Colts prepare for Packers without head coach Chuck Pagano

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI) - It’s Wednesday of another week in the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts, despite difficult circumstances, are trying to approach it that way.

The presence of head coach Chuck Pagano might not physically be at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center but the foundation he’s laid is ready to take on one of the NFL’s most formidable tests this weekend.

“It’s clockwork once we get in here,” cornerback Jerraud Powers said. “We’ve got a job to uphold ourselves. It’s Wednesday of a game week and we are in here getting ready for Green Bay.”

The Colts held a two-hour practice Wednesday afternoon in preparation for this Sunday’s end to a three-game home stand.

Following the end of practice, the Colts huddled at midfield and gave their coach a salute to let him know their attention is where he would want it to be.

“All of our thoughts are with him. We break it down after practice on ‘Chuck,” quarterback Andrew Luck said. “I think a lot of guys are going to be playing for him for a lot of games to come.”

“We also realize that he’d be disappointed in us if we weren’t putting a full effort into practice or maybe getting too low about what’s going on or too emotional about it. So we try to go to work, try to do right and put the work in because I think that’s what he would want.”

Focusing on the Packers defense is what Luck is set on the rest of the week and he knows the task that he and the offense is up against.

Green Bay boasts the sixth-best pass defense in the league and outside linebacker Clay Matthews leads the NFL with seven sacks in four games.

“What the Packers do on defense, the turnovers they create, the negative plays they force offenses into, the sacks, you better be on the screws,” Luck said. “You better be focused on what’s going on especially with Charles Woodson roaming around, Clay Matthews and a lot of ball hawks on their defense.”

The Colts defense is hoping to get back a few of its regulars on Sunday in going up against one of the most potent offenses in the league.

Outside linebacker Dwight Freeney was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and inside linebacker Pat Angerer saw limited action in hopes of playing his first regular season game of 2012.

“That’s the plan,” Angerer said of hoping to play against the Packers. “The big thing we’ll see is how (the foot) is (Thursday). Today will be the big day with practicing and then we’ll see how sore I am.”

Angerer admitted that emotions will be running high for many Colts players on Sunday. Keeping those emotions in check and playing a full 60 minutes is exactly what Pagano wants to see.

“If we take care of our business, it’ll allow him to focus on himself and be healthy,” Angerer said. “Obviously, we want him back but most importantly we want him healthy. We can ease his tensions a little by playing hard and winning.”

It might be a young Colts team that has nearly a dozen rookies and first-year players taking on significant roles but it’s youth hasn’t shown in dealing with a trying week.

“This bunch is a resilient bunch and they know how to work,” interim head coach/offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said. “They came to work Monday and we had an excellent practice after hearing the devastation with the news that they got. Then I felt very good in the meetings today with the focus.”

“We don’t need to do anything extra. We just need to play, coach, every day and prepare like we have and not get caught up with snot bubbles and tears, they don’t beat anybody. We all want to win the game for a lot of reasons but we can’t put extra expectations on it because of what has happened.”

Arians is in the midst of his first week as a coach who is simply ‘expanding his role’ during Pagano’s absence.

This is Arians 20th year in the NFL and the outcry of care he has seen for his friend is something that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

“People don’t realize the brotherhood to this business, especially those guys like Chuck and myself who have been in it a while and have moved 13 times,” Arians said.

“You meet a lot of guys and when you’re on a staff, truly guys become your brothers. It shows the class of those individuals and the class of our profession. I’m extremely touched by the community and all the support that they’ve shown. We’re going to do our best to represent and do what it takes to make everything work.”