INDIANAPOLIS -- The start of the Indianapolis Colts' training camp is less than three weeks away at Anderson University.
There’s been plenty of hype -- and deservedly so -- surrounding the additions the Colts made during the offseason. On the flip side of that, there are also several players -- and head coach -- who have plenty of pressure on them next season. It could because they're in their final year of a contract, they've failed to live up to expectations, or because they have a teammate breathing down their neck for their starting spot.
We started looking at the players with the most pressure prior to my vacation last week. Running back Vick Ballard (No. 10), guard Donald Thomas (No. 9), defensive lineman Josh Chapman (No. 8), guard Hugh Thornton (No. 7) and safety Dwight Lowery (No. 6) opened the top-10 rankings.
No. 5: Center Khaled Holmes
Why the pressure: The Colts named Holmes the team’s starting center in the spring of 2014. But just like during his rookie season in 2013, injuries caused the former fourth-round pick to fall behind the rest of his teammates last season. Holmes suffered a high-ankle sprain in the preseason opener against the New York Jets in August. He was sidelined for an extended period of time and didn't get his starting job back until Week 16. Holmes started the final five games last season, but that wasn't enough to make him the permanent starter because coach Chuck Pagano said it's open competition for the starting job between Holmes and Jonotthan Harrison, who started 10 games at center last season.
What he has to do: Holmes should be the starter this season and for seasons to come if he can stay healthy. He took the majority of the snaps with the first team during offseason workouts, and it'll likely remain that way during training camp as long as Holmes can remain healthy. The goal is to stop the revolving door at center for quarterback Andrew Luck and find one player the Colts can pair with their franchise quarterback for years to come the same way they did with Jeff Saturday and Peyton Manning. Indianapolis started three different players at center last season.
Quotable: "It gives you so much confidence when you walk to the line that everybody's on the same page. That we’re all seeing this the same way. Your center is the guy who's going to be making the calls, he's going to be directing protections. If there's an issue with a lineman, he should be the guy dealing with that. The quarterback has got enough on their plate." -- former Colts center Jeff Saturday on having good center/quarterback relationship.
