Colts
Daniel Jones enters the regular season as the Colts’ starting quarterback. When talking about the veteran, sixth-round QB Riley Leonard said he’s been impressed by Jones’ pre-snap adjustments.
“With [Jones], I think a lot of the times you’ll see the most simple play in the world be executed, and I’d say 70% of quarterbacks would’ve never got us into that play,” Leonard said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “But if you’re watching it on TV, it’s, ‘All right, boom, we ran the ball for 5 yards.’ Well, if we were in the play that we would’ve run, we would’ve lost 10 yards on that play and be punting on this drive. But nobody knows that. You don’t see the bad stuff because, with Daniel, it doesn’t happen as much.”
Leonard added that Jones “doesn’t miss” on his pre-snap reads, timely releasing the ball, and understanding protections.
“The things that he can control, he doesn’t miss,” Leonard said of Jones. “So, all the mentals and things pre-snap, getting us in the right play, getting the ball out of his hands, understanding protections, he just doesn’t miss.”
Colts HC Shane Steichen reiterated that Jones was able to create some “big plays” with his pre-snap adjustments and thinks it can make an impact in games.
“He made some plays in training camp, some checks, some protection [adjustments] to get us in the right situations to hit some big plays that were huge for us,” Steichen said of Jones. “Those things are going to come up in the game, and I feel very confident in his abilities to get us into the right plays.”
Jaguars
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence praised the work first-round WR/CB Travis Hunter has done to put himself in a position to be the league’s first true two-way player in a long, long time.
“Yeah, just to see the amount of work you have to put in to do that, it’s hard enough to play one way in the NFL, much less two ways,” Lawrence said via Pro Football Talk. “To learn offense and defense, it’s a lot. He’s done a really good job.”
“It’s his responsibility to know what to do when he steps in the huddle, and he’s done a great job with that, but also being conscious that he’s a rookie, he’s got a lot going on, he’s playing both ways,” Lawrence added. “Just trying to help him as much as I can with little reminders or different things with the formations or concepts or whatever. Just trying to give him reminders so it’s not, hey, you’re on your own, pal. Figure it out. And he’s done a good job of knowing it, but as much as we can help him out, I think that is important.”
Texans
Dameon Pierce appeared in the Texans’ preseason finale for the first time since Week 11 of last season after suffering a strained quadriceps. Pierce said his recovery is a “couple weeks ahead of schedule” and feels ready for the regular season.
“It was a long one, bro,” Pierce said, via Aaron Wilson. “It’s really a couple weeks ahead of schedule, which is a blessing. Mentally, just staying steady. Get back in the groove, man. This ain’t nothing. It’s a blessing to be out there, kind of upset that it’s so late. We were taking our time with the rehab process. Make sure I stay healthy. Make sure everything is taken care of. Don’t let it bite you later. I feel ready to go.”
Pierce trained alongside LB Christian Harris, who was recovering from a strained calf.
“I kind of had him to lean on,” Pierce said. “We both help each other, like, keeping each other high, keeping our energy high. It was great to get back there.”
Pierce enjoys working with OC Nick Caley and thinks the coordinator is doing well structuring his offense to fit their skillsets.
“I like that he’s straightforward, especially when you were installing it and going over again and what he wanted from us,” Pierce said. “And I feel like he catered to us as athletes, just him trying to cater to our skillsets as players. It’s been great to be in and learn and kind of see him feel kind of like I kind of have my own flow going on with him.”
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