Stampede Blue: for Indianapolis Colts fans

One thing we continue to admit, regardless of how successful the 2018 Indianapolis Colts are, is that there are multiple areas of the roster that will bring excitement to the season. Today Stephen Holder joins me to examine some specific roster battles, and concerns that we may find with certain players. The defensive end position continues to draw some real interest in regards to how real Ryan Delaire is and what he could bring to the position. The obvious questions surrounding Tarell Basham and his viability on the roster as well as how the rest of the position works out with a focus on who gets the snaps in different packages. We dive into the right tackle debate as well. Is the Austin Howard expirement worth ending if he's not the starter? Can Braden Smith become the starter at the position with consideration to his ups and downs, as well as a look at his ceiling at right tackle in spite of his being a natural guard?  Nyheim Hines has obviously been taken away from punt return duties, but what's with his performances in the backfield? Is he a real option to carry the ball in the backfield? How much of his recent issues are in his head, and where can the Colts trust him going forward? Something that continues to come up is the question about the Colts possibility of carrying 5 tight ends on the initial 53-man roster. We discuss that, and also how each of their roles could benefit the team as well as what might be the best combination from one of the team's strongest positions. Of course there was talk of surprise roster cuts, what positions are seen as strengths and conversely, weaknesses with as much of the roster as we can visualize right now. Another topic that continues to arise is the question of how Frank Reich and Chris Ballard are building the culture in Indianapolis. Stephen and I go in on some of what the two have been building from day 1.  A great conversation.

Andrew Luck is still back. Despite the national craziness over his second preseason outing, Luck proved to everyone that he simply didn't have his best day. Saturday, he actually did have his best day in the preseason and led the Colts to a 23-17 victory over the 49ers. Luck wasn't the only one who stood out, though. At least one player at each position had some positive to discuss, but there were a few who made it quite clear that they aren't where they need to be quite yet. A lot of rookies impressed Saturday including Darius Leonard, Skai Moore and Zaire Franklin.  On the other hand, the Colts learned that at least one right tackle has no business in the starting lineup, they may have lost another who was just getting back into action, and now the waiting game begins on how the Colts are going to find an answer at the position. The Colts defensive line needs to address some issues as well, that we'll get into in this episode. Why were they allowing so much yardage on the ground and how are they going to minimize that going forward? We touch on some of the latest Colts news as well. A trade came about -- no not Khalil Mack unfortunately -- and we've gotten some updates on a few of the injuries that came out of the third preseason contest of the year. We look at the top performers, discuss how the 53-man and subsequent waiver claim period will likely look for the Colts and which positions they might target when it all comes down. Maybe most importantly, this receiver group is going to be one to watch going forward. Ryan Grant still hasn't shown us anything, but what exactly are the team's options behind him? Who needs to step up and much, much more in this preseason Week 3 review of the Colts Cast.

There were a few interesting developments regarding Oakland Raiders' stud defensive end Khalil Mack yesterday. There was a tweet from Eric Galko stating that he was indeed on the trade block. Then there was a tweet stating virtually the opposite from Ted Nguyen of the Athletic. https://twitter.com/OptimumScouting/status/1032634100342030336 https://twitter.com/FB_FilmAnalysis/status/1032677701528641536 At any rate, this conversation is simply too fun not to have. I take a look at what we don't know yet about Chris Ballard's philosophy, and how despite understanding that he wants to build through the draft, and he won't pay top-dollar for mid-tier talent, but neither of those have anything to do with a dominant pass rusher with more than 40 sacks in his first 4 years in the league if he is indeed available. I examine how even if Ballard were to use a couple first rounders in order to acquire Mack it wouldn't necessarily break any of his own rules in how to build a contender. I discuss what holes Mack could cover up with his mere presence on the field, the Colts ability to contend in the division and much more. In the second half of the show, I take a look at some of the Colts who I will be watching very closely in their preseason Week 3 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. Do we really need to learn much more about some of the starters at certain positions? Most of what I am looking at is those second- and third-team players who still need to prove that they belong and can realistically contribute to the season going forward. Denzelle Good and Malik Hooker are likely to be back in action Saturday. What should we be looking for with both of them respectively? While the starters are expected to play into the third quarter, there is much more for us to focus on than quality of performance in the early stages of their return to the field.

