Read More: Dallas Clark (TE – IND), Peyton Manning (QB – IND), Jacob Tamme (TE – IND), Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, Dec 18, 2011 1:00 PM EST

The Indianapolis Colts will be without their starting tight end Dallas Clark this week with a “burner” he suffered last week. Jacob Tamme will start in his place. 

The Colts will also be without five others including Peyton Manning and the slew of players added to the IR over the last couple weeks.

Here is the full inactive list for the Colts this week: 

How bad will the Indianapolis Colts lose this week? It will likely be pretty bad. There is almost no chance that Indianapolis has a chance to beat the Baltimore Ravens in their week 14 matchup. The two teams are headed in opposite directions this season. Indianapolis is 0-12 on the season and appears headed for the top pick in the 2012 NFL draft. Baltimore is 9-3 on the season and is preparing for the 2011 NFL playoffs. This game should prove the direction that each team is headed.

To make matters worse, Indianapolis this week lost three significant defensive players. Cornerbacks Jerraud Powers and Terrance Johnson as well as defensive tackle Drake Nevis were all placed on injured reserve this week. Indianapolis’ cornerbacks will be very inexperienced in this game and Joe Flacco will likely look to test them downfield. Jacob Lacey is the only player remaining with any NFL experience and even he was benched earlier this season for his poor play. If Baltimore can pass the ball well, it could be a long day for the Colts.

Good news for fans is that both tight end Dallas Clark and middle linebacker Pat Angerer are expected to play. Angerer is a key to the defense and has been arguably the most consistent player on the Indianapolis defense this year. Clark has missed the last three games with a leg injury. His return will certainly help the passing game but shouldn’t do much to help win the game.

Dan Orlovsky played well last week and provided a big spark for the offense. This Baltimore defense is very good though and will provide a challenge for the inexperienced Indianapolis offensive line. The offense should try to establish Joseph Addai and build upon the recent success of Donald Brown.

In the end, these two teams are headed in different directions and Indianapolis stands no chance to win the game. This loss will surely push them to 0-13 and leave them with just three chances remaining to get a win in the 2011 season. Fans should hope that this game ends quickly and they can move on to next week where they will try for their first win this year.

Prediction: Ravens 34, Colts 10

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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I got quite a few e-mails this week from Ravens fans who say they’re worried about Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

My favorite was from someone we’ll call Rick in Glen Burnie. Rick made the Colts sound like a team that, if not for a few bad breaks, should be playing in the Super Bowl. I could almost hear the poor guy hyperventilating over the keyboard.

Look how well the Colts played against New England last week, he wrote.

Look how they came back from being down 31-3 in the fourth quarter to make a game of it. Look at the game quarterback Dan Orlovsky had (30-for-37 passing for 353 yards and two touchdowns).

By the time Rick was through, I had to look up the NFL standings to make sure the Colts were still 0-12 and the front-runners for the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes.

“This is a trap game,” Rick concluded. “If the Ravens can lose to Tennessee, Jacksonville and Seattle, they can lose to the Colts.”

Rick, Rick, Rick — talk about a guy getting worked up for nothing.

Know the old saying about how on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team?

Well, that doesn’t apply to the Colts. At least not this year’s Colts without Peyton Manning.

No, the old saying that applies to them now is: On any given Sunday, the Colts will look awful and you can pencil them in for an “L” right now.

Is that too harsh? Maybe. But unless the Ravens have 45 guys throw out their backs at game time, there’s no way they lose to the Colts.

For one thing, unlike the Patriots, the Ravens have a great defense. They rank third in the league in overall “D.” They rank fourth in points allowed per game (16.0). And they lead the league in sacks (41) and forced fumbles (16).

With or without linebacker Ray Lewis in the lineup — and there’s no way he plays Sunday — the Ravens’ defense still scares other teams.

It still pounds opponents into submission. If the Ravens’ defenders get after Orlovsky the way they got after the Cleveland Browns’ Colt McCoy last week, Orlovsky will have nightmares about this day for years.

Here’s another reason the Ravens won’t lose: They’ve always been tough down the stretch when they can smell the playoffs.

Since John Harbaugh took over as coach in 2008, they’re an NFL-best 24-9 in November, December and January.

Oh, sure, there were days this week when the Ravens seemed bored and the locker room wasn’t exactly crackling with intensity. You knew it wasn’t Steelers week, that’s for sure.

