Colts still winless despite shakeup

New quarterback, new defensive coordinator, same old result for the winless Colts.

More injuries, too.

There were a few bright spots during Indianapolis' 31-24 loss at New England on Sunday. Dan Orlovsky passed for 353 yards and two touchdowns. Pierre Garcon caught nine passes for 150 yards and two scores, though most of those numbers were posted during a rally that fell short after the Colts fell behind 31-3.

The loss dropped the Colts to 0-12 and within one loss of matching their worst start since they moved to Indy in 1984.

They got more bad news Monday night, this time in an already beleaguered secondary. Cornerbacks Jerraud Powers and Terrence Johnson were both placed on injured reserve, ending their seasons. Powers hurt his left elbow just before halftime Sunday. Johnson, who plays in the nickel package, has an undisclosed injury.

''There are probably a few more moves to make and we'll get that situated here soon,'' team vice chairman Bill Polian said during his weekly radio show. ''The nice thing is both players (Powers and Johnson) will be back next year and they're good players.''

Indy did not update the status of starting middle linebacker Pat Angerer or his backup, A.J. Edds. Angerer left during Indy's first defensive series with what appeared to be a right knee injury. He was leading the NFL with 111 tackles heading into Sunday's game.

Edds, a midseason acquisition, replaced Angerer as the defensive signal-caller but hurt his foot.

Polian said he did not have a prognosis on either player.

After a week in which the Colts changed quarterbacks, benching Curtis Painter, and their defensive coordinator, firing Larry Coyer and replacing him with longtime linebackers coach Mike Murphy, the problems looked familiar. Indy had a large deficit to overcome and its defense got ripped again. Tom Brady threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, and Wes Welker had 11 catches for 110 yards.

Same old stuff, like other games during this 0-12 run, and more regrets for the Colts in this lost season. Still, the players saw some positive signs.

''I think that literally, you get on the bus, you start thinking of plays you missed, what could have happened,'' Orlovsky said. ''You can't go back and change it, but it's difficult to swallow. It's never fun. I think the biggest thing is to consciously try to learn from it and work at it and prepare yourself for the future.''

Colts coach Jim Caldwell said Orlovsky was solid in his first start with the team.

''Dan did a nice job,'' he said. ''He did spread the ball around. He threw the ball accurately. Dan did a good job of picking out the right guy to go to. I think he did a good job of spreading it around, and I think those guys did a good job catching it.''

Orlovsky noted that playing at New England isn't easy for anyone.

''That team's probably going to be playing at home there with a chance to go to the Super Bowl, most likely,'' he said. ''To go in there and play well, I guess, is encouraging. It's not like we want to go in there and say, `OK, let's just be in a ballgame.' If we stunk it up and won, that would be better. I think the goal is, no matter what, to win.''

Orlovsky was sacked just twice and had time to throw for much of the game. He credited the offensive line, one of the most criticized parts of the team, for protecting him well.

''They kept me clean and gave me time to try and do what I could do, and the guys on the outside won,'' he said.

The players believe the game showed that the team hasn't given up.

''People can say what they want to say about not playing hard, but I think that pretty much shut that up right there,'' tight end Jacob Tamme said after the game. ''We want to win. It is frustrating that we are not and that we haven't but we are doing everything we can to get over that hump.''

Indy's next game is at Baltimore, a team that is in the hunt for the top seed in the AFC playoffs, on Sunday.

''They are as tough a defensive unit as we'll face,'' Caldwell said.

Caldwell still expects things to change.

''We've still got a lot of football left to go, and I just think that incremental, steady improvement is important for us,'' he said. ''If we can improve a little bit more, I think we'll be on a good course.''

Indy also claimed linebacker Zac Diles from Tampa Bay and waived tight end Mike McNeill, who has been on both the practice squad and active roster this season.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbruntap