Line is unsettled

ANDERSON — The NFL player with local ties once again finds himself fighting for a place in the starting lineup.
Offensive lineman Joe Reitz, whose parents Dave and Jane both grew up in Jay County, worked with the second unit during Thursday’s practice at Indianapolis Colts training camp at Anderson University.
Reitz, a graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School, played in 11 games last season and started nine. He saw most of his action Thursday at left guard with the group led by quarterback Drew Stanton.
 “It’s still a work in progress,” said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians of the offensive line. “We’re not going to decide on the five guys (yet). We’ve got some good competition going on. It’ll iron itself out. There’s plenty of time. I’m pleased with the depth we have.”
Reitz, who played basketball at the University of Western Michigan and then spent two years