PHILADELPHIA --- 1st-round pick Phillip Dorsett gained some valuable game experience in the Colts preseason debut, with fellow wide receivers T.Y. Hilton (personal) and Donte Moncrief (groin) inactive. Dorsett started opposite Andre Johnson, finishing with four receptions and 51 yards on 8 targets but also fumbled at the end of a play, which was recovered by the Eagles.
'It was great just to get out there for your first game, seeing how everything is," said Dorsett in the locker room after the game, about what he'll take away from his first day in a Colts uniform. "It's different. It's different from college. I'd say ball security, just catching the ball and tucking it."
"He's a big play waiting to happen, but again he has to take care of the football," said Head Coach Chuck Pagano after the game. "You're looking at a guy that's going to be an outstanding football player, but you know what you're going to remember is the turnover. But again, we'll look at the tape. He's going to be a dynamic guy for us."
Dorsett, the speedster out of Miami, caught a ball across the middle for a big gain before Eagles safety Eric Rowe knocked it loose at the end of the play, in the 36-10 loss at Lincoln Financial Field. The potential for Dorsett was obvious though in his four receptions, creating clear separation from DBs with his 4.24 40-yard-dash speed.
"I would say the game is a little faster (than college)," said Dorsett. "I would say a lot of these people have been in these defenses for a couple of years. They really know what they're doing. They know how to play."
Dorsett earned first team reps in training camp with Andrew Luck some days at Anderson University, and when it came time to play in a game Sunday, he said it was not overwhelming for him.
"Yeah, definitely. It's really not much different from practice," said Dorsett. "Coach does a great of making our practices like game-like situations. I think I was fine."
Dorsett and the rest of the Colts now get a valuable opportunity to impress in joint practices this week against the Bears, before next weekend's preseason game against Chicago at Lucas Oil Stadium.