But when they come out of that tunnel Sunday and the crowd roars and the whistle blows, it’ll be all business again for this team — the business of securing home-field advantage for the playoffs.

Which brings us to the third reason they won’t lose: The game is here at the Bank. And the Ravens, to a man, get super jacked up to play in front of the home crowd.

Read More: Joseph Addai (RB – IND), Dallas Clark (TE – IND), Dwight Freeney (DE – IND), Peyton Manning (QB – IND), Robert Mathis (DE – IND), Anthony Gonzalez (WR – IND), Joe Reitz (OT – IND), Donald Brown (RB – IND), Brody Eldridge (TE – IND), Stevie Brown (DB – IND), Terrence Johnson (DB – IND), Drake Nevis (DT – IND), Delone Carter (RB – IND), Adrian Moten (LB – IND), Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, Carolina Panthers at Indianapolis Colts, Nov 27, 2011 1:00 PM EST

He’s listed as questionable for this Sunday’s game vs. the Panthers, but running back Joseph Addai was a full participant in practice this week and is ready to return from a hamstring injury that has kept him limited to two carries in just one game since the injury occurred the first week of October. Addai’s return will mean a cut back in the work load for Donald Brown and Delone Carter. 

The Colts have eight other injuries — in addition Manning and Clark — that will keep the team shorthanded on Sunday. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, both of whom missed practice this week due to non-injury related matters, were back at practice on Friday and are not officially on the injury report.  

OUT: quarterback Peyton Manning (neck), tight end Dallas Clark (fibula). 

DID NOT PARTICIPATE: guard Joe Reitz (knee, doubtful), tight end Brody Eldridge (hand, questionable), linebacker Adrian Moten (not injury-related, questionable), defensive tackle Drake Nevis (back, questionable)

LIMITED PARTICIPANT: wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (groin, questionable)

FULL PARTICIPANTS: cornerback Terrence Johnson (ankle (questionable), cornerback Stevie Brown (hamstring, questionable), running back Joseph Addai (Hamstring, questionable), defensive end Robert Mathis (not injury-related), defensive end Dwight Freeney (not injury-related)

INDIANAPOLIS —
Who’s going to start at quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday (1 p.m., Fox Sports) when the Carolina Panthers visit Lucas Oil Stadium?

Will it be Curtis Painter, who has yet to win a game as a starter since replacing Kerry Collins against Pittsburgh on Sept. 25?

Or will it be backup Dan Orlovsky, who has replaced Painter behind center in the fourth quarter of the Colts’ last two games?

Well, according to Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell, no decision has been made on the matter. Even if Caldwell has decided to make a move, nobody is talking just yet.

“Not at this point. We’ll have, certainly, an answer on that here shortly in the next day or so,” the Colts’ coach said Monday.

“But obviously, we get rolling in terms of our preparation on Wednesday and by that time we’ll have it all solidified.”

Painter (who has completed 117 of 214 passes for 1,315 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions) and Orlovsky (14 of 21 passes for 122 yards) claim that they haven’t been notified of any possible changes in the status quo.

“All I do is kind of take my advice, criticism, compliments and anything from in this building, so I kind of leave it at that. I don’t pay much attention to outside things and for me I can’t really look at it any differently than I have,” Painter said.

Orlovsky is just waiting for the call if and when needed.

“I don’t know. I think that will be something that coach [Caldwell] will handle,” he said. “I’m going to approach it the same way as I always have. If things change, then things change. If they don’t, then they don’t.”

• Injury report — The Colts’ coach said that running back Joseph Addai’s (hamstring) return after missing four of the past five games is a possibility.

“Haven’t seen him yet [Monday] but I’m sure [team trainers will] get their hands on him and we’ll get an assessment a little later on,” Caldwell said.

He wasn’t clear on tight end Dallas Clark (lower leg) being ready to play after being injured two games ago.

“At this point, he is recuperating,” Caldwell said. “[Clark] is getting better, I can tell you that, but whether or not we’ll have him this week remains to be seen.”

Offensive guard Joe Reitz might be ready to do some work this week. Reitz continues to rehabilitate from knee surgery that has kept him out of the last three games. He watched Monday’s light practice from the sidelines.

There’s a chance that tight end Brody Eldridge (hand) could play Sunday against Carolina. Eldridge suffered a broken bone against Atlanta two games ago. He saw limited work in Monday’s practice.

“Brody is still making real good progress and his status is such where it will be day-to-day,” Caldwell said.