1. Matt Ryan’s sense of urgency could help the Colts early in the season.
Early in training camp – with well over a month before the season opener – Ryan talked about the sense of urgency he was working to instill in his teammates.
“You can’t waste any time,” Ryan said. “That’s a message for young guys – it can’t wait. It’s every day, it’s every rep we’ve gotta maximize the time we spend out here because before you know it, we’re going to look up, we’re going to be in Houston and we’re going to be keeping score.
“We got to make sure that we keep that mindset daily, to have ourselves ready to go. That’s one of the keys in training camp, one of the most difficult things is to stay mentally sharp day in and day out when it’s the same thing over and over. But the good teams, the teams that develop this time of year are the ones that can do that.”
About five weeks later, I circled back with Ryan: How did that process go? Did everyone stay mentally sharp from the first through the last day of training camp?
“I think the attention to detail (and) the focus has been good,” Ryan said. “I think the barometer is always in those walk-thru periods. Sometimes during training camp, those can get redundant. The focus our guys have is really good. That’s one of the things when you’re not having to make a ton of corrections, or you’re not asking for focus during those times. When guys just show up (and) do their job, there’s not a whole lot of BS. That’s encouraging.
“I think it’s a credit to Frank (Reich) and the culture that he and Chris (Ballard) have created here and the guys that they’ve brought in. It’s also a credit to the players for finding value in those periods. I say it all the time to our guys, it might be the only rep we get a certain look or a certain scheme, and if you don’t view it as, that’s a game rep or that might be the thing that makes a difference in a game then we are wasting our time. Our guys have certainly locked in during those times and done a great…
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