Ben Banogu – Page 5 – Syndication Server

Ben Banogu benefitted from offseason workouts with DeForest Buckner

Year 3 is crucial for Ben Banogu.

Indianapolis Colts fans have been waiting for the emergence of defensive end Ben Banogu, whose athleticism has yet to translate into a significant role within the defense. Some offseason workouts with All-Pro DeForest Buckner may help that.

Banogu worked out this offseason with Buckner and defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth before the team got together in May for OTAs. The former second-round pick feels the work they put in helped hone their craft and will get them ready for training camp when the team arrives.

“It was good. It wasn’t anything crazy. DeForest (Buckner) and I have worked together on the practice field here. It was easy for us to work together in the offseason,” Banogu told the media last week. “Working on our craft, fine tuning things, trying to get better, trying to learn new things about our game. It’s easier working with someone that you practice with and play with. Me, Buck and Tay (Taylor Stallworth) had a great time there. We felt like we got better. We wanted to take the things that we learned and got better at and put it into this fall camp and then going into the season.”

It has been a disappointing two seasons for Banogu since the Colts took him in the second round of the 2019 draft. His athleticism is off the charts and still provides him a chance to hit his ceiling, but his production and role with the team have been less than ideal.

In 2019, Banogu played in 16 games (no starts) while recording 2.5 sacks. He played on 26% of the team’s defensive snaps.

The 2020 season was an entirely different story. Banogu wound up playing in just nine games (no starts) without recording a sack. He saw just 10% of the team’s defensive snaps and was a healthy scratch for seven games during the regular season. He was also a healthy scratch during the team’s wild-card loss against the Buffalo Bills.

Banogu isn’t focusing on that, though, as he enters his third season in the NFL. He’s simply taking it one day at a time while using the tips and pointers the coaching staff has for him.

“Over the course of these last couple of years I’ve been working, trying to get better. The coaches have been doing a great job of helping me with that – so just continually trying to grow,” Banogu said. “We have a saying here, ‘One percent better’ and I believe in that. I’m not too worried about the stuff that happened last year. It’s this year, a new year and I’m ready to work with my guys.”

Though the Colts lost Denico Autry to the Titans and Justin Houston doesn’t seem to be returning, Banogu will have to fight for a role on the defensive line. The Colts added Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo in the draft while Kemoko Turay, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Tyquan Lewis are all ahead of him on the depth chart for the defensive line.

This will be a crucial Year 3 for Banogu, but the hope is the work he put in this offseason with Buckner and the team will finally allow us to see some of the developments in his game.

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Chris Ballard on Ben Banogu: ‘It’s time for him to step up’

Banogu has a big year waiting for him.

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The Indianapolis Colts are hoping the questions about their pass rush will be answered by seeing the development and impact of some of their young defensive ends like Ben Banogu.

After playing insignificant snaps for the first two seasons of his career, the former second-round pick is seemingly getting the chance to prove his worth along the Colts defensive line.

During his pre-draft press conference, Ballard challenged Banogu ahead of the 2021 season, saying it’s his time to show what he can do with a bigger workload.

“Then this is a big year for Ben Banogu, this is a big year for him. He knows it. It’s time for him to step up,” Ballard said Friday. “He’s got a lot of talent. He’s a good kid, he works. Let’s see what he can be.”

Since being selected with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2019 draft, it was clear that Banogu would need some development as a pass rusher. But his athleticism could help manage that process quickly. It hasn’t yet come to fruition but it seems 2021 will be his time to prove it.

After recording 2.5 sacks on 27% of snaps during his rookie campaign in 2019, Banogu’s production and playing time took a massive hit. In 2020, the TCU product played just nine games while being on the field for just 10% of the team’s defensive snaps.

But with Denico Autry gone to Tennessee and Justin Houston seemingly not coming back, Banogu is primed for a bigger role. He may even see starting reps in OTAs with Kemoko Turay recovering from a second ankle surgery.

The Colts’ pass rush is the biggest question mark on the roster right now. They run the risk of being an inconsistent unit given the lack of experience on the edge, but Ballard is putting a lot of his confidence behind the former second-round pick to show his development as a pass rusher.

