INDIANAPOLIS – The sounds coming from Colts Camp in the coming days should be a bit louder.
With the 2017 debut of full pads coming Tuesday, the Colts are expected to increase the physical nature that's been harped on this offseason.
The Colts have promised a more physical Training Camp in 2017.
They hope that will translate to the regular season.
"It's hard to be a physical team if you don't want to have a physical Training Camp," GM Chris Ballard says. "I think it really comes to light when you get into November and December. Having a physical Training Camp, me and Chuck (Pagano) have talked a long time about this, and he's in agreement. It doesn't mean we're tackling to the ground every day. But what it means is we're going to have a few more live sessions than they've had in the past."
Collective bargaining guidelines forces teams to keep the full the pads off until the third practice day of camp.
That comes Tuesday for the Colts.
Picking up the physical nature of camp was something that Pagano first touched on late in the spring.
With a serious roster transition, especially defensively, ongoing in 2017, the Colts believe picking up the intensity is a must.
"The last couple of years it's been a little bit of an older team" Ballard says of the Colts. "I think (Pagano's) mindset towards practice was a little bit different. Now with a younger team, that we have to develop, that needs some live work.
"That doesn't mean we are going to be tackling, taking to the ground every day, but a lot more high and hard thud periods incorporated into practice. Chuck and his staff will be smart about it and you have to be smart about it. But saying that, if you want to be a physical football team, you've got to practice that way. The only way by doing that is to have live sparring reps during the preseason work."
Players' Thoughts
DE-Henry Anderson: "Defense hasn't held up our end of the bargain the past couple years. Anything we can do to start playing better as a unit, I'm all for it."OLB-John Simon:"I think camp is supposed to be physical. Especially for us on defense, we're trying to be a more physical group out there so it will be good for us and toughen us up a little bit. But Training Camp is supposed to be physical. Football is a physical sport and I know all the guys are looking forward to it. I think the teams that win in this league are the most physical teams so I think that always pays off. You come out here, have physical practices, guys are going to get banged up, that's part of the game and everyone knows that but we are going to come out here and get to work."
OLB-Jabaal Sheard:"To me, that's football. I know everybody is excited to get out of shells and jerseys and actually get some contact and play football. I know I'm looking for it."
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