Colts Camp: Notes From Friday’s Final Practice

The Indianapolis Colts had a light practice on their final day of training camp at Anderson University. A number of starters had the day off or were still out with injuries while even more saw a reduced number of snaps.

It was clear that the team is in game mode with the first preseason game this Sunday. Today was more like a glorified walk through, especially when compared to practices earlier this week.

Andrew Luck took far fewer snaps than he normally has and rookie QB Bryan Bennett did the bulk of the work on Friday. This is exactly what will happen on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, Luck and company will get a series or two, then Matt Hasselbeck will play a few, and we’ll likely see Bennett for the second half.

Injuries and Rest

The injury report for the Colts seems to be a work in progress with players being slowly worked back in after mild injuries. Cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Darius Butler were both out today with groin injuries, but worked out with a trainer which represents some measure of progress. Donte Moncrief was also out with a sore groin and working with the trainers today.

Coach Chuck Pagano said that they didn’t believe any of these injuries would linger into the season and the team is merely being cautious.

Vick Ballard participated in his second straight practice but likely won’t see many game reps until later in the preseason. He needs to take more snaps in practices before he can go at game speed.

Dan Herron left practice early with an undisclosed injury, but it was apparently just a precaution.

A few players also had the day off for rest. This list included D’Qwell Jackson, Andre Johnson, Todd Herremans, and Greg Toler all had the day off. T.Y. Hilton was off today dealing with a personal matter (the third time he’s missed a day in camp for this reason).

Dwayne Allen (illness) and Griff Whalen (groin) were both back after having Thursday off due to injury.

Here’s what stood out from practice:

• Whalen had the catch of the day. He hauled in a touchdown at the back of the end zone with one hand and managed to keep his feet inbounds off a bullet pass from Luck.
• The top three wide receivers and cornerbacks all had the day off. It let Luck get a few reps in with players who are on the roster bubble.
• Hasselbeck has used it a few times, but it appears that “McAfee” is a new call sign at the line of scrimmage. Maybe this is his “Omaha” this season. Apparently making the All-Pro roster comes with a few perks for Pat McAfee.
• 350-pound defensive lineman Montori Hughes had an interception after sniffing out a screen pass from Bennett. He yelled all the way to endzone much to the crowds delight (no one tried to run him down).
• Defensive linemen were practicing moves that looked like b-roll from a kung fu movie during warmups. They were blocking and countering each others hands, simulating how to break free from an offensive linemans grasp. The thought of a man like Art Jones with ninja moves, scary.