The fourth preseason game for the Indianapolis Colts is about evaluation more than preparation, meaning the team’s starters will play sparingly when Indianapolis plays host to Cincinnati Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Young players and rookie free agents will play extensively. With that in mind, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser offers five storylines for the Colts entering the game. . .

1. Jerry Hughes. This entry doesn’t involve a roster spot, because without question Hughes — the Colts’ first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft — makes the team and he’s an integral part of the Colts’ future. He’s expected to play extensively against the Bengals in the preseason finale, reason being he’s still at that stage of rookie development for a pass rusher where he needs extensive repetitions. “Now everybody is just as big, just as strong, just as fast,” Hughes told Phil Richards of The Indianapolis Star this week. “You’re always looking for that edge to get you by. I need to learn a little bit of everything. It’s pass rush moves, learning to read keys, everything.” Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said the Colts believe Hughes will develop into a big-time pass rusher, but that the process will take take time. “He has to learn just how to best use his skill set, and I think all those guys that have that pass rush ability have to find out what their niche is, have to find out what their knockout punch is, and then be able to develop a counter,” Caldwell said. Hughes led the nation in sacks as a junior at Texas Christian with double-digit sacks each of the last two seasons. Colts President Bill Polian said Hughes has the ability to be a big-time pass rusher, but — like Caldwell — said that any rusher needs time to develop. “He has a long way to go in terms of dealing with the sophistication of the pass protection,” Polian said. “Dwight Freeney struggled. Robert Mathis struggled. . . . Pass protection is so good at this level, as opposed to being mediocre at best at the collegiate level. The reason I say mediocre — I don’t want to cause a firestorm here — is college players have been doing it far less long. Pro left tackles play a long time. They pass protect for a long time against great athletes. College players are just learning the trade. It’s much more difficult to do at this level. He will struggle. You can see it. He has to learn counter moves. He has to learn when to exert leverage and when to lose speed. All of that is still to come. That said, he’s very smart. He’s very meticulous in his work habits. He goes about things in a highly professional and organized manner. I think that he’s going to be a very, very good football player for a long time. You will see flashes this year, but I’m guessing only flashes.”

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THE DAILY DIGEST | Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a look at what they’re saying about — and what’s going on around — the defending AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts . . .

INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said there will come a time to not discuss the NFL’s new umpire placement policy. But that time is not yet now.

Manning, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player the past two seasons, said as long as discussion is going on at the league level, then there is something to be gained from discussion at other levels.

And that discussion was the focus when Manning met with the media Monday.

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The Indianapolis Colts weren’t making excuses on Thursday.

Yes, the 59-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers came in a preseason game, and yes, there were a bunch of starters out and not a little weirdness going on – weird, as in, “testing-the-new-rules” weirdness – but one thing Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell rarely does is paint an undeserved positive picture.

And make no mistake:

Late Thursday night, Caldwell wasn’t feeling all that positive.

“You have to call it like it was, like you see it,” Caldwell told Colts Radio following the Colts’ third loss in as many preseason games. “There were too many penalties . . . We turned the ball over and gave them some opportunities and short fields to score points.

“We were not as sharp and as crisp as we’d like to be across the board.”

By the third quarter, it was hard to remember the Colts once led 17-7, and for a time looked efficient on offense.

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The third preseason game is the most important in the NFL, and it is with that as a backdrop that the Indianapolis Colts travel to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., to play the Packers Thursday. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN, and in preparation for that, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser offers five storylines for the Colts entering the game. . .

1. Pierre Garcon. A lot of these storylines will be ones that could still be dangling when the regular season begins, which makes sense, because the third game of the preseason is the last that will look and somewhat feel like a regular-season game. The storylines also will deal with the Colts players returning on Thursday from injuries, of which Garcon is one. He missed the first two preseason games, and a storyline on Thursday will be how the Colts line up and play at receiver upon his return. The Colts this season have four receivers – Garcon, four-time Pro Bowl selection Reggie Wayne, second-year veteran Austin Colline and fourth-year veteran Anthony Gonzalez – who are widely considered quality receivers, and much off-season speculation has been how they will fit together with Gonzalez returning from an injury. The projections largely have been that Garcon and Wayne will play extensively on the outside, with Collie and Gonzalez playing more in the slot, but Gonzalez has started on the outside for the Colts and Collie has worked there extensively in the preseason after working there in training camp. The guess is that the Colts will work formations with receivers this season that the team hasn’t shown before, the idea being to get the best receivers on the field in the best formations possible. With all four expected to play together for the first time this preseason, Thursday’s game could provide first hints to how what many consider the deepest group of wide receivers in quarterback Peyton Manning’s career could be utilized.

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ANDERSON, Ind. — Each week on Examiner.com, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser offers seven thoughts on all things surrounding the Indianapolis Colts. Without further delay, the third Magnificent Seven of the 2010 season, this one looking at seven issues after two preseason games of training camp . . .

7. A real test. It’s a truth with which serious NFL fans almost certainly are familiar, but if there is an important preseason game for the Colts this season, it’s Thursday. And not because it’s in Lambeau Field in Green Bay against the Green Bay Packers. It’s because it’s the third game of the preseason, which means it’s the closest thing to a regular-season game for the Colts. Most teams approach the third preseason game as something close to a dress rehearsal for the regular season, and that’s true of Indianapolis. The Colts game-planned for the Packers this past week, something of which they did little for the first two preseason games, and the starters likely will play into the third quarter. That makes the first half an important gauge of the Colts’ readiness for the regular season. So far, the team has looked ready despite two losses. The first-team offense has looked precise and productive in six series, and while the first-team defense allowed two long touchdowns against the Bills, there have been good signs there, too. A rough first half wouldn’t be reason to panic and a glowing first half won’t guarantee a Super Bowl, but how the Colts fare early Thursday will dictate how they feel much of the next two weeks as they prepare for the regular-season opener. 

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INDIANAPOLIS — Around some NFL organizations, this might be cause for concern.

Around the Indianapolis Colts, it’s normal, expected and all part of the plan.

And while the Colts may not necessarily love the idea of losing a preseason game, and while they may wish their preseason record wasn’t 4-20 since 2005, the dislike of the concepts is a lot more about distaste and discomfort than panic of concern.

Of the latter two, there is neither.

So, the Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills 34-21 on Thursday?

So, they lost the preseason opener, 37-17, to San Francisco?

The Colts really deep, deep down care about neither, and although all NFL teams say they care little about the preseason on some level, the Colts really, really don’t.

And that’s OK. Because what they do care about, they’re pretty good at.

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