The Indianapolis Colts took a loss in their second preseason game of the 2018 season to the Baltimore Ravens. Nobody is excited about what they saw from Andrew Luck, but that doesn't mean that anyone's concerned by it either. On the other hand, there were other individual performances that did catch our attention and should lead to some intrigue when looking ahead to the 2018 regular season.  While the Colts have an extremely young roster right now, the focus is naturally going to be on those rookies and second-year players who could have an impact on the season this year. Darius Leonard, Skai Moore, Matthew Adams and Zaire Franklin all forced us to take notice for positive reasons. A few young receivers made some impressive catches Monday night and could very well find themselves in the thick of the roster race as injuries and poor play from others have become pretty common lately. Chris Shepherd joins me today to discuss al of this as well as a host of other topics. We talk about the impact the return of Malik Hooker could have on the defense in front of him as well as how his chemistry with Clayton Geathers can greatly improve the confidence of the defense as a whole.The question has come up of whether or not the Colts are showcasing John Simon being that he played so deeply into the fourth quarter. Chris and I both have some thoughts on this as well.  Can Nyheim Hines be counted on to handle the ball in any capacity? How does Frank Reich go about at least taking away his return duties? Who should replace him? We haven't seen anyone else field a kickoff or punt, so that may be something we can count on this coming Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers.  Chris and I go through as much as we can in an hour and despite some of the shaky play, there are plenty of things to be positive about just the same.

It's finally here. The Indianapolis Colts seem to have had a massive layoff between their first and second preseason game, but Monday night the Colts host the Baltimore Ravens. The Colts will then have their third and fourth preseason games within the next 11 days. Today we touch on some of the latest news surrounding the team, including the joint practices with the Ravens, new injuries who will keep some players out as well as the news surrounding the iconic voice of the Colts and his decision to retire. Matt takes a look at some of the more interesting players/positions to keep an eye on for the Colts-Ravens matchup. There are positions to look at mainly to see if they have improved after a week of practice and film review to work out some kinks, but there are also some to watch to see if anyone can step up and make the position itself better based solely on talent. Injuries have been a real factor with the Colts as of late. A handful of rookies have been out lately, but will be back in action Monday night. Additionally, some positions of depth, mainly the offensive line, have become much thinner and are in need of a good outing. We need to see who can contribute to the roster in other ways than being a first- or second-team player, but we also have some players who are on the cusp of being cut if they don't begin to show that they belong. This may just be the most concerning fact surrounding the team. Some who have been expected to improve from a year ago, or to improve the position after being brought in through free agency are not coming through. Real Colts football is on the horizon folks, and this preseason has been pretty interesting so far, so just enjoy it and hope for everyone to come out of this one healthy and better than they were last week.  

The Indianapolis Colts are setting up for their second preseason game in a matchup with a Baltimore Ravens next Monday night. The two squads are also set to conduct joint practices on Friday and Saturday, which should bring some added excitement for these two practices.  Kevin Bowen joins Matt Danely on the Colts Cast to talk about anything and everything regarding the latest on the Colts.  We touch on Hard Knocks to start the show, and though it doesn't feed directly into anything related to the Colts, it does bring up an interesting question in regards to one specific scene from the first episode. Who are the Colts vocal leaders? Is that the kind of leadership this team needs, and can they find it on both sides of the ball with such a young core of players? One of the most interesting, and likely one of the deepest, positions on the roster is the tight end unit. Is a 4-man tight end group expected for the 53-man roster and who is that No. 4 at the position? We discuss the offensive line shuffling, is Le'Raven Clark earning those snaps with the first team? Has Braden Smith improved from his first few days at the position? Did Joe Haeg get a fair shake to earn the immediate backup role for when Anthony Castonzo returns? We also give some takes on the team's defense. Can they surprise teams this season? Are they even a top-half of the league unit? What have they shown that elicits the needed potential and ability to improve? We also touch on Chris Ballard's philosophy, possible additions to the roster, Specific questions regarding those who have churned upward as well as those getting noticed for the wrong reasons.  We also talk 53-man roster, who Jordan Wilkins is for this team and much more.

