll get used to the war, but he is not Jeff Saturday, who now works for ESPN. Fans can see him on NFL Live.

When the Colts play Peyton Manning, they had better come prepared to play all four quarters, and the defense better be ready to get Manning off the field. The Colts’ defense was not. This writer would give the Colts’ “D” a D minus. Manning has had all summer to sit and think about what Seattle did to him. So of course, Manning is going to come out with guns blazing, which is what he did last night. The Colts were never in the game until the second half, when they made some adjustments. The defense seemed to get a hold of what Peyton was doing, and the offense stepped up, but it was too little, too late. The Indianapolis Colts have to be ready to go from the opening kick off, or else it will be a long season.

If the Indianapolis Colts are going to go 12-4, like most of the media have them picked to go, they need to tighten stuff up at Lucas Oil Stadium for Monday Night Football when the Philadelphia Eagles come flying in to pay Luck and the Colts a visit.