CINCINNATI — Before a two-minute drive, the Colts were working through their worst offensive practice of training camp against the Bengals.
Indianapolis’ first-team offense came out against Cincinnati’s first-team defense and could barely gain a yard early on. The offensive line was the early culprit, as Bernhard Raimann, Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith gave up early pressure that resulted in two sacks.
So the Colts began to have Anthony Richardson scramble in order to buy some time, but that’s when he and the receivers constantly lived on different pages. He started out 3 of 10, throwing before Adonai Mitchell and Drew Ogletree could get their heads around and out of the reach of Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. On one rep, he scrambled right and threw between three different receivers on different patterns.
“He’s just throwing to spots,” Bengals safety Geno Stone yelled out after the ball hit the grass. “He doesn’t see his receivers.”
Richardson’s three early completions were mostly stretches, too. He hit Pittman on a three-step drop on a smooth ball that set up a small catch-and-run out of a hitch pattern, but he essentially threw the ball away to Kylen Granson as he was swallowed on a crosser behind the line and completed one on the move that Pierce had to make a shoestring grab in order to keep the ball off the grass.
At other times, the receivers were covered up or not looking back, and Richardson continued his scrambles out of bounds for short gains.
“Throw the ball, bro,” Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill yelled at Richardson after one short scramble.
Bengals defensive backs were getting annoyed, too.
“Is that all he does is run?” cornerback Cam Britt-Taylor said.
(The Colts did not make any members of their passing game available for interviews, and coach Shane Steichen declined to comment on the offense since he was watching the defense.)
Richardson’s interception came a few minutes later, when he threw to a deeply covered Pittman and the cornerback played through his back to tip the ball up into the air and into the arms of linebacker Logan Wilson.
To add to the struggles, Jonathan Taylor got swallowed on a couple of inside runs where defensive tackles were completely unblocked. At that point, his offensive linemen were looking exasperated.
“I mean, it’s always tough in joint practices: You’re coming in, minimal scouting report you kind of go through, see what they do,” Kelly said. “You know they’re going to throw something in there.”
It’s just one of 13 practices, of course, and the offense has been explosive at other times, like against the Cardinals last week. But before a two-minute drive, Taylor was perhaps the only player who looked like himself on Tuesday.
Colts offense comes alive
But the Colts then ran a red-zone drill where Richardson hit Mitchell in the back of the end zone, with perfect placement away from a defender’s finger tips.
And that seemed to get the Colts going. Coach Shane Steichen also spent the first half of practice watching the defense before switching fields to work with the offense as usual.
The Colts came out for a two-minute drive, and it was like a different unit had taken control. Pass protection was strong. Richardson was operating with a sense of purpose and urgency, and his receivers were turning for the ball early and meeting the spots he was throwing to.
Richardson hit Pittman in stride for first-down completions on a hitch and a slant route that he could take for extra yardage. Then he hit Pierce on an over route that Pierce took for around 20 yards to get the drive really moving. All three passes showed perfect timing and ball placement.
Richardson finished 10 of 20, thanks to that two-minute drill. He wasn’t able to cap it off with a touchdown but only because time ran out, and he heaved a prayer that was just out of Mitchell’s reach in the back of the end zone.
“He’s obviously a freak athletically,” Kelly said of Richardson. “I think it certainly helps us up front, keeps them on their heels a little bit, just have a hard time subbing, hard time getting in pressure looks. … Het them tired. They’re subbing. They’re tired. They don’t know they’re doing. Miscommunications happen. That’s how you score points. So, I’m sure that’ll be a big part of what we do this year.”
The practice showcased the two polarizing sides of this offense based on whether Richardson is locked in or not. The more he gets sped up and forced to play with urgency, the sharper his timing, accuracy and ball placement tend to be. But he can also grow choppy and lackadaisical in other settings.
That’s the nature of a player who has started 17 games above Eastside High School and who is coming off shoulder surgery, still learning himself as a thrower, player and processor. This camp has highlighted the full range of those ups and downs, though it’s come in an offense far from what Indianapolis will actually run when the games count.
Injury report
Third-year tight end Jelani Woods is expected to undergo surgery, and he will miss significant time due to the toe injury suffered against Arizona Saturday night.
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 a couple of weeks after dealing with a hamstring injury.
Quick hits
Will Mallory was a bright spot for the offense, catching a touchdown from Joe Flacco and making a chunk play over the middle of the field from Flacco as well. His spot on the 53-man roster seems more secure with Woods headed for surgery, and the Colts have spoken in recent weeks about trying to use him some more down the field. … Matt Gay got a little bit of kicking work in, although it came on a heavily leaning goal post. He ended practice with a make of around 50 yards, showing some much-needed progress after a rough preseason. … Rigoberto Sanchez was back to practice after missing Saturday’s preseason game for the birth of his daughter. He served as the holder, which Gay suggested is an underrated part of his performance right now.
Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
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