The Indianapolis Colts still have several unresolved positional battles, and even more positions that are being hampered by injuries. Charon Vonberg (NFLAnalysis.net) joins Matt Danely to dive into these topics as the Colts prepare for their second preseason matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. The Colts will be holding joint practices with the Ravens, and after their Thursday matchup in Seattle are getting a bit more of a break between games with their second preseason game being Monday. The Colts have some depth issues as running back right now in spite of signing Branden Oliver, there continue to be issues with some of the receivers near the top of the depth chart and the offensive line is still a real work in progress with several of them missing crucial practice time. The Colts added another defensive end after placing standout rookie receiver, Deon Cain, on injured reserve which could end up being a precursor to more moves as injuries are piling up there as well. Can Tyquan Lewis or Kemoko Turay get themselves healthy enough to become hopefuls for the regular season? Is Hassan Ridgeway poised to continue ascending after his impressive preseason debut? All of these questions need to be answered. Charon talks about what he's seen in camp from some of these positions in question and we also talk about how Andrew Luck doesn't need to throw it deep in a preseason game to prove anything. This preseason should be all about creating rhythm as will it be in the regular season, with the understanding that the deep balls will come with time and opportunity. We also discuss the linebacker position. We talk about who we see missing the 53-man roster, who we'd like to see more snaps from as the preseason carries on and how several of them have great potential that simply needs to make small jumps each week in order to get this defense moving in the right direction before the regular season gets under way. 

Finally the Indianapolis Colts have officially kicked off the preseason last night in Seattle. And just as we will during the regular season, we’re going to go through what we saw on the field from the 2018 roster. We talk early takeaways from Andrew Luck and how he looked in his first action in forever, how the offensive line protected him, how Luck looked getting his first hit of the season, the running game and more from the offense. Additionally, many are already down on the Colts defense due to the first bit of a sample that we have from them. But, I’m here to tell you to calm down about it. Why it’s not that bad, how this defense was approaching the game, but also what could keep this defense from growing if it’s not any better come the regular season. We saw some very good play out of some of these defenders. John Simon proved once again that he belongs, Jabaal Sheard was very solid, Najee Goode has more speed than I presumed and some of the young guys — such as Nate Hairston — played well too. Some of the largest problems with the defense might just be that this preseason version of the scheme was very, very vanilla out of the gate. However, I think it might be time to consider the cornerbacks need to be significantly better at closing windows in those zones much more effectively. Who were the best of the Colts’ backfield, which receivers showed up, who was possibly showing a little stage fright and who was completely uncharacteristic of what we have seen to this point in training camp. I touch on all of my initial thoughts on the Colts 19-17 preseason win against the Seattle Seahawks. For now, enjoy the offensive design and the calm approach of Frank Reich. Be optimistic about the defense’s energy and understand that refinement will come. Just hope that it comes sooner rather than later.

Before training camp I had some opinions on what I might see through practices as camp progressed. In the practices I've attended, I have come away with some confirmations of those expectations, but there have also been some surprises and concerns arise as well.  This scheme is a completely different animal, at least defensively, and the offense has a new structure as well as playcaller with Frank Reich. Trying to look at the positions which have immediate roles for rookies and other young players, is interesting because we don't have a lot to compare them to.  Some of these rookies have stepped up immediately, some are still in the thick of a process to getting into a rotation and others are largely camp bodies at this point. Even more importantly, how are the few legitimate veteran guys on this roster going to affect the rest of the team and its success or failure? Which positions, players should we worry about when it comes to an all-inclusive look at the potential of the roster itself? Who has us excited, and where do we see real improvements on the horizon? We'll likely have different opinions of most of these examples I lay out today, but that's the beauty of the preseason performances following training camp.  Who's learning? Who's a ways behind the rest? And who can we count on to make an immediate impact on this team? Today I look at several positions and players as the official start to the Colts preseason awaits us. 

Today we’re going to take a look inside the Indianapolis Colts training camp thus far through 9 practices. We’ll dig in to the standouts and disappointments from both sides of the ball up to this point, who resides on the bubble and who is either on the 53 right now — by my estimation — or who is off the roster. We’ll take a look at the Colts initial depth chart and discuss who deserves their vote of confidence and who may be getting a message sent to them from the coaching staff. Some names that you may not have heard quite yet are Steve Ishmael, K.J. Brent, Zach Pascal, Robert Jackson. Here you're going to find out why you'll want to begin to pay attention to them. Some other names you've definitely heard before are Ryan Grant, Kenny Moore, Christine Michael, Tarell Basham, Quincy Wilson, Brad Kaaya and Jabaal Sheard. We're going to talk about them too, and it won't be for the same reasons.  We also go through the Colts latest news (from the past several days) and discuss how two situations in particular are putting one position in limbo for the next few weeks and maybe longer. We also talk about the significance of Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers coming back, and what their road to a full practice and then a game will look like.

