Michael Pittman Jr. & Rock Ya-Sin Continue Competitive Battles, DeForest Buckner Returns



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Among those returning for the Colts on Saturday were defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and defensive tackle / end Denico Autry. Buckner – who was no longer a limited participant on Saturday – had missed two practices with a hand injury, while Autry was out on Friday with an ankle injury.

Among those not taking part in Saturday practice: wide receiver Chad Williams (unknown), cornerback Kenny Moore II (groin), safety George Odum (unknown), cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (unknown), running back Bruce Anderson III (unknown), tight end Xavier Grimble (unknown), long snapper Luke Rhodes (unknown), tight end Ian Bunting (unknown), guard Chaz Green (unknown), tackle Braden Smith (foot), tackle Andrew Donnal (unknown), wide receiver Marcus Johnson (unknown), tight end Jack Doyle (neck) and defensive tackle Sheldon Day (knee).

The Colts were pretty lean at the end of the tight race throughout the day, only Trey Burton, Farrod Green and Mo Alie-Cox, who is still coming back to a fuller charge after returning from Physically Unable. to Perform (PUP) on Friday. Tight winger Andrew Vollert, who claimed waivers by the Colts on Friday, is on the exonerated list until Monday.

With the long Rhodes snapper absent on Saturday, the Colts still exhausted their kicking and punting units as usual, but with an emergency snapper: tight winger Trey Burton. Rodrigo Blankenship connected on 4 out of 7 moves, while Chase McLaughlin was 3 in 7. Although this is not used as an excuse, there is something to be said about a sudden change in how the snapper works. -support-kicker who can throw out the timing. It’s good to have this practice now because you never know what can happen throughout the season.

Head coach Frank Reich today mixed up how the two kickers got their reps. After not attempting a field goal in team action on Friday, Reich asked McLaughlin to score three field goals at the start of Saturday’s practice, then Blankenship attempted three. The next two chances in the basket saw the two kickers alternate their chances from the same distances.

One final element related to kicking: We now know that part of kicking competition is to tie # 1-49 to one kicker and # 50-99 to another, and whatever. or the kicker who cannot “win the day”, his group must perform a sprint mid-practice. On Saturday, numbers 1-49 lined up to run for the first time at camp; Cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Chad Kelly (yes, even QBs had to run) all set the pace for the group.

Almost like clockwork, the very first 11-on-11 game was quarterback Philip Rivers who hooked up with wide receiver TY Hilton on a well-placed back pass just out of the reach of cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

And, once again like clockwork from that first week or two of camp, Tyquan Lewis took a big step on the next game, crashing from the inside to record a loss tackle on a rushed Marlon attempt. Mack. The Ohio State third-year product would have another big running game later in the day on the third down, raising a fist to signify the fourth down and then leaving the field confidently before being greeted by a punch by defensive line coach Brian. Baker.

Autry also had a big day coming off the rim for the Indy defensive line. At first, he reversed a Rivers pass attempt against running back Nyheim Hines, and later showed his active hands to pierce the right side against Le’Raven Clark and stop Mack in the backfield.

But on the next play, maybe the offense learned its lesson, as Rivers took advantage of an aggressive defense by quickly throwing to a wide open Zach Pascal, who grabbed the pass over for a huge gain. . There was a similar play later in practice, as quarterback Jacoby Brissett used the play action to find Burton across the field for a big chunk.

Rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and second-year cornerback Rock Ya-Sin continue to have some really competitive battles lined up. In an 11-on-11 drill on Saturday, Rivers found Pittman Jr. on the fast against Ya-Sin, who slipped, giving Pittman Jr. space to immediately turn around and get a big game from YAC ( meters after capture). These two also split the wins in their two 1-on-1 reps, with both reps showing off a lot of physique, much like that pass break we saw tweeted by @Colts during Friday practice:

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