The Colts could add an edge rusher early during the draft, but it seems the team wants Banogu to step into a larger role to see what he can do.

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3 Colts who could be surprise cuts this offseason

Suprise cuts we could see this offseason.

Every year sometime during the off-season, teams will make cuts to players that might surprise people. Teams will cut players to save cap room, or they believe that player doesn’t have value to hold a roster spot.

Thankfully for the Indianapolis Colts, they don’t have any bad contracts on their roster and aren’t strapped for cash this. But there still could be some surprise cuts as there as there seems to be one every offseason.

Here are three Colts who could be a surprise cut during the offseason.

Colts vs. Titans: Inactive players in Week 12

Inactives in Week 12.

The Indianapolis Colts (7-3) and Tennessee Titans (7-3) have released their inactives players lists for Sunday’s matchup in Week 12 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts ruled out two players in linebacker Bobby Okereke and center Ryan Kelly while three players in Jonathan Taylor, DeForest Buckner and Denico Autry are all on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Here’s a look at the inactives for the Colts in Week 12:

Name	Position	Injury
Bobby Okereke	LB	Ankle
Ryan Kelly	C	Neck
Isaiah Rodgers	CB	Knee
Noah Togiai	TE	—
Dezmon Patmon	WR	—
Ben Banogu	DE	—
Jacob Eason	QB	—

Okereke, Kelly and Rodgers are all inactive due to their respective injuries. Quarterback Philip Rivers (toe) is officially active despite being questionable entering the weekend. The same goes for Quenton Nelson, Kenny Moore, Zach Pascal, Anthony Walker and Khari Willis.

Here’s a look at the inactives for the Titans in Week 12:

Name	Position	Injury
Adoree Jackson	CB	Knee
Adam Humphries	WR	Concussion
MyCole Pruitt	TE	Knee
Matt Orzech	LS	—
Larrell Murchison	DL	—

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Colts want to see more from DE Ben Banogu

Ben Banogu has been a healthy scratch over the last two weeks.

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There has been an interesting development taking place as the Indianapolis Colts have made defensive end Ben Banogu a healthy scratch in each of the last two games.

Even with Kemoko Turay working his way back from the PUP list, Banogu failed to log much playing time during the team’s first seven games. Then he was downright scratched from the gameday roster against the Ravens and Titans.

While it seemed maybe the Colts were looking to implement more of a run-heavy game plan on defense, it seems the coaches simply want to see more from Banogu in practice.

“I just think that with any player, I think that it’s about practice. You practice well and you produce on the practice field, and then you move on to the game from there,” said DC Matt Eberflus on Tuesday. “Then you have to produce in the game. He’s working to get that done.”

This isn’t the first time this situation has taken place in Indy. The aforementioned Turay went through this during his rookie campaign. It was essentially the case throughout the tenure of 2017 third-round pick Tarell Basham, who never amounted to much before his release. This also happened with Tyquan Lewis, who is enjoying a Year 3 breakout.

So this is not the time to panic or move on from Banogu. His skill set is still intriguing for the Colts defense and he can turn into a solid piece in the rotation. Eberflus noted that they view edge rushers on more of a longer development scale.

“Again, he’s in his – we say on the defensive line, a lot of times it takes two or three years before the light comes on,” Eberflus said. “He just has to keep persevering and have some determination and keep working.”

Banogu has played just 92 snaps on defense this season and with Turay expected to make his debut sometime in the next two weeks, it won’t be a shock if the former continues to be a healthy scratch.

But in order for the TCU product to get back on the field, he has to start showing out more in practice.

Stock up, Stock down from Colts’ 34-17 win over Titans

Stock report for Week 10.

The Indianapolis Colts (6-3) came away with a big 34-17 win over the Tennessee Titans (6-3) on Thursday night at Nissan Stadium.

It was one of those games that can be categorized as a complete team win. All three phases of the team made big plays. From the passing game to the special teams unit coming through, the Colts enjoyed a well-rounded win.

The stock report remains fluid. Some players are riding a trend that has been taking place for weeks while other could reverse their stock the following the game.

