He meandered through the heaps of gym bags and towels and finally found veteran Jarrett Bush inside the visiting locker room. Green Bay Packers cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. called Bush's name and held out his arm.
"We're good, we're good," Whitt said. "Don't worry about it."
Bush nodded his head and the two tried to keep perspective. Whitt preaches risk-taking. He prefers his cornerbacks act on instinct, on their knee-jerk reaction. In moderation, it's perfectly fine to bite on a route.
On this night, though, gambling and sloppy play hampered the Packers' secondary. Curtis Painter, essentially Indianapolis' third-string quarterback, had a field day in the Packers' uneven 24-21 win at Lucas Oil Stadium Friday. In three straight games against largely unproven quarterbacks - Colt McCoy, Kevin Kolb and Painter - the Packers have surrendered 386 yards on 26-of-42 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Not exactly a healthy trend with Drew Brees and the high-voltage New Orleans Saints lurking around the corner.
"It's nothing big," Bush said. "But it's nothing minor, either. We'll keep striving and keep moving forward."
If Peyton Manning (neck) were around and/or the Packers' secondary was still banged up, Friday night's dud could be excused. Instead, it was Painter - more punch line than quarterback prospect - making Green Bay pay. The 2009 sixth-round pick appeared to be the anti-Matt Flynn. He hasn't made strides in the preseason and consequently hasn't gained the trust of management.
With Manning questionable for the season opener, the Colts lured 38-year-old Kerry Collins out of retirement. Hard to blame them. Before Friday, Painter was just 8 of 16 for 95 yards with an interception this preseason, good for a 42.4 passer rating. Against the Packers, however, Painter at least gave his coaches pause.
Buoyed by a string of big plays, the former Purdue quarterback went 11 of 21 for 171 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Through three drives, Painter completed only one of his first five passes and was sacked by Clay Matthews. Then, his deer-in-the-headlights play gave way to downfield bravado.
In the second quarter, facing a third and 9, Painter hit a wide-open Reggie Wayne for a 57-yard touchdown. Three Green Bay defenders converged on a slot receiver, allowing Wayne to squirt free.
Safety Morgan Burnett took full blame for the play. Instead of staying in his deep half, he crept up. Lesson learned.
"That was on me all the way," Burnett said. "I should have stayed deep in my half. It's just a routine play. I need to really work on that. I can't put too much thought in it. Just need to bounce back."
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