Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning wants a chance to play. And he wants it this week.

Manning, the Colts’ nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback, was asked Tuesday what he hopes to accomplish in the second game of the 2009 preseason. Last season’s Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player said he primarily wants the Colts’ starting offense to get some extensive playing time as a unit in a game situation.

“One thing that’s important and I think our coaches realized after some of the veterans made the point, ‘This is a new starting unit of guys in there,”’ Manning said. “(Wide receiver) Anthony Gonzalez needs to make a block downfield for Donald Brown. Ryan Lilja needs to high-five Pierre Garcon down the field.

“I think they realize we need to be in there playing together, so when we get to that (season-opening) Jacksonville game (on September 13), we don’t get in the huddle and say, ‘Hey, I’ve never seen you in here before.’ . . .

 The Colts’ offensive starters played six plays in a 13-3 loss to Minnesota Friday, allowing Manning to be sacked three times. Running back Joseph Addai had a 14-yard run, and Manning completed a short pass to rookie wide receiver Austin Collie to convert a third down.

Manning said the offense had been told it would play about 12 plays.

“In my mind, we were looking at a situation where we were going to go one series – if we had a series with a three and out, we’d go another series,” Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said. “We were hoping to string a long drive together. That didn’t occur, so we moved on to the next group.”

While Manning is entering his 12th season, and while there are veterans such as wide receiver Reggie Wayne (ninth season), right tackle Ryan Diem (ninth), center Jeff Saturday (11th) and tight end Dallas Clark (seventh), there are also players such as Collie, wide receiver Pierre Garcon (second) and rookie running back Donald Brown. Six-year veteran guard Ryan Lilja missed last season with a knee injury, and four-year veteran Charlie Johnson is working as the starting left tackle in training camp for the first time.

“I’ve thrown one career pass in a game to Pierre Garcon,” Manning said. “That’s why I was kind of disappointed we kind of pulled the hook the other night. I kind of hope to be in there and play and throw some passes to Austin Collie, so hopefully, we can get that done these next two games.”

Said tight end Dallas Clark, “I  totally agree. Every year’s a new year and every year is new players. We have guys across the board who haven’t played together. We have to get Austin in there in the mix, and just kind of see where we’re going to go for different groups. The only time you can do that is when you’re in game action, game tempo.”

Caldwell said the plan is for the starters to play more extensively Thursday.

“We go through a bit of a progression in that sense,” Caldwell said. “We get them to the point where they obviously have a real good sense of the game. We usually increase the number of reps week to week and this week, we certainly will increase the number of reps we have for our first units.”

Manning said while the starters have worked together through much of the offseason, there is a difference between games and practice.

“I think it’s important,” Manning said. “I know we’re going to play the majority against Detroit (in the third preseason game and probably very little against Cincinnati, so I think this game is important to get a little flow in there. You don’t have to score every single play, but at least get in there. Obviously, you’d like to score, but we’d like to maintain some drives and get some different situations – get some calls, get some checks, just kind of jell a little bit as a unit. It’s not the same old starters. It’s important we get some of that timing, rhythm and cohesiveness these next couple of games.”

IFR Analysis: You got the feeling that Manning wasn’t thrilled with the offense leaving the game after one frustrating series against Minnesota and the offensive linemen made it clear they weren’t happy — either with the performance or its short nature. Manning’s thoughts Tuesday just confirmed that notion. The Colts typically play about a quarter in the second preseason game and considering Manning’s message Tuesday, it would be surprising if they played much less than that Friday. And this is probably the right time for this to become a focus. The offense wasn’t great in the blue-and-white scrimmage two weeks ago and it certainly didn’t look effective last week. And while there’s no reason to panic after one preseason game — the Colts are 3-16 in the preseason since 2005 and have made the playoffs every seasons since 2002 — there definitely is a mood around the Colts that they want to see some efficiency before the season opener.