Colts: 'Too young to rest' in finale vs. Texans
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| Colts coach Chuck Pagano emotionally announced his return in a press conference Monday. (AP) |
It may prove difficult for the Indianapolis Colts to come down off their emotional high this week. In the span of just a couple of days, the Colts got playoff eligible and saw their coach, Chuck Pagano, return after missing the previous three months while receiving cancer treatments.
Indianapolis may need to be reminded that it has a game Sunday. However, coaches and players alike insist it will be business as usual this week leading up to the regular-season finale at home against the Houston Texans.
“Oh no, none whatsoever," offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said in regards to Pagano's return disrupting game preparation. "It's just added energy to it. At this time of the season, we are a tired, beat up football team. We could use a little more energy and Chuck's going to give that to us.”
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Veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne agreed with Arians' sentiment, saying that he expected Pagano's return to be inspiring, not a distraction.
"I hope when he's out there Wednesday, it kind of motivates us as a team," Wayne said. "We've got our leader back, we know how much he had to put into getting back. Hopefully we put the same amount of energy into going out there and continuing to win games. So I think this is a great thing.”
Furthermore, Wayne also insisted that, despite the Colts being guaranteed as the No. 5 seed, Indianapolis has no desire to hold guys out in the finale.
“We're too young to rest," Wayne said. "We probably need to put everybody out there and have them continue to play. I don't think we can afford to do that so I think, me personally, I can't speak for everybody but me I'm built to play. Hopefully I go out there and play and continue to make some plays here and there and hopefully I'll have everyone else out there with me.”
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Colts blogger Evan Hilbert, follow @CBSColts.
