Why Joint Practices Are Important for the Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are coming off a preseason loss against the Buffalo Bills where there was a lot to like and a lot to dislike.
What was most important was getting those young guys some real game experience. The Colts have a ton of rookies, as is well known, and some veterans that are coming off of injury that need to experience "live bullets."
I can make a case that what’s coming this week will arguably be more important than a preseason game, and that’s joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday against the Chicago Bears.
After speaking with several coaches around the league and finding out they prefer joint practices over preseason games, it made total sense to me. First, the privacy of joint practices alone makes it more interesting. The coaches don’t have to dial it back or be vanilla. They can run whatever concepts they like without fear of it being caught on tape for the rest of the world to see. While I’m not saying they’ll open the entire playbook, they are more likely to show a lot more than they would in a typical preseason game.
Another thing they like about it is the specification aspect. Coaches have the ability to put their team in particular situations that they know they struggle in and allow their teams to work on that against an actual opponent. If you struggle in red-zone scoring, then this is a way to get more reps in for that specific area against a team that has not seen all of your red-zone plays for the last month. Likewise, if you struggle in short-yardage situations then obviously you can cater a good portion of practice to 3rd-and-shorts. It’s situational football at its finest.
Joint practices are also the most action your starters get throughout the entire training camp. It’s your best against their best, matched up just like it would be in a real game. The last thing you want is your starters being out there going against someone’s third team and guys fighting for a roster spot.
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson getting extended reps against a starting defense is going to do wonders for his development. Watching these young cornerbacks get a chance to match up against Bears receiver D.J. Moore & Co. will be a good opportunity for the coaches to evaluate them.
The trench evaluation is one of the biggest things to look for as well. It’s hard to evaluate offensive and defensive linemen during training camp but in joint practices, they go all out. Last year, the Colts' offensive line struggled in joint practice with the Detroit Lions and it was a good indicator of what the rest of the season would be like.
Joint practice tells you a ton about your team and I’m looking forward to this matchup between the Colts and the Bears.
