INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana weather is holding true to form on Wednesday.
After looking bleak on Wednesday morning and forcing a potential shift of plans, the original schedule is being used for the Colts/Bears joint practices.
The Colts and Bears will scrimmage together for two hours on Wednesday afternoon in full pads.
What else did Chuck Pagano have to say to the media on Wednesday morning?
INJURY NEWS
-The following players will not practice on Wednesday: Robert Mathis, Donald Thomas, Nate Irving (will participate in individual period only), Boom Herron (groin), Donald Celiscar, D'Joun Smith (walk-through only for him as he undergoes the concussion protocol) and Daniel Adongo (quad).
Chuck Pagano on how the joint practices with the Bears will operate:
"We are going to give them a bunch of different situational stuff, third-down, red-zone, two-minute. We won't do any short yardage, any goal line."
Bowen's Analysis:* *Pagano laid it out pretty clearly of how the Colts practices will operate with the Bears. Wednesday's session is expected to be in full pads before the teams don shells on Thursday.
Pagano was peppered with questions on being "competitive but not combative" during these joint practices. We've seen fights all over the NFL during these sessions. Pagano and Bears head coach John Fox have made it clear that won't be an issue for their teams. If the scuffles stay away, these practices can be extremely beneficial for teams.
Chuck Pagano on judging the run defense after Week One of the preseason in Philadelphia:
"It's hard to really evaluate…these next two days will be a good test."
Bowen's Analysis: Chuck Pagano is going to wait to see what his run defense looks like. Making any conclusions after Week One of the preseason would be premature, considering the lack of game planning against a team with such a unique offensive system.
The run defense should receive quite the test this week in running back Matt Forte. The Bears Pro Bowler is expected to practice this week and make his preseason debut on Saturday night. Going against a Bears offense that is more similar to what the Colts are going to see throughout their 2015 season (compared to the Eagles) will offer Pagano a better evaluation.
Chuck Pagano on roster cuts:
"Our roster is probably better right now than it's been at any point, so we are going to say good-bye to a lot of good players."
Bowen's Analysis: That time has come. We are less than two weeks away from the initial roster cuts (90 players to 75). Those will occur on Tuesday, September 1, after the third preseason game.
For those backend of the roster guys, these scrimmages with the Bears are critical. Playing time on Saturday night and in Week Three of the preseason isn't going to be immense for those guys, so a chance to impress (against another team) comes on Wednesday and Thursday.
