Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts Camp Assessments with George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin

Episode Date: August 21, 2020

On today's episode, George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin returns to give us an assessment of how the Colts are looking in training camp thus far.From Philip Rivers and DeForest Buckner to the rookie class, there's plenty of notes from George to parse through.How has Rivers adjusted to Indy's offense? Is the Mack-Taylor duo going to be one of the best in the NFL? How about some players poised to take leaps in 2020?All of this, plus so much more, as Evan and George dive into the latest notes from Colts camp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into your latest episode of Locked on Colts, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Satter. I'm joined by a special guest on today's show, George Bremmer, the Colts beat writer for the Herald Bulletin. George, how are you doing today? Great, Evan. Thanks. Always happy to join you. Yeah, absolutely. I know our listeners always enjoy having you on as well, George.

First time in a little bit, we've had the chance to speak to you about the Colts, especially since it's been a weird offseason, of course. Before we get started, what's it been like just covering this team? You're doing Zoom calls now instead of in person. What's the difference from the media side of things in this COVID-19 type of environment? Yeah, it's been kind of surreal. I mean, here we are, what, August 9th to August 20th now. August 21st, lost track of the date even.

And I think we've seen four practices uh live and in person we haven't talked to anybody you know face to face obviously there's a lot worse things going on uh in the country and around the world with with this pandemic but uh it's just it's really weird in a lot of ways it feels more like April or May on the NFL calendar than it does August. You know, this is much more of an OTAs or mini camp kind of setting and feel to it than training camp. Not having fans out there is strange, you know,

and a big play happens and there's no reaction. I mean, there is from the offense and sometimes from the defense. In coaching staff, you don't get that roar of the crowd it's just such a you know odd kind of feeling but at the same time it's also you know going out to practice this week has probably been the most normal thing i've done in the last five months we're all wearing masks there's a lot less media out there. Everybody's social distanced. It's different in a lot of ways, but yet you watch practice and you have that sort of normal feeling that you would get. So it kind of goes both ways. It's obviously something unlike any of us have ever experienced,

but at the same time, there is some kind of comforting feeling to doing something that at least feels a little bit like the world before the coronavirus took over all our lives. Yeah, and luckily football is just around the corner here at George, three weeks away from the Colts' season opener at Jacksville against the Jaguars. Let's dive into your assessment so far, what you've seen out in the practice field at West 56th Street. And let's start off with the biggest name of the Colts out of this offseason,

improving their quarterback position, Phillip Rivers, the Chargers legend, 17-year pro, now entering into Indianapolis. He reunites with Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni. You've been keeping track of Rivers so far, his stats, and the team periods you're able to see at camp so far. I think he's above 70% completion percentage so far, if I'm not mistaken, George. Yeah, I think there were a couple days, obviously, before we got there that weren't in pads.

And I think Chris Ballard said at one point in the week, Rivers was at 89%, which I would believe. I mean, he hasn't had more than three or four incompletions most days. He had four today. One of those was really almost completely rock his head and just making a great play against the rookie michael pitman jr in the end zone jump ball situation pitman had it the whole way and then as they were coming down to the ground in the end zone he's sitting got his hand in there

knocked it away you know hard to really fault anybody on that really just a great play by the defense um a couple other times you know through week, there's been a drop here and there. But, you know, Rivers has looked really sharp. I think the thing to me that's most impressive is he doesn't look like he's only been here for a week with this offense. It looks like he's been playing in Indianapolis for years. You know, obviously he has a background with this offense from having worked with Frank Reich

and Nick Sirianni and Jason Michael with the Chargers. So there was a little bit of a foundation for him coming in. But none of these guys really from the offensive line or the skill positions, none of them have really spent any time with him at all. And you just don't see that. You don't see a lot of miscommunication. There was one play in particular where it looked like on the first day in pads where it looked like maybe Pittman cut the wrong

