The Indianapolis Colts had an interesting week after a tough 27-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns in their first home game of the 2011 NFL season. The Colts struggled a bit against the Browns, but overall looked much improved from their week one loss to the Houston Texans. The Colts now prepare for a big time week 3 match-up on prime time television. Indianapolis as a whole seems to have finally come to terms with the fact that star quarterback Peyton Manning won’t be playing in the coming weeks, and possibly for quite a while during this season. This means that other players will need to step up and lead the team in the way that Manning did up until this point. We are going to take a look at some of the more interesting story lines to come out of Indianapolis this week.

Brackett Likes Growth in Linebackers

Colts middle linebacker Gary Brackett has played with quite a few linebackers in his time, but likes what he sees out of the two second year players in Kavell Connor and Pat Angerer. Connor was a 7th round draft choice back in 2010 out of Clemson University, and Angerer was a second round pick out of Iowa back in 2010. Both players have played well so far this season, as Angerer has a total of 21 tackles and 1 forced fumble, and Connor has 15 tackles, 2 pass deflections, and a forced fumble as well.

Colts Prepare for Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night

The Colts will now face one of their toughest tests of the 2011 season, as they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. The Steelers started off their season with a tough loss to their rivals, the Baltimore Ravens; but rebounded with an impressive 24-0 win against the Seattle Seahawks. Pittsburgh is the defending AFC Champions, and their defense is one of the best out there. The Colts are taking as much time as they can to prepare for this tough Steelers defense, and should come out ready to go in week 3.

Colts Focus on Moving Forward

In the teams’ recent history, the Colts have been known for fast starts, as they started 5-0 in 2003, 13-0 in 2005, 9-0 in 2006, 7-0 in 2007, and 14-0 in 2009. But it hasn’t always been that easy, as the Colts started 2008 with a 3-4 record, and finished the year at 12-4. This Colts team is focused on getting past their first two losses of the season, and getting back to playing playoff caliber football.