Colts Thursday Notebook: No Darius Leonard, No Anthony Castonzo Again At Practice

INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts will have some very important names to watch in the health department at Friday’s final practice of the week.

For a second straight day, the Colts were without LT-Anthony Castonzo and LB-Darius Leonard at practice.

What else did we learn from the Colts on Thursday?

The first thought in imagining playing without Anthony Castonzo is having Le’Raven Clark block Myles Garrett on Sunday. The trickle-down effect from that means the sort of help you inevitably will have to give Clark in trying to make sure Garrett doesn’t wreck things. That thought is possible now that Castonzo (ribs) has missed the first two practices of the week. “As an offensive play caller and game planner, I don’t have to worry about chip helping Anthony Castonzo,” Frank Reich said back when Castonzo was re-signed in February. “He can handle whoever it is over there one-on-one. I can’t even begin to explain what a huge advantage that is schematically in the pass game not to have to protect him all the time.” If Castonzo doesn’t play on Sunday, it would mark the first time since the Colts started 1-5 in 2018 that Reich game plans without AC at left tackle. For a team struggling right now on third down (30^th ranked) and in the red zone (28^th ranked), the need to have a Jack Doyle or Nyhiem Hines stay in to help out Clark would limit the skill positions out on route trees. That’s another concern on top of simply holding up in pass protection.

We mentioned on Wednesday how the Colts are 2-2 in games Darius Leonard hasn’t played in his career (allowing 26.5 points per game in those Leonard has missed). Such an injury situation is why the Colts do not view Anthony Walker anywhere close to being expendable. Now, an ankle injury kept Walker out of Thursday’s practice (he fully participated and wasn’t on Wednesday’s injury report). While some have pondered if moving Walker, who is in a contract year, at the trade deadline would be something to explore, the Colts aren’t thinking that at all. “No one panics because we’ve got A-Walk and we’ve got the versatility and the depth where guys can step in,” Frank Reich says. “Anthony is just a great player and a great leader. He’s the heart and soul of this team in my mind.”

It was friendly fire that actually led to Darius Leonard (groin) missing the entire second half of Sunday’s win over the Bears. Leonard said on Thursday that he stepped on Denico Autry late in the second quarter against Chicago, which caused his injured groin. Leonard stayed in the next two plays—and clearly was favoring his groin—but didn’t return. Leonard said he could play without practicing this week, but realizes the risk/reward of playing on a soft tissue injury so early in the season. At Thursday’s practice, Leonard was doing some light jogging with a member of the athletic training staff, but not taking part in linebacker drills.

A heavily wrapped left hand of LB-Bobby Okereke (who was headed for thumb surgery this week after finishing the win against the Bears) had him back to practice on Thursday. As long as Okereke can prove he’s able to play somewhat effectively with that wrap, he should be playing quite a bit this Sunday, no matter the situation with Leonard (and possibly Walker). Okereke has played a whole lot for the Colts during this win streak: 85 percent of the defensive snaps against the Vikings, 81 percent against the Jets and 85 percent against the Bears. He’s started 3 of 4 games this season, as the Colts have played him more than Anthony Walker in 2020.

Mo Alie-Cox leads all qualifying tight ends in the league with 17.6 yards per reception. T.Y. Hilton noted on Thursday that Alie-Cox has gotten much ‘sharper’ with his route running, along with snaring the ball at the highest point. “There’s no DB, safety linebacker that can meet him at that high point,” Hilton said on Thursday. “He’s making DBs pay for it. He’s blocking his tail off in the run game. He’s the complete package.”

On Wednesday, we talked about the Colts bringing familiar face LB-Najee Goode back in for a workout. They ended up signing Goode to the practice on Thursday morning. With several injuries at linebacker right now (Matthew Adams out at least two more games with an ankle injury, Darius Leonard-groin, Bobby Okereke-thumb, E.J. Speed-elbow), it makes sense to have a guy like Goode back in the building in an emergency situation. Goode, 31, spent the entire 2018 season with the Colts, only playing on special teams. Goode hasn’t been in the NFL since going on IR late last November with a knee injury, after playing 10 games for the Jaguars. If the Colts need another linebacker this weekend, perhaps Goode gets the late-week call-up to get some special teams reps.

DeForest Buckner and the interior of the Colts offensive line should be getting a strong challenge on Sunday. Browns guard Wyatt Teller has been one of the major surprises in the entire NFL this season, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ top ranked offensive guard. Around Teller, the Browns have tons of notable draft picks: LT-Jedrick Willis (10^th overall in 2020), C-J.C. Tretter (122^nd overall in 2013), G-Joel Bitonio (35^th overall in 2017), RT-Jack Conklin (8^th overall in 2016).

In Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, the Colts might be facing the best wideout duo they’ll see all season. It’s been a while since Beckham and/or Landry have faced the Colts. Beckham had 8 catches for 156 yards against the Colts in a Monday Night game with the Giants back in 2014. Landry had 7 grabs for 111 yards while with the Dolphins in 2015. While the Browns are a committed run-team first, they still have a pretty notable receiver duo.

OBJ does have some familiarity with a key member of the Colts secondary. Back in 2016, on Monday Night Football, it was Xavier Rhodes holding OBJ to just 3 catches for 23 yards on 9 targets, in a game that had the two jawing a bit back and forth. That was (at the time) a career-low in both catches and yards for OBJ. While we might not see Rhodes shadowing OBJ on Sunday, this is a matchup to certainly keep an eye on when the two are lined up across from each other. “He’s a great receiver, one of the top 5 receivers in the league,” Rhodes said of OBJ earlier this week. “You just have to be mentally prepared because it’s not only going to be a mental battle, but a physical battle, too. He can get physical, but can also jaw and get in your head. You just have to be mentally strong and physically strong, too. Because he’s going to be physical with you at the line and down the field, too.”

Despite the Colts ranking 32^nd in rushing yards per carry (3.52 YPC) through the first quarter of the season, offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni says he’s pleased with the run blocking. Sirianni pointed to a little bit of context that can skew the Colts being dead last in the NFL in a category that many believe should be elite for this team. “We’re doing the things that we need to do to win football games,” the third-year OC said. “You mentioned the kneel downs and stuff like that, it’s also four-minute runs at times. You’re going against a very heavy box. The box is stacked against you. They have one more guy than you can block, and we’ve been in four-minute mode the last three weeks. So, I think that definitely plays into it as well…. I think we’re in a good position. I’m not concerned about it. I know some of these runs will start to break out of there and get some explosive runs, more so than what we’ve been getting.” To be fair though, the first-half yards per carry number (when the four-minute offense and kneel downs aren’t really used) for the Colts isn’t good either. In first halves this season, the Colts are averaging 3.88 yards per carry, which would be good for 25^th in NFL. We touched more on this story in a separate piece on Thursday morning.