Indianapolis Colts: What We've Learned Through Week 2 of Training Camp

Training camp is coming to a close for the Indianapolis Colts.

Saturday, August 15 marks the end of the 2015 training camp in Anderson just in time for the team's first preseason game on Sunday, when the Colts will travel to Philadelphia to take on Chip Kelly and the Eagles. While the preseason game will be rather bland in terms of game plan, the Eagles' unique blend of talent will make for an interesting test.

The Colts have had a productive camp, but we'll learn even more about the team through the preseason, updated depth charts and the approaching cut deadlines. For now, however, we'll look back on the last week of training camp and find out which new things have emerged.

Today, we'll focus on team-related topics, having covered specific player standouts on Wednesday.

The Battle for WR No. 3 Is Ongoing

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

If you're a fantasy football player, you were probably hoping that either Donte Moncrief or Phillip Dorsett would have won the No. 3 wide receiver job outright by this point. That, of course, would have made it easy to take a late-round flier on one of them in drafts.

But quite frankly, the competition has just gotten more complicated.

Moncrief officially holds the title right now, but Dorsett has the Colts thinking they drafted a superstar, reported NFL Media's Ian Rapoport (h/t NFL's Chris Wesseling), and he has made countless big plays in camp.

But there's also Duron Carter to consider.

The Colts signed the son of Hall-of-Famer Cris Carter back in February, but he was largely forgotten about after the team signed Andre Johnson and drafted Dorsett. But the former CFL player has terrorized in the red zone during training camp, catching four touchdown passes during one practice, according to Colts reporter Steve Andress.

Really, it wouldn't surprise anybody if the third wide receiver turned into an even split between Carter, Dorsett and Moncrief. It seems more likely Moncrief and Dorsett will have a significant edge in snaps, but nobody can say right now.

T.Y. Hilton's Contract Will Be Done Soon

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

T.Y. Hilton has been the subject of a number of contract rumors this offseason, but all of that looks like it may be coming to a close.

According to numerous media reports, Hilton's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was at Colts practice again on Wednesday, the third time in the last two weeks, and he will be continuing face-to-face negotiations with the team, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.

It's a good indication on the progress of the talks, as Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star confirmed.

The sooner Indianapolis can get this out of the way, the better. Hilton is one of the Colts' young, core players, players who should be part of the team's long-term plans.

There hasn't been any updates on an extension for Anthony Castonzo, but once Hilton's deal is complete, he likely won't be far behind.

Passing Situations Could Be Helped Tremendously by Clayton Geathers

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Right away back in organized team activities (OTAs), the Colts began trying out rookie Clayton Geathers in dime sets. Obviously, that was an encouraging sign for the fourth-rounder from Central Florida, but some experimentation in OTAs doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot, either.

But during training camp, Geathers has continued to practice with the first team in certain sets, as well as stand out with his play.

Veteran Mike Adams noticed, telling Steve Andress of the team's official website he expects the rookie to help "tremendously."

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I think he’s further ahead of most rookies. Most rookies when they come in you have to put them in one position and one position only, until they get everything else down. Here we threw him in the fire. He was at safety. He was at dime. He was back-and-forth, a lot of special teams. He was doing a lot of different things.

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Geathers has impressed the media as well. Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star says he could be the X-factor for the Colts defense, while Mike Wells of ESPN says he brings a "different dimension."

Anytime you get a dynamic player, it's a boost, especially for a Colts defense that has largely been devoid of playmakers. But this is also key because it addresses a big weakness for the 2014 Colts.

D'Qwell Jackson brings a lot to the table as a veteran inside linebacker, but he was woeful in pass coverage in 2014, especially in man-to-man coverage. Jackson was ranked 56th out of 60 linebackers in Pro Football Focus' coverage grades last season, and the Colts ranked 26th and 31st against tight ends and running backs in coverage, per Football Outsiders.

If Geathers can be effective in that dime linebacker role, it could be a huge boost for Indianapolis, which has otherwise been stout in pass coverage.

'Toughness' Takes Center Stage

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

The Colts' 45-7 loss to the New England Patriots in January was embarrassing. So too was the previous blowout to New England—and the two prior to that.

Getting pushed around time after time has become very tiresome for Indianapolis, and Jim Irsay let the team know as soon as the AFC Championship game was over.

"We have to be able to be a tougher team," Irsay told Mike Chappell of RTV6 in Indianapolis after the game. "What’s missing is trying to continue to bring in a team that I talked about, which is a really tough defensive team."

That toughness was likely an allusion to the Colts' inability to stop New England's power-run game in any of the recent matchups. In response, Chuck Pagano has taken a more hands-on approach to the defense this year and implemented a more physical training camp regimen in general.

The Colts have used the infamous Oklahoma drill, spent dozens of snaps on physical short-yardage drills and have used training camp to get at the heart of their failures in recent years.

"From a physical standpoint, the only way I know you can build a mentally and physically tough team is you have to practice,” Pagano told Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.

“You have to put the pads on and you have to work at it. If you don’t do that, you’re not going to show up on Sunday and flip the switch and be a tough, nasty football team.”

As long as that increased physicality doesn't result in any devastating injuries, this is probably a good thing for Indianapolis. So far, they've been very lucky in that regard.

Age Can Be a Virtue

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

While most fans and media were impressed with what the Indianapolis Colts did this offseason, there was a small contingent of critics who could not get past one factor: age.

The Colts focused on signing veterans in the offseason, including 32-year-old Frank Gore, 34-year-old Andre Johnson, 32-year-old Trent Cole and 32-year-old Todd Herremans. When you include aging veteran starters such as Mike Adams (34), D'Qwell Jackson (31), and Lance Louis (30), you can see the dependence the Colts will have on relatively old players this season.

But the Colts' veterans have reminded us of the benefits of age and experience this training camp, without showing signs of their age.

Johnson, for example, has been a part of Phillip Dorsett's quick acclimation to NFL life, as the rookie has specifically noted Johnson's daily work ethic, according to Phillip Wilson of Scout.com. Both Johnson and Gore made that impression early on, and both have made impressive plays on the field as well.

Gore has ripped off numerous long runs in camp but has really impressed Andrew Luck with his blocking ability and intelligence, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.

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He’s tough, he’s smart, he protects his butt off. Maybe one of the best in this generation of football players with protecting the quarterback.

He’s obviously been around and seen a lot of football, and that helps. His memory bank is full of looks. I think without a coach having to coach him on how to do things, he’s done it before and he knows it. You can tell it’s rubbed off on Boom, Zurlon, Vick and Josh … because he makes it look easy sometimes when it’s not. It really is a hard thing to do and he is physical.

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The Colts have been resting all of their veterans periodically, per Mike Wells of ESPN, in an effort to keep them fresh for the season. However, it's clear there will be some heavy lifting there.

While there is certainly a chance of physical breakdown as the season goes on, the Colts veterans have certainly shown the ability is still there if health remains cooperative.