WESTFIELD, Ind. — Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward flipped his hips, pinned Michael Pittman Jr. to the sideline and swallowed a throw from Anthony Richardson.
Without any help.
Ward was going up against Pittman in the first 1-on-1 coverage drills of training camp, a session that typically favors the offense.
Not on Saturday night. The Indianapolis secondary dominated its 1-on-1 drills against the wide receivers, another sign of how good the Colts defensive backs have been to start training camp.
“Our defense has been doing a hell of a job, and we need that from them,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “They’ve been sticky. It’s going to help our offense get better.”
Ward also broke up his second rep against Pittman, and he was far from the only cornerback to come up with a stop in the red zone.
Rookie cornerback Justin Walley bounced back from a catch on his first snap to drive down and knock away a throw to Josh Downs, and Jaylon Jones broke up a jump ball against Adonai Mitchell in the end zone that left Mitchell visibly frustrated.
“Offense, we’ve got to pick it up a little bit,” Pittman said. “The defense is getting after us, but that’s typically how it goes, the defense is ready to go a little bit faster.”
Colts QBs struggle in red zone
The defense dominated the rest of the practice, a session focused on red-zone work.
Richardson completed just 4 of 14 passes in 11-on-11 work despite taking more than half of those snaps in the red zone, and his competition for the starting quarterback job, Daniel Jones, finished 5 of 14 in arguably the most difficult practice of training camp for the offense so far.
Indianapolis opened the team portion of practice by running the first- and second-team offenses at the same time on separate fields. Working with the first-team offense, Richardson was 0 for 3, missing on a play to Downs, a throw to the middle of the end zone that was broken up by Cameron McGrone and another throw that was broken up by middle linebacker Joe Bachie, who has quietly turned in a solid training camp in coverage so far.
Over on the other field, Jones missed Mitchell on his first throw, then likely took a sack from free safety Rodney Thomas on his next play, attempting a pass that Samuel Womack III intercepted in the back of the end zone. A flag was thrown on Womack, who drew flags on at least two other plays, including a one-on-one repetition. Jones missed on his next two throws, leaving the quarterbacks a combined 0 for 7 after the joint drill.
Richardson bounced back a little bit in the next red-zone period, completing 2 passes to Alec Pierce in 3 attempts while under heavy pressure — defensive tackle Neville Gallimore likely would have sacked Richardson on his first completion. The second, though, was Richardson’s best throw of the day, a laser to Pierce as he slid between two defenders for a touchdown. Jones responded with two short completions to running backs Tyler Goodson and D.J. Giddens.
Bachie broke up Jones’ first pass in 7-on-7 with the first-team unit, his second throw was too far behind Downs and his third hit Downs in the chest, short of the end zone. Jones made a nice throw on the next play, layering a pass over two defenders to Pittman in the back of the end zone, but Pittman dropped it, and the final pass of the session was broken up.
Richardson completed passes to Ashton Dulin and Khalil Herbert in 7-on-7, but he also misfired on a ball to Drew Ogletree and made a dicey throw into tight coverage that JuJu Brents deflected high into the air for an interception by Thomas.
The Colts headed back into the red zone for the next series. Working with the first team, Jones hit Downs for a short gain on his first throw, then rolled right and found a streaking Pierce across the back of the end zone for a touchdown on his best throw of the day. Bynum broke up his third offering, although Jones did pull the ball down for a rushing touchdown.
Richardson overthrew Tyler Warren on his first throw of the period, then missed tight end Will Mallory, tossing it behind him before finding Giddens for a touchdown. The rookie running back has displayed natural pass-catching ability through the first four practices, hauling in throws easily and in fluid motion. Richardson also had a rushing touchdown on the day.
Indianapolis finished off the practice with a pair of two-minute drills.
Neither quarterback had much success, outside of a scramble for a first down by each player. Richardson overthrew Warren on his first pass, had his second batted down at the line of scrimmage and then missed too low to an open Pierce, who dove for the ball but couldn’t get his hands on the ball in time. Veteran tight end Mo Alie-Cox made a nice catch on Richardson’s next offering, twisting in midair for a 20-yard throw floated to his other side, but Richardson couldn’t find Pittman on his final play of the drill.
Mitchell made Jones’s life difficult in his two-minute series. The second-year receiver dropped back-to-back passes to start the drive, and after a Jones scramble, Womack broke up an attempt to Gould. Jones finally got a chunk play of his own by hitting Mitchell, but like Richardson, he wasn’t able to connect on his final throw of the day, ending a difficult day for a pair of quarterbacks who are off to slow starts in the open competition between the two players.
Colts coach turned quarterback
Steichen believes his team needs to do a better job in sudden-change situations this season, capitalizing on turnovers by being ready to go at all times.
With that in mind, the former UNLV quarterback threw a twist at the players on Saturday night, taking a snap himself at the start of one period and intentionally throwing an interception to Bynum, who returned it and celebrated the same way he’d celebrate in a game.
“I didn’t see much,” Steichen joked after the practice. “I dropped back, I had some pressure in my face and then I just – I let it go and he made a hell of a play on the ball.”
The play had a purpose.
“We worked on a sudden-change in that situation, just putting those guys in those situations to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to get a turnover in games and the offense has got to go do something with it,” Steichen said.
More than meets the eye
When Indianapolis signed former Cincinnati linebacker Joe Bachie in free agency, the move appeared to be mostly for special teams. While Bachie has been in the NFL for five seasons, he’s played 874 snaps in the kicking game and 238 on defense, 160 of those defensive snaps coming for the Bengals in 2021.
Bachie still might not get a lot of defensive action in Indianapolis once Pro Bowl middle linebacker Zaire Franklin returns from offseason surgery to clean up his left ankle.
If he has to play, though, it looks like Bachie might be a little more than a body to fill the spot, a lot like former special teams ace Grant Stuard proved to be when he was thrust into the starting lineup last season.
Bachie has been all over the field through the first four days of training camp, particularly in coverage, breaking up at least three passes in 11-on-11 work so far while roaming the middle of the field. Indianapolis is counting on a lot of unheralded players behind Franklin and Jaylon Carlies; Bachie leads a group that has surprised in coverage so far.
Colts QB camp counter
Richardson: 19 of 43, 2 TD, INT in 11-on-11; 9 of 16, INT in 7-on-7
Jones: 23 of 41, TD, INT in 11-on-11; 9 of 18, INT in 7-on-7
Injury report
Starting slot cornerback Kenny Moore II sat out Saturday’s practice with a knee injury.
“He’s got a sore knee,” Steichen said. “Nothing serious. He’ll be out there next week, but just rested him today.”
Developmental offensive tackle Jack Wilson has missed the last two practices due to a pectoral injury suffered Thursday. Franklin has not practiced yet.
Quick hitters
Middle linebacker Austin Ajiake knifed past center Tanor Bortolini for a tackle-for-loss at one point. … Rookie quarterback Riley Leonard has largely struggled so far, but he lofted a ball to Laquon Treadwell for a touchdown in contested coverage Saturday night. Treadwell, the former first-round pick, has made a handful of highlight plays through the first four days, but he faces a loaded depth chart at receiver. … The Colts are trying out a lot of different players at kick returner. Gould, Goodson, Giddens, Dulin, Coleman Owen and D.J. Montgomery were among the players who got chances on Saturday night.
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