way or read the defense a little bit differently than than Rivers did but that's really the only one I can remember in the four practices we've seen of even a miscommunication type situation it's really kind of remarkable how quickly this offense has gotten on the same page. And a lot of that's due to Rivers' ability just to process information and make decisions really lightning quick out there. Yeah, from what I've read from your reporting and others there at Colts Camp so far, it seems like Rivers' ability to process, that's one of the stronger points in Rivers' overall repertoire,

is his ability to process the field, make his read and throw it really quickly. Have you noticed that, too, compared to last year, Jacoby Brissett, as we talked throughout last year, Georgie maybe was a little – a tick or two slow on making the right progression down the field. It seems like when Rivers really locks in, he's doing so in a really quick pace. Have you noticed a more efficient offense so far? Yeah, absolutely.

And a lot of times it's, you know, that drop, and it's sort of what you got used to when Peyton Manning was here. Rivers' back foot hits the ground, and the ball's out. It's almost like he's made the read before the snap, and then once the ball's in his hands, as he's going back and looking at the defense, it's one, two, three, four real quick reads, and as soon as he hits that last step in his drop, the ball's going four, you know, real quick reads. And as soon as he hits that last step in his drop, the ball's going somewhere and it's usually on target. It's usually in a position where the receiver can make a play afterwards. Now, obviously this is training camp.

And so if he didn't look good right now, that'd probably be a bigger story than the fact that he does. You know, I imagine most teams right now feel pretty good about what the starting quarterback's doing. But I think what you're talking about right now, the pace and the efficiency with which Rivers is operating, to me, that's the most impressive thing so far. Yeah, and with Rivers, too, I mentioned this on your show, George.

I want to get your opinion on this, too. It seems like Rivers really has taken command of that locker room already. I know you've only seen a couple periods of practice so far but from what you've gathered just watching and seeing how rivers interacts with his teammates and how much the teammates respect him have you noticed like rivers take on that leadership role right away absolutely and it's much like i was talking about on the field you know it doesn't feel like he's only been here since march you know they the a lot of the players almost everybody we've talked to when they're asked about him immediately they have not just something good to say about him uh you know

they're all saying the same thing in terms of how much knowledge he has for the game and he's seen everything you know over 16 years in the league and and all those things that you would expect that kind of thing but they all seem to have like a little personal. I think that's really impressive and a sign of a good leader. You know, the offensive linemen we're talking about, they got text messages from him, voicemails throughout the offseason, talking about how excited he was to play behind them. And, you know, these are like five-minute long messages coming from the quarterback who was really fired up.

Marlon Mack was talking today about the first time he came into the running back meeting room, he made sure to say, you know, be ready because obviously he's got a history of throwing the guys out of the back. He's not afraid to do that. If he sees that mismatch, he's going to go and try to take advantage of it, get some easy yards. You know, he came to those guys and said that right away. Michael Pittman was talking about how he's learned more than, than he ever thought he could just from a few, you know,

week or so now on the field with Rivers. It's kind of interesting to see like each position group, each player kind of has their own story of something that's happened some way that he connected with them in a very specific way. And I think that's really impressive, especially considering they weren't together face to face until August 1st. Yeah. And with Rivers too, the last one they hit on with you, George, with him. And I know, obviously, you've seen on TV,

we saw it against last year in Los Angeles, of course, against the Colts. But what's it like seeing Phil Rivers throw a motion up close for the first time? It's weird. I mean, that's, to me, I was talking with Coach Venturi one day, and I asked him if he'd ever seen a quarterback have more success in the NFL with a funkier throwing motion than Philip Rivers has. Obviously, it's something that's worked really well for him. It almost looks like, it's hard to even describe it,

but it almost looks like a sidearm shot put kind of throw. And you're almost convinced convinced especially on Tuesday when it was raining and they were indoors and we were kind of on the sideline we were outside the facility but we were able to kind of move around a little bit more and get it get some different angles and almost as the ball is coming out you're most certain there's no way it can get to the receiver the angle just looks too odd and then you know somehow boom it's no way it can get to the receiver. The angle just looks too odd, and then somehow, boom, it's right there on his numbers. It's one of the more interesting and odd things I think I've seen

