Indy star 8/17

[JAFF]

Colts camp observations: Nick Cross, Rodney Thomas II score interceptions off Justin Fields

WESTFIELD - As Anthony Richardson was rolling out and lobbing passes on one field, Justin Fields dropped back and tried much of the same against the Colts' starting defense.

The difference was, the Colts secondary brought some playmaking of their own.

Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas II both turned in interceptions on Chicago's dual-threat quarterback. Cross' came on a deflection off the hands of Bears tight end Cole Kmet, but he had to dive to make the play.

Thomas’ came when Fields tried to make an explosive play happen. He rolled out to the right after not finding a receiver open and then uncorked a deep post throw, but by then, Thomas had his eyes locked on Fields and made a dead sprint to steal the ball out of the air in front of the receiver.

Those plays in coverage, as well as a consistent pass rush from Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam, helped win the day for the Colts defense on the whole.

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) rolls out to pass during a shared practice between the Indianapolis Colts and the Bears on Wednesday. Aug. 16, 2023, at Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana.
But it had some leaks along the way. The Bears were able to rip off a pair of explosive runs, including one for more than 40 yards by D'Onta Foreman. Fields was also able to uncork some deep passes, including two long fades to Velus Jones, beating Dallis Flowers and Darius Rush.


"He's an explosive player," Steichen said of Fields, whom he faced last year as an offensive coordinator with the Eagles. "I know he has a bright future in this league."

Overall, this was the Fields experience so far in the NFL. He can make late decisions sometimes, but he can also extend plays even around a solid pass rush and force cornerbacks to hold his receivers far down the field in coverage.

It made for a mixed day for all of the defensive backs and required them to live with a short memory.

Indianapolis Colts cornerback Dallis Flowers has a chance to start at one of the team's outside spots this season.
Dallis Flowers, Darius Rush make plays

The Colts defensive backs were the one on display in this practice format, both because of Fields' ability to extend plays and the challenges of the Bears' receiving corps. From D.J. Moore to Darnell Mooney to Jones, it was a constant challenge to stay in phase for long stretches and not commit penalties.


Flowers and Rush had good moments to offset the long touchdowns they allowed. Flowers broke up a comeback route to Equanimeous St. Brown in which he let St. Brown have zero room to breathe.

Rush scored on a pick-six off P.J. Walker, marking the second time in three days of action that he's taken one to the house, with the other being Saturday's preseason opener against the Bills.


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After Rush missed much time in the spring and summer with a nagging hamstring injury, the splash plays have delivered a little confidence to the fifth-round rookie out of South Carolina.

"Fifth round, seventh, undrafted -- it's all about what you do when you get to the league," Rush said. "That's what I went out there to do, to show that I'm going to come out and make a play."


Kenny Moore II gets a challenge from D.J. Moore

Not to be lost in the busy day for cornerbacks, Kenny Moore II made his presence known on a couple different plays. He, too, became a target of a Fields deep ball down the sideline but had D.J. Moore covered so tightly that the ball had to sail out of bounds.

He also had a nice breakup in 1-on-1 drills on a back-shoulder throw to D.J. Moore.

D.J. Moore is quite a challenge, of course, with three seasons of at least 1,100 yards in the past four years, all with the Panthers. He and Kenny Moore go back to those days, when they squared off in the slot during joint practices.

"It's best on best," Moore said. "We're just trying to get better. Everything is off the record. We're competing at the highest level we can, just to be a professional and get the job done."

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Injury report

Fries, wide receiver Ashton Dulin, defensive end Genard Avery and wide receiver Malik Turner appeared to suffer injuries in Wednesday’s practice.

Fries participated in one-on-one drills early in practice, but he was held out of 11-on-11 drills later, and the guard was wearing a wrap on his right lower leg. Dulin got up gingerly after the play, was examined by trainers and taken off the practice field.

Avery was down for several minutes, then taken away from the field on a cart.

Kelly (foot), defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (foot), running back Zack Moss (arm), tight end Mo Alie-Cox (ankle), tight end Jelani Woods (hamstring), tight end Drew Ogletree (shoulder), linebacker Segun Olubi (concussion), wide receiver Breshad Perriman and wide receiver Vyncint Smith.

[JAFF]

Colts camp observations: Efficient day for Anthony Richardson against Bears

WESTFIELD — Anthony Richardson made one big mistake in Wednesday’s joint practice against the Bears, firing deep during 7-on-7 drills for rookie wide receiver Josh Downs despite the umbrella coverage of Matt Eberflus’ Chicago defense.

The ball sailed over Downs’ head and into the waiting arms of Bears safety Eddie Jackson for an interception.

The lesson was simple. When a defense plays the way Chicago does, dropping its safeties deep and trying to take away the big play, it’s fine to keep checking off completions. Richardson, the Colts’ newly-minted starting quarterback, completed 16 of 20 passes in 11-on-11, mostly firing short and intermediate throws against a secondary that backed off the line of scrimmage at every snap.

