The Indianapolis Colts are officially done with their final preseason game of the 2011 season. While they ended the preseason with a 1-3 record, the real story was the young players who made some big strides throughout for the Colts. There were quite a few questions surrounding quarterbacks Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky, and some of those were answered by the time the preseason came to an end. The Colts now have the next week to prepare for a big time opening week match-up against their divisional opponents, the Houston Texans. Let’s take a look at some of the big topics that came out of this past week from the Colts camp.

Kerry Collins Gets Work in Final Preseason Game

There was a question of how much playing time that Collins would get as the Colts entered their fourth and final preseason game. This was answered as he started the game and got to see a good amount of work. Collins threw the ball 10 times, and completed five of those passes for 45 yards. He wasn’t incredibly impressive, but he wasn’t bad either. It will be interesting to see which quarterback will start in week 1 if Manning is unable to go.

Peyton Manning Passes Physical

In great news for Colts fans, Peyton Manning passed his physical which allowed him to come off of the Physically Unable to Perform list. He can now practice with the team, and as long as everything continues to go to plan, he should be back within the first few weeks of the Colts 2011 season. His week 1 status for the match-up against the Texans is still unknown to this point though.

Colts Rally to Win Final Preseason Game

In an impressive come from behind win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Colts ended the 2011 preseason on a high note. Dan Orlovsky finished the game completing 10 of 18 passes for 178 yards, and the game winning touchdown with just over a minute remaining. While the preseason games are really just to find out which players will be getting extra playing time in the regular season, and also to prepare your team for the regular season kickoff; it is always nice to take down the win in the final game before the real deal begins.

Taj Smith’s Final Preseason Game Was a Good One

Taj Smith was possibly the most impressive player in the final game of the preseason, as he pulled in 8 catches, for 140 yards, and 1 touchdown. Even more impressive was the fact that his touchdown came with just over a minute remaining (from Orlovsky), and went on to be the game winner. We won’t know for sure until later this week or early next week, but it seems as though Smith has earned his place on the team.