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**Spearit** · 08-20-2007, 11:30 AM

No Lombardi Trophy being awarded to the winner.

"Probably not any flyovers," Colts center Jeff Saturday added with a grin. "Probably not the same [atmosphere] surrounding the game either."

It is what it is, and all the hype ESPN can muster for its prime-time broadcast won't change that.

"It's the second preseason game," quarterback Peyton Manning said.

That means another opportunity for Colts coach Tony Dungy and his staff to evaluate a roster loaded with personnel that is long on potential but short on experience. Thirty-nine Colts have never stepped on the field for a regular-season game, and several will be asked to make a difference when the regular season opens Sept. 6.

Manning and many of the front-line players are expected to play into the early part of the second quarter before yielding the field to backups and other assorted subs. Bears coach Lovie Smith is likely to follow a similar game plan with his personnel.

For at least the first quarter, the majority of players who participated in Super Bowl XLI in Miami on Feb. 4 should work up a sweat.

The fact that the coaching staff is evaluating so many fresh faces is another reason to downplay the Super Bowl rematch angle.

"This is not a rematch of the Super Bowl," Saturday said. "The Super Bowl was played last February. A lot of players have changed.

"These are two new teams that are trying to get their timing and their team chemistry put together. That's really all it will be about."

**Spearit** · 08-20-2007, 11:37 AM

August 20, 2007

Colts notebook
Preseason: Sorgi's time to shine
Colts backup QB knows his playing time, and even his practice reps, diminish once the season begins
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The reality of the situation is twofold for Jim Sorgi: There's no chance for upward mobility in the Indianapolis Colts' quarterback pecking order, and there's no time like the present to help solidify his position at No. 2.

Charting the Colts' preseason issues

• For starters: How will the front-liners on offense and defense fare against the Bears? Each team is expected to play its starters into the early part of the second quarter.
• Backup backs: Running back Kenton Keith is expected to see his first action of the preseason as he, DeDe Dorsey and Clifton Dawson vie to be Joseph Addai's backfield complement. Who's No. 2?
• Big Ed's encore: Rookie defensive tackle Ed Johnson took an impressive first step last week at Dallas at helping replace Anthony McFarland. Is there more from the Penn State product?

Peyton Manning and most of the team's front-line players are expected to be on the field for approximately 20-25 plays tonight against the Chicago Bears in the RCA Dome. Then, Sorgi should get the call.

His challenge is to make the most of what he gets during the preseason. Once the regular season begins, Manning shoulders the vast majority of the repetitions.
"The preseason is more about play time,'' said Sorgi, who has been Manning's backup since being selected in the sixth round of the 2004 draft. "The reps are still few and far between (in practice), but the play time is in abundance. That's what you have to take from this.
"But even that is coming to an end. It'll all be over in about two weeks. It's funny how fast it goes.''
After three seasons, Sorgi's NFL resume remains light: 10 games, 176 plays, 90 pass attempts. Manning has taken every offensive snap in 122 of 144 regular-season games (8,832 of 9,078 snaps), including all 1,011 in 2006.
During the preseason, Sorgi has appeared in 10 games, completing 74-of-148 passes for 740 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions.
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Chicago return standout Devin Hester did not return a punt or kickoff in the Bears' preseason opener at Houston. If he gets his first exposure tonight, the Colts won't shy away from the challenge.
Coach Tony Dungy said the team will kick to Hester "if he's back there.

We want to look at our kickoff and punt coverage people and see what they can do. It would give us a chance to go against the best. We'll find out how good we are.''

It hasn't been that long ago that Hester torched the Colts' coverage unit. When Indy opted to kick to him on the opening play of Super Bowl XLI, Hester returned it 92 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time in Super Bowl history a player returned the opening kickoff for a TD.
Out of commission

Nine players who are either injured or recovering from an injury have been ruled out of tonight's game. The list consists of safeties Bob Sanders (shoulder) and Brannon Condren (groin), cornerback Michael Coe (groin), offensive tackle Gabe Hall (knee), linebackers KaMichael Hall (hamstring), Victor Worsley (hamstring) and Tyjuan Hagler (knee) and defensive tackles Tom Johnson (calf) and Ramel Meekins (groin).

**Spearit** · 08-20-2007, 02:23 PM

No NFL team has won more regular season games since 2002 than the Colts (60-20 and 41-36 against the spread). At the same time, Indianapolis has been one of the worst preseason bets and much of that has to do with head coach Tony Dungy.

Dungy takes the exhibition schedule a little less seriously than many of his colleagues and it shows in the team's preseason results. The Colts have lost 11 of 14 preseason contests, including 10 of the last 11, with Dungy calling the shots on the sidelines.

