Mike Chappell

mike.chappell@indystar.com

Anyone believing normalcy would rule in the Colts locker room Monday was given a jolt of reality.

While it was business as usual in preparation for Sunday night's season opener at Denver, Robert Mathis was out of sight and serving his NFL-imposed four-game suspension.

The league's reigning sack champion, however, left a message at his locker for his teammates. It was placed in front of a photo of Mathis – arms crossed, eyes glaring – and prominently displayed.

Its essence: Maximize the moment.

"Athletes: Don't take the sport you play for granted," Mathis' message began. "Every time you play, you better be damn thankful that you get to do something you love. Don't show up to practice complaining about not wanting to be there; you're there hopefully because you love it.

"Work hard every moment. If you're not working hard, you don't deserve to play. Play every practice or game like it's your last because it very well could be."

Mathis isn't allowed at the team complex or have any contact with team employees during his four-game suspension. His first day back is Sept. 29 and he'll play Oct. 5 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Until Mathis returns, everyone must carry on.

"We know we've got to soldier down,'' defensive end Cory Redding said. "We've got to wait for him to come back. But until then, we've got to hold down the fort.

"There's none of this rah-rah stuff because of Robert's situation. It is what it is. In due time he'll be back.''

Backup options

Coach Chuck Pagano said it would be safe to assume Joe Reitz and Xavier Nixon, the team's backup offensive tackles, would not play Sunday at Denver.

Reitz suffered a high sprain to his left ankle in the preseason finale at Cincinnati while Nixon hasn't practiced since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last month.

So, who's in line should either left tackle Anthony Castonzo or right tackle Gosder Cherilus go down? That would be either rookie Jack Mewhort or Hugh Thornton.

Each was a starting tackle in college, but they are the Colts' starting guards.

On Manning's bucket list?

Denver quarterback Peyton Manning is the second-winningest quarterback in NFL history: 154-70. Only Brett Favre (186-112) won more regular-season games.

An interesting breakdown of Manning's record is he's beaten every team in the league except his former team. The Colts kept it that way Oct. 20 when they knocked the Manning-led Broncos from the unbeaten ranks with a 39-33 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.

By the numbers

This belongs in the "For What It's Worth'' category.

Since 1970, the Colts are 342-336-2 in the regular season. They've won 14 division titles during that stretch, sixth-most in the league, reached the playoffs 21 times, again sixth-most in the league.

Call Star reporter Mike Chappell at (317) 444-6830. You can follow him on Twitter at @mchappell51.