Shortly after the Colts signed Kerry Collins out of retirement, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne voiced his displeasure at the team not giving Curtis Painter his chance. Not too long ago he took to a Miami radio station to speak his mind again:

"It took me two years to learn this offense," Wayne said. "Now, you mean to tell me you're gonna bring in somebody and he's gonna learn it in 18 days? That just didn't sit right. That just didn't sit right with me. And I know we had Curtis Painter who'd been here for three years. You just gotta give him a shot. We gotta give him a chance."

Curtis Painter is going to get his chance all right, and in front of the whole nation on Monday Night Football.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he does against what I think is a lackluster Tampa team. I've been reading a lot of what the mass media has been saying, and I find it rather appalling. It's almost as if they are a bunch of hyenas circling a wounded wildebeest.

All they want to do is talk about how much the Colts suck. Not only that, they want to talk about how much more they think the Colts will suck with Curtis Painter behind center.

It takes nothing to write about someone or something not doing well; flaws are always obvious. I almost get the sense that some writers are taking their shots just to take them. I sweat, I read five articles from reputable news sources today that had only one line of relevant news in them (Curtis Painter starting). The rest of it was a regurgitation of the Colts missing Peyton Manning and what happened to him.

I haven't always been Curtis Painter's biggest fan. The fact of the matter is, he is a professional and regardless of how much preparation the team gives him, he should be ready when his name is called. That being said, I think he might surprise a few people tonight.

What do you think Sports Fans? Am I nuts? Am I a fool? Or am I a crazy optimist that might be onto something? Let me hear it in the comments section!

At first glance, many of you are probably thinking," Well of course he is going to say the Colts are going to win. No one would bash the focus of their own blog."

Well, if I thought they were going to lose I'd tell you guys. However, if I were to do that, it would make for a pretty dull blog post. Plus, writing stuff like that is no fun either. I'd rather try to figure out what it would take for the boys in blue and white to get that elusive first win.

Last week I thought it would be a stretch for the guys to pull out a win, but they nearly did. I have to wonder if Collins was in the whole game--since he was warm and in the zone (as good as he gets in the zone at least) if he would have hit Garcon on that wide open play towards the end of the game for an easy touchdown.

Even though the team ended up losing due to Curtis Painter missing an easy pass and catch and a costly fumble, I think that he will be the key to the Colts winning this Sunday (now this is also assuming that Collins is out which it appears that he will be).

With reps in practice and some coaching, Painter is not bad. If you read one of my recent posts, you'd know that the man used to throw for nearly 300 yards a game in college. The only thing that has been missing for him is time with the first team which he has gotten this week.

He will not be great, but I think he can be good. Against the Bucs good will be good enough.

In mind the Bucs are the most overrated bunch in football. I know they had a 10-6 record last season and returned largely intact this season, but I don't think they were that good then. Blount is not a prime time running back and he is the best option they have in the backfield.

Their offense in general is not that good; that stats back that assertion up (21st in passing and 23rd in rushing). The Colts defense proved last week that they can do fine against a top-flight offense like the Steelers. I can just see Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Pat Angerer (best football name ever) salivating at the thought of feasting on a lesser offense.

That will be exactly what a Curtis Painter led offense will need. Practice is one thing; Curtis will need some time to work the kinks out in-game. Given that chance (which I believe the D will give him) he will do just fine. It will help if Joseph Addai can run like he did last week when he gained 5.1 yards a carry. I wouldn't mind seeing a little more from Delone Carter as well

Tampa Bay has the 23rd ranked pass defense unit and run defense. Playing against a much lower quality defense than the Steelers will help them get it moving (or at least it better).

If things click, the Colts can do well this Sunday. Heck, I think that they will do okay even if Curtis struggles (I'm not a Bucs fan).

What do you guys think? Do the Colt have shot or am I way off base here?