The Sports Xchange

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts’ coaching staff wanted to evaluate a lot of players in the team’s opening preseason game at Philadelphia.

Mission accomplished.

Coach Chuck Pagano also wanted to win the game. Well, that objective fell a ways short. The Eagles took advantage of some sloppy play by Indianapolis and posted a 36-10 victory.

“The knee-jerk reaction is, like they say, you are never as good as you look and you are never as bad as you look,” Pagano said Monday.

“Despite the loss, there were some positive things in the game. There were some good things. And there were some things that we need to do better. It’s early (in the preseason). We know that. And it’s good to know where we’re at.”

The coach added that, while evaluation is key to training camp and the preseason, he still wants to win.

“You want to build confidence, but our goal is always the same,” Pagano said. “And you also want to be efficient. We’re disappointed that the outcome was what it was.

“With a 90-man roster, you’re trying to get everybody evaluated. It was great to see the guys who got the majority of the reps. You’ve got to get them evaluated because you’re going to have to get rid of some very good people (at the end of training camp).”

Several starters either didn’t play due to nagging injuries or were held out of the game for other reasons. Still, it was the overall sloppiness of the game that told the story.

There were some good performances by some of the Indianapolis rookies — most notably wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, running back Josh Robinson and inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera.

Said Pagano, “Robinson had a good game. He showed some burst, made some good decisions out there. He played well with the ball and he played well without the ball. It was good to see him get out there.”

Herrera got off to a good start, but the heat and humidity in Philadelphia took its toll.

“Amarlo played well early but got tired and got sloppy in the second half,” the coach said. “But he showed some flash. Both of those guys played well. But there’s still a long way to go.”

Dorsett continues to impress as well. But he coughed up the football after making one reception in the first half.

Moving forward, the Colts will have practice Tuesday before having a two-day joint camp Wednesday and Thursday with the Chicago Bears in Indianapolis. The teams then will face off in a preseason game at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night.

“It’s a great opportunity to go against another team,” Pagano said. “It’s great competition and you get to see some different bodies. And you get to see another scheme and the different matchups.

“I hope that the weather holds out and we get great practices. We want to be competitive, but you have to be smart about it.”

–Veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck struggled during extensive playing time against Philadelphia on Sunday. Hasselbeck completed just 8 of 17 passes for 72 yards. He was not satisfied with his performance.

“Way too many missed opportunities,” Hasselbeck said. “It’s preseason and you don’t game-plan and you don’t study. And I know for myself, I got fooled, completely fooled, on one coverage.”

Hasselbeck knows it’s early and that mistakes can be fixed.

“There’s a lot to clean up; there’s a lot to work on. There was definitely some positives. Coach (Pagano) talked about a lot of the things we did well post-game in the locker room and he definitely had praise to give around. There was some good stuff, but unfortunately he also had a lot of criticism and a lot of critique and things that we need to do better.”