Andrew Luck is the new face of the Indianapolis Colts, but it's important to remember—as they get set to play the St. Louis Rams at 12:30, opening both teams' 2012 preseason schedules—just how new the body is, too. This wasn't just a Peyton Manning transplant; as Colts blog Stampede Blue notes, this team is under brand-new management, and besides trading franchise quarterbacks they've also managed to trade out most of their aging team.
The Rams are pretty new, themselves—they're on year three of their own franchise quarterback, the occasionally successful Sam Bradford, and Steven Jackson remains their star on offense, but Jeff Fisher and company have come in promising to alter the team chemistry, which has been increasingly dysfunctional since before Mike Martz left and the Greatest Show on Turf era ended.
One team, at least, will get the chance Sunday to prove that their own makeover has taken. The Rams will want to see a big game from Sam Bradford, and a tough night from their young, exciting defense; the Colts will want to see Andrew Luck, taking their first few offensive series, with some of the preternatural fit and finish that made him the best quarterback prospect in years.