Colts camp observations: Ben Banogu still making plays, DT battle, Eason and Ehlinger even

WESTFIELD — Ben Banogu badly needed an impressive training camp.

The third-year defensive end has struggled in his two seasons in Indianapolis, recording 2.5 sacks as a rookie and then falling out of the rotation in 2020. At one point, he was a healthy scratch for six consecutive games.

Pass rushers often take a couple of seasons to develop, and the Colts have been patient with Banogu, but it was clear the former second-round pick needed to take a big leap forward this season.

More:After stellar preseason debut, Colts QB Jacob Eason delivers finest practice of camp

Banogu has responded.

Far more confident and free-flowing than he’s been in past years, Banogu has been a consistent presence on the practice field, making a handful of plays in just about every practice. Banogu has been working against an Indianapolis tackle group that has largely struggled, but that’s part of the difference; in the past, Banogu rarely made an impact on the practice field even when he was matched up against tackles on the bottom of the roster.

Banogu looks a lot more like the player the Colts thought they were drafting in 2019, a speed rusher with a good first step and enough strength to help out in the run game.

The TCU product had another impressive day Thursday. Banogu recorded at least one “sack” and had two other pressures, and he made a play at the line of scrimmage in the running game against Nyheim Hines. If Banogu can keep that going in the regular season, he’ll likely earn the spot in the team’s defensive line rotation that he was unable to capture last fall.

Matthew Adams throw gets Colts out of practice 

Frank Reich gave his team a chance to play the lottery on Thursday. 

The Colts head coach gave left-handed linebacker Matthew Adams a chance to give the team a night off before traveling to Minnesota for Saturday's preseason game. All Adams had to do was hit the cross bar with a pass from roughly 20 yards away. 

Adams nailed it, sending up an enormous cheer from the Colts. 

Colts defensive tackle battle

One of the hardest battles to read in training camp is the battle for the backup defensive tackle spots available behind DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, one of the best interior tandems in the league.

A long list of players are battling for playing time behind them, and there’s experience and different skill sets galore. Incumbent Taylor Stallworth has the size and quickness to penetrate into the backfield, but battled a hamstring injury for a couple of weeks. Antwaun Woods is a space-eating former Cowboys starter who’s at his best against the run but doesn’t offer much as a pass rusher. Andrew Brown has been a dominant pass rusher at times in 1-on-1 drills. Joey Ivie offers quickness.

All four have had their moments, and to add to that list, second-year defensive tackle Chris Williams, who spent his entire rookie season in 2020 on the practice squad, has flashed in the past week with his quickness and relentless motor. Defensive line coach Brian Baker is not going to have an easy time whittling the list down.

Jacob Eason vs. Sam Ehlinger 

The competition between Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger for the backup quarterback job behind Carson Wentz was too close to call on Thursday.

The Colts got back to splitting up the first-team reps between the two passers evenly after circumstances threw a wrench into that plan earlier in the week; Eason got all the first-team snaps due to Ehlinger being out with an illness, and on Wednesday, Ehlinger took the majority, presumably to catch up. With that imbalance squared, the two passers split snaps evenly.

Eason completed 10 of 13 passes, including a strike to Mike Strachan for a 20-yard touchdown in the red zone, and an interception. The interception likely wasn’t Eason’s fault; the intended receiver, Zach Pascal, fell down, and second-year cornerback Isaiah Rodgers made an acrobatic, reactionary grab of Eason’s fastball in the air over Pascal. Eason completed three passes to running backs and four to tight ends, including back-to-back completions to Farrod Green to begin the practice. Known as a pocket quarterback, Eason also showed some ability to make plays on the move, rolling out to throw for completions on a couple of snaps and picking up yards on a scramble in the red zone, although it wasn’t clear if he’d have been able to get into the end zone in a live situation.

Ehlinger, on the other hand, completed 9 of 11 throws, and he turned in a highlight by scrambling around, buying time and then lofting a ball over the middle to tight end Jordan Thomas that looked dangerous at first but ended up being perfectly placed to fall into Thomas’s outstretched hands and keep him running. Most of the rookie’s other offerings were short throws; Ehlinger completed five passes to running backs. 

Colts injury report

Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly, who hasn’t practiced in three weeks, could be seen doing blocking drills and snapping. Veteran tackle Eric Fisher, who is on his way back from a torn Achilles tendon, continues to do significant work with trainers on and off the field.

Hines, defensive end Tyquan Lewis and linebacker Jordan Glasgow returned to practice.

Left guard Quenton Nelson (foot), defensive end Kemoko Turay (shoulder), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (undisclosed), linebacker E.J. Speed (knee), cornerback T.J. Carrie (knee), cornerback Marvell Tell (groin), center Danny Pinter (foot), linebacker Malik Jefferson (knee) and offensive tackle Carter O’Donnell (leg) did not practice.

Quick hitters

First-round pick Kwity Paye has done a nice job recognizing screens and reacting to them. For the second day in a row, Paye read a screen perfectly and tackled the tight end in the backfield. … Michael Pittman Jr. took a screen from Ehlinger, got good blocks from Braden Smith and Pascal and would have ripped off a big run. … A thin Colts cornerback group made its presence known in the red zone. In addition to the Rodgers pick, Rock Ya-Sin read a tunnel screen from the 3-yard line perfectly and stopped Pittman Jr. before he could get in the end zone, and on the next play, Moore dropped Hines for a loss. … Wide receiver Tarik Black got free behind the third-team defense for a touchdown pass from Brett Hundley.