INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts strapped on the full pads for a second straight day in Westfield.
It was back to splitting the quarterback reps between Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger, with the rookie expected to start on Saturday.
Here are some takeaways from the Colts rounding out the week at Grand Park.
- Jacob Eason got the initial look with the starters on Thursday. He was 10-of-13 in teamwork, going 6-of-8 in his two periods with the starters. Eason completed passes to Farrod Green 2x, Nyheim Hines 2x, Kylen Granson, Jack Doyle, Mo Alie-Cox, Marlon Mack, Mike Strachan, Ashton Dulin. Eason was picked by Isaiah Rodgers, although it came when Zach Pascal fell down, after the throw. Pascal went up to Eason afterward to apologize for the turnover. Eason had 2 really nice balls down the field on Thursday. The first was early in practice, dropping a beautiful corner route into the hands of Green. The second came at the end, delivering a strike to the outstretched Strachan for a red-zone touchdown. That was a big-league throw and catch by Eason and Strachan.
- Sam Ehlinger looked like a much different QB on Thursday. He was 8-of-10, going 5-of-7 in his two starting team periods. Ehlinger completed balls to Michael Pittman 2x, Jordan Wilkins 2x, Jonathan Taylor, Jordan Thomas, T.Y. Hilton, Nyheim Hines. Ehlinger missed Tuesday’s practice due to an illness and you have to wonder if that lingered into his return at Wednesday’s practice. Ehlinger is expected to start and play a half on Saturday against the Vikings.
- An ‘all-camp’ team at Grand Park must include Ben Banogu. On Thursday, Banogu had at least 2 sacks and several other disruptive plays. One of Banogu’s sacks came on an impressive inside rush against Will Holden. Just like Kwity Paye’s performance at Wednesday’s practice, Saturday’s evaluation against the Minnesota Vikings will be great to watch for these young rushers.
- We saw a few touches for Michael Pittman outside of his ‘normal wide receiver duties’ on Thursday. It’s a reminder of what Pittman brings to this offense. He’s so versatile and a guy you just want to create touches and opportunities.
- It remains an open competition at left tackle, with Julie’n Davenport being the guy there for about the last week. At this point of camp, the Colts have seen all 3 options—Davenport, Will Holden and Sam Tevi—for an extended period. Do we see the staff wanting to settle on someone after Saturday’s second preseason game?
- These. Kickers. Don’t. Miss. Both Rodrigo Blankenship and Eddy Pineiro were a perfect 5-of-5 on Thursday, connecting from 32, 38, 46, 47 and 50 yards. Including the preseason opener, Blankenship and Pineiro haven’t missed this camp, both having made more than 20 kicks in team settings.
- Guys that stood out at Thursday’s practice: DT-Grover Stewart, DE-Ben Banogu, WR-Tarik Black, TE-Farrod Green.
- Just a reminder, another roster cut comes next Tuesday. That’s from 85 guys to 80, with 5 more being cut the following Tuesday (August 24th) and then the big one down to 53 (August 31st).
- The Colts will travel to Minnesota on Friday to play against the Vikings on Saturday. The Colts have just 3 practices remaining in their 2021 training camp.
Injury Report: The following players did not appear to be participating at Thursday’s practice: C-Ryan Kelly (elbow), QB-Carson Wentz (foot), LG-Quenton Nelson (foot), LB-Jordan Glasgow (back), TE-Noah Togiai, C-Danny Pinter (foot, in a boot), LB-E.J. Speed (knee), DL-Tyquan Lewis (shoulder), DE-Kemoko Turay (shoulder), OT-Carter O’Donnell, CB-Xavier Rhodes, CB-Marvell Tell, CB-T.J. Carrie. Both OT-Eric Fisher and DE-Dayo Odeyingbo remain out due to their Achilles’ injuries.
Weekly Camp Schedule
-Friday: Off day
-Saturday: Preseason game at Vikings (8:00 PM)
-Sunday: Off day
-Monday: 10:00-11:30 Practice
-Tuesday: 10:00-11:30 Practice
-Wednesday: 10:00-11:30 Practice (final practice of camp)