The Indianapolis Colts moved practice indoors for their first time of the training camp season. Today we'll talk about some of my observations from Day 5 and play you the audio from player-coach media availability.  Andrew Luck has been drawing a lot of attention in the first week of practices,and rightly so. He's been excellent to this point with everything considered. He's got the arm strength that we've seen in the past, he's as accurate, he looks comfortable in the pocket and seems to be as sharp as ever at reading defenses.  Frank Reich talks about Luck's Day 5 performance in which he increased his workload yet again. As I spoke about in my camp notes for the day, the cornerback and receiver positions are in desperate need of someone stepping up. The Colts have a pretty solid top-4 at each, but the competition after that gets pretty dicey. Reich responded about each unit saying that they needed to be playmakers.  I give some of my thoughts on Tyquan lewis and Kemoko Turay and how they're likely to be used, how Anthony Castonzo and Clayton Geathers alone bring quite a bit more normalcy with their return (expected to be soon) and why this coaching staff will be worth a game or two just among the position coaches and coordinators. Additionally, I put up the audio from Day 5, taking you in to player-coach availability to listen to the interviews for yourself. Colts running backs Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines talk, followed by head coach Frank Reich. Enjoy

The Indianapolis Colts have finally got a week of practice in the books for the 2018 season. We knew that this season was going to be an interesting one with all of the youth, a new head coach, coordinators and position coaches and the return of Andrew Luck.  Thus far there's been quite a bit to take in. We're seeing a very interesting backfield develop, the play on interior of the offensive line has been quite a pleasant discovery, Luck has been very accurate lately and is pleased with how his body is responding, the tight end group is a fun watch and the coaching has been a nice surprise as well. However, we've also noticed that the back end of the receiver position, as well as the receivers, is very touch and go. The tackles have been forced to have Jack Mewhort, Braden Smith and others in the rotation while Le' Raven Clark and Denzelle Good are the only bits of familiarity. This has taken snaps away from those guys at other positions while Anthony Castonzo and Austin Howard remain on the active/NFI list. The safeties are thin right now, and the linebackers are a fun bunch to watch with all of their youth, but actually have become a group of quick learners.  Today our friend George Bremer joins me to dig in to everything that we've seen thus far. We go in a bit deeper on the positional aspect of camp, talk about some surprises that we've noticed, and how important this coaching staff is to the development and creation of the culture Chris Ballard is hoping to install in Indianapolis. The Colts go inside today for practice at 9am ET, and player availability will follow shortly after. We'll also be putting up the Day 5 audio a bit later in the day for you to catch up on.

We had some interesting interviews on Day 4 of Indianapolis Colts training camp, and we are again going to give that to you uncut. We spoke with coach Frank Reich again, Andrew Luck made his way to the podium and gave some good updates on his process and his road back to where he is at this point. We also spoke to defensive end John Simon, trying to gauge where he is within the transition to a 4-man front, and some input on how he sees this rookie bunch at the position. Matt Slauson also joins us, and in the process we hear from him what we've been hearing from others along the Colts front line of protection. Slauson stresses a feature that most Colts fans should be quite excited about. We haven't seen an O-line eith this much depth in several year, and the rotation between players and positions is one to keep a close eye on as camp moves forward and the preseason kicks off.

Today we have the interviews from Day 2 of Colts training camp. We get coach Frank Reich first getting in on how Andrew Luck has bounced back from his first days of practice. What he expects from him going forward.  We also get Chester Rogers at the mic talking about how his role has changed from a year ago, what his approach is to this season for him and what the receiver unit needs to do to become a group that is on everyone's radar heading into the 2018 season. Last, and certainly not least, we get to hear from Deon Cain. Cain has been the lightning rod thus far in training camp. Mind you, that some guy named Andrew Luck has just returned from being out for a year, and Cain is the headline. Cain isn't just doing these great, flashy catches either. There's a much more inclusive reason for the excitement that follows him right now.

Our position by position break down of the Indianapolis Colts roster has come to its finale. Today we look at the receiver position that has some top-end talent, but isn't getting much love after you get past T.Y. Hilton. But, as you can imagine, I disagree with that notion.  This receiver corps has the length, speed, physicality and youth that makes their collective star shine at this point in the process. Chester Rogers isn't being seen as a legit No. 2 or 3, until he comes through with an entire season in that role. Ryan Grant isn't seen as a shiny new toy, but may be the consistency and fundamental piece that can act as the glue to hold the unit together.  Guys like Krishawn Hogan, Kasen Williams, K.J. Brent, Deon Cain and Daurice Fountain will be so fun to watch within the throes of training camp to see who can be that possession/speed/route-running addition to get this unit some notariety throughout the season. This group is being slept on, and I go in to why as we wrap up the positional previews for the 2018 Indianapolis Colt