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Go to BiltBar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, and you get $10 off your next order of Bilt Bars. Again, use promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, for $10 off at BiltBar.com. B-U-I-L-T-B-A-R.com. Yeah, and it definitely is going to be interesting to watch Rivers throughout this year getting adjusted to his new situation in Indianapolis. But from all indications from your reporting and others so far, George, I think Rivers is hitting the ground running for sure. But let's pivot over to some rookie talk for a second here, just from your first assessments of some players for the Colts draft and the 2020 draft. And obviously Jonathan Taylor, Taylor would tell him first,

because from what I've read so far from you and others is that he looks like a stud out there. He looks like maybe a future star running back in the NFL. Of course, that viral clip on the Colts Twitter account went really everywhere on NFL Twitter with him bulldozing over Tavon Wilson, the Colts new addition at safety there. What's been your overall first impression of Jonathan Taylor, who looks more like a true linebacker than a running back? He really does. I mean, he almost looks like he might be in the

right defensive end mix. You know, it's amazing how big he is. We've got a little elementary school-aged foster child at home, and we were watching the YouTube video when the rookies were singing the karaoke, and he came on stage, and she doesn't have really any interest in football at all, but she looked up at the screen and she looked over at me and she said, he looks like he could pick up a car. And I couldn't really argue. He does. He looks like almost like a masters of the universe action figure or something. And he's really,

I think the thing that's amazing about that is he's at that size and he ran what four, three, nine 40 or something at the combine, and it's evident on the field. When he gets ahead of steam and he gets into open space, he's moving awfully fast for a big man. He's going to be really hard to bring down. He put all that together with vision and a really high intelligence on and off the field.

He's got all the makings to be a big star in this league. And Nick Sirianni mentioned it today to you on the Zoom call, George, that this might be the best running back group he's seen as a coach in the NFL so far. If you throw in Marlon Mack, Naeem Hines is going to be in a really versatile role this year. Jordan Wilkins, of course, is a very efficient force running back to that roster equation as well. What do you think we're going to see? I imagine, George, we're going to see a game or two this year where when both Taylor and Mack are humming at full speed and this

offensive line is dominating, we might see Phillip Arista maybe 17, 15 times in a game. I think there's a real capability here of if Taylor does hit the ground running, which from all indications he definitely is, that Mack and Taylor could really be a lethal one-two duo. I think there's every indication that this team wants to physically impose its will on the opposition.

I think they feel good about the fact that they can do a lot of different things with this running back group. You mentioned Hines and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and be a really versatile kind of guy. You know, I feel like Mack is that home run hitter. He still looks, by the way, every bit as good as he has, you know, last season. You still see the big plays from him.

Taylor is justifiably getting a lot of press and a lot of attention because of the way he's played. But it's not at the expense of Marlon Mack. He's made a lot of big plays out there as well. I think they feel like he's still that speed guy. I think with Taylor, you know, he brings some size and some physicality to the equation. And then Jordan Wilkins, all that kid's done his whole career is take advantage of every opportunity he's been given and make big plays every time he gets the football. And we're still seeing that out there on the practice field. They feel like this is a team that they can do whatever they want to do.

And I think that's the goal of every offense in the league. Depending on the matchup that week and depending on the weather, depending on all the different factors that play into every Sunday, they can kind of alter that game plan and get things accomplished in a lot of different ways. And I think the running backs in particular are going to play a huge role in that. Yeah, I'm really excited to see this running back duo, a trio, when you throw a 9-9 into the mix, really take off this year.

I think with Phillip Rivers, he loves checking down to his running backs. So Hines and Marlon Mack, I've seen so far making more catches than I think anyone's ever seen so far throughout Colts camp with Rivers dumping the ball off and making that really savvy play to get the running back an open field of space in front of them. So I'm really curious to watch how this trio does this year, especially Jonathan Taylor, if he does hit the ground running. Might be maybe a dark horse offensive rookie of the year candidate, George. But let's hit on Michael Pittman Jr. as well, the Colts' actual first pick in this draft, number 34 overall. What's been your assessment of Pittman so far?

