Horseshoe Huddle

Colts Training Camp Journal, Day 7: Defense Capitalizes as Offense Slogs Through Sloppiest Day

On Day 7 of Colts training camp, the offense often looked out of sync, allowing the defense to take advantage.

Jake Arthur

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The Indianapolis Colts returned from their two-day rest on Sunday for practice No. 7 of training camp out at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind.

Ultimately, the offense looked a little rusty and out of sync, which is out of character from them based on what we've seen over the last two weeks.

I roamed the sidelines once again on Sunday, joined by Horseshoe Huddle analyst Andrew Moore, for the duration of practice and now give you the contents of my daily journal.

TEAM

— The following players missed Sunday's practice: defensive tackle Byron Cowart, wide receiver DeMichael Harris, offensive lineman Dennis Kelly, linebacker Brandon King, running back D’Vonte Price, safety Will Redmond, linebacker Forrest Rhyne, safety Armani Watts, and defensive tackle Chris Williams.

— Rookie defensive tackle Curtis Brooks left practice after being poked in the eye, according to head coach Frank Reich after practice.

— In drills pitting wide receivers/tight ends against cornerbacks/safeties, here were the results: Stephon Gilmore def. Michael Pittman Jr.; Jelani Woods def. Julian Blackmon; Isaiah Rodgers def. Campbell; Brandon Facyson def. Alec Pierce; Kenny Moore II def. Ethan Fernea; Michael Jacobson def. Marcel Dabo; Dezmon Patmon def. Tony Brown; Ashton Dulin def. Chris Wilcox; Nick Cross def. Mo Alie-Cox (to assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell's applause); Michael Young Jr. def. Alex Myres; Isaiah Ford def. Brown; D.J. Montgomery def. Wilcox; Nikola Kalinic def. Rodney Thomas II; Rodgers def. Nyheim Hines; Trevor Denbow def. Drew Ogletree; Parris Campbell def. Moore; Wilcox def. Fernea; Kylen Granson def. Dabo; Keke Coutee def. Myres

— Rodgers and Wilcox both had interceptions in these drills. Rodgers leaped up in front of Hines on a deep shot down the left side and came down with it. Wilcox tracked the ball well on a downfield throw down the right side, stopping for the ball to make the pick in front of Fernea.

— In drills pitting offensive and defensive linemen against each other, here were the results: Matt Pryor def. Yannick Ngakoue; DeForest Buckner def. Quenton Nelson; Grover Stewart def. Ryan Kelly; Danny Pinter def. Stewart; Kwity Paye def. Braden Smith; Pryor def. Ngakoue; Nelson def. Buckner; Stewart def. Kelly; R.J. McIntosh def. Pinter; Paye def. Smith; Bernhard Raimann def. Ben Banogu; Will Fries def. Caeveon Patton; Eric Johnson II def. Wesley French; Tyquan Lewis def. Brandon Kemp; Day Odeyingbo def. Jordan Murray; Raimann def. Banogu; Patton def. Fries; Johnson def. French; McIntosh def. Kemp; Odeyingbo def. Murray; Ifeadi Odenigbo def. Pryor

— Much of the team drills focused on the spread, five-wide offense.

OFFENSE

— Sunday was the first time we could describe the Colts' offense as "clunky." There were at least a half-dozen drops during the 11-on-11 drills, at one point Hines fumbled the ball without being touched, and there were a couple of penalties or miscommunications to start the live drills.

— Quarterback Matt Ryan was 11-of-17 passing during 11s with completions to Pittman (2), Granson (2), Taylor (2), Alie-Cox, Campbell, Ogletree, Dulin, and Hines. One of Ryan's better completions on the day went to Granson on a corner route on the left side for about 20 yards.

— The corner routes to tight ends kept hitting on Sunday as Nick Foles found Ogletree for about 15 yards on a corner route along the right sideline.

— Rookie quarterback Jack Coan, who seems to have at least one really good throw per practice, had another on Sunday as he rolled out to the right, and threw a downfield shot as he faded back, completing it to Samson Nacua.

— It was another day where Dulin made an impressive play. During 7-on-7s, he was covered by Wilcox on the left side. He put a double-move on the defender as Foles pump-faked and then uncorked it for Dulin for a 65-yard score.

DEFENSE

— As expected, the defense was opportunistic based on the offense's misfires. Gilmore was a primary catalyst for this. In an early throw during 7-on-7s, Ryan threw a shallow right pass toward Campbell, which Gilmore jumped the route and intercepted it, likely scoring a touchdown in a real game. Gilmore also recovered Hines' fumble later in 11-on-11s.

— Cross had a quality day during 11s, coming up with two tackles for loss on run plays.

— Cornerback Anthony Chesley made a heads-up play during 11s, getting a hand up and breaking up a pass by Foles down in the right flats.

— Odenigbo continues to stack good days, registering a would-be sack for the third day in a row. On one particular play, he could've gotten to Foles about three times, finally converging with Odeyingbo to end the play. Odeyingbo also had a good day, showing great violence in 1-on-1s, and coming up with another tackle for loss and sack.

SPECIAL TEAMS

— Sunday's punt returners were Hines, Coutee, and Rodgers

— After one special teams rep on punt returns, Marvell Tell III was seen talking with Dallis Flowers on the side, appearing to coach the rookie up on proper technique. This is a big summer for Tell and it's good to see him coming along so far as to take a younger player under his wing.

What did you think of Day 7's action? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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Jake Arthur
JAKE ARTHUR

Jake Arthur has covered the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts for a decade. He is a member of the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) and FantasyPros' expert panel. He has also contributed to multiple NFL Draft guides.

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