WESTFIELD – The Colts offense was on the hunt for a day like Friday.
The Colts quarterback was frustrated and inconsistent with Indianapolis’ pass rush for most of training camp Anthony Richardson was in top form, completing 14 of 17 throws in the final practice before the season opener, a session that included four touchdown passes.
Third-year wide receiver Alec Pierce made the biggest pieces.
Pierce beats Jaylon Jones On the second play of 11-on-11, he shook off Jones, grabbed Pierce’s jersey and ran up to catch a long ball from Richardson that gave him a 32-yard gain.
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He followed that catch with a sliding catch over the middle and an improvised catch in 7-on-7 drills, changing his route to keep up with a charging Richardson, then finished the practice with two more catches on the final drive of the first offense of the practice. Pierce gained about 15 yards on a lateral route, then rose up to make a diving catch in the red zone that turned into a 15-yard touchdown one play later.
“Alec had a damn good training camp,” said Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said.
Pierce was far from the only receiver to make plays. Richardson completed five passes to Michael Pittman Jr.including a touchdown on fourth down at the end of the training, three for Pierce, three for AD Mitchellthree to Trey Sermon and one to ^ “Jonathan Taylor”.
Taylor’s catch looked like a touchdown, a ball down the left sideline that Taylor spun at full speed into the end zone, and Sermon made the other touchdown catch of the day.
Additionally, on a play where Richardson held the ball in the pocket a little too long while attempting to score, he saw a gap and used his speed to get into the end zone.
In 11-on-11 drills, he only put one throw in danger, a short throw into the end zone, the cornerback Flowers Dallis almost intercepted, although the back referee ran into the play to signal that it was not complete, which infuriated Flowers. Richardson threw an interception in 7-on-7 drills and dropped a throw high enough for Kenny Moore II in the end zone.
Who will replace Josh Downs in the slot?
Indianapolis loses receiver in starting position Josh Downs to a high ankle sprain on Wednesday, and although the Colts had other options, Mitchell was the team’s first answer in the slot.
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Up to this point in training camp, Mitchell had worked exclusively as an outside receiver.
But Mitchell’s ability to break away from defensive backs after making his cut at the top of his route was one of the reasons Indianapolis drafted the Texas product in the second round, and that ability to break away is a useful skill in the slot.
“In the slot position, there are certain body types (that typically play there), but you can put anyone in the slot,” Steichen said. “It all depends on what route concept you’re following, where you want certain people. Those people are all interchangeable.”
Excessively physical
Two of the three cornerbacks competing for playing time at the two starting spots alongside Moore struggled to avoid flags during parts of training camp.
Jones was the player under fire on Friday.
Not only did Jones grab Pierce’s jersey—a fruitless endeavor, as Pierce went up and got the ball anyway—but he also committed pass interference on a long pass to Pittman, shoving the team’s best wide receiver so hard that he couldn’t jump up and make a play.
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The Colts have not yet given an exact date for the return of Downs, who suffered a severe ankle sprain after being Nick Cross during a 7-on-7 practice on Wednesday.
“I’m not going to put a timetable on his return, but I know he’s going to go at his rehab like crazy,” Steichen said. “He’s going to come back.”
Defensive attack DeForest Buckner and Cornerback JuJu Brents were excluded from training to rest. Brents was spotted on the exercise bike once.
Defensive end Tyquan Lewis and Tight End Will Mallory returned to training on Friday along with linebacker Liam Anderson and security Kendall Brooks.
Wide receiver Ashton Dulin (thigh), linebacker Jaylon Carlies (hip) and defensive end Genard Avery (thigh) also missed training.
Fast thugs
Third-year tight end Jelani Forests made some nice plays and rose up to catch balls on intermediate routes from the backup quarterback Joe Flacco… Flacco completed 9 of 10 with the second team, including a touchdown at the end of practice for DJ Montgomery. … Anthony Gould, Flowers Dallis And Ethan Fernea returned punts in the absence of Downs. … Rookie in the sixth round Micah Abraham had a nice flash against Sam Ehlinger. Abraham is developing as a nickel behind Moore.
