WESTFIELD — Daniel Jones waged a different kind of battle with the Colts defense Tuesday.
Jones has spent most of training camp taking short completions instead of pushing the ball down the field, in large part because the team’s outside receivers have had trouble beating the Indianapolis cornerbacks without the presence of an injured Alec Pierce.
With Sauce Gardner out due to an illness Tuesday, the team’s starting quarterback took advantage.
Jones fired a deep ball complete to Laquon Treadwell, launched another completion deep to Ashton Dulin past the coverage of Charvarius Ward and threw a pair of 20-plus-yard completions to tight ends Tyler Warren and Will Mallory.
Warren’s catch was the practice’s best highlight, a leaping grab over excellent coverage from Camryn Bynum. Jones looked great on the day as a passer, completing 9 of 11 passes, including a touchdown to Josh Downs in a short red-zone period and a screen to Jonathan Taylor for big yardage.
But there’s a caveat.
Jones was under pressure all day long, and it seems likely he wouldn’t have been able to get off a few of those deep throws if he wasn’t wearing a red, non-contact jersey. Bryce Boettcher came flying off the edge for a “sack” on the completion to Treadwell, Justin Walley would have posted a sack on the deep ball to Dulin and Arden Key beat Bernhard Raimann around the edge for a near-sack on another completion from Jones to Warren over the middle.
Backup QB battle
The Colts took an opportunity on Tuesday to partially correct the snap disparity from Saturday’s practice, when Riley Leonard took 15 more than Anthony Richardson over two practice periods.
Richardson was given an extra period with the No. 2 offense to start practice, operating close to the goal line for six plays, and he turned in a mixed bag. There were a couple of good throws — a touchdown to Coleman Owen on a short out to start, a nice throw on a crossing route to Deion Burks later.
There were also a couple of glaring mistakes. For starters, Richardson fumbled a good snap, a problem that he hasn’t been able to shake through the first week of practice. Richardson also fired high over the head of Ulysses Bentley IV on a checkdown, a misfire that looked like a result of failing to get his feet in position. Richardson completed 3 of 5 throws on the day, the other completion coming to Burks.
Leonard completed 3 of 3 passes in limited action.
Both quarterbacks had issues getting the ball out of their hands ahead of the pass rush. Leonard was “sacked” by Mitchell Melton and Cam Ball on his final 11-of-11 snap of the day, one play after bobbling a low snap that turned into a broken play. Richardson was sacked at least twice in the third-down period that ended practice, taking sacks from defensive ends George Gumbs (along with a couple of other defensive linemen) and Jaylahn Tuimolaou in a span of three plays.
Rookie spotlight
Boettcher, the team’s fourth-round pick, is making a push for the starting lineup.
Fellow rookie CJ Allen missed the first two days of the training camp due to a calf injury, and veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither missed two days due to an illness, opening an opportunity for Boettcher to get more first-team snaps.
The work appears to be paying off for the rookie.
Boettcher came flying off the edge to land a “sack” on Jones to start practice, and a couple of plays later he stoned McGowan in the hole for a run stop.
“Tough, tough guy, another guy that’s got good football instincts and IQ,” defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “Kind of doesn’t flinch, either. He attacks the day like he is a veteran. Now, he’ll still make some things that shows you he’s a rookie, but at the end of the day, I like where he’s at, like what he’s about. He’s going to help us this year.”
Roll call
Veteran cornerback Sauce Gardner sat out practice due to illness.
Strong safety Hunter Wohler (hamstring), running back DJ Giddens (hamstring), linebacker Jaylon Carlies (personal matter), nose tackle Derrick Nnadi (toe), defensive tackle Tim Smith and wide receiver Eli Pancol did not practice.
Two more players left practice due to injuries. Treadwell went down shortly after his big catch, and after trainers examined the wide receiver, they wrapped his right thigh in ice, and he did not play another down. Veteran tight end Sean McKeon later suffered an injury to his upper body, and trainers appeared to be looking at his shoulder.
Quick hitters
Taylor made Allen look like a rookie on his screen pass. With Taylor out on the run after a screen from Jones, Allen thought he had the running back dead to rights, but Taylor stuttered, spun and left Allen grasping for air. … Spencer Shrader missed two of his six field goals. Shrader made kicks of 26, 33, 39 and 51 yards. He missed from 45 yards and 57 yards. Shrader pulled the ball to the left both times, an issue that has plagued Shrader as he tries to return from a torn ACL while battling Blake Grupe for the kicking job. … Gumbs had a nice day, producing at least two sacks with his speed off the edge. … Undrafted rookie linebacker Tahj Chambers intercepted Easton Stick in a live period for developmental players. Stick’s pass bounced off the chest of safety Juanyeh Thomas. … Undrafted running back Anderson Castle faces a long shot to make the roster, but it’s easy to see why Duke used him as a short-yardage back. Castle has a nose for the goal line.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Under pressure from pass rush, Colts QB Daniel Jones goes deep during training camp
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
