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Loving Sound of Indianapolis Colts Pads Popping in the Morning

Better late than never, the Indianapolis Colts’ first training-camp practice in shoulder pads is a reminder of what NFL fans have been missing. Monday was the first of 11 padded practices.

INDIANAPOLIS — This is supposed to be agonizingly boring, like more painful to watch than enduring a root canal.

But what was once a mundane preseason routine in the August heat proved to be anything but on Monday morning. That’s when the Indianapolis Colts were practicing in shoulder pads for the first time during 2020 training camp.

Gosh, we missed this.

Not to wax too poetic about how we sometimes don’t know what we got until it’s gone, but this unusual NFL offseason has been a series of Zoom video conference calls and no football because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

That’s why Monday meant more. It was the first of 11 padded Colts practices before Week 1, when they will prepare for a Sept. 13 regular-season road opener at AFC South Division rival Jacksonville.

That’s less than one month away, and Monday was the first taste for media to observe football players doing their thing. Masks are required, social-distancing observed, air “fist bumps” and “shoulder bumps” are accepted greetings. Media moved toward “X” spots at the end of the practice field and took it all in.

There’s something about seeing All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard take on his "Maniac" persona as he fires up his teammates with that infectious energy. Can’t tell that dude it’s just practice.

“Darius, he leads by example with the juice he has,” third-year Colts head coach Frank Reich said. “We talk about it all the time. He emanates, if that’s the right word – it just flows out of him. It’s authentic, it’s genuine, and everybody knows that about Darius. He’s not just talking it and chattering about it. It’s coming out in how fast and how hard he plays.

“I just continue to be amazed at just watching him (and) his instinctiveness as a player. Just even watching him more closely even in the last week in this ramp-up period, just how smart of a player he is. Which tells me he’s just putting in the work and I think that’s where some of that comes from. He has the natural personality to bring that, but then it comes from his preparation and the confidence that he has when he steps out on the field as a player. I think our team feeds off of that so I’ll always encourage that with Darius.”

Nickel cornerback Kenny Moore II almost came up with a great interception after he anticipated a quick Philip Rivers pass to the flat. While the defense was hollering about Moore making an impressive play, he was taking himself out of the drill because of a right groin injury. Moore was so mad, he threw his helmet.

Now that’s what we’re talking about. Not the injury, but the intensity.

“Yeah, strained his groin,” Reich said of Moore. “Not sure to what degree, as you know these soft-tissue issues, they come in degrees. So we’ll have to see how it settles out over the next day or two to determine what it will do as far as him missing practice time.”

The two noticeable absences were offensive right tackle Braden Smith and defensive end Justin Houston sitting out with what Reich said are minor injuries. Smith has a foot issue. Houston’s issue was undisclosed.

All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, at 6-7 and 295 pounds, looks bigger than anybody else in that position group. No. 99 sure stands out.

There was a moment when rookie running back Jonathan Taylor was standing next to fullback Roosevelt Nix. The latter is listed at 5-11 and 248. Taylor is listed at 5-10 and 226, but they sure looked similar in size. That’s how big and physically imposing Taylor appears, which is even more impressive when considering the rookie ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in February.

Quarterback Philip Rivers has quite a quick release. That shouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone who has watched him throw the football for 16 seasons with the Chargers. But seeing it in person, he unloads quickly.

Three seemingly routine completions to four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton looked easy. It’s as if these guys have been working together for years, not just a couple of weeks.

As fate would have it, the drill closest to the media’s “X” spots came in an end zone, where linebackers hit the sled and then shed a tackle dummy and sped ahead. Right there, in our living room. Slam, grunt, sidestep, quickly dismiss that dummy and move along.

Yeah, the sound of those popping shoulder pads reminded this can be nasty business. Only guys with the big-boy pads need apply.

That’s football. Yeah, it’s just practice, but thanks for reminding us how much fun it can be to watch.

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)