Tag: Ben Banogu

Stock up, Stock down from Colts’ offseason workouts

Stock report from the offseason workout program.

The Indianapolis Colts wrapped up their offseason workout program last week with mandatory minicamp while most of the rookies stayed in town for the final week of OTAs.

The offseason workout program is great for building the foundation of the competitions that take place during training camp and the preseason, but it isn’t the final determination for these players. Much of what happened this spring should be taken with a grain of salt considering there is no live contact or even pads being worn.

Even so, we had plenty of storylines to take away from the workouts that will lead into training camp.

Here is the stock report on a few players following the offseason workouts:

6 Colts with something to prove in 2022

These Colts have plenty to prove in 2022.

With the Indianapolis Colts wrapping up their mandatory minicamp this week, the official dead period of the NFL calendar is just around the corner, and training camp will be here before you know it.

The team entered the offseason with many questions after missing the playoffs and every level of the organization will be looking to make amends in the 2022 season.

It will be a team effort but there are individuals for the Colts that have something to prove to themselves and doubters that are outside of the organization.

Here are six of them that will be looking to do that:

7 Colts whose jobs are in jeopardy in 2022

These Colts’ jobs are in jeopardy going into 2022.

It’s no doubt that the Indianapolis Colts and general manager Chris Ballard filled many areas of weakness during free agency and the 2022 NFL draft.

Addressing the wide receiver, tight end and tackle positions were huge for the team to take the next step in a very crowded AFC. With the new arrivals, however, it puts many players on the hot seat and could result in some even losing their jobs by the time the team travels to Houston for the season opener in September.

Every team needs depth, and the Colts are still adding key pieces that will help them in case of an injury. However, the NFL is a business, and the 53 players on the roster will be the ones making a difference on Sundays.

Here’s a list of players most in jeopardy of losing their spots this offseason:

Re-grading the Colts’ 2019 draft class

Three years later, re-grading the Colts’ 2019 NFL draft class.

There has been a litany of grades coming out over the past week as the after-effect of the 2022 NFL draft spreads across rosters.

While grading the process for the draft just days after serves a purpose in terms of looking at how the process played out during the moment, it doesn’t truly matter because the results of the decisions that were made will be what helps teams find success this season and beyond.

Put me in the camp of not knowing who a player is or on his way to being until his third season in the league.

We are now three years away from the 2019 NFL draft and I think it’s a good time to look back and see how Chris Ballard did:

5 Colts who could be on the trading block

These 5 Colts could be on the trading block this week.

The Indianapolis Colts are turning around on a short week to host the New York Jets on Thursday night but they may be working the phones a bit as well with the NFL trade deadline arriving on Tuesday.

Even though the Colts aren’t typically ones to make a move at the deadline, it’s still wise to see which players may be available on the block. At 3-5 and with the chances of the playoffs dwindling, general manager Chris Ballard will have to decide which path he wants to take.

So before the deadline hits, here are five Colts who could be on the trading block:

Why Colts’ Ben Banogu saw limited snaps in Week 1

Colts DC Matt Eberflus talks about why Ben Banogu didn’t play much in Week 1.

Throughout training camp and the preseason, there was plenty of hype surrounding Indianapolis Colts defensive end Ben Banogu. It appeared he had finally taken that step to see more playing time in the rotation.

However, the regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks proved it’s just more of the same for the young defensive end. Banogu wound up playing just six defensive snaps, which accounted for 11% of the plays in Week 1.

It was a discouraging development given what Banogu showed leading up to the season, but defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said the packages featuring the third-year player didn’t come up often.

“So Ben (Banogu) was slated to play in the ‘NASCAR’ group. We really on had six to eight reps I want to say, of the ‘NASCAR’ group and that was his starting role and his role for last week. That’s what happened,” Eberflus told reporters Tuesday.

The NASCAR package alludes to a personnel grouping of mostly defensive ends on the entire line. In a typical week, it would feature Kwity Paye, DeForest Buckner, Ben Banogu and then either Tyquan Lewis or Kemoko Turay. It’s typically used on obvious passing downs.

