ANDERSON, Ind. — Week 2 of the Indianapolis Colts' training camp this year was productive, historic and … left you wanting much, much more.
That's because the Colts' first scheduled preseason game of the year against the Green Bay Packers — the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio — was canceled due to the field conditions at Tom Benson Stadium.
It was certainly the correct decision — there's no reason at all to risk the players' safety, let alone in the preseason — but the outcome was disappointing nonetheless.
After several productive days, including multiple practice sessions in full pads, the Colts players were certainly ready to finally do a little hitting against members of another team.
While that didn't happen, the second week of camp at Anderson University did provide plenty of notable quotes from the Colts players, coaches and team personnel. Check out the Top 10 quotes here:
• "Obviously Chuck (Pagano) and Ryan (Grigson) have a great relationship and Andrew (Luck) is feeling really healthy. He feels great and that makes me feel great because, yeah, we're under the radar, but we have Andrew Luck. Andrew understands what those expectations mean. I think we all know every year Andrew is in the discussions about being an MVP of the league type of guy. We are having a great year, and look at it, it's a quarterback driven league there's no question about it. And we want to do everything we can to get him in the position to play great and be in that three or four guys in the league that's talked about for the MVP. That's the way it should be every year. He's up to the challenge." — Colts Owner Jim Irsay, on the organization being able to focus strictly on football heading into the 2016 regular season.
• "I think it's everything. We always talk about serving and giving back and our guys do a great job. They spend time in the community. Dog days of two-a-days, day one when the blimp is in the air and you've got Daffy and Goofy and you've got a tent and you've got all this stuff going on, it's great. But day six? It's a little bit harder. So it's great to have those guys out there rooting these guys on, and we appreciate them very much." - Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano, on the team's fans coming out and supporting the team day after day at training camp.
• "Erik is one of those young guys that I'm talking about. He's really done a nice job. You see the football understanding start to come around where he's doing things that aren't necessarily drawn up the way it is on the play. He's making adjustments that you'd expect from somebody who has played the game quite a bit. I'm really pleased with him in all aspects. He's not just been a pass catcher, he's blocked, he's pass blocked, he's run blocked and he's improved in all areas so I'm excited about him." — Colts Offensive Coordinator Rob Chudzinski, on the development of tight end Mo Alie-Cox.
• "Absolutely. I know what a blessing it is to be here. I know what a blessing it is to be in this league period. To have a leadership role in this league is something that's rare. There aren't many of them. Of course I'm excited." — Colts Defensive Coordinator Ted Monachino, on the prospects of coaching in his first-ever game as an NFL defensive coordinator.
• "This is a group with great character. We don't have any egos. We really want to win. The team is pretty close, in my opinion. I think that's definitely going to help us with staying together, making plays together and giving us a chance to win." — Colts cornerback Patrick Robinson, on what he's noticed about the organization since signing with the team as a free agent earlier in the offseason.
• "Oh yeah, he's changed a lot of things with his footwork (and) his delivery. He's just working hard. He's getting the ball out quicker. He's making sure guys are in the right spots. He's checking the protection (and) making sure guys are picking up the blitz or stunts or whatever they're doing. He's looking really well." — Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, on what differences he's seen out of quarterback Andrew Luck compared to last season.
• "For me personally, I didn't feel like I was that much inexperienced. I played a lot of football at Clemson, I was able to obtain a lot of knowledge fast. Just to be able to bring everything from the meeting (room) to the field and just be able to show the coaches that I can obtain a lot of knowledge and learn quickly." — Colts safety T.J. Green, on his growth at the safety position as a rookie.
• "Yeah, there are certain things in games that are just hard to replicate in practice. Whether it's the crowd noise, an official spotting the ball a certain way, certain types of weather, going against a different defense, having some type of a "game plan" – we don't game plan for our defense at training camp – but have a game plan. Bringing the new guys into the fold and seeing what everybody's game day demeanor/attitude/body language is, I think is important when you are sort of forging your team." — Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, on if there are "certain checkmarks" he wants to reach during the preseason.
• "I'm just one of the workers, we call it one of the brick layers for the foundation. It started with Coach Dungy, Bill Polian, Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and the list goes on and on. To be able to be a part of that is a great feeling." — Colts outside linebacker Robert Mathis, on playing a part in Indianapolis becoming a football city due to the work of several now-Hall of Famers.
• "First of all, I'm glad to even be considered to be a part of the competition. There's just so much talent on the offensive line with the rookies coming in and guys who are already here and guys coming back from injuries. I just feel blessed to be able to compete in that and wherever the coaches want me, whatever reps they want me to take, I'm going to take full advantage." — Colts tackle Denzelle Good, on the competition for reps for a starting spot at right guard along the offensive line.
