Training Camp
2009 Colts Training Camp: Colts break camp, ready for Eagles
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 19, 2009 9:44 AM EDT
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Another year, another training camp done. Though, I must say, this camp obviously seemed much more special due to the fact that the Colts have a new head coach for the first time in seven years. While many elements of old camps remained the same, the camp did have a different vibe, or frequency, to it. It had new energy, and I'm kind of sad to see camp break.
Last night's practice at Cook Field (a very nice way to close out camp for the fans!) was the last for this year's trip to Rose Hulman. Today, the Colts pack up their gear and head back to West 56th Street in Indianapolis.
While many are bemoaning the state of certain players and injuries, if you all step back and look at the camp, as a whole, it really seems as if it was one of the more successful camps in recent memory. From an injury standpoint, camp did not cause anything that would make you slam your head on your desk. Kelvin Hayden has a strained hamstring. Antoine Bethea and Raheem Brock have hand injuries. Dallas Clark had a minor concussion. Bob Sanders is getting his legs stronger after off-season knee surgery.
These are a far cry from James Mungro's and Rocky Calmus' ACL tears (2006), Booger McFarland's knee injury (2007), and Peyton Manning's bursa sac fiasco (2008). We haven't lost any players for the season (knock on wood) save Roy Hall (who was looking more and more like a wasted roster spot), and we haven't had any players quit for weird reasons that initially don't make sense (Quinn Pitcock). I mean, when you really look at it, the only eventful thing that happened at camp was Tony Ugoh getting benched for Charlie Johnson, and none of us are really certain this was a permanent move. What camp did provide for us is some answers to several questions we'd been mulling since Tony Dungy retired.
What kind of team will we have?
Is Peyton healthy, unlike last year?
Who will play slot receiver?
What kind of defense do we have?
Will the offensive line improve?
Who is playing DT?
We have answers and some last day comments after the jump as the Indianapolis Colts break training camp at the Rose Hulman Institute for the 2009 season. Next up, the Philadelphia Eagles.
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2009 Colts Training Camp: News and notes from 8/17/09 morning and afternoon practice
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 17, 2009 7:47 PM EDT
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Before we get to the notes about the morning practice, we'll recap a few roster moves that happened today:
- OG Brandon Barnes, who was signed to a two-year deal this off-season, was cut.
- Colts used the open roster spot to sign DT John Gill, 6'3, 302 pounds. Gill is an undrafted rookie out of Northwestern. Gill was recently cut by the Detroit Lions.
- DT Raheem Brock is out for 3 weeks with a fractured hand. He is having surgery.
The Gill signing is to have a warm body in camp while Brock recovers. Cutting Barnes seems to indicate that the Colts are confident in Ryan Lilja's health. Signing Barnes this past off-season made little sense if Lilja was healthy, but since there were all kinds of questions about Lilja's surgically repaired knee the Colts needed someone if Lilja were done. So, while I wish Barnes all the best, his releasing might be a good sign. We shall see.
John Oehser at IFR provided some great notes today from the morning practice. Several Colts players returned to practice after sitting out some last week, or not playing in the Friday pre-season opener against the Vikings. Mike Hart, Anthony Gonzalez, Charlie Johnson, Sam Giguere, Dallas Clark, Jacob Tamme, Kelvin Hayden, Melvin Bullitt, Marlin Jackson, and Antonio Johnson all returned for the morning practice. Antoine Bethea returned for the afternoon one.
Again, as I said this past weekend, the Colts don't give a stinking crap about pre-season. It is my suspicion that all of these guys could have played. Why didn't they? Because the Colts don't give a crap. They know what each and every one of those guys can do.
Check after the jump for camp notes from 8/17/09.
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2009 Colts Training Camp: News and notes from 8/12/09 afternoon practice
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 12, 2009 10:00 PM EDT
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The morning practice was a casual walk-through, as several practices this training camp have been. The emphasis was on the mental side of the game, focusing on situations like goal-line offense, wide receiver run blocking, etc. In the afternoon, the colts put on their pads and started hitting. Head coach Jim Caldwell stressed how important this afternoon's practice needed to be:
We really want to see the kind of effort we saw yesterday. We really had a good, sharp, crisp practice, and we are looking for the same thing. Even though we are emulating someone else’s scheme, we need to keep up on our work as well.
