Day one notes

[CR91]

https://www.colts.com/news/2018-coltscamp-notebook-day-1-luck-shakes-off-rust-defense-flies-around

 

Here were some of the top takeaways from the day's session:

OFFENSE

 

Today's practice featured the much-anticipated return of quarterback Andrew Luck to a full practice setting, and, as expected, he had many positive results mixed in with plenty of teachable moments throughout the day. In all, counting both 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, Luck completed a combined 11-of-19 passes (57.9 percent) with one interception. The large crowd in the stands at Grand Park, of course, was watching Luck's every move, and let out loud cheers when No. 12 even made his first warmup throw of the day.

 

Luck looked his best during an early portion of 11-on-11s, when he got the defense to bite hard on a playaction with running back Josh Ferguson and found tight end Eric Ebron wide open along the left side of the field for a sizable (20 to 25-yard) gain. Then, on the very next play, Luck drew the defense offsides.

 

With Anthony Castonzo (left tackle) and Austin Howard (right tackle) each placed on the Active/Non-Football Injury list to begin camp, the Colts mixed things up a little bit along the edges up front, putting veteran Jack Mewhort at left tackle and Denzelle Good at right tackle with the first-team offense. Mewhort has been primarily a guard the last few years, but he does have some experience at tackle; Good, meanwhile, had moved around at both left and right tackle as needed throughout the offseason program.

 

The Colts showed a second-team offensive line look of Tyreek Burwell (left tackle), Mark Glowinski (left guard), Joe Haeg (center), Braden Smith (right guard) and Le'Raven Clark (right tackle).

 

Thursday's practice was also the 2018 on-field debut of running back Marlon Mack, who suffered a shoulder injury during camp last year during his rookie season, but played through it the entire year before deciding to undergo surgery after the 2017 regular season finale. Mack, who was wearing a shoulder brace on Thursday, was placed right in with the first-team offense to begin 11-on-11 drills and got a handoff on the very first play of camp, taking it outside to his left and sending safety T.J. Green to the grass with a little bit of physicality after a nice pickup.

While Mack made his on-field return on Thursday, the Colts continued to mix it up at the running back position throughout the day. All six of the team's running backs - Mack, Josh Ferguson, Nyheim Hines, Christine Michael, Robert Turbin and Jordan Wilkins - were seen getting work here and there, so the depth chart at the position will obviously continue to be a fluid situation.

 

Deon Cain continued his strong play from the offseason program into Thursday's first day of training camp practices. First, he made a nice play on a screen pass from quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who found Cain near the line of scrimmage to the left side; Cain took the pass and was able to snake his way through a couple defenders for a nice gain. But perhaps the play of the day was when Cain caught a fade pass from Brissett towards the end of practice. It was a well-thrown ball, but Cain showed off some tremendous body control as he jumped in the air, plucked the pass over the defender and went down to the ground while still holding on to the ball. If the sixth-round pick out of Clemson can keep stacking days like that, he'll undoubtedly be pushing for lots of passes to be thrown his way by the time the regular season rolls around.

 

DEFENSE

 

The Colts showed a first-team defensive look of Jabaal Sheard and Tarell Basham at defensive end; Al Woods and Denico Autry at defensive tackle; Anthony Walker (MIKE) and Tyrell Adams (WILL) at linebacker; Quincy Wilson, Pierre Desir and Kenny Moore II (nickel) at cornerback; and Matthias Farley and T.J. Green at safety.

 

The second-team look was John Simon and Anthony Johnson at defensive end; Margus Hunt and Grover Stewart at defensive tackle; Najee Goode, Zaire Franklin and Darius Leonard at linebacker; Nate Hairston, D.J. White and Chris Milton at cornerback; and Shamarko Thomas and George Odum on safety.

The cornerback lineup was very fluid. The biggest takeaway was moving Wilson, Desir, Moore and Hairston around. The four of them took turns with the first team, with Moore and Hairston the primary nickels. Desir and Wilson would occasionally sub out so Hairston and Moore could see snaps outside.

 

They did mostly sub-package, but Goode appeared to be the third linebacker aside from Walker and Adams in base defense.

The defensive line got a lot of penetration early in the 11-on-11s. Example, Autry was in the backfield at the time of the handoff on the first play.

 

McCain and Simon had a couple of really good pass-rush reps in 11-on-11 that would've been sacks.

 

Autry was very active with his hands, getting his hands into the passing lanes. He batted at least one Luck pass.

 

Rookie linebacker Matthew Adams had a nice, diving pass breakup about 25 yards downfield.

 

One of the plays of the day was rookie linebacker Leonard's leaping interception off of Luck. It was about 20 yards downfield, intended for Erik Swoope, who had nothing but green grass ahead of him had he caught it. Leonard also really showed his range, once striding with Nyheim Hines to the sideline on a screen where Hines would have been supposed to turn it upfield at the sideline.

 

The cornerbacks were very active with the ball in the air. Hands all over in pass breakups.

 

Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus led the linebacker position drills. Overall, it was an energetic group who hit each other hard in bag drills. Walker and Leonard both moved very well, very smooth. Caught the ball well.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

 

Adam Vinatieri was kicking comfortably, with plenty of leg from 50-plus yards. He eventually missed from around 60 yards.

Kickoff returners were (in order): Nyheim Hines, Marlon Mack and Josh Ferguson.

Rigoberto Sanchez and Michael Badgley took turns simulating kickoffs.

[Dark Superman]

Autry seems like he's going to be a huge under the radar signing.

[Stephen]

6 minutes ago, Savage said:

Autry seems like he's going to be a huge under the radar signing.

