Led by Enthused Quarterback Philip Rivers, Colts Enjoying Padded Camp Practices

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich thought his team “finished strong” in its fourth consecutive day of practice at training camp on Wednesday morning.

Despite throwing a deep interception near the end of the workout, 17th-year quarterback Philip Rivers chimed in that the 38-year-old passer is encouraged by what he’s seen so far.

The team concluded its third of 11 padded practices, will have Thursday off, then work out four consecutive days including a Monday practice at downtown Lucas Oil Stadium.

“I love to go out in the backyard and play,” Rivers said in a Zoom video call. “That’s the way I look at it. Obviously, with parameters and doing it within our system and certainly working to get better every day, but I do enjoy it. I think I’ve always enjoyed it, but I do think in addition to that being in a new place, a new environment, new teammates, going against a different defense in practice every day, that certainly kicks it up a little bit, at least early in camp. I do enjoy competing. I think that would be on the short list of the reasons why you still play, is just that love to compete.

“I think we’re off to a good start. It hasn’t felt like the fifth day of practice, and I think that’s a credit the work we put in in the offseason and that’s a good thing. It better not because the (September) 13th (opener at Jacksonville) will sneak up on us in a hurry. We’re off to a good start. Quite a bit of things to clean up, which is OK. I think you’re more concerned if there are things happening out there on the field where you go, ‘Oh boy, we might be in trouble. I don’t think we can fix these.’ It’s more (like), ‘Yeah, good. That happened, clean it up. This happened, clean it up. Don’t throw it there. Don’t do this.’ It allows you to make the corrections and improve.”

Rivers undoubtedly didn’t care for throwing an interception at the end of a workout for the second consecutive day. He forced a deep ball toward wide receiver Parris Campbell, who was drawing double coverage. Safety George Odum came down with the interception.

Critics might raise their eyebrows about that, considering Rivers threw 20 interceptions with the L.A. Chargers last season. But the Colts, and particularly Reich, don’t seem concerned.

“We kind of take these four-day increments and then that is kind of our cycle – four days of practice and then a day off,” Reich said. “I thought we finished strong. A really spirited practice, good tempo, and good pace. We are really looking for execution at a high level. We are looking for improvements – reduce the mental errors that come at the beginning of camp. I feel like you’re seeing that. Special teams, I thought looked good. Punt team out there today – the special teams is an interesting dynamic with these no preseason games.

“So we’re talking a lot about that, making sure we’re ready there. I just think this presents some unique opportunities for us as a team to really step up our game special teams wise in the preparation for the season without getting preseason games reps. So, putting a real emphasis on that. (Special teams coach) Bubba (Ventrone) is doing a great job and the guys have been great working to get better, having fun out there competing.”

Third-year defensive tackle Tyquan Lewis had his third consecutive strong showing, an encouraging sign for a 2018 second-round draft choice who has missed 15 games due to injuries in two seasons.

Second-year wide receiver Parris Campbell is also showing his speed and playing loose like a young player who has put a series of injuries as a rookie behind him. He endured three surgeries last season.

Reich was asked about the best battles so far.

“I’ll tell you what, the one-on-one drills between the o-line and the d-line have been really fun to watch – the pass-rush drills,” he said. “Just great intensity, effort, and physicality, and they are very competitive. They are very competitive.

“I mentioned that to the team the other day that those one-on-ones, whether it is o-line versus d-line or wide receivers versus DBs (defensive backs) or linebackers versus running backs, those drills are really important to the development of a player. I think some of that has been the most fun to watch so far since we’ve been in pads and been near live.”

(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.)