Colts Camp Notebook Day 13: Colts Finish Over Falcons

Colts Camp Notebook Day 13: Colts Finish Over Falcons

INDIANAPOLIS – A second day of joint practices brought a little more edginess and post-whistle interactions for the Colts and Falcons.

But everyone behaved enough for a 90-minute session to get in, with the focus on red-zone and a two-minute drill to cap the 13 practices in Westfield.

Here are some takeaways from Day 13 of Colts training camp:

-Finish. Finish. Finish. To say Shane Steichen was thrilled with how the Colts finished Thursday’s practice would be an understatement. The situation to end Thursday’s practice was the offense down 1, 1:05 left on the clock and starting at your own 25-yard line. The Colts offense (Daniel Jones, then Anthony Richardson) went 2-for-2 on finishing with field goals. The Falcons (Tua Tagovailoa, then Cooper Rush) didn’t even get an attempt at a field goal. A 4th down sack by Laiatu Latu, with the Colts bringing the house, ended the first drive near field goal range. Against the Falcons 2^nd team offense, a blitzing Jonathan Owens tipped a Cooper Rush pass, with Rob Carter Jr. hauling in the interception. For a team emphasizing recent issues in finishing, this was the way the Colts want to close games.

-I had Daniel Jones 4-of-6 on Thursday, in what was much more of a mixed bag in terms of efficiency. Jones and the starting offense benefited greatly on the final drive of the day by a huge defensive pass interference penalty down the field, helping them get into field goal range. One area where the Falcons starting defense again appeared to get the best of the Colts offense was in the run game.

-Thursday was the day for Anthony Richardson Sr. to lead the second unit. Richardson was 5-of-7, having to deal with some poor snapping from guard Dalton Tucker, who the Colts are trying to groom into a reserve center. This has popped up an alarming amount of times during camp and is something the Colts can’t ignore around roster cuts coming August 30^th.

-After the Colts wreaked havoc for Tua Tagovailoa on Wednesday, the Falcons had a tad more success on Wednesday. Virtually all of it was in the direction of Drake London. The Colts defense got the last laugh though, with a fumbled snap by Tagovailoa helping end a final-minute drive. Colts young cornerback Justin Walley had some super competitive reps with London. One included London appearing to make another highlight reel grab on Walley, but No. 27 got his hand in there at the last second to knock the ball away. That led to London offering a high-five to Walley. That matchup was fun to watch the past couple of days.

-Rocking jersey No. 10, Keenan Allen actually did a few team drills on Thursday (4 reps there, and 2 in the one-on-one period). Reggie Wayne had some fun with Allen, as the newly signed 34-year-old tripped going through a ladder drill, which led to his position coach saying, “It’s his first day.” Expect the workload for Allen to increase next week, as the Colts practice Tuesday-Thursday, mimicking a regular season schedule, ahead of their preseason finale next Saturday.

-One trend we saw in the final week of camp: linebackers Akeem Davis-Gaither and Jaylon Carlies consistently starting. On Thursday, Carlies picked Michael Pennix in a 7-on-7 period. Are these two linebackers, the two most veteran of the group, emerging?

-Spencer Shrader needed those “end of game” kicks on Thursday. He was good from 48 and 52 yards.

-Couple injury updates: Steichen said Tyler Warren’s injured groin is “not serious.” Running back D.J. Giddens is working back from a hamstring injury but didn’t do much at all on Thursday. Fellow running back Ulysses Bentely IV left practice early.

-One of the most important notes from the 13 training camp practices, the Colts had their starting offensive line intact for every single rep. That’s pretty rare. Yes, a false start by Jalen Travis a couple of weeks back led to a one-play benching. But the health was there for the starting 5: LT-Bernhard Raimann, LG-Quenton Nelson, C-Tanor Bortolini, RG-Matt Goncalves, RT-Jalen Travis. If this quintet can be a top-flight offensive line in 2026 that will be a huge element to this offense getting back to what we saw in September and October.

-We entered training camp with a good amount of starting position battles. This is how I would rank the leaders at those spots exiting camp: WR3: Keenan Allen (then Ashton Dulin), DE: Arden Key, LB: Akeem Davis-Gaither, Jaylon Carlies (still expecting ample rotating), SS: A.J. Haulcy, K: Blake Grupe.

-As we, sadly, close the book on the final Colts training camp in Westfield, a sincere thank you to everyone who has consumed my content over the years from Grand Park. I love training camp and everything it offers the fan. It’s incredible access to your favorite team. I’m bummed that won’t continue, but I get this is the new reality in the NFL. Thanks to all for following along over the years.

-Here is how the starting offense looked on Thursday: QB-Daniel Jones, RB-Jonathan Taylor, WR-Josh Downs, WR-Laquon Treadwell, WR-Keenan Allen, TE-Mo Alie-Cox, LT-Bernhard Raimann, LG-Quenton Nelson, C-Tanor Bortolini, RG-Matt Goncalves, RT-Jalen Travis.

-Here is how the starting defense looked on Thursday: DE-Laiatu Latu, DT-Grover Stewart, DE-Arden Key, DT-DeForest Buckner, LB-Jaylon Carlies, LB-Akeem Davis-Gaither, CB-Cam Taylor-Britt, CB-Justin Walley, CB-Sauce Gardner, S-Cam Bynum, S-A.J. Haulcy.

-Guys that stood out at Thursday’s practice: DE-Laiatu Latu, WR-Deion Burks, LB-Jaylon Carlies

Injury Report: The following players did not appear to be participating at Thursday’s practice: WR-Alec Pierce (calf, on PUP), CB-Charvarius Ward Sr. (back), WR-Anthony Gould (groin), OT-Nolan Rucci (undisclosed), OT-Luke Tenuta (undisclosed)

2026 Colts Training Camp Schedule

-8/22 (Saturday): 2^nd preseason game vs. Falcons, 1:00 PM