INDIANAPOLIS – It appears the bye week did the Colts some good.
From a health standpoint, the Colts had one of their healthiest injury reports of the season on Wednesday.
Here is the Wednesday notebook looking at the good health, diving deeper into Sunday's game versus the Titans, which is the start of a vital stretch for the Colts.
INJURY NOTES
- OG-Denzelle Good (illness): Good was present Monday, but an illness kept him out of Wednesday's practice.
- DE-Kendall Langford (knee): Chuck Pagano was hoping to get Langford back to work on Wednesday. The big defensive end is still in "shut down" mode, as he's been for the past few weeks.
- CB-Patrick Robinson (groin): The cornerback sat out Wednesday's practice, but was going through some rehab work.
Chuck Pagano on having a healthy offense intact:
"It's great.
"It will be the first time in a long, so continuity is great and having all the playmakers on the outside available and healthy certainly doesn't hurt."
Bowen's Analysis: You had to do a couple of double takes when taking attendance at Wednesday's practice. Looking across the entire practice field saw as healthy an offensive unit as we've seen since the opening weeks of 2016. Right guard Denzelle Good was the only starter held out due to injury.
Such a turnout participating is a stark contrast from what the Colts had in their first meeting with the Titans this season. Back on Oct. 23, Andrew Luck didn't have Dwayne Allen, Jacoby Brissett, Jack Mewhort or Donte Moncrief. Luck was smiling on Wednesday knowing that this offense has still maintained steady production even with the days of missing valuable personnel. The amount of max protect the Colts had to use in Week Seven likely won't be needed again on Sunday.Chuck Pagano on Sunday's Week 11 matchup with the Titans:
"We talked about responding a few weeks ago and we did that. How we respond to success is doubly as important as the alternative.
"If you have a hard time getting up for this, then you shouldn't be in this business."
Bowen's Analysis: It might be a little early to start looking at playoff tiebreaking scenarios. However, a quick gander at those let's you know that the Colts would be really, really well served to win the rest of their divisional games in 2016 (three home divisional games).
At the same time, Sunday's matchup has a large amount of significance to the Titans. With a 5-5 record, the Titans are still very much in the AFC South race. The Colts have won 10 straight over the Titans and stretching that to 11 would keep them in the serious discussion for challenging the Texans at the top of the division.
Zach Kerr on the challenge of facing a run-heavy Titans' offense:
"They do a lot of different things, have a lot of different formations. They make you play honest.
"So you've got to respect what they come out in, respect their personnel. They might just do that to come out and run a regular run play at you. They do a lot of different things, a lot of funky things to get you out of whack and get you sideways. You just have to stay focused and stay on your keys."
Bowen's Analysis: The rushing numbers for the Titans are a ground and pound team. But they aren't just an offense that is going to line up in an I-Formation, double tight end set and smash it right at you. The Titans use variety in their scheme and the results have been one of the NFL's most productive rushing attacks.
Gap discipline is again very important for Indy. One thing to note with Tennessee's offense as of late, is that Marcus Mariota hasn't done a bunch of damage via his own rushing attempts. You know that potential is still there, but Mariota has just 10 rushing attempts for 33 yards the past three weeks.**
INJURY REPORT**
Here is Wednesday's injury report:
-DNP: CB-Vontae Davis (rest), OG-Denzelle Good (illness), RB-Frank Gore (rest), DE-Kendall Langford (knee), OLB-Robert Mathis (rest), CB-Patrick Robinson (groin)
-LIMITED: S-Mike Adams (groin/rest)
-FULL: DE-Henry Anderson (knee), OLB-Chris Carter (hamstring), G-Jack Mewhort (tricep), OT-Joe Reitz (concussion)
