* OG Ryan Lilja worked with the starters after missing last season with a knee injury. The first-team offensive line was RT Ryan Diem, RG Mike Pollak, C Jeff Saturday, LG Ryan Lilja and LT Tony Ugoh.
* RB Donald Brown caught several passes out of the backfield and had several long runs.
* RB Joseph Addai also looked good, cutting sharply in the interior and breaking a few long runs.
* WR Reggie Wayne joked after practice that he felt like a decoy in the first practice without eight-time Pro Bowl WR Marvin Harrison. QB Peyton Manning joked that wanting the ball "makes Reggie Reggie." Manning said he feels confident that Wayne will get plenty of passes when it matters.
* WR Pierre Garcon continued to look fluid and seems to glide when he’s running routes and running after the catch.
For more, check out Indy Football Report.
Donald Brown spoke with reports after practice, talking about how Joseph Addai (who seems to be sporting Edgerrin James-like dreads) has been a big help to him thus far.
We also know that Coach Caldwell was pleased that everyone showed up on time, and there were zero distractions.
First practice quotes, and more camp updates, after the jump.
Other notes from camp:
- Fili Moala did not practice because of a cold
- Mike Hart is on a one practice a day schedule as he works back from a knee injury
- Ed Johnson is no longer #66. He's wearing #91 now. #66 is now being worn by OG Kyle DeVan
Quotes:
Jim Caldwell on certain players practicing and not practicing:
Mike Hart is (day-to-day), he’ll be out there this afternoon. The doctors kind of take a look. Fili (Moala) was doing some work out there for us but he’s getting over a little bit of a cold. Raheem (Brock) is also just kind of not rushing it. There are a few guys we’re jostling back and forth pending on how they are coming along, but some cases we’re not going to force it. You saw a majority of the guys were out there working.
Peyton Manning on not having Tony Dungy or Marvin Harrison:
It’s certainly different. It’s an adjustment when you lose two guys that had that big of an impact on our team and certainly on me. It will take a lot of getting used to, to line up under center and not see No. 88 (Marvin Harrison) out to the right, and I think everybody’s adjusting, even the coaches, to not having Coach Dungy around. But that is part of what training camp is for, and I think that the more practices we have the more everybody will settle in. Like Coach Caldwell said last night, we have no time to look back. We have to act in the now and go with whose here. Everybody is getting use to Coach Caldwell and there certainly is a receiver spot open now that Marvin is not here. Reggie (Wayne) and Anthony Gonzalez will definitely be there, but that third spot is good healthy competition, and I think that is a healthy thing.
Donald Brown discussing Joseph Addai:
Joe has been very helpful. He’s obviously a veteran, and somebody in your position that’s a veteran is helpful. It really is. Joe helped me out a lot this practice. I’m grateful to have somebody like him in my corner.
Donald Brown on his first practice:
It went well. I made a couple of mistakes but as long as I don’t make the same mistake twice, I’ll be alright and take it one practice at a time.
[UPDATE] We have more updates on the first practice, this time from PhilB at the Indianapolis Star:
* Coaching comment -- New head coach Jim Caldwell may actually be more vocal than Tony Dungy, at least judging my decibels. Not that either is loud, but I noticed Caldwell's voice early on. After a long Chad Simpson rush, Caldwell barked, "Jog it back, jog it back. Up tempo, up tempo." Maybe Dungy said the same thing, but I don't recall hearing it. On a deep pass that was just a bit long, Caldwell looked over from his mid-field position and told Roy Hall, "Keep running, keep running." Rookie receiver Austin Collie got his coach's attention on a punt return drill. Caldwell commented, "Put that ball away." It's not to say Dungy didn't coach, we know he did, but hearing Caldwell was definitely a deviation.
...
* New back -- Don't have a football feel for rookie RB Donald Brown, the first-round pick, because it's just pads and shorts and no tackling, but the newcomer runs hard, has some muscle to him and presented himself in a one-on-one interview as one of the more polished individuals I've met in these first-time chats at camp.
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* LBs for now -- The starting trio, as of the first day of camp, are Gary Brackett, Clint Session and Philip Wheeler. Don't know what that means for Tyjuan Hagler and Freddy Keiaho, who both re-signed with the team as free agents. The fourth-year pros have started in the past, Keiaho was calling defensive signals after Brackett was lost for the season late last year, but the insertion of Wheeler suggests the Colts would like to see him get that job.