With Anthony Gonzalez out of action teams will be double teaming Reggie Wayne all the time.  It didn’t bother Wayne in the season opener as he caught 10 passes for 162 yards (16.2 avg) with a TD grab.  The 30-year old Wayne did a fine job moving up to be the #1 WR with Marvin Harrison slowing down.  The Colts will even need more out of him this season if that is even possible.  Wayne has now played in 126 games in his NFL career (all with the Colts) and he has caught 586 passes for 8,291 yards with 54 TD grabs.  Look for him to add a lot of yards and catches to those career totals this season.

The Colts have lost starting WR Anthony Gonzalez for a while with multiple sprained ligaments in his knee.  He will likely miss several weeks for the Colts.  Gonzalez was expected to replace Marvin Harrison in the starting lineup this season.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Colts last season as the #3 WR and he caught 57 passes for 664 yards (11.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Pierre Garcon is likely to get the first shot to replace Gonzalez in the starting lineup.  He caught 3 passes for 24 yards against the Jaguars last Sunday.  He has played in 15 games (0 starts) in his career with the Colts and he has caught 7 passes for 47 yards (6.7 avg).  Rookie WR Austin Collie out of BYU will likely still be the #3 WR for the Colts for the time being.  He caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) in his NFL debut last Sunday against the Jaguars.  Marvin Harrison is still only a phone call away if Garcon and Collie struggle.

The Colts had to fit tooth and nail to hold off the Jaguars earlier today.  Peyton Manning was using ball control passing as he completed 28 of 38 passes for 301 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Joseph Addai carried the ball 17 times for 42 yards (2.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he lost a fumble.  He also caught 5 passes for 35 yards in this game.  Donald Brown was also busy with 33 yards on 11 carries (3.0 ypc) and he caught 2 passes for 16 yards.  Reggie Wayne was incedible as usual catching 10 passes for 162 yards with 1 TD grab.  The Colts finished up with 365 total yards on offense (71 rushing, 294 passing) in this game.  They also held the ball for 33:56 of this game which helped them grind out the win.

The defense gave a great team effort holding the Jags to only 228 total yards on offense (114 rushing, 114 passing).  Linebacker Gary Brackett led the D with 10 tackles today.

This should be a very interesting game as the Jags always give the Colts everything they can handle.  David Garrard has a new weapon in Torry Holt and he is instantly the best WR he has ever had.  Look for Garrard to use him a lot tomorrow as long as rookie OTs Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton give him time to throw the ball.  The rookie bookends will have their hands full in dealing with DEs Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney.  The best way for the Jags to attack the Colts D is to just go right up the middle with Maurice Jones-Drew and Garrard in the running game.  Drew will give Colts’ linebackers fits all day long.

The Colts would love to get the running game tomorrow after it was not much help last year.  But, the Colts will likely come out passing, attacking the Jags D with WRs Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez and TE Dallas Clark.  Look for Austin Collie to have an important role as the #3 WR starting tomorrow.  Joseph Addai better come to play tomorrow or rookie Donald Brown could just push him out of the way. 

PREDICTION:  INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 30, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 27

The Colts looked like they didn’t want to play this game.  Jim Sorgi got his first action of the pre-season completing 11 of 19 passes for 119 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 10 yards (5.0 ypc) but he lost a fumble.  Curtis Painter completed 5 of 9 passes for 43 yards in this game.  RB Lance Ball led the Colts in rushing with 31 yards on 9 carries (3.4 ypc).  WR Taj Smith led the way for the Colts in the passing game with 5 catches for 59 yards (11.8 avg) with a TD.  The Colts finished up this game with only 205 total yards on offense (79 rushing, 126 passing).

CB Jamie Silva was all over the field for the Colts as he led them with 14 tackles and a sack.  The good news for the defense is that they only gave up 93 yards passing.  The bad news is that was because the Bengals rushed for 296 yards on 43 carries (6.9 ypc)!  The Colts finished the pre-season with a 1-3 record.