Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor Impressed By Daniel Jones’ Speed

Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor Impressed By Daniel Jones’ Speed

So, just I mean, how how uh relieved are you to finally just play, man? Be completely honest. We’re tired of talking about it. You’re probably tired of talking about it. It’s um it’s always a buildup. It’s always an anticipation. You go through the whole offseason process, but now it’s everything you’ve been working on, everything you’ve been thinking about, it’s time to put it into action. So, it’s it’s an exciting week because game week is finally here. Now, you know, each and every single week we’re on it now. It’s not just preparing, it’s hey, we’re preparing and now we’re performing. Do you have to learn Tanner and and Matt as as blockers a little bit with them being new interior? Yeah. And you you’ll definitely learn their strengths and their weaknesses as far as where they can where they can improve at, but they’ll let you know like, hey man, I love reach blocks. So now you know, okay, hey, a guy loves reach blocks. I can press the landmark, you know, that much more because I know I can trust he’s going to get there. and you continue to work and and develop that relationship on those reps in the practice field. What are you seeing from DJ Giddens? Um he’s very quiet at least with us, but I would imagine he’s in that running back room he’s a little more talking. Uh you can just tell he’s trying to soak everything in like a sponge. Uh and I think that’s actually really important. And um and I think it’s it’s actually a good thing that he he may not speak as much, you know, initially because I just remember my freshman year of college, you know, coming from a small high school going to a large school at Wisconsin. I just wanted to observe everything. I wanted to see, you know, who got things right, who got things wrong, what were the coaching points, even uh things that weren’t necessarily directed at me. So I feel like he’s soaking everything up. And I think that when he gets his opportunity and you know he has the ball in his hands, I think that he’ll make a lot of special plays. His play style standpoint, what stands out about the way he runs or even catch the ball in the back field, things like that? Really his subtleness. Um he he’s able to kind of play with like leverage and angles and you may think that he’s leaning one way or his his body is contorted one way and then he sticks a foot in the ground and he’s, you know, going and bursting in the opposite direction. So I think his subtleness I think it’ll it’ll throw a lot of people off and uh he’s very athletic. What sticks out to you about Daniel after working with him for an offseason training camp? I think with Daniel, I mean, of course, him being a vet, you know, he kind of knows how to to go, you know, with the standard order of operation, but um just really at the line, being able to soak in the system as well, you know, coming in, learn the system, soak it in, and then being able to apply it and say, “Hey, you know, making the changes and the adjustments that he may need to make, you know, if we get a certain look, uh that’s not, you know, advantageous for us.” So, I just think his operation at the line being able to learn our system quickly and then apply it in his own way on the field. How how important is that stuff? Because I think sometimes it’s it’s hard for people who don’t play to to understand why that’s such a prefield. It’s tough because at the end of the day, it’s it’s almost like it’s like the mic linebacker. He he’s commanding the defense, you know, he has the green dot. He’s telling people where to line up. So, same thing on offense with the quarterback. He has to make sure, you know, everyone is in the right places, the right position. Of course, you know, we need to know our book as well, but as far as he’s he’s like the general on the field. So, being able to have someone that knows that standard order of operation, I think is is really big because if you don’t start off right, then you’re already set yourself up for failure. Jonathan, last year you got back, you know, to big numbers, 1400 yards, but I think most of that is health, right? You were healthy healthier. Um, but is there is there anything else was there anything else that you feel like you you did well last season that allowed you to be you? Um, number one, I just think really being able to to not force a lot of things. I know there are a lot of times, especially, you know, any back, they always want to have a big play. They always want to, you know, may have an explosive run. And then a lot of those runs sometimes is just being patient, letting the blocks develop. And maybe a two, three yard run turns out to a six or seven yard run, not a 20 yard run, but we’ll take six or seven all day. So having those stack up throughout the year is something that I do think of was something that I did a lot more rather than, you know, you could get to instances where you may try to bounce some runs trying to make something happen, but it’s like, hey, take the yards that are there, keep the legs turning, they may turn into a seven yard run. Honoring Jim Merc. How special is that? What does that mean to you? I mean, the family legacy, they they built this place. They built this place and it means something. Everyone that’s in the building, they mean something. they all play a part in making sure that this this organization continues to move forward in the right way. So, our part in order to to continue to move that legacy forward is of course making sure that we’re prepared, ready to go. Um, doing what we we need to do in the community off of the field, but when it comes time to being on the field is going about winning the right way. And I think that it’s going to be it’s going to be a really special moment. It’s going to be a really special season um because it was built on special principles. Does it add anything to this game in terms of you want to win for you want to on the day that he’s going to the ring line. I think like you mentioned, it does it does add to it because you obviously want to go out there and you want to win every game. You want to win every first game, but it even means even that much more because it’s and it’s sad that um you know, we have to go in this in this way, in this manner to to get it done, but it it’s we know he’s watching and we just want to put a good product on the field uh to ensure that hey, what he left behind is still headed in the right direction. JT, one of the observations people had noted about Daniel over the course of training camp was they underestimated the ability with his legs, that playmaking ability. Has there been a point that you know he caught you maybe by surprise or something that you observed about that element of his game? Yeah, he’s fast. Um cuz you know guys will hit 21 miles an hour in the game. You know adrenaline sprinting down the field. He’s hitting 21 miles an hour at practice. So uh for and especially for a quarterback that’s that’s unique. That’s but I don’t know I don’t know too many quarterbacks that are hitting those speeds um at practice. Of course, I don’t know all the details inside of the buildings, but uh that was something that really caught my eye is, you know, for him to kind of hit some of those feeds at practice. So, you know, I don’t want to say sneaky deceptive cuz I I don’t think it’s a secret. I think people know like it’s pretty athletic dude. So, I’m I’m excited for him to put it on display. Are do you like do you like all of the like you mentioned miles per hour in practice? Do you like all the numbers that are available to you? I know you’re a a guy who tries to think about everything in terms preparation. Do you like all the numbers that are available now? I do and it’s necessarily more for feel. So you can go and you may have a run at practice or you may have a rep at practice and you know you’re just going to find out hey what number you know what miles an hour did I hit on that so that you know like when I’m feeling like this I know these are the speeds that I can hit. It just helps you be a little bit more in tune with your body that’s all the speed you can hit. Well I’m trying to hit 23 miles an hour. Uh I don’t know you guys I don’t know if I told you guys there was a guy at school I went to Isaac Garindo and you guys probably saw some of it. I told you guys Isaac Arindo hit 23 miles an hour. So if Isaac’s watching this, listen, I’m still I’m still grinding. 2021 you told us about Yeah, I do remember that. I was first. Listen, I was first. I was first. Isaac told us last year how to play running back when he was here at the local pro. Yeah. So Isaac cuz he switched over from uh he was like an athlete when he came in, then he was at receiver and then running back and that’s tough. That’s tough going from position to position, learning new techniques. So just trying to give them little nuggets and just letting them know like dude you’re fast like people are scared that like go just run just run. Could you feel I mean do you do you feel 22 is different from 23 or Oh it definitely is. And but the thing is it’s not you’re not that you strain more. It’s usually when you feel relaxed and you didn’t run as fast. It’s usually when you hit those faster times. Just a little tip.

Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor spoke ahead of the opener against the Miami Dolphins, and also discussed what he sees in QB Daniel Jones. (video via Jake Arthur)

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