We posted the news yesterday, via Phil Wilson, that Charlie Johnson and Andy Alleman were carted off the field yesterday afternoon during a full pads practice. The injuries they sustained were possibly foot or knee-related. No word on the severity, but Jim Caldwell is expected to address the media today about both injuries.
Mike Chappell provides more details:
Starting left tackle Charlie Johnson and backup offensive lineman Andy Alleman were taken from the practice field to the locker room on carts. The team had no comment on either injury, but it appeared Johnson sustained an injury to his lower right leg.With Johnson out, Tony Ugoh moved from left guard to left tackle in drills.
The other reserve left tackle is newly added Chris Marinelli, formerly of the Denver Broncos.
Despite the injuries, the general consensus was that the practice was very spirited and good. Pierre Garcon sat out the session, allowing Anthony Gonzalez to work a bit with the first unit. Phil Wilson took note, after the jump...
But with Garcon sitting out, Gonzo had more of a chance to make some plays this afternoon and had the crowd buzzing and making its loudest cheers with a couple nifty catches on Manning deep balls.It's just practice, but he looks good. After one of the sideline catches, Manning gave Gonzo a pat after the receiver came back.
If this keeps up, I don't see how the Colts can keep him on the bench. But I still don't have a clue how Reggie Wayne, Garcon, Collie and Gonzo can all get their share of catches. We shall see.
To quote Bob Lamey and just about every other Colts employee at camp this week, having this many good receivers is "a nice 'problem' to have."
We talked all off-season on how the Colts were going to use Gonzo, wondering how they would get creative in utilizing his abilities without "benching" Garcon or Austin Collie in the process. So far during camp, Gonzo has not out-practiced either one, which should give you a strong indication as to just how well ALL the wideouts have looked.
Back to the CJ injury, when we hear anything about the severity of the injury, we will post it. However, the benefit of having someone like Ugoh, who (from a talent standpoint) really should be the left tackle, is that he can slide right over and do the job. All indications from camp this year are that Tony is a new man. He's relaxed, in good spirits, and doesn't seem to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.