Colts Training Camp Notes
By Nick Pease
Today marked the last day of training camp for the Indianapolis Colts, and luckily for me, I had the chance to go and check it out. I really wasn’t able to go at all prior to today, so I was determined to make the drive and see at least one Colts practice. I’m glad I did.
Overall, the practice was not too long and I’m sure the coaches were not expecting to see much they didn’t already know. I got there a few minutes late, but still the practive only lasted about 45 minutes to maybe an hour. ( I left my cell phone in the truck on purpose – I wanted no distractions) The special teams did some work, then the offense and defense worked on opposite ends of the field before running some plays against each other. A few things I did take note of:
– The Colts offense could be scary good again this year. Seeing Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Austin Collie all line up on the right side, with Anthony Gonzalez on the opposite end, equals a bad thing for opposing defenses.
– Speaking of Collie, he looked good. He looked real solid catching the ball and working with the first team offense. Pierre Garcon did nothing to impress me, and from what I’ve seen so far, Collie should be the 3rd wide receiver on the depth chart.
– From what I saw, Mike Hart also looked really good. He had a few run plays and also caught a few passes over the middle. Chad Simpson also made some nifty moves after catching a small screen pass.
– Curtis Painter made some rather nice passes, including at least two touchdowns. He overthrew a ball or two, but overall looked good. I still have no clue what the Colts plans for him are.
– Third string quarterback Chris Crane did not look so good. He had a couple sharp passes, but also had several bad ones. Unfortunately, he will not make the Colts roster and maybe not even the practice team.
– Tight end Jacob Tamme got some reps with the first team. Good to see, but perhaps it was only because Gijon Robinson was not practicing.
– Wide reciever Taj Smith made several nice catches, including a touchdown pass, a nice grab on a quick slant and was close to making at least two more touchdown grabs. Hopefully he makes the practice squad and sticks around Indy.
– On the defensive side I did not see too much, I was watching mostly the offense during the short practice. I did notice that most of the backfield did not practice. Bob Sanders is still hurt, Kelvin Hayden is out and several other backs are banged up as well. Melvin Bullit and Matt Giordano both got plenty of reps and I hope that both of them make the roster. Big Blue Shoe of Stampede Blue predicts Giordano gets cut, but I hope this is not the case.
No matter what players get cut, I think that this is going to be a very good Colts football team. Despite all the coaching changes and the loss of Marvin Harrison, there are enough ingredients to provide a very solid line up. A nice blend of veteran talent and energetic youth makes this a dangerous team. The defense has gotten bigger and the offense has the ability to score in bunches. All in all, the pieces are in place to make this an outsanding football team.
Overall, training camp was a great time. Up next are some pictures and a story or two about a few select autographs I got today. GO COLTS !!!