INDIANAPOLIS – It was another outdoor practice for the Colts (1-2) on Thursday with a two-hour session in preparation for the Titans.
The Colts will have a morning practice on Friday to conclude the week prior to Sunday afternoon's home contest with the Tennessee Titans (1-2).
Here are a few headlines from the Colts coordinators and the Thursday injury report:
Pep Hamilton on the play of the Colts offensive line:
"We believe our guys improve by playing the game.
"We've seen continual improvement from week-to-week."
Bowen's Analysis:* *Continuity is the name of the game for the Colts offensive line. All offseason long, different names were thrown around for those three interior spots with the biggest denominator being the need for the same bodies in there to get the necessary cohesion across that unit.
The Colts didn't have the same starting offensive line in back-to-back weeks throughout the final month of the 2013 season (five games). After three weeks in 2014, the Colts have had the same starting five each week. Don't mess with success and that's why A.Q. Shipley remains the team's starting center.
Pep Hamilton on Reggie Wayne's production the last two weeks:
"Within the flow of the game, there are times where teams kind of scheme, rotate, take away certain guys.
"We feel like we have the flexibility within the system to keep everyone involved."
Bowen's Analysis: It speaks to the Hall of Fame type of volume for Wayne when questions come up at press conferences on a lack of production from Wayne after back-to-back 3 and 4 catch games. The crazier stat is that Wayne and T.Y. Hilton have been held out of the end zone, even with Andrew Luck leading the NFL in touchdown passes (9).
This is simply a byproduct of the weapons around Luck. Wayne himself said it best on his weekly radio show. He compared it back to his days with the likes of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison and how the touches might not be what most first round picks expect. Wayne doesn't get too caught up in such things, knowing that wins and losses is the ultimate deciding factor. He also knows that when the game is on the line, the ball is in all likelihood coming towards Wayne.
Greg Manusky on what he tells his defensive backs with the emphasis on penalties:
"You teach them after that five yards, you just can't make contact.
"It's a situation where you still want to be aggressive, get them re-routed, get them off their mark and then all of a sudden once you get them past that five yards, get your hands off of them."
Bowen's Analysis: For a defense that has their corners play such an aggressive nature, Manusky knows that penalties are going to happen. The Colts have had 10 in three games in playing pass defense.
Manusky is adamant he doesn't want his defensive backs to change their style of play, but rather realize the importance of the five-yard rule. The individual efforts shown on interceptions by Greg Toler in Week Two and Vontae Davis in Week Three are indicative of the type of ball skills this secondary is capable of.
INJURY NOTES
Here's the injury report from Thursday's practice:
-DNP: Colt Anderson (groin), Jerrell Freeman (hamstring), Mario Harvey (hamstring), Arthur Jones (ankle), Andy Studebaker (hamstring), Hugh Thornton (ankle) and Erik Walden (knee)
-The new additions to the DNP group include Colt Anderson and Erik Walden. With Freeman and Jones already missing practice last week and this, the status of Walden is one to watch with the front seven depth tested right now.
-LIMITED: NONE
-FULL: Ahmad Bradshaw (rest), Darius Butler (neck), Vontae Davis (ankle), T.Y. Hilton (ankle), D'Qwell Jackson (rest), LaRon Landry (rest) Joe Reitz (ankle), Greg Toler (ribs) and Reggie Wayne (rest)
-Similar to last week, a ton of guys returned to practice on Thursday. It's good to see the Colts secondary get four of their top five guys back.
