Colts preseason off to a good start

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - For a pre-season opener, this one could not have gone any better on both sides of the ball.

Defense was solid, and Andrew Luck was so comfortable, so cool in the pocket throwing a touchdown on his first pass, just like Peyton Manning. He also avoided the pass rush in leading his new look team to an impressive 38-3 victory over St. Louis at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"Every time we step on the field we want to win, I don't care what the stakes are whether it counts or not. We just try to come in, get better every day. We're happy, obviously, these guys can enjoy this," said coach Chuck Pagano, making his head coaching debut, but his quarterback was quick to point out the game didn’t count.

"It's a pre-season game, let’s not get too excited about anything because no one goes back and looks at the pre-season for anything. But to get out here and put some good stuff on film is beneficial," said Luck who was 11-16 passing for 188 yards and two scores.

Wideout Austin Collie thinks it was nice to be a part of a new start this way.

"It was. I think we were looking to come out here and to see where we're at and I think it gives us a good idea, still, there's things to be worked on, but as far as an offensive standpoint, I thought we did well. I thought we jelled together nicely," said Collie, who caught one of Luck’s touchdown passes.

Robert Mathis thinks his team could not have asked for anything more than that on both sides of the ball.

"Oh yeah, we're not complacent, we're not going to get complacent, but it is the first pre-season game at that. We did a lot of good things today, and we just look to build on it," Mathis said. "Very proud of the boys the way they came to play today."

Reggie Wayne was a bit more reflective. "Those fans lost some good players, lost a lot of favorite players from the previous teams, we got to give them something to sit back and smile for us so it's a good step in that direction and hopefully we can continue to win some games."

A rare pre-season win for the Colts, only their 6th in the last seven years, but it may have come at a price. Starters Mike McGlynn and Pat Angerer along with Delone Carter all left with injuries and didn't return.