Eberflus does have some point in facing few third-down opportunities. The Seahawks had just nine such plays on third down, but that was mostly because their offense was moving at such an efficient pace.

“Typically, you’ll get more of those, you’ll get some two-minute things. We didn’t get any two-minute last week and we just got a few third down,” said Eberflus. “I think it was six or eight of them and those were the reps he got. It just kind of worked out that way and that’s where we were last week.”

Even despite the strong preseason, Banogu still has to take reps behind Al-Quadin Muhammad, who is limited as a pass rusher and struggled to set the edge against the run in Week 1. For Banogu to truly develop, he needs reps in live games.

It will be interesting to see if this is just coach speak from Eberflus or whether the Colts do want to get him more work on passing downs.

Regardless, a crucial year for Banogu did not get off on the right foot.

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Stock up, stock down from Colts’ 28-16 loss to Seahawks

The stock report from the Colts’ loss in Week 1 to the Seahawks.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-1) found themselves on the wrong end of a paltry 28-16 loss against the Seattle Seahawks (1-0) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

This certainly wasn’t the way the Colts wanted to open the season. It was a poor outing on both sides of the ball in which Indy looked outmatched and outcoached by a Seahawks team that proved to be better in many aspects of the game.

The stock report is fluid. It can change week-to-week based on a player’s performance so it’s best to not get too high or too low. Regardless, there were players who helped their stock on Sunday while others saw their stock fall.

Here is the stock report from the Colts’ Week 1 loss against the Seahawks:

Studs and duds from Colts’ preseason win over Vikings

Studs and duds from the Colts’ preseason Week 2 win over the Vikings.

The Indianapolis Colts came away with a 12-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings but given that this is the preseason, the focus is more on individual performances rather than the outcome of the game.

Despite the offense struggling to find the end zone, there were still a few encouraging players from Saturday night’s win. On the flip side, there were also some players who didn’t quite live up to expectations.

Here are the studs and duds from the Colts’ preseason win over the Vikings:

Colts’ player of the game vs. Vikings: DE Ben Banogu

Ben Banogu is the Colts’ player of the game from the preseason win over the Vikings.

No story is better to read than a redemption story, and so far during Indianapolis Colts training camp and preseason we’ve seen just that with defensive end Ben Banogu.

Banogu has been praised as a consistent pass rusher all camp long, as it seems not one practice goes by without Banogu being credited with at least one if not multiple sacks. He has also carried this play over to the preseason dress rehearsal against the Minnesota Vikings.

While the full magnitude of his impact on this game may not be done justice by the stat sheet, he made his presence felt early and often. This is why he’s been chosen as our player of the game.

Officially, Banogu was credited with two tackles, a quarterback hit, and one tackle for a loss on the night seemingly affecting every snap rushing the quarterback, and was a big reason for Minnesota’s struggles to really move the ball at all in the second half.

A second-round pick in 2019, he got his career off to a pretty rough start. While only managing 2.5 sacks the last two seasons, all coming in 2019, Banogu found himself inactive half the year last season and labeled a bust by many.

Banogu responded to this criticism by training with All-Pro DeForest Buckner in the off-season, and coming into Colts training camp this year a completely different player.

Should he continue to show this ability to pressure the passing attack, and build upon the impressive effort and hustle that jumps out on tape he should be in line for some major snaps this upcoming season.

This is all the more an impressive feat to be sure considering the wealth of talent surrounding him on this Colts defensive line. Banogu may still have a ways to go, but he has more than earned the excitement fans have about him as we get closer to regular season football this fall.

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6 players to watch in Colts’ preseason opener vs. Panthers

Keep an eye on these Colts players in the preseason opener.

The Indianapolis Colts are set to host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium for the preseason opener at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The rosters are far from complete but this is the time where players begin making their cases for roster spots and larger roles. The practices are big for competition but nothing can simulate the real game.

Here are six Colts players to watch during the preseason opener against the Panthers: