Westfield, IN — The Indianapolis Colts put the pads on for the first time in training camp, resulting in a high-spirited affair of clean football between both sides of the ball.
It was a run-heavy day that ended up benefiting both quarterbacks and the offense as a whole. Although individual mishaps were still at the forefront of an otherwise great start to padded practices, it was a complementary day overall.
QB Competition
This was by far the best showing from both of the quarterbacks in the running for the team’s
starting job. As previously mentioned, the heavy dose of runs in turn saw both Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones have their most efficient days of training camp to date.
Their strong showings began in the lone 1-on-1 period of the day, when chemistry with their passcatchers started to show itself. Aside from Richardson’s only poor throw of the day, which was an underthrown interception intended for Michael Pittman Jr., it was evident this period was when the two QBs in question started finding a groove. Jones connected with Adonai Mitchell twice, once for a perfect touchdown up the right sideline, while Richardson completed a perfect fade to Ashton Dulin before eventually doing the same with Pittman Jr. to conclude the session.
The team periods (7-on-7, 11-on-11) are when their hot starts began to materialize into efficient showings. Jones quickly got his lone interception out of the way for the day after a tightly fit ball wound up in linebacker Joe Bachie’s hands. This initial 11-on-11 team period featured two quick-game dropbacks and two rushes for both quarterbacks to work from, with Jones struggling at first and Richardson connecting with DJ Montgomery for both of his attempts.
The following team period, a 7-on-7 session, opened up the passing game. While Daniel Jones went 2-4 in this session, the two incompletions were eerily similar in that they were on-target throws to rookie tight end Tyler Warren that fell incomplete after terrific defense at the catch point was played. He rebounded after these back-to-back plays with a great shot to Michael Pittman Jr. up the right sideline, and then followed the up with a patient connection to Adonai Mitchell on a 15-yard in-breaker. Anthony Richardson’s session with the backups was a flawless 4-4 showing through the air. The first play of which was perfectly dropped into a bucket to Will Mallory up the right hash. He then rounded out the rest of this period with three straight short-game connections to Anthony Gould, DJ Montgomery, and Ashton Dulin.
The final two 11-on-11 team periods of that flipped the script, with Anthony Richardson running with the starters and Daniel Jones with the second team. The actual script continued its original game plan of a run-centric day, and the quarterbacks used this to their advantage.
It was a 3:2 run-pass ratio during the first session with the starters, with the two passes in question being perfectly executed throws from Anthony Richardson to Michael Pittman Jr. up the left sideline and the other being a tight end screen to Tyler Warren for big yardage. In his final session, he completed both attempts to Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs in the middle of the field. Daniel Jones’ last team period also featured just two pass attempts: a HB screen to DJ Giddens for a nice chunk gain and seamless connection to tight end Will Mallory in stride for ~25+ yards. His final play of the day was an option he took to the right sideline, where he found a crease. His efficient final drive was so impressive that Richardson felt inclined to run up to him as the play died down to give him his props.
Run-Heavy Script
As for the run game, it felt like more of an installation of sorts rather than an aggressive attempt to throw the kitchen sink at the defense. When it comes to success rate, I’d argue that it was more or less a 50-50 showing from both sides of the line. Whether or not there was notable push on any given down, it felt like a collective effort, which is promising for a unit that prides itself on working in tandem with each other.
Individually, Jonathan Taylor remains one of the most talented backs in the league thanks to his vision, natural power to wade off wimpy tackles, as well as his knack for getting downhill in a hurry. Taylor showcased his ability to push the pile for additional yards during the first padded practice, turning otherwise 2-3 yard runs into 5-6 yard gains.
While Tyler Goodson flashed during the team’s first four unpadded practices, he more or less fell through the cracks on day one of pads. On the flip side, rookie running back DJ Giddens’ juice is very apparent. His combination of cuts and acceleration makes for a dangerous running mate alongside Jonathan Taylor, especially considering he has shown to be a reliable passcatcher in his limited opportunities thus far.
Miscellaneous
- Linebacker Joe Bachie is a career special teamer and was the only defender to follow Lou Anarumo from Cincinnati. He’s impressed in coverage throughout camp thus far, totaling multiple PBUs and INTs — it’s hard not to view him as the coverage version of Grant Stuard.
- DJ Giddens truly has the juice. Perhaps it’s exacerbated in my eyes due to the lack of said juice from Indy running backs last season, but the acceleration that showed up on his college film is more than evident.
- Matt Goncalves, the presumed starter at right guard, has been holding down that spot in both pass protection and the run game thus far. Granted, pads only came on today, but he’s showcased the footwork necessary in days prior, while stacking those with a great first 1-on-1 session in pads today.
- Safety Rodney Thomas II has had a strong camp that suggests the Colts indeed have their plan for a third safety. Given that Lou Anarumo regularly utilizes 3-safety sets, the depth (or lack thereof) at safety was a question mark heading into camp. More than just a strong start from Thomas II is required to extinguish said concern, but things are trending upward.
- DT Depth — Neville Gallimore and rookie Tim Smith have flashed their natural power/strength over the past couple of practices. Potentially a sign of things to come as the padded practices continue.
- 2nd-year DE Laiatu Latu has begun stacking solid days of pass rush. Today, he dominated the 1-on-1 session with the offensive line.
- Rookie JT Tuimoloau has slowly but surely been worked into the rotation in recent days, most notably spending regular time at defensive tackle next to Laiatu Latu during today’s practice.
- Tyler Goodson and Ashton Dulin have been the primary returners in kick/punt return periods.
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