Matt Ryan has his best day yet vs. Lions

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https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...s/65402813007/


WESTFIELD -- The Colts were in need of a day like Wednesday from their passing attack.

With the Lions in town for the first of two days of joint practices, Matt Ryan and his receivers were looking for a step forward, something to move beyond the days on this field where they struggled to move the ball against their own potentially elite defense and to flush Saturday's quarter of preseason action, when drops and penalties summed up the day.

They did that. After an inconsistent 1-on-1 period that featured receivers winning and some oddly placed passes from Ryan, the first-team offense came out against the Lions' starting defense and did whatever they wanted through the air. Ryan finished 10 of 12 with three touchdown passes, when combining 11-on-11 settings with the red-zone portion. Of the two incompletions, one was a spiked ball.

"I liked a lot of things we did on offense in the pass game," Colts coach Frank Reich said. "I thought all the quarterbacks looked good and the receivers. The Lions had their share and made some plays and made it tough on us at times, but I thought we had our share as well."

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The most impressive receiver was not any different than any other day. Michael Pittman Jr. consistently owned his matchups, from beating No. 1 Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye along the sidelines to when he beat Jeff Okudah so badly on a slant across the middle that the former No. 2 overall pick fell to the grass and Pittman Jr. ran for more than 30 yards.

But the new developments came from Mo Alie-Cox's consistency as a second option across the middle and the wins by Ashton Dulin and Alec Pierce in tight red-zone settings. Pierce had the most impressive catch of the red-zone session when the ball came in to a corner in good positioning and Pierce stretched out an arm to reel it in before getting both feet in bounds.

Pierce also beat Oruwariye badly on a double move in 7-on-7, showing some mid-route nuance that hasn't always been there for the second-round rookie out of Cincinnati.


Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws during training camp Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.
Blocking issues

The downside to the Colts offense Wednesday came up front. The Lions challenged them most on the interior, as rush lanes swallowed quickly for Jonathan Taylor. Taylor finally ripped off one first-down run on a stretch play, where he was able to get outside of the massive left side of Matt Pryor and Quenton Nelson.

But for the most part, run plays looked like they did in Saturday's one quarter of action against the Bills, when Nyheim Hines had nowhere to run. It's continued an up-and-down camp for new right guard Danny Pinter, who has struggled with his play strength at times.

Intense but not too much

Joint practices always bring a little more juice out of players, and the first day certainly showcased that physicality. In the punt portion, gunners ran full-speed down the field while defenders smacked into them, and each group had a little jawing to do afterward.

But of the three mini skirmishes that broke out, only one seemed to go anywhere more than initial talk. Colts tackle Jordan Murray threw down Lions defensive end Austin Bryant after Bryant cracked one of the Colts' skill players, but it quickly defused. Ashton Dulin got into it with a blocker on punt team but only briefly. Pittman Jr. got slammed down late after a deep catch across the middle, and a pile started to shove as a couple of punches were thrown but didn't seem to land.

"You're coming in and it's another team, it's not a full game, so you're not really trying to save guys from touchdowns," Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke said. "Every play is more physical, more intense."

Injury report

Ogletree went down with a non-contact knee injury, an injury that initially looked “significant” according to Colts head coach Frank Reich, in Wednesday’s practice and immediately headed for an MRI that afternoon.

Veteran defensive tackle R.J. McIntosh, who has been the Colts’ No. 3 defensive tackle throughout training camp, was held out of the second half of practice with an undisclosed injury that Reich said was most likely minor.

Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (brain), wide receiver Keke Coutee (groin), offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (knee), safety Will Redmond, safety Armani Watts, linebacker JoJo Domann and defensive tackle Chris Williams (right lower leg) did not practice at all.

Quick game

The officials really let defensive backs hold in the 1-on-1 settings, making it more impressive when the tight ends and receivers won. Drew Ogletree ran some sharp routes that allowed him to shade the defender with his 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame, continuing a strong first camp for him until he suffered the knee injury in 11-on-11. ... Kylen Granson has ascended over the past week, including with a strong preseason game in Buffalo, but he had some trouble with the physicality of Lions cornerbacks on Wednesday. The staff describes his role as getting naturally open through the scheme and making plays with speed, and it's worth noting they're not scheming much up right now. ... Philip Lindsay continues to look like the team's third-best runner, which is no surprise given his track record. But as holes have been few and far between, he's found a way to spin and dance within them to create some yardage that wouldn't otherwise be there.