So, what kind of effort did coach get? Eric Hartz tweeted his thoughts from camp and John Oehser provided an update on IFR. Here are some notes:
- Dallas Clark is suffering from a "mild concussion." He's having headaches that are re-occurring. This is the reason he has sat out the last three practices. Dallas will not play against the Vikings Friday.
- All the tight ends save Jamie Petrowski sat out the afternoon practice.
- T.J. Rushing and Austin Collie are sharing the kick returning duties in practice.
- Donald Brown whiffed on a pass block against Philip Wheeler. In all fairness to Brown, Wheeler should beat him on pass rushing drills. Brown is 5'10. Wheeler is 6'2.
- Despite the whiffed block, Brown's afternoon practice was arguable his best so far. He was breaking several hard runs and caught a TD from Peyton Manning. Coaches and fans alike are very impressed with Brown.
More after the jump...
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2009 Colts Training Camp: News and notes from 8/12/09 morning practice
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 12, 2009 11:27 AM EDT
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This morning the Colts were in shorts and helmets again, performing a glorified walk-through. As always, the immortal Eric Hartz is tweeting a storm from Rose Hulman. Here are some notes from his tweets:
- Ed Johnson and Antonio Johnson are the starting DTs.
- Ryan Diem
was not at practicewas there but did not practice. Charlie Johnson played LT, Tony Ugoh played RT. - Diem did not have a brace or wrap on his back.
- Roy Hall sat out the walk through as did Dallas Clark (again) and Tom Santi.
- Team worked on blitz pick-up.
More after the jump...
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2009 Colts Training Camp: News and notes from 8/11/09 afternoon practice
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 11, 2009 7:52 PM EDT
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Again, Murphy's Law. Last week was injury-free and uneventful in terms of surprises. This week the exact opposite. I've collected a few notes after reading some reports from camp, like PhilB's blog, Indy Football Report, and other reports:
- RT Ryan Diem injured his back in the afternoon practice, which was in pads. Replacing him at RT was not Charlie Johnson, but Tony Ugoh, the recently demoted LT. Of course, we all know it makes far more sense to have Johnson at RT and Ugoh at LT, but that is not Jim Caldwell's way. Ugh.
- With Ugoh filling in for Diem, that is going to make it a tad difficult for him to "win back" his starting LT spot. Between Charlie playing LT (a position he stinks at) and Ugoh playing RT (a position he has never played... ever), the Colts o-line struggled.
- The defense continues to give OC Jeff Saturday fits. Saturday claimed this defense is as good at getting to the QB as any defense he's seen in Indy. Saturday has played for the Colts since 1999.
- Dallas Clark sat out his second practice.
- Antonio Johnson is the starting NT now. Daniel Muir back to second unit.
- Marlin Jackson looks strong and did well covering Reggie Wayne in the red zone drills.
More news and notes after the jump...
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2009 Colts Training Camp: Why benching Ugoh is really, REALLY stupid
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 11, 2009 10:34 AM EDT
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I'm still seething over Caldwell's decision to bench Tony Ugoh. 18to88 thinks it's a ploy, a motivating tactic to get Ugoh upset (or something) so that he can play better. They may be right, but such tactics, in my opinion, are foolish and silly. Children and third world dictators play mind games. NFL head coaches are supposed to coach, and since we all know that Tony Ugoh is better than Charlie Johnson, it is Jim Caldwell and Howard Mudd's job to coach Tony Ugoh, not play games with his head. Aggravating the situation even more is that Johnson hasn't even earned the right to start. He hasn't out-played Ugoh. He hasn't out-performed him in camp. If Caldwell thinks Johnson has, then Caldwell is a complete idiot.
It's a stupid, stupid move that undermines the credibility of Caldwell.
I hope I'm wrong, but it is really hard for me to defend a coach who makes decisions like this based on... well, nothing. Yes, I know it is early. Yes, I know it is likely Ugoh will "win" his job back. But such silly distractions are unnecessary. Ugoh is better. Ugoh should get the job. I see no reason for this side show, circus silliness.
Also, few remember that it was Ugoh who beat our Charlie Johnson two years ago after Tarik Glenn retired. Ugoh was better than. He's better now.
I want to make something clear about this decision: This news stunned everyone. The consensus from people like John Oehser, Eric Hartz, and others at camp was that Tony Ugoh looked very, very good. Paul Kuharsky just did a piece on Ugoh's change from last year to this year. I'm willing to bet money that several players and other assistant coaches were stunned.