Im on the Cain hype train. Hopefully  skai moore and few others impress to

[Dark Superman]

Cain is one guy I can't wait to watch during the Preseason.

[Luck 4 president]

I wasn’t a fan of our 2nd round on draft day, but hopefully at least 2 of them can crack the starting lineup by week 1

[Dark Superman]

3 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

I wasn’t a fan of our 2nd round on draft day, but hopefully at least 2 of them can crack the starting lineup by week 1

What's not to like? We filled some major holes on both sides of the ball.

[TKnight24]

5 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

I wasn’t a fan of our 2nd round on draft day, but hopefully at least 2 of them can crack the starting lineup by week 1

I was definitely expecting “names” to be drafted in the 2nd. Lot of them were there. Malik Jefferson & Josh Jackson were 2 I for sure thought were coming to Indianapolis 

 

But oh well, can’t always get what we want

 

A lot of the LB look like they have speed and I can’t really remember the last time the Colts had speed at LB. Maybe Freeman? Pat Angerer? 

[coltsfeva]

  Reading the article brought a smile to my face: 

  The perception has been,  “Other than T.Y., there’s no receiver that would draw double coverage”. But what if Cain becomes that ? What if the line backing squad is not the weakness that we’ve feared they might be? What if the offensive identity is primarily “smash-mouth” with a healthy dose of a creative passing game? What if the STs are top 10 or even top 5? What if somehow, someway the Dline provides a pass rush and as a result, the pass defense as a whole improves? 

   I realize there are a lot of “what ifs” there but being a glass half-full kinda guy, I can see where all of these things are possible. GO COLTS!!!

[Defjamz26]

Cain might be this year’s Nate Hairston. Might rise out of nowhere and become a consistent contributor.

[Statiik82]

I am excited about the WR battle! Looking forward to seeing Cain, Foutain, and Ishmael and what they can provide.

[Luck 4 president]

12 hours ago, Savage said:

What's not to like? We filled some major holes on both sides of the ball.

I just thought with the picks we had in the 2nd and the state of our roster we would be getting 2-3  day 1 starters in that round. There’s still time for them to earn starting spots, but I think only Leonard has a chance at becoming a starter year 1 (without injuries)

[Superman]

1 hour ago, Luck 4 president said:

I just thought with the picks we had in the 2nd and the state of our roster we would be getting 2-3  day 1 starters in that round. There’s still time for them to earn starting spots, but I think only Leonard has a chance at becoming a starter year 1 (without injuries)

 

While I don't expect Smith, Turay and Lewis to be starters this year, I do think at least Turay and Lewis will get a lot of time, especially on third downs. If someone else locks down the RG spot and stays healthy, Smith might not play at all, but he'll get a chance to compete for a starting spot. And looking at his skill set, I think the only thing he needs is strength and toughness, so this time next year, the RG spot should be his to lose. 

 

I felt like some of the Day 2 picks were reaches, but I've made my peace with them. 

[NewColtsFan]

20 hours ago, Superman said:

 

While I don't expect Smith, Turay and Lewis to be starters this year, I do think at least Turay and Lewis will get a lot of time, especially on third downs. If someone else locks down the RG spot and stays healthy, Smith might not play at all, but he'll get a chance to compete for a starting spot. And looking at his skill set, I think the only thing he needs is strength and toughness, so this time next year, the RG spot should be his to lose. 

 

I felt like some of the Day 2 picks were reaches, but I've made my peace with them. 

 

I know you didn't post much during the summer,  so you may have missed this....

 

Something I stumbled into surfing on-line.     NFL.com runs a series....    this year it's called 18 for '18....    18 players who are the best in some category....      last year,  yes, it was called 17 for '17.

 

And in one category,  Freakish Athletes,   this jumped out at me while I was scrolling through....  I'm going to cut and paste....     my point is your critique of Smith doesn't match this profile.   And this was a year ago,  before Smith's last year at Auburn.    He appears to be a rare breed.

 

 

15. Braden Smith, OT, Auburn

The Tigers' senior right tackle displays ridiculous strength in the weight room with a 565-pound squat, and a 495-pound bench press that could be higher if the AU strength staff permitted him to load more weight on the bar. The highest-jumping offensive lineman at the NFL Scouting Combine this year recorded a 32-inch vertical jump; Smith can do 33, and his 9-foot-9 broad jump would have led all offensive linemen in Indianapolis this year, as well. All that, and he can run a 4.95 40-yard dash at 6-foot-6, 303 pounds. Said strength coach Ryan Russell: "The most impressive thing to me is his mobility in his ankle(s) and his hips. Normally a guy his size who is that strong and powerful will be stiff and has trouble moving efficiently. Braden's movement efficiency is incredibly smooth and is something you don't see too often with a guy that size."

[Superman]

@NewColtsFan You made me go back to my notes. I must have confused Smith with someone else, you're right, he doesn't have issues with strength and toughness. More technique. Thanks for keeping me straight on that. 

[NewColtsFan]

39 minutes ago, Superman said:

@NewColtsFan You made me go back to my notes. I must have confused Smith with someone else, you're right, he doesn't have issues with strength and toughness. More technique. Thanks for keeping me straight on that. 

 

That was the only thing I could think of.   I wasn’t looking for this at all.   I posted this on a thread on the NFL page about a month ago.   Figured you didn’t see it. 

 

You normally don't see OL listed as a freak athlete so I was stunned to see Smith listed.    Interesting to me that we read such good buzz on Slauson.   Guessing Smith doesn’t start until after the bye week at the soonest or perhaps next year.