Curtis Painter’s performance in his first NFL start Monday was impressive, considering he was under constant pressure.
The offensive line just wasn’t doing well, even before Anthony Castonzo and Ben Ijalana were lost to injuries.
Imagine what Painter might have done if he had time to get set.
If the Colts (0-4) are going to get their first win today when they play host to Kansas City (1-3), they will have to give Painter more time in the pocket and open running lanes for Joseph Addai.
Those two goals could be hard to achieve without left tackle Castonzo (ankle), backup Ijalana (knee) and, probably, right guard Ryan Diem (ankle).
“I don’t think that’s a concern,” said Painter, who threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-17 loss at Tampa Bay. “The guys here are pretty good. I think we’ll be all right.”
However, it’s tough to feel confident about a Colts offense that ranks 30th with 270 yards per game, especially now that it will likely move a shaky right tackle, Jeff Linkenbach, to left tackle and put Michael Toudouze, who was unemployed last week, into the starting lineup.
“You can’t coach in a way in which you’re saying, ‘I’m going to wait for the cavalry.’ You’ve got to fight and fight now,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “Get yourself in a position to win, because … you sell the rest of the group short if you don’t.
“We expect the guys who have to step up and replace (others) to do it and do it in a manner in which we expect, which is top-quality work. More often than not, we’ve gotten that when you expect it. When you don’t, then you will probably get less.”
The good news for the Colts, who have given up the ninth most sacks in the NFL with 11, is that the Chiefs have only five sacks, second fewest in the league.
But with the Colts throwing the ball 64.3 percent of the time, the Chiefs will have more opportunities to try to break through a suspect offensive line.
“It’s tough to have musical chairs on the offensive line and expect the level of play to stay (where you want),” Colts tight end Dallas Clark said. “But that’s their job. ‘Next man in’ has been our motto.”