“You have different things you want to accomplish (in the preseason) and winning is one of them, but not the only thing,” Dungy told the Indianapolis Star. “You want to play well. But we have different agendas as coaches.

“My No. 1 thing, early on especially, is trying to decide who’s going to be on the team. That does involve getting guys in different situations, trying to see young guys in pressurized situations to see how they do. That’s something you really can’t do without.”

Position battle

The Bears made a bold move in the offseason when they traded away Thomas Jones. The tailback ran for more than 1,200 yards in each of his two seasons as Chicago’s starting running back but he was deemed expendable with 2005 first-round pick Cedric Benson second on the depth chart.

Chicago no longer has the luxury of a solid backup in case of injury. Benson a physical runner who tries to run over tacklers rather than maneuver around them. If Benson gets hurt Chicago’s rushing attack will have a serious dropoff.

Adrian Peterson is expected to be the primary backup with undersized rookie Garrett Wolf behind both backs. Peterson has never had more than 76 carries in a season during his five-year career, while Wolfe still hasn't proved he can be a solid runner in the pros.

Both Peterson and Wolfe will have to use this preseason to show head coach Lovie Smith they can be depended on when Benson needs a breather.

No answers

The unlikeliest contributor to the Colts' success in the playoffs last year was the team’s defense. No club was worse at defending the run during the regular season but the Colts tightened some screws and allowed only 82.8 rushing yards per game in the playoffs.

“We just started executing better and doing the things we do better,” defensive coordinator Ron Meeks said after practice on Thursday.

It’ll be difficult for the unit to live up to the potential it showed in the postseason, especially after the Colts lost both of their starting cornerbacks to free agency along with starting outside linebacker Cato June.

Hey everyone, come see how good I look!

Chicago fans are excited to see what the defending NFC champs have up their sleeves. The coaching staff can hardly hold back the anticipation to start the season.

“It’s the deepest (team) we’ve had,” Smith told the Chicago Sun-Times. “We have to see how it turns out, but we talk a lot about getting our 53-man roster as strong as we could. I would definitely say that is the case. We have good backups. You want to get in a situation where if you have injuries, it’s not a big dropoff. I think we’re getting closer to that.”

How deep are the Bears? Well, they’ve already traded away two defensive backs during training camp and it’s still an area of strength. Defensive end Alex Brown made the Pro Bowl and notched career-high seven sacks, but still lost his job to Mark Anderson.

**Spearit** · 08-20-2007, 02:24 PM

Away teams are 10-5 so far in this pre-season!

**Spearit** · 08-20-2007, 02:27 PM

Dungy, meanwhile, needs to find replacements for five Super Bowl starters. The biggest hole is left tackle, where the Colts lost three-time Pro Bowler Tarik Glenn to retirement.

Rookie Tony Ugoh, a second-round pick, takes over on Manning's blind side and performed reasonably well against DeMarcus Ware last week. This week, he's challenged by one of the league's best and deepest defenses.

Dungy also wants to see if new starting cornerbacks Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden continue their aggressive play. Bears fans should remember the unheralded Hayden, who picked off Grossman late in the Super Bowl and returned it 56 yards for a TD to seal Chicago's fate.

But both teams have shown preseason results mean little when the regular season starts.

Chicago went 2-2 in 2006 then opened the regular season with seven straight wins - its best start since the 1985 Super Bowl season.

Indianapolis lost eight of nine preseason games in 2005 and 2006 and still managed to become the first team in league history with back-to-back 9-0 starts. The Colts' summer misery continued with last week's 23-10 loss at Dallas, giving them 10 losses in 11 preseason games.

'We'd like to win,' Dungy said. 'Fortunately for us, it has not carried over into the regular season.'

The Bears should also expect a frenzied atmosphere.

Dungy wants to begin establishing dominance at home, and he's expecting an excitable crowd to help in Indy's first home game since winning the AFC title.

'It means a lot when you have people accuse you of pumping up the noise and turning up the heat because that means people are uncomfortable there and that's what you want,' Dungy said.

For Sorgi and the rest of the backups, Monday night's game is about something else - proving they can play.

Because of Manning's ability to stay healthy, Sorgi rarely takes snaps during regular season or postseason games.

That won't be the case Monday night for the Colts' Maytag repairman.

'It's important to me,' he said. 'The first three years, I was trying to get the offense down. Now that I've gotten the offense, I'm trying to get little bits and pieces perfected.'

Just don't expect a Super Bowl performance from the teams trying to defend their conference crowns.

'It really doesn't count for anything, except it's an opportunity for us to get better,' Brown said. 'Obviously, people are going to make a big deal about it because the two teams were in the Super Bowl. They're the defending champs. ... But I haven't seen a difference between the way we prepare. No one's even really talked about it.'

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