WESTFIELD, Ind. — Today was the 18th and final day of the Indianapolis Colts' 2018 training camp practices at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind.
Here were some top takeaways from the day's session:
OFFENSE
— On the final day of training camp practices in Westfield — and the second of two joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens — quarterback Andrew Luck completed 14-of-18 passes with two touchdowns and one interception. His one pick was on a play in which he might've been trying to throw the ball away out of bounds down the field, but cornerback Brandon Carr was able to come down with it. Both of Luck's touchdowns on Saturday went to running back Nyheim Hines.
— In all, Luck threw in 15 out of 18 camp practices this year, and completed 241-of-326 passes (74 percent) with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The touchdown number, due to the very nature of practices, is somewhat approximate.
— The Colts showed a top offensive line on Saturday that consisted of Le'Raven Clark (left tackle), Quenton Nelson (left guard), Ryan Kelly (center), Matt Slauson (right guard) and Braden Smith (right tackle). So going into Monday's second preseason game against the Ravens, it seems as if the Colts will choose between Clark and J'Marcus Webb at left tackle, and Smith and Austin Howard at right tackle.
— At one point on Saturday, we saw tackle Tyreek Burwell getting in some snaps at center with quarterback Jacoby Brissett. With Deyshawn Bond still in the concussion protocol, the team needs some others behind Joe Haeg to be able to capably play the position in preseason games.
— Wide receiver K.J. Brent, who has had a tremendous camp, went down with a left knee injury and had to be carted off the field. Brent took a big hit from cornerback Marlon Humphrey along the right sideline as he tried to haul in a pass from Brissett. Head coach Frank Reich said Brent will require further testing before they know the severity of the injury.
— While 1-on-1 drills pitting wide receivers against defensive backs are, by their very nature, an instant advantage to the offensive players, the Colts' pass catchers dominated a period against the Ravens' defensive backs. Defining a "victory" for the offense as catching the ball, or a "victory" for the defense simply meaning the ball not being caught, I had Indy winning the drill 23-14. There were three particularly impressive plays made during this portion of practice: tight end Eric Ebron hauled in a one-handed touchdown in the back of the end zone against safety Tony Jefferson; wide receiver Kasen Williams juked Humphrey so bad near the line of scrimmage that Humphrey didn't even move, leading to a catch; and, on the final pass of the drill, Hines was able to haul in a touchdown in the front right corner of the end zone by somehow momentarily keeping the tips of his toes on both feet in bounds before falling out of bounds.
— The quarterback challenge of the day came during a special teams period mid-practice, and this time all three quarterbacks at practice (Luck, Brissett and Phillip Walker) and assistant to the head coach Parks Frazier participated (Brad Kaaya was out Saturday with a back injury). The equipment guys placed a red plastic trash can in the back left corner of the end zone, and the three QBs and Frazier tried to get the perfect angle to throw the ball into the can from about 15 yards out in the middle of the field. It's a much tougher angle than some might expect. In the end, one the final throw of the day, Frazier was the only one to get the ball in the trash can, to the delight of the rest of the quarterbacks — and the cheering fans watching on.
————————
DEFENSE
— I saw a first-team nickel look today that consisted of Jabaal Sheard and Margus Hunt (defensive end), Denico Autry and Al Woods (defensive tackle), Skai Moore (MIKE) and Darius Leonard (WILL) at linebacker, Quincy Wilson/Chris Milton (outside) and Kenny Moore II (nickel) at cornerback and T.J. Green and Matthias Farley at safety.
— Farley made a tremendous hustle play at one point to bat away a sure long touchdown pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson to wide receiver Chris Moore. Moore had broken free down the left sideline and seemingly had room to make the catch as he got closer to the front corner of the end zone, but Farley sprinted all the way over from the middle of the field to get his hands on the pass and knock it to the grass.
— Robensen Therezie, signed just this morning by the Colts, was already seeing some reps at safety in today's practice. The fact that Chris Cooper was out with a hip injury today might've played a role in that. Therezie has played in 25 career games (two starts) and has totaled 30 tackles (24 solo), two passes defensed, one interception and four special teams stops in his time with the Cincinnati Bengals (2017), New Orleans Saints (2016) and Atlanta Falcons (2015-16).
————————
SPECIAL TEAMS
— The unfortunate takeaway from Saturday's practice were two fights that broke out, both of which frustrated head coach Frank Reich. The first one occurred during a punt drill, as pushing and shoving quickly turned into dozens of players from both teams getting into it all over the field. It took a while for the two sides to restore order and get back to the drill. The second skirmish happened about 15 minutes later between a Colts receiver and a Ravens defensive back, but that one quickly got resolved.
— Those working with the punt return unit for the Colts on Saturday: Kenny Moore II, Matthias Farley, Tyrell Adams, Reece Fountain, Najee Goode, Antonio Morrison, Kasen Williams, Steve Ishmael, Seantavius Jones, T.J. Green and Nate Hairston.
————————
INJURY UPDATE
— Those who did not participate in practice today: center Deyshawn Bond (concussion), tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring), safety Chris Cooper (hip), safety Clayton Geathers (rest), tackle/guard Denzelle Good (hamstring), wide receiver Krishawn Hogan (ankle), safety Malik Hooker (rest), defensive end Anthony Johnson (back), quarterback Brad Kaaya (back), defensive tackle/end Tyquan Lewis (foot), defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (abdominal), running back Marlon Mack (hamstring), running back Branden Oliver (hamstring), wide receiver Chester Rogers (not football-related), running back Robert Turbin (ankle), linebacker Anthony Walker (groin) and wide receiver James Wright (knee).
— Three wide receivers also had their practices end early on Saturday: wide receiver K.J. Brent (knee), wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (shoulder), wide receiver Zach Pascal (unknown). Brent went down after taking a big hit along the sidelines and had to be carted off the field; Reich said he will undergo further testing. Reich did not immediately believe Hilton's shoulder injury was anything serious.