Doyel:Calm down, on the day Colts name rookie QB Anthony Richardson starter? You calm down.

“That’s the learning,” Steichen said. “Take what the defense gives you.”

Richardson hit Michael Pittman Jr. four times, tight end Kylen Granson and Downs three times, then spread around the rest of the throws to wide receiver Alec Pierce, running back Evan Hull, running back Kenyan Drake, tight end Pharaoh Brown, running back Deon Jackson and wide receiver Juwann Winfree.


The rookie quarterback nearly turned in successful drives in both of the practice’s biggest periods, directing an eight-play drive in the four-minute drill to run out the clock, completing 5 of 5 passes, including an excellent throw to Pittman over the middle.

He nearly drove the offense into position for a field goal in the two-minute drill, but Brown dropped a ball over the middle that would have kept the drive alive and given kicker Matt Gay a chance at a field goal.

“That’s great growth,” Steichen said. “Don’t force it, take the completions and move on from there.”


Battle for the slot

Downs is forcing his way into the lineup as a slot receiver.

An instinctive player with an excellent feel for where the holes will open in zones, Downs has been a frequent target for Richardson and Gardner Minshew throughout training camp, and he was dominant at times against Chicago’s secondary.


Working alongside Pittman and Pierce for the second consecutive day, Downs caught four passes in six plays in 7-on-7, and he also made three catches in 11-on-11, including two critical catches to finish off the “call-it” series against Chicago.

The third-round pick’s emergence might come at the expense of veteran slot receiver Isaiah McKenzie, who started Saturday’s preseason finale but struggled against Buffalo.


McKenzie made his own splashes in Wednesday’s practice, making three catches and the practice’s biggest play, taking a short throw from Minshew, making two Bears miss and racing up the sideline for a gain of roughly 40 yards.

“Those guys are competing like crazy,” Steichen said. “It’ll be fun to see how that plays out.”

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (1) makes a catch during a shared practice between the Colts and the Chicago Bears on Wednesday. Aug. 16, 2023, at Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana.
Sleeper hold

Veteran offensive lineman Arlington Hambright has bounced around the NFL for the past three seasons without getting many chances to play.

Hambright has played 82 snaps offensively in the NFL, 77 of them coming in the lone start of his career, a Week 2 appearance for the Bears in his rookie year. After that season, spent another year in Chicago, then spent training camp with New England last season before latching onto the Colts practice squad.

He hasn’t played since seeing action in nine games as a rookie.

But Hambright might be playing his way into a key depth spot on the Indianapolis offensive line. For most of the first three weeks of training camp, Hambright has been playing left tackle with the second team, but he moved to right guard on Wednesday, taking those snaps in 1-on-1 pass rush and then shifting into the starting lineup at right guard when Will Fries went down with an injury.


“He’s got some good physicality. He’s a smart player, he’s got good movement skills,” Steichen said. “Very versatile, he can play inside and outside.”

Offensive line

A Colts offensive line that has been banged up recently had its fair share of issues in Wednesday’s practice.

Right tackle Braden Smith returned to the lineup after missing half a week due to a knee injury, but the Colts haven’t had Ryan Kelly at center the past two days, and then Fries went down.

Indianapolis is mixing and matching, and the referees dotting the practice field kept finding imperfections in their play. The Colts were flagged for four holding penalties, a false start and the illegal formation, an issue the team has to clean up before the regular season.

In addition, there didn’t appear to be much room for any of the Indianapolis running backs. Working against Eberflus’ defense, nearly all of the running backs were stuffed right at the line of scrimmage, although Deon Jackson had a couple of nice gains late in the practice.



Not everything went wrong for the Colts offensive line Wednesday. The team’s top two starting tackles, Smith and Bernhard Raimann, dominated the Bears defensive ends in 1-on-1 pass rush drills, and backup interior linemen Dakoda Shepley also turned in a couple of nice pass-blocking snaps.

Injury report

Fries, wide receiver Ashton Dulin, defensive end Genard Avery and wide receiver Malik Turner appeared to suffer injuries in Wednesday’s practice.

Fries participated in one-on-one drills early in practice, but he was held out of 11-on-11 drills later, and the guard was wearing a wrap on his right lower leg. Dulin got up gingerly after the play, was examined by trainers and taken off the practice field.

Avery was down for several minutes, then taken away from the field on a cart.

Kelly (foot), defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (foot), running back Zack Moss (arm), tight end Mo Alie-Cox (ankle), tight end Jelani Woods (hamstring), tight end Drew Ogletree (shoulder), linebacker Segun Olubi (concussion), wide receiver Breshad Perriman and wide receiver Vyncint Smith.


Quick hitters

Minshew completed his first 13 passes and finished 17 of 21, but his final throw, an end-zone shot in the two-minute drill was picked off on an incredible one-handed grab by Bears safety Micah Baskerville. … A Bears assistant coach caught a pass Sam Ehlinger tossed out of bounds and got a big cheer by racing up the sideline as if he’d made an interception.