The offseason praise for Indianapolis Colts WR Pierre Garcon continues.
This praise comes from a source that matters: Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell, who as the team’s 2009 organized team activities sessions ended this week at the Northwestside training complex discussed the Colts’ third-receiver situation and specifically, Garcon’s development and performance this offseason.
Caldwell mentioned Garcon, a second-year veteran and sixth-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft; third-year veteran Roy Hall; rookie Austin Collie and first-year veteran Sam Giguere.
Caldwell:
We’ve developed some guys along the way here (this offseason). I do believe that Pierre Garcon certainly, without question, has done a tremendous job so far. He’s grown and developed and made progress. I feel (third-year veteran) Roy Hall has gotten a good sense of the system. Roy has really shown he has some ability and can certainly play inside and outside. We feel good about those guys who are coming along. Sam Giguere got hurt, so we didn’t get a chance to work with him very long during this time period, but he’ll be back at the beginning of camp. We’ll certainly have to make some headway there. Austin Collie has done a tremendous job of learning. He seems like a guy who catches on quickly and he has a good feel for spacial awareness. He’s got to the point where he’s starting to connect pretty well with (Colts QB) Peyton (Manning). I do feel we’ve certainly made some ground in that area.
Caldwell said Garcon, who played collegiately at Mount Union, spent last season adjusting from Division III to the NFL, but overall, he had strong words for a player who played sparingly as a rookie and has four NFL receptions:
One thing you know is he was blessed with speed and power and he has quickness. But the level of competition he played, even though they’ve had great record and real fine teams, he was just kind of getting a sense of the speed and differences in coverages, how quickly they adjust – all the little nuances. He seems to have picked that up quite wll. You can see him really starting to run and not just sinply react. He’s become somewhat of a force.
Now, he hasn’t arrived yet. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But he has made real good progress. Around here we’ve got a pretty high level in terms of standards for guys who have played that position. We’ve had some really fine ones, but he looks like he’s heading in the right direction.
Caldwell also said Garcon has been more consistent catching passes this offseason:
He’s always had good hands and shown flashes, but obviously this spring he was a lot more consistent than he’s been and we hope that continues.
IFR analysis: The Garcon story, to me, is what the NFL offseason is all about. You get questions from fans, you ask questions, you talk to players and coaches, you watch practices and eventually, something jumps out. Garcon has been one of the clear standout stories of the Colts’ offseason. He not only has looked smooth and fluid in practice, he typically has been one of the first players mentioned when someone asks Caldwell or Colts QB Peyton Manning about the young receivers vying for the third receiver role. As Caldwell said, there’s no reason to get ahead of ourselce and obviously, you can’t judge Garc0n until the regular season, but it’s harder and harder to imagine him not not having a chance to play a big role next season.