The general opinion was that Ugoh had the job, and that he knew he had the job. It was his desire to excel at the job that caused him perform better at camp. So, this B.S. from Caldwell that it was their plan from the beginning to move Charlie to LT most likely was not a plan they shared with Johnson and Ugoh. It certainly wasn't something they shared with the press, the fans, or even other players. You'll notice that Ugoh was not quoted by anyone yesterday, but Johnson was.
To summarize, regardless of the Caldwell's intentions, this situation was bungled. One better have a damn good reason for benching one's best LT, and so far Caldwell's reasoning doesn't make sense to anyone. Caldwell will continue to look silly if Charlie Johnson goes out there on Friday and struggles to contain Vikings DE Jared Allen. I shutter to think what would happen to Caldwell if this decision resulted in Peyton Manning getting hurt. The man literally would need a 24-hour armed guard throughout his remaining tenure as coach of the Colts.
I know several of you have chimed in on this, and your opinions have all been very good. Feel free to tear my opinion apart in the comments.
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2009 Colts Training Camp: Notes from Annual Blue and White Scrimmage
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 8, 2009 11:34 AM EDT
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Every training camp, the Colts have held an annual Blue v. White Scrimmage (aka, a mock game). This pits starting and second string offenses v. the starting and second string defenses. During this mock game, both sides are given points for certain accomplishments, such as gaining first downs, big plays, forcing punts, touchdowns, sacks, INTs, etc.
Today, the Colts held their annual scrimmage, and due to the power of Twitter (again, go screw yourself Bill Parcells for the way you treat the people who pay your inflated salary) we have live updates from the game that just concluded not more than a few minutes ago. This summary is a breakdown of the immortal Eric Hartz, who Tweeted a storm this morning. Eric is an editor for ColtPower.com.
- Colts defense dominated the scrimmage. I mean, it seemed like it wasn't even funny how much they dominated.
- Mike Hart is in a walking boot, meaning his ankle injury is serious, but likely something he can heal quickly from.
- Lots of players sat out, such as Fili Moala, Marcus Howard, Antonio Johnson, and Daniel Muir. Also out was Donald Brown, Jim Sorgi, Tom Santi, Bob Sanders, Kelvin Hayden, and Marlin Jackson. Some of these players are on PUP.
More after the jump...
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2009 Colts Training Camp: Notes from 8/7/09 Afternoon Practice
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 8, 2009 8:47 AM EDT
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Our very own AceOfSpades gives us a review of yesterday's afternoon practice:
- at the start of practice there McAfee and Masthay were punting and it is clear that McAfee has a stronger leg, kicks the ball much higher and is much more consistent. they later had to punt against a "rush" of about 5 guys but it was pretty casual and mostly uneventful
- Foster continued to work with the offense on goal line formations and did well as a lead blocker for Addai on a couple plays
- Muir looked really good out there and he and Ed Johnson took most plays on the first team DL along with Dawson and Brock
- some O line vs. D front 7 drills which seemed to mostly go the the way of the offense. these were running plays and I think Coyer was getting a little aggravated because the defense (both 1st and 2nd group) was having issues with maintaining gaps correctly. There was some over pursuing which led to open backside holes. In some cases there was no one to help seal the backside and the RB had an open side of the field.
- my zest for Terrance Taylor has diminished slightly. I didn’t see much out of him today other than just being there. Of course I was watching from the sidelines so I probably missed a bit of the action
- during scrimmage action later in practice, the D seemed very similar to last year in that there was not as much movement or any blitzing that I thought I would see. It was probably just part of the drill that they wanted to line up and play with no extra action, but just an observation.
- First time seeing Mort in person. He is a genuine nerd and I wish I had his job. He just stood there talking to Chappell for a while and then some of the coaches. I wanted to jump over the line and give him a noogie for some reason….
- Vinatieri was helping McAfee with holding drills, throwing the ball underhand with spin to simulate a snap. McAfee seemed to do fine.
- McAfee was bombing some long FGs too. I know it’s just practice, but he was making it from 50+ with ease.
- Donald Brown sat out afternoon practice which was a bummer because I wanted to see him vs. Addai. Addai looked good though.
Big thanks to AceOfSpades for this write-up. A summary of Eric Hartz's Tweets are after the jump. Also, we have Coltsfanawalt's observations from camp, which were posted on 18to88.
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