Week one in the preseason and woes are expected. As Peyton Manning exited to the sidelines the Colts prospects as backup quarterbacks came to the field. From one of Jim Sorgi’s first throws a sideline camera would show Peyton Manning shaking his head. If Manning would have been wearing a voice headset he would have been going off more than once.

The Colts may not expect it, but Peyton Manning is not inevitable. An injury could occur and even if it is minor, they are not prepared. Neither Jim Sorgi or Shaun King has the capable skills of holding this team together for a three or four game span. If the Colts can’t see it, they are in some deep trouble. The wisest move for them would be to evaluate other quarterbacks that may be dumped during preseason or even finding a viable free agent quarterback left.

It does not seem like a big deal right now to the Colts as Peyton Manning has never been seriously hurt. He has a smooth delivery and never takes a big hit. In fact, he gets sacked rarely because of the Colts style of offense. This season though, he is not going to have it that easy. The Colts have a new running game that is going to take awhile to develop. On Thursday night, both Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes looked ineffective. The whole offense did though, and they’ll benefit greatly with more time and action with Peyton Manning as the preseason goes on.

The big thing for the Colts on Thursday was the offensive line. St. Louis’s defense was in on the Colts all night long and the line never could adjust. They did as bad a job as you could expect for the first game of the preseason. For all the talk and ridicule Manning gave at the offensive line last season, things have not become better yet at least. They should dig in and become more familiar with each other, hopefully.

A nice quarterback for the Colts to maybe take a look at, was the quarterback opposing them tonight in Ryan Fitzpatrick. The talk is that he may be the odd man out with Scott Linehan in St Louis. If that’s the case, Fitzpatrick should be a nice addition to a multiple of teams including the Colts. He showed promise last year as a rookie in some spot duty action, and did so as well in the Rams first preseason game.

We just can’t believe though that the Colts have not pursued a solid backup. Tony Dungy must have been assured of Shaun King from his days with Tampa Bay. But King fell from starter to being waived with Tampa Bay for a reason, and fell out of Arizona quickly for a reason as well. He got lucky his rookie season, plain in simple, and his days as an NFL quarterback are done. He could not be counted on for a game, if he started an entire meaningless preseason game.

Perhaps Manning will be one of the few quarterbacks that somehow evades injuries. Then again, besides Brett Favre who has been able to avoid injury at the quarterback position his entire career? If you’re the Colts and want to gain that critical home field advantage you better analyze all outlets. A few games without Peyton Manning could be a huge difference in playoff seedings.

Picture Jim Sorgi or Shaun King starting critical games in midst of a strong start by Manning? They would not be able to handle it, and would be lucky to win a game. Sign someone now, Indianapolis.