Obviously a big body, 6'4", 225-pound receiver. Seems like he might fit that Mike Williams-type role we saw at the Charters last year. And, of course, you know Phillip Rivers loves utilizing those big guys. Yeah, oh, absolutely. And I think Pittman's one of those guys that he's not just big. He knows how to use that size. Not all of them do.

You know, a lot of times you see those bigger receivers and they don't play with their size. He does. You know, he shields the defender a lot of times with his body. And Sirianni mentioned today that even though he's 6'4 and he's got all these other, you know, skill sets, he moves like a little guy and that that's really important. It's really what separates some of the big receivers, you know skill sets he moves like a little guy and that that's really important it's really what separates some of the big receivers you know that that succeed against some of the guys that don't he's still able to cut he's still able to have that quickness

uh that acceleration and much like Jonathan Taylor he is a guy that he's not as as broad as as Taylor is but you know at 6'4", I think 223, 225, somewhere in that neighborhood, he gets moving, and he's got 4'5 speed. He's not T.Y. Hilton. He's not Paris Campbell, but when you're that size, and you're moving at 4'5", you're going to be tough

to bring down in the open field. There's times when he looks more like a tight end out there than he does a wide receiver, and I think that's kind of the idea when you go and get a big body guy like this but I think we talked earlier about sort of how quick the offense is moving and the reads that Pelt Rivers is making and I think Pittman really plays a big role in that because a lot of times he's running a slant and Rivers gets that drop and gets the ball out right away and it's almost a free five, six, seven yards

because there's almost no way for the corner to get around Pittman and make that catch. And I've seen that happen probably five, six, seven times already in training camp. Is it fair to say, George, I know obviously there's a lot of mouths to feed in this offense now with adding in, of course, Jack Doyle, Trey Burton, a tight end. You have, of course, T.Y.

You have Paris Campbell, Zach Paschal. It seems like to me, though, at least, I saw a clip today from the Colts Twitter account with Rivers throwing that fade up to Pittman. Of course, Rakusen broke it up the last second. But I feel like Pittman could be maybe an early fair to be the top red zone target for this Colts team. Yeah, I think there's a lot of sort of what we saw with Eric Ebron.

You know, that year that Ebron had all the touchdowns, they were using his size and his athleticism as mismatches, especially down there in the red zone. And then Andrew Luck was looking for him a lot because of his ability to, to get that separation and to make the catches when he didn't. And I think Pittman's kind of along that same line, you know, you got a guy who's a really good athlete who can get up and go get the ball uh but also as we talked about before has that size to kind of shield guys out and get the ball that way too so uh obviously trey burton's going to figure into that mix he

had a couple touchdowns today in red zone drills uh the running game's obviously going to be a big factor down there as well but i think that that's one of the biggest reasons why they wanted a guy like Michael Pittman to give them that big target and maybe that kind of easier completion down there in the red zone. Of course, George, this is the next player I'm going to handle with you is Jacob Eason. Not a lot of reps to look at so far. I think Jacoby and Phillip are taking really all those starting reps so far,

of course, but maybe Eason gets a snap or two that you're able to see through the media portion. Just physically, what does Eason look like to you? He looks like a prototypical quarterback at 6'6", 230. Just up close and personal, what's been your impression of Eason? Yeah, I mean, he definitely coming off the bus, he definitely looks

the part. He's a big kid. He has that big arm. As advertised, there was one play today where they ran play action and he went deep and the ball just explodes out of his hand but you know he overthrew it was the Michael Harris the undrafted running back he overthrew him a little bit on that play and and you know it's been sort of that that kind of a camp there hasn't been a lot of looks for him or Chad Kelly for that matter. And, you know, for, for Easton, it's been up and down.

