INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Offensive runner Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts can do in his first two NFL games.
Receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and protector Julian Blackmon will face the New York Jets on Sunday.
Yes, 3 games after the start of his rookie season, a series of long-term injuries has led Indy’s 3 most sensible selections to take on bigger-than-expected roles.
“It’s football,” Pittman said after catching four passes for 37 yards in last weekend’s win over Minnesota. “It’s faster and I’d say it’s probably the most important thing. It’s more violent and defensive backs have more ball skills. “
It didn’t take long for the son of a Super Bowl-winning ball carrier to realize that, and it didn’t take long for the Colts to realize how valuable this elegance of the draft can be.
Originally, the Colts expected their top two picks, Pittman and Taylor, key cogs. Taylor had to separate the runs with 1,000-yard running back Marlon Mack, while Pittman fought his way to a four-time Pro Bowler T. Y. receiving group Hilton and veterans Zach Pascal and Parris Campbell.
Now Indy (1-1) has moved on to his backup plan.
A tear in the Achilles tendon ended Mack’s season after only two trimesters, pushing Taylor into the starting lineup. He responded by catching six passes for 67 yards in the Colts’ loss to Jacksonville and running 26 times for 101 yards and an opposite landing to the Vikings. He is the first Colts rookie to pass the 100-yard mark since 2012 and now has 199 total yards in two games even though there was no low-season team activity or preseason games.
The Colts are impressed.
“It’s powerful, it’s fast, and our offensive line actually gives the ball (carrier) a chance to move on to high school,” offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said. “The same with our receivers, they blocked their tail to allow them to be one by one with insurance and turns. I think a back to Jonathan’s taste gets better as the boys get tired and get tired of facing them.
This week, Pittman hopes to make an impact.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 223-pound rookie is a length that Indy’s other outdoor receivers don’t have and his hands were hired through headhunters before the draft.
Then, when Campbell (left knee) went to the reserve for injury on Tuesday, he almost secured Pittman’s longest action in groups of three receivers and could even start against the Jets (0-2).
“I was satisfied with Michael Pittman’s games,” Coach Frank Reich said. “Not just the few key pieces he made, but how he made them. Some of the things we talked about and some of the things he worked on got this far. (Sunday) I think the arrow is up for him and all our young people.
Campbell’s injury may also open a place for sixth-round recruit Dezmon Patmon, who played well in educational but inactive camp for the first two weeks to play in his first game.
The greatest wonder to date has been Blackmon.
After winning the All-American team moment in Utah last year, the first as deep, a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in December relegated him to a third-round selection. footballer, got rid of the list on 31 August and missed the first game of the season.
Nine months later, Blackmon returned to the field doing two tackles, interrupting two passes, one of his teammates, Khari Willis, broke loose for a game-changing interception, replacing Malik Hooker, who went on the disabled reserve list at the end of the season. Tuesday with a tear in the Achilles.
Reich stated that Blackmon on a game account last week and will probably be this week, however, he could soon be part of the lineup.
And Blackmon, like Taylor and Pittman, to be ready.
“One of the coaches spoke to me and said, “This is your rookie debut and don’t forget it anyway, so you could be great,” Blackmon said. “This kind of thing stayed with me and I just looked after doing an effect and checking to help my team win. “
NOTE: Indy has recruited veteran receiver Marcus Johnson for the team. Johnson spent part of the last two seasons with the Colts, catching 23 passes for 379 yards. . . The Colts also promoted protection Ibraheim Campbell and cornerer Tremon Smith to the squadron’s active list and added wings closed to Hale Hentges and Ethan Wolf to the squadron.
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