The Daily Journal from Franklin, Indiana • Page 11

DAILY JOURNAL, JOHNSON COUNTY, IND. WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013 B3 NFL ICHAEL AROT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ANDERSON A ndrew Luck has already mastered the turnaround. Now time to manage those lofty expectations. After leading the Colts to a nine-game improvement in a record-breaking rookie season, Luck has responded to the biggest question of training camp what will he do for an encore? in typical low-key style. the balls in the and hands better.

not quite sure what my completion percentage was last year, but it good he said. the ball gets into T.Y. or Reggie or Darrius hands, good things Of course, the same could be said of Luck. When he won the starting job at Stanford in 2009, he took over a program that had endured seven straight losing seasons. All Luck did was lead the Cardinal to records of 8-5, 12-1 and 11-2 and take them to three straight bowl games for the first time since the 1930s.

The trend continued last season. With Bruce Arians and Chuck Pagano calling the shots in Indy and critics waiting to see if Luck could live up to the hype of being the No. 1 overall pick, the rookie responded by taking a team that had gone 2-14 and was considered the worst in football back to the playoffs. The Colts won 11 times, their highest win total since the 2009 Super Bowl run, and giving Luck the distinction of being one of only five quarterbacks since 1966 to win 11 games as a rookie. He also wound up setting NFL rookie records for yards passing attempts (627) and 300-yard games (six).

He finished second all-time among NFL rookies in completions (339) and third in touchdown passes (23). He tied the overall mark for most game-winning drives in one season (seven). Still, Luck devoted himself to coming back a better quarterback. It starts by improving his completion rate (54.1) and reducing the interception total (18). I walked away from that (playoff) loss, it was disappointing.

You want to win. You want to keep Luck said. But the Colts want to rely solely on Luck. So when Arians took his high-risk, high-reward offense to Arizona, Indy hired college coordinator, Pep Hamilton, to run its offense. General manger Ryan Grigson did his part, too.

He signed right tackle Gosder Cherilus from Detroit and guard Donald Thomas from New England to improve the offensive line that yielded 41 sacks last season. Grigson took two more linemen in the draft. The Colts think Luck can make it all work. each experience and new experience, and each different game and environment he goes into, new hostile environment or whatever, all learning experiences that are going to make him better in the Grigson said. feel obviously good about Andrew Luck and where JUST GET BETTER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck throws during practice Sunday at the training camp in Anderson.

Luck is entering his second season in the NFL. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Training camp 2013 What will Andrew Luck try to do for an encore this season? Improving completion percentage focus for young QB each experience and new experience, and each different game and environment he goes into, new hostile environment or whatever, all learning experiences that are going to make him better in the end. We feel obviously good about Andrew Luck and where Colts general manager Ryan Grigson on quarterback Andrew Luck The Associated Press ANDERSON olts tackle Brandon McKinney was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, costing the team one big piece of its rebuilt defensive line. The 345-pound McKinney was lost one day after coach Chuck Pagano said he had swelling in his surgically-repaired left knee. McKinney spent all of last season on injured reserve, too, after injuring the knee during a preseason game.

To replace McKinney, the Colts pulled linebacker C.O. Prime off of waivers. Prime had been waived earlier to make room for another linebacker, Josh McNary, who was cleared to start practicing after serving a two-year stint in the U.S. Army. McKinney watched the afternoon practice but did not participate, and Pagano did not take questions following the afternoon practice to explain why the decision was made.

had swelling in his knee, something that happened because he was doing Pagano said in explaining why McKinney did not practice Monday morning. had a little bit of swelling so we just held him It was a tough day for the Colts, who also saw rookie offensive lineman Khaled Holmes carted off the field with a right ankle injury. The severity of that injury known, but the fourth-round draft pick was expected to compete for playing time at center and guard. He blocked for former Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley in high school and college. Backup linebacker Scott Lutrus (knee) and safety Sergio Brown (hamstring) also left the afternoon practice early.

And two-time Pro Bowl safety Antoine Bethea took the day off to attend the birth of his daughter. Free-agent running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who is on the physically unable to perform list, said he expects to be ready to play in two to three weeks but does not believe he needs to play in preseason games to get ready for the regular season. feeling great, but bringing me along Bradshaw said. see how it TAKING AIM The top NFL quarterbacks in terms of completion percentage in 2012 and where the Andrew Luck ranked among players with at least 100 pass attempts Rank Player, team Pct. 1.

Alex Smith, 49ers 70.2 2. Peyton Manning, Broncos 68.6 3. Matt Ryan, Falcons 68.6 4. Aaron Rodgers, Packers 67.2 5. Robert Griffin III, Redskins 65.6 36.

Andrew Luck, Colts 54.1 Prepping at Salisbury (Conn.) School in the northwestern corner, Werner garnered enough attention on the gridiron to be offered scholarships by numerous college programs, including Oregon, Boston College, Missouri, California, Maryland and Rutgers. However, something about being a Seminole clicked. Werner in the past has mentioned an affinity for warm weather, though wearing a uniform synonymous with some of the college finest defenses proved equally as tempting. Werner took full advantage, being named a unanimous All-American, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Year and All-ACC First Team in 2012 alone. His 35 career tackles for loss rank ninth all-time in FSU annals.