There's been some good things. He had a really nice throw to Farag Green early in, in camp today. And Green made a great job, did a great job of going up and catching it, coming down with it and staying in bounds. He had another one sort of like that in the indoors practice for, for Reese Fountain. But, you know, there hasn't been a lot of consistency and i think that's to be expected it's really tough on a rookie uh who came in with the reputation of being a little raw and having

some things to refine and then there was no rookie minicamp there were no otas in the spring you know he's really out there kind of finding his way in the fire right now and I think what's been encouraging even in these kind of really small sample sizes he does look like he's getting a little bit better every day you know it's not a situation where you're looking at him and thinking wow if he has to play in 2020 he could really do some things but you see why the Colts were interested in bringing him in, and you see the skill set that's there. Now it's just a matter of can he put the work in,

even without getting these reps. You know, I think he's one of the guys, and it's kind of obvious to a lot of people, but he's one of the guys that really gets hurt without these preseason games. He would have had probably a lot of opportunity to play in the second half of these games. And now it's really going to be a red shirt kind of season for him. Probably feel a lot like his transfer year in Washington, where he's just kind of watching and learning from the sideline.

And he's going to have to, much like Jordan Wilkins, any chance he gets, he's going to have to step in and take advantage of that opportunity. Unfortunately, George, for DeForest Buckner, I haven't been able to see much of him throughout camp. He's either sat at the one-on-one drills that you guys have been able to watch. He's not really been much in team. And he's sat the last few days due to a hand injury. But just like Jacob Eason, I want to get your just physical impression thoughts on DeForest Buckner. He looks like, from the pictures that I have seen of him,

like a big bully on the schoolyard there at 6'7", 300 pounds. He looks the part of a monster defense tackle absolutely he's really sleek i mean i i think was one of the most surprising things to me he's obviously a gigantic person uh but he almost looks like a basketball player you know it looks like he could can go play in the post for the pacers very very well put together uh and you can see the way he carries. And this is a guy with a lot of confidence. He commands a lot of respect and a lot of attention anytime he is on the field. And they're just being careful with him.

He's got a little bit of a hand injury. And I think it's one of those situations where you know what he can do. Why push it? You know, let some of those other guys get the reps right now on the interior, get a little bit longer, look at them, and let DeForest Buckner get healthy and be ready for September 13th in Jacksonville. Yeah, and that's the most important thing right now, just having everyone as healthy as possible leading up to September 13th in Jacksonville.

But before we close out today's show, George, just wanted to get your thoughts on what you've been able to see so far from some other players. You can just list off a few that come to mind for you. Who have been the biggest standouts from what you've been able to see so far at Colts camp that we haven't mentioned so far? Yeah, I mean, obviously, Jonathan Taylor's been huge, and everybody's well aware of that.

I think the other guy who's really turned a lot of heads right now and could be a really pleasant surprise is Tyquan Lewis. He's done a really good job both in one-on-ones and in team drills. Obviously, they're not going live-live. You know, no one's going to the ground. So you still have some steps here to overcome to see how it's going to be in the regular season. But it's much like Grover Stewart was a year ago where it just seems like

whatever light bulb has gone on over Taequann Lewis' head, and he's a different player. You know, it looks much more like the guy they they drafted in the second round out of Ohio State and now the question is can he build on this you know can he can he do this consistently can he stay healthy which has obviously been an issue through his career and can he do this on a regular basis if he can then what was already a deep and talented offensive line group is going to get even better and the other guy is sticking with that defensive mindset is rocky sent we know about the play he made today taking the touchdown away from pitman uh but he just in general looks so much more confident so much more ready you know as happens with a lot of guys he's a rookie last

year he got thrown in the fire. He took his lumps. And you always kind of hope that a guy that gets that experience will learn from it and build on it and come back the better for it the next year. It doesn't always work that way. But at least here in the very early going, it seems like it is what you send. George, always appreciate talking to Coltswell with you. We're going to have you on, as always, throughout the year and get your thoughts. I know our listeners always enjoy having you on as well

and give your analysis to the rest of the listeners out there. So, George, appreciate the time. You can go follow him on Twitter, if you're not already. He's a must-follow over there to give you the latest on the Colts at GMBremmer. And go read his work, if you're not already done so, at the Herald Bulletin. George, appreciate the time. Thanks a lot. Anytime.