Here’s the stock report for the Colts in Week 10:

Colts vs. Titans: Inactive players for Week 10

Inactives in Week 10.

The Indianapolis Colts (5-3) and Tennessee Titans (6-2) have released their lists of inactive players ahead of Thursday night’s matchup at Nissan Stadium.

The Colts ruled out tight end Jack Doyle, who is the concussion protocol, while fellow tight end Mo Alie-Cox was listed as questionable with a knee injury.

Here’s a look at the inactives for the Colts in Week 10:

Name	Position	Injury
Jack Doyle	TE	Concussion
Jacob Eason	QB	—
Tremon Smith	CB	—
Dezmon Patmon	TE	—
Ben Banogu	DE	—

Here’s a look at the inactives for the Titans in Week 10:

Name	Position	Injury
Adam Humphries	WR	Concussion
Adoree Jackson	QB	Knee
MyCole Pruitt	TE	Knee/Ankle
Ryan Allen	P	—
Matt Orzech	LS	—
Matt Dickerson	DL	—
Isaiah Wilson	OL

Stock up, Stock down from Colts’ 24-10 loss to Ravens

Stock report from the Week 9 loss.

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The Indianapolis Colts (5-3) were defeated 24-10 by the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) in Week 9 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

As it is with every game, some players saw their stock get impacted by the result of the matchup. Some players will see an increase in their stock. Some will be on the other side of the coin where their stock has fallen for whatever reason.

It is important to remember that the stock in a player is fluid. It can change from week to week or it can continue on the path or trend it is following.

Here’s the stock report for the Colts from the Week 9 loss to the Ravens:

Frank Reich optimistic Ben Banogu (ankle) won’t miss much time

Banogu suffered an ankle injury during Monday’s scrimmage.

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Indianapolis Colts defensive end Ben Banogu was having a strong showing during the team’s first live scrimmage of training camp on Monday before an ankle injury ended his day prematurely.

Banogu suffered the injury and was attended to the training staff on the field. He was able to walk off under his own power, albeit in a gingerly fashion with a limp.

>>>READ: Takeaways from the first scrimmage<<<

There is no timetable yet for Banogu, but head coach Frank Reich is optimistic they won’t be too long without the second-year edge rusher.

“We had one injury, Ben Banogu, got his ankle. I just talked to him in the locker room a second ago, I don’t think it’s too bad so hopefully he won’t be out too long,” Reich said Monday after the scrimmage.

Banogu has been enjoying a strong training camp since the pads came on. He’s showing prowess as a run stopper, which is encouraging given he’s typically viewed as a speed rusher from the edge. He’s been making plays against the run and even had a few during the scrimmage before the injury.

While Justin Houston locks down one edge spot, the Colts have been working to see who gets the other edge spot on the opposite side of the line. Denico Autry has been shining throughout camp from the edge and with Kemoko Turay still on the PUP list, Banogu has taken advantage of the extra reps.

The Colts are a bit thin at edge rusher for the moment now with both Banogu and Turay banged up. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Colts give Banogu a few days to recover before reevaluating him for a return.

With roughly two weeks until the start of the season, this will certainly be a situation to monitor.

7 Colts who could become rising stars with strong 2020

These players are on the precipice of becoming rising stars.

The Indianapolis Colts roster is one filled with young talent ready to emerge and take that next step into the national spotlight. Some already have while others may not get the credit they deserve.

The Colts have a number of young players who have yet to establish themselves despite having the talent to do so. That could all change for some of them if they wind up having a strong 2020 campaign.

The first step into stardom is getting on the radar by becoming a rising star. With a strong 2020 season, here are seven Colts who could enter the mix for that title:

RB Jonathan Taylor

Being one of the most productive running backs in college football history and then getting selected in the second round of the 2020 draft already gave Taylor enough recognition. If he comes through with a big season, there is little doubt he will be pegged as a rising star.

Taylor has to compete with incumbent starter Marlon Mack, who is talented in his own right. The duo is expected to split carries on early downs while Taylor should see a few more targets than Mack in the passing game. If he gets a few explosive plays under his belt and earns more of a role in the second half of the season, we could be talking about Taylor in a very different light next year.

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