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INDIANAPOLIS – The first official injury report of the 2018 season came out on Wednesday, and the Colts received more good news than bad news.
The good news came with left tackle Anthony Castonzo practicing for the first time in more than a month and linebacker Darius Leonard also returning to the field. Both were limited participants.
But the bad news was still there, with running back Marlon Mack continuing to be an observer. Mack hasn’t practiced since injuring his hamstring in the preseason opener on Aug. 9.
Let’s focus on those injuries right off the start of this Wednesday notebook, before touching on other items:
Castonzo is probably the second most important player on the Colts’ roster, when you consider the lack of depth at left tackle. This right hamstring injury for Castonzo first occurred a few weeks before Training Camp started. The durable left tackle then tweaked his hamstring on Aug. 3. Wednesday was his first practice participation since that night practice at Grand Park.
“He’s been working hard,” Reich said of Castonzo. “It’s not like physically he hasn’t been working hard and getting some field work out there. We are just on a day-to-day basis.”
The Colts need Castonzo for several reasons. He’s far better than any other left tackle they have, with the depth falling off significantly. The Bengals’ strength is their defensive line. Having Castonzo means you shouldn’t need to help that left tackle spot as much as you would, if he was out. If you didn’t have Castonzo and needed to give help to that LT with a running back or tight end, that means you are losing a skill player out of your route tree (see more on that below). This team doesn’t have enough skill talent to make up for that dilemma.
Wednesday’s practice, even if it was just for individual drills, is a positive step for Castonzo playing on Sunday. If he practices all three days this week, I believe Castonzo plays in Week One.
Leonard said earlier in the week that he expected to play on Sunday. He hadn’t participated in practice since injuring his left ankle in Week Three of the preseason. Even though he’s a rookie, Leonard would rank right up there with any defender in terms of importance.
Mack has now been sidelined since the preseason opener, which occurred on Aug. 9. Considering the nature of the injury (a hamstring for a speed guy), and the lengthy absence Mack has had, him playing on Sunday is trending in the wrong direction.
If Mack can’t go on Sunday, the Colts have running backs Jordan Wilkins, Nyheim Hines and Christine Michael healthy on the 53-man roster.
Here is the rest of the notebook look as the Colts practiced on Wednesday afternoon:
- The No. 1 priority on the pass game agenda each week is how to protect the passer, Frank Reich said on Wednesday. The Castonzo injury and the Bengals having such a stout defensive line complicates that this week. Cincinnati defensive tackle Geno Atkins is one of the game’s most disruptive interior players. “You’ve got to be perfect at everything and be at your best in every facet of your own game, because you know he’s going to be,” rookie Quenton Nelson said of Atkins on Wednesday. “Going against him is a big challenge.” It will be quite the NFL introduction for the No. 6 overall pick.
- Pretty good quote here from Frank Reich on Andrew Luck clearing the next hurdle of playing in a full, 60-minute, game this Sunday. “What’s exciting for our team and our fans is that we get him for 60 minutes,” Reich said. “The longer a guy like that is out on the field, the better.” No argument here on that.
- Sunday will be Luck’s first regular season game since Week 17 of the 2016 season. On Wednesday, Luck sounded like a guy very pleased with how his past month and a half of work has gone: “Personally, I feel like I’ve improved a bunch and am on the right arc.” The Colts believe we have yet to see the best of Luck.
- Could Malik Hooker be on a pitch count Sunday? Hooker kind of hinted that might be in the works during his Wednesday chat with the media. Hooker played in just the third preseason game, logging about 20 snaps. “In my mind, I know I can go out there and do it,” Hooker, who tore his ACL on Oct. 22, 2017, said of playing an entire game. “But it’s not about me. I’m willing to do whatever I can for the team and for the organization. Whatever they want me to do, whether it’s for a full game or play a series, I’m going to do what they ask me to do. Hopefully I get to play more reps, depending on what the coaching staff, training staff say.” The Colts need Hooker on the field as much as possible, but maybe they will use Matthias Farley a bit to ease the second-year safety back from injury.
- Touching back on the weapons for the Colts this coming weekend. Remember this Marvin Lewis quote about the Colts last year, in Cincinnati’s 24-23 win: “As long as 13 (T.Y. Hilton) isn’t catching them, we are in pretty good shape,” Lewis said. That was true. Hilton had just 2 catches on 7 targets in the October 2017 meeting. The Bengals were just fine with Jack Doyle having a career-high 12 catches or 121 yards in 14 targets. Expect the Bengals to try and do the same on Sunday.
- Some defensive keys for the Colts on Sunday will be open field tackling on Bengals running backs Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard, neutralizing A.J. Green (like the Colts did last year) and getting quarterback Andy Dalton off his timing of getting rid of the ball quick.
- Defensive end Margus Hunt is still listed as a starter, which was his role lining up opposite Jabaal Sheard in the preseason. Hunt lost about 10-to-15 pounds in the offseason, knowing the switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 was coming in 2018.
INJURY REPORT
Here is Wednesday’s injury report:
DNP: OT-Denzelle Good (hamstring), RB-Marlon Mack (hamstring)
–Bowen’s Analysis: Good is expected to miss some time at the start of 2018. Mack has not practiced since the preseason opener on Aug. 9.
LIMITED: OT-Anthony Castonzo (hamstring), CB-Nate Hairston (hamstring), LB-Darius Leonard (left ankle, chest), LB-Anthony Walker (groin)
–Bowen’s Analysis: Positive signs to see these two limited on Wednesday. If they keep progressing, they should be playing on Sunday. Leonard missed the final couple of practices of the preseason. Hariston should play on Sunday. Walker is practicing this week for the first time in more than a month.
New Show: Monday, September 10 will be the debut of the ‘Morning After’ show with Jeff Rickard and Kevin Bowen co-hosting from 7-10 AM on 1070 The Fan each Monday. The show will be centered on recapping the previous day’s Colts game. Catch this local show during your morning drive time every Monday to end 2018.
