Stampede Blue: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Around SBN: Phillies trade for OF Matt Stairs Bar-right-arrows



Charles Dillon

#2 / Indianapolis Colts

6-0

193

Jan 30, 1986

An Empty Widget

No Data Available

Colts Training Camp 2008: Morning walk through (sans Patriots video equipment)

This morning, the Colts are walking through their game plan for the Redskins, the team they will face in Sunday's Hall of Fame game.  It's funny, but whenever I see "walk through" related to an NFL team, I still think of that bogus Patriots allegation. I know they didn't do it, but it is still something I associate with them based on other blatant rules violations. But enough on them. If you want to read how their camp is going, check out MaPatsFan at Pats Pulpit. Unlike previous seasons, we have some very fun ideas getting tossed around between Pats Pulpit and Stampede Blue for the 2008 season. Ironically, I think I get along better with Pats fans there than I do Bears fans.

Today's walk through will focus on specific things the coaches will look for in the game. What we do know is Jim Sorgi will see more time than if Peyton Manning were playing, and that's a good thing. After watching Sorgi look mediocre (and sometimes downright bad) in practice, he needs to prove he is a legit NFL QB.

We are going to start with our first groups. I think our first offense may play a little bit more than our first defense," Dungy said. "Then midway through the first quarter, we’re going to start to get a look at some of our younger guys and guys we want to see. I would say it’s probably likely that the offense will play a bit more than the defense."

Dungy added that total number of plays, rather than clock time, will most likely dictate how much work everybody gets.

"It probably will be plays. I haven’t really decided [how many] yet, but it will definitely be by plays and we will discuss that [prior to today’s practice]," he said. "Jim [Sorgi] will play a little bit more than Peyton [Manning] normally would have played. We won’t necessarily have all the first [offensive] group in with him all the time. He will get his share of work."

The Colts also made a somewhat significant roster move, dumping WR Charles Dillon and bringing back LB Brandon Archer. Archer was signed by Denver in the offseason, and then released in this past June. With the Colts losing LBers left and right, signing Archer was a big deal. Archer is also a good special teamer.

I'm going back over my notes and collecting thoughts in order to piece together my overall opinions of camp thus far. I also got some good info from folks who work for the Colts and from fans who have been watching camp from Day 1. Some of the info is stuff we already knew (Eric Foster is the guy who the Colts are big on to replace Quinn Pitcock). Other info, like Mike Hart maybe making THE PRACTICE SQUAD was certainly news to me.

I will relay the general feeling I have, which was confirmed by many people in the know and those who have watched from Camp Day 1: This team is very, very, VERY deep. There will be some tough decisions when they need to cut down to 53, and some good players might get shown the door because there isn't enough room on this talented roster.

2 comments | 0 recs

Colts Training Camp 2008: Day 2 observations from Aerostar193

Aerostar193 attended the 2nd day of camp (Saturday) and posted the observations below in this Fan Post:

  • I only saw Addai, Rhodes, and Hart taking snaps with the offense, which means to me that they will be the ones that make the roster. Hart is really small, but he pounds the ball hard and has soft hands out of the backfield. He got smashed by Freddie Keiaho mid-way through practice, which got a few people saying "Welcome to the NFL", but otherwise, he looked good. Rhodes actually looked slimmer and faster than before, and Addai was his fantastic self. This will definitely be a good group of RB's for the year.
  • One thing I always like to look for is who stays around after practice to do some individual drills. Garcon, Giguere, and Charles Dillon all stayed after to work with the ball machine, and Robert Mathis ran a few laps on the other side of the field. It may be insignificant to others, but to me, it shows how focused they are on making the team, or in Mathis' case, being the best player they can be.
  • Marcus Howard is fast. I'm really excited to see what he brings to the table once the season starts. Ugoh and him were having some fierce battles, and he actually managed to get near Sorgi a few times. He's a keeper for sure.
  • I'll admit, I'm one of the many Tim Jennings haters, but I think he's really improved for some reason. He looked faster, more alert, and smarter as a CB. Same goes for Michael Coe, T.J. Rushing, and Brannon Condren. We're going to have an excellent group of DB's this year, believe me.
  • Roy Hall didn't impress me. He was tall, but looked a lot more sluggish than his 40 time would indicate. Giguere was a little disappointing too. The only receivers that caught my eye were Reggie, Marvin, Gonzalez, Garcon, and Aromashadu.
  • Pierre Garcon is making this team. He's a smooth route runner and really allusive. Sort of like a mini-Marvin.
  • Sorgi really isn't terrible, I suppose. I noticed he always looks to his left first for the pass, and never managed to hit right in the numbers, but he was efficient nonetheless.
  • I didn't look much at the O-line, but I only saw Charlie Johnson playing guard, never Pollak.
  • I didn't see Clint Session anywhere, and Ramon Guzman was playing SAM with the first team. Not sure if anybody knows what was going on with that...
  • Jacob Tamme looks a lot bigger and stronger than his measurables say he is. I don't see why people don't think he will able to block, he looked entirely capable to me.

Many thanks to Aerostar193 for these great observations!

0 comments | 0 recs



Site Meter