THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS -- The long, grinding final weekend of pre-season is just beginning for Jim Caldwell.

He's reviewing film from another loss, this time at Cincinnati. He's trying to get ready for next week's season opener against Jacksonville. And, of course, the new Colts coach and team president Bill Polian still have to make all those roster decisions.

Good luck taking a break, coach.

"There will be a lot of real fine football players that we won't be able to keep," Caldwell said Friday. "It's not going to be an easy decision."

They never are. But this weekend's debates could be clouded by some odd complications.

First, the Colts must make a decision about Bob Sanders, the 2007 NFL defensive player of the year. Sanders underwent knee surgery this summer and still has not practised. There has been speculation that Sanders could start the season on the physically unable to perform list, which would keep him out of the first six games, and open a spot for another player.

The Colts haven't decided what to do yet.

"As soon as we know, we will release that," Caldwell said. "He's coming along pretty well. He's making real good progress. Once we confer with the doctors, we'll have the opportunity to take a look at every aspect of our team."

Sanders is one of the big questions.

The other: Will the Colts keep three quarterbacks on the active roster? Traditionally, Indy has kept only two but now has the choice of keeping Peyton Manning's longtime backup, Jim Sorgi, or rookie Curtis Painter, a sixth-round pick who has played well throughout the pre-season. Or both.

Sorgi missed the first three pre-season games with a pulled right hamstring but returned Thursday night and went 11-of-19 for 119 yards with a 22-yard TD pass to Taj Smith.

It was the kind of performance Caldwell hoped to see.

"Sorgi did a pretty night job in terms of managing the offence and moving the offence," he said. "I think he functioned very well with the limited amount of time that he's had to practice. He did a nice job in that setting under those conditions."

The decisions about Sanders and the quarterbacks could dictate how the Colts fill the rest of the roster.

Cornerback Dante Hughes, a third-round pick in 2007, and offensive lineman Steve Justice, a sixth-round pick last year, both lost playing time at training camp. Rookie Terrance Taylor, one of the big men Indy drafted in April to solidify the defensive line, didn't play at Detroit and struggled in the second half Thursday night when the Bengals racked up 296 yards rushing. The 319-pound defensive tackle was Indy's fourth-round pick in April.

Caldwell is not panicking.

"We have been able to work and really improve in some areas that I think we needed improving," Caldwell said. "Some of them may not be completely obvious to you right now. For us, in terms of watching them practice on a daily basis, we can see it."

Indy must also sort out details such as how to fill the No. 3 receiver's spot and who will serve as kick returners.

Rookie Austin Collie played well in the pre-season, perhaps well enough to earn the No. 3 job over second-year receiver Pierre Garcon. And second-year running back Chad Simpson made a late push to keep a job with a solid job returning kicks against Cincinnati. He's battling players such as cornerback T.J. Rushing and receiver Sam Giguere for the job.

All of it will make Caldwell's decisions that much tougher.

"Where we are right now, we feel pretty good about it," Caldwell said. "We are excited about what we have in terms of our team."