The accomplishment becomes all the more impressive considering Werner declared for the NFL Draft after a junior season capped by the 31-10 dismantling of Northern Illinois in the Discover Orange Bowl. The game took place New evening. Werner announced his intentions to turn pro less than 48 hours later. worked for it, so I feel like I deserve to be said Werner, who because of his nonstop motor earned the reputation as a relentless pursuer of the ball carrier. just need to keep working hard (at training camp) and keep trying to get some playing Werner is determined to pick up the subtle nuances of coach Chuck 3-4 defense.

here seasoned linebackers Robert Mathis, Pat Angerer, Kavell Conner and Jerrell Freeman can benefit their new teammate. Werner was the first of three defensive players drafted by Indianapolis in April. The other two are tackle Montori Hughes in the fifth round and sixth-rounder John Boyett, a former Oregon safety. Hughes and Boyett grew up in Tennessee and California, respectively. Yet their best-case vision of one day fastening the chinstrap of an NFL helmet differed little from Werner, who was being raised thousands of miles away in Munich.

I was young, I had no favorite player. I had no favorite Werner said. was just watching (NFL). Rookie (CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1) 16-game regular season. The Florida native also has five career starts to his credit, two in 2011 and three last season.

Playing for a defense that featured Ray McDonald and four-time Pro Bowl choice Justin Smith allow for a surplus of field time for Jean Francois. That could change here in coach Chuck 3-4 scheme even though veterans Robert Mathis and Cory Redding are the defensive anchors. older guys around me, my learning curve went way up. They make it a lot easier, especially for the said Jean Francois. of right now, my role is to get more Newcomers Jean Francois, safety LaRon Landry and outside linebackers Lawrence Sidbury and Erik Walden have added muscle to a defense that finished 21st in the league against the pass and 29th against the run in 2012.

Jean Francois all but promises improvement. defense) is going to be a lot stronger. There are a lot of new faces, and we all have that same common goal of getting to New he said, referring to the site of Super Bowl XLVIII. you have 53 guys all with the same goal Jean Francois complete his thought out loud. He have to.

Stages (CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1) LSU CONNECTION Name: Ricky Jean Francois Number: 99 Job: Defensive end, Indianapolis Colts Age: 26 Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 297 pounds Born: Carol City, Fla. High school: Carol City High School (2005) College: LSU (2009) Major: General studies Did you know? Jean Francois is one of four former LSU Tigers on the training camp roster, along with safety LaRon Landry, defensive tackle Drake Nevis and linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. where he fits best and how long, or successful, the conversion might take. Adongo believes the move to linebacker is the most logical place to start given the combination of size, speed and aggression required to excel in rugby. If that work out, maybe get a chance at defensive end or tight end or fullback.

watched him throw a football for the first time and in about a nanosecond we said know not a general manager Ryan Grigson said. once you start seeing him move around with those long limbs and you see the type of competitor and really the traits he has as a human being and as an athlete, you have something to work with. You basically have a lump of clay for these coaches to work Adongo began his career playing for the Kenya Harlequins junior team. Eventually, he wound up on his native U-18 and U-19 rugby squads. In 2006, scouts from the University of South Africa spotted him during a Safari Sevens tournament.

A year later, he was attending the largest university on the African continent. Then it was off to the Sharks Academy, and last year he competed in the Varsity Cup for the University of Pretoria. This year, he was playing for the Southern Kings of Super 15 Rugby when the Colts started sending him emails and invited him to make the 17-hour flight for a workout. How did the Colts find this guy? kind of under wraps, last fall started talking about Grigson said. pro scout of ours, Jon Shaw, was kind of delegated the duty of like, this is your baby.

see what you can do with it, see if you can give me a cluster of guys that are worthwhile, the right age group, have the right traits, the right makeup to actually even be able to even make the transition since it is a major But you know, when you look at the (camp) rosters going from 80 to 90, much rather, as a staff, give the coaches something to work with than just a true camp body who we know is going to be cut in a week or two and is not going to help us get where we want to In other news from NFL training camps Titans waive receiver, replace him with veteran NASHVILLE, Tenn. The Tennessee Titans have made a move at wide receiver, picking up a little bit more NFL experience by adding Justin Hilton and waiving Travis Harvey. The Titans announced the moves Tuesday. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Hilton was with Cincinnati in training camp last year and later spent time on the practice squad. He played two seasons at Indiana State, where he had 73 career receptions for the Sycamores.

Harvey, also is a 6-foot-2 receiver, but he was a rookie with no NFL experience out of Florida Redskins cornerback has sprained ankle ligaments RICHMOND, Va. Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall has sprained ligaments in his right ankle and could miss the rest of training camp. Hall was wearing a walking boot during the practices Tuesday. He was hurt Monday when he lost his footing trying to defend a receiver. Left tackle Trent Williams sprained his left wrist during practice and had it heavily taped, but he said the injury serious.

Seahawks still know status RENTON, Wash. Seattle Se- ahawks coach Pete Carroll said the team does not have any new information yet on the second examination on the hip of injured wide receiver Percy Harvin. Carroll spoke after practice Tuesday, following the team having a day off. Harvin was expected to be examined in New York on Tuesday. been bothered by discomfort in the area of the labrum in his hip.

Carroll has not indicated in which hip Harvin is experiencing discomfort. New Texan Reed hoping to be ready for opener HOUSTON Safety Ed Reed making any promises that be ready to go Sept. 9 against San Diego. biggest offseason acquisition spoke publicly Tuesday for the first time since he started training camp on the physically unable to perform list after surgery to repair a partly torn labrum on April 30. can tell you that it is close, but I say that it is the first game because I Reed said.

Reed, 34, spent his entire 11-year career with the Ravens before joining the Texans in March. He said he still feels tightness and soreness in his hip. Rugby (CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1) Health already problem McKinney on injured reserve list for 2nd straight year CATCH THE COLTS training camp practice is from 1:50 to 4:30 p.m. at Anderson University..