Former Colts HC Chuck Pagano gave his assessment of the quarterback situation in Indianapolis with Matt Ryan and Sam Ehlinger.
“He’s really struggled, and they’ve struggled, especially on the offensive side,” Pagano said of Ryan, via The Indy Star. “There was so much promise and electricity around that team and that roster coming into this year after they moved on from Carson (Wentz) a year ago and brought Matt in there. So much hope. You feel for that organization, feel for that team, that locker room, and those fans there. Now, what’s the rest of this year gonna look like? It’s almost like a waste.”
“He’s got arm talent,” Pagano said of Ehlinger. “He’s a mobile guy. He’s strong, he’s intelligent, smart. He’ll do a nice job as far as managing the games. It won’t be too big for him. (Colts general manager Chris Ballard said) they liked the kid. They had high praise for Sam and thought that, with some time, he can develop and maybe become a guy. He’s gonna get a shot and they’re all going to find out what he is in the weeks to come and see, ‘OK, is he a real dude or do we have to go find another one?’ This will give him a great opportunity to show what he can do.”
Jaguars OC Press Taylor said RB Jamycal Hasty has earned the trust of his teammates and the coaching staff.
“I think he’s earned the trust of a lot of guys; coaches, players, everything,” Taylor said, via Jags Wire. “Our confidence in him has grown, I think his confidence in his own understanding of the system has probably grown.”
Taylor singled out Hasty as the guy who has proven that he’s capable of handling any situation on the field and credited him for not only converting on a short-yardage situation but taking it 60 yards for a touchdown.
“We have the versatility from our skill guys to be able to do a lot of different things, I think you saw that nobody anticipated the Indianapolis short yardage play, JaMycal taking it 60 yards,” Taylor said. “We needed a yard, and we were trying to emphasize that with him, we were confident that he was a guy that could go get a yard in that particular play, and he turned it into a 60-yarder. That was a short-yard situation, we put him on it, he did a great job executing it, everybody did across the board.”
Texans TE Jordan Akins had a brief stint with the Giants before returning to Houston and finding success with his original team.
“Coming back is an honor,” Akins said, via Aaron Wilson. “To be back with my brothers and compete and go to work with my soldiers. Anytime my jersey is called to make a play, I try to do the best I can whether it’s special teams or offense, anyway I can contribute.”
“We’re just picking up where we left off,” Akins added. “More repetitions for the tight end to run down the seams, in the flats, as well as inside the hashes. I think we’re connecting pretty well. He’s trusting us and we’re trusting him. Repetition, practice and just being able to read the defensive coverage well. He’s doing a great job of stepping up in the pocket, and the timing is perfect. We’re moving the chains, and we’re looking forward to continuing to do that.”
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