INDIANAPOLIS - The receiver position was the most talked-about position for the Indianapolis Colts during their first two weeks of training camp at Anderson University.
And it should have been.
T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Andre Johnson have been impressive. The trio also had some help, as rookies Phillip Dorsett, Duron Carter and Quan Bray turned a lot of heads in camp with impressive route running and speed.
The latter three showed that training camp and preseason games are different things in Sunday's preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dorsett, the Colts' first-round draft choice, led the team in receiving with 51 yards on four catches. But he also fumbled the ball when he had it stripped from behind. Carter, who joined the Colts after two seasons in the Canadian Football League, had a drop and finished with only one reception (targeted four times) for 16 yards. He was also tentative while returning a kickoff 24 yards. It was just days ago that Bray, the undrafted free agent out of Auburn, was getting praise from coach Chuck Pagano. Bray fumbled a punt that ended up going out of bounds and didn't have a reception.
"You never want to have those happen, especially Dorsett was having a really good day minus the turnover," Pagano said. "You just can't do it. We talk about ball security. We work in practice day in and day out. There's nothing more important than the ball. You have to take care of that thing. We had some opportunities with the other guys to make plays. They did make some plays and then they had a couple of drops in there. We'll continue to work in practice to get that stuff cleaned up. They're more than capable guys, obviously, and they have talent. The game is not too big for them. But you have to focus on the little things, the details, the fundamentals of the game. You have to take care of the football."
