CINCINNATI — Before the two-minute attack, the Colts had their worst offensive practice of training camp against the Bengals.
Indianapolis’ No. 1 offense barely gained a yard against Cincinnati’s No. 1 defense in the early going. The offensive line was the cause of the early losses, with Bernhard Reimann, Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith allowing early pressures and resulting in two sacks.
So the Colts started having Anthony Richardson scramble to buy time, but he and the receivers constantly disagreed. Richardson was successful just 3 of 10 times, with Adonai Mitchell and Drew Ogletree throwing the ball out of reach of Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. In one practice, Richardson scrambled to his right and threw the ball between three receivers on different patterns.
“He’s just throwing to spots,” Bengals safety Geno Stone yelled after the ball hit the turf. “He doesn’t see the receiver.”
Most of Richardson’s three early passes were overstretched as well. He took three smooth steps to drop the ball to Pittman, set up a little catch-and-run out of a hitch pattern, then essentially dumped it behind the line to Kylen Granson, who was engulfed in a cross and completed the pass in a move that Pierce had to catch with his shoestrap to stop the ball from hitting the turf.
Other times, the receiver was covered or didn’t turn around, leaving Richardson to scramble out of bounds for a short gain.
“Throw the ball, bro,” Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill yelled at Richardson after a brief scramble.
The Bengals defensive backs were also starting to get frustrated.
“Is all he does is run?” cornerback Cam Britt-Taylor said.
(The Colts did not call any members of the passing game for interviews, and coach Shane Steichen declined to comment on the offense because he was watching the defense.)
Richardson’s interception came a few minutes later, when he threw a pass to a deep-guarded Pittman, who poked his back and tipped the ball up into the air and into the arms of linebacker Logan Wilson.
Additionally, Jonathan Taylor struggled a few times after getting swallowed up on inside runs that weren’t completely blocked by the defensive tackles, at which point his offensive linemen looked frustrated.
“Workouts are always tough, just coming to the practice field, going through the bare minimum scouting report and seeing what these guys are going to do,” Kelly said. “I know they’re going to do something.”
Of course, this was just one of 13 practices, and the offense has been explosive on other occasions, like last week against the Cardinals, but before Tuesday’s two-minute drive, Taylor was perhaps the only player who looked like he was back to normal.
Colts offense on the rise
But then the Colts ran a red-zone drill and Richardson threw a pass to Mitchell in the back of the end zone that was perfectly positioned and just off the defender’s fingertips.
And that seemed to buoy the Colts, as head coach Shane Steichen spent the first half of practice watching the defense before switching over to the offense as he normally does.
The Colts went on a two-minute drive that looked like the other team was in control. The pass protection was strong, Richardson played with purpose and urgency, and his receivers turned to the ball early and got to the spots where he threw it.
Richardson hit a hitch and a slant route to Pittman for a first down and some yards, then overshot Pierce for about 20 yards to get the drive going. All three passes were perfectly timed and placed.
Richardson made 10 of 20 attempts thanks to that two-minute drill, and while he couldn’t close it out with a touchdown, it was because time expired and he put up a prayer in the back of the end zone, just out of reach of Mitchell.
“He’s obviously got insane athleticism,” Kelly said of Richardson. “I think he’s going to help us up front. He holds guys back a little bit. They have a hard time making substitutions, they have a hard time applying pressure. … They’re tired. They’re making substitutions. They’re tired. They don’t know what they’re doing. They’re going to have miscommunications. That’s how they score. So that’s going to be a big part of us this year.”
The drill revealed the two extremes of this offense, depending on whether Richardson is focused or not: The faster he is forced to play with speed and urgency, the sharper his timing, accuracy and ball placement tend to be. But in other situations, he can be shaky and lethargic.
That’s the nature of a player who has played in 17 games out of Eastside High School, just returned from shoulder surgery and is still learning as a pitcher, player and processor, and this camp has revealed all of those ups and downs in an offense that is a far cry from the one Indianapolis will actually run in games.
Injury Report
Third-year tight end Jelani Woods is scheduled to undergo surgery and will miss significant time due to a toe injury he suffered Saturday night against Arizona.
Woods, wide receiver Josh Downs (high ankle sprain), cornerback JuJu Brents (nose), center Tanor Bortolini (toe), running back Trey Sermon (hamstring), defensive end Titus Leo and linebacker Liam Anderson did not practice.
Wide receiver Ashton Dulin returned to practice for the first time in several weeks after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Quick Hit
Will Mallory was a bright spot for the offense, catching a touchdown from Joe Flacco and making a big play in the middle of the field from Flacco. With Woods set to have surgery, his spot on the 53-man roster is more certain, and the Colts have talked about using him more on the field in recent weeks. … Matt Gay did a little kicking practice, but it was over a pretty tilted goal post. He finished with a kick that was about 50 yards, showing much-needed progress after a tough preseason. … Rigoberto Sanchez returned to practice after missing Saturday’s preseason game for the birth of his daughter. He served as a holder, but Gay suggested that was an underrated part of his performance so far.
Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com and follow him on Twitter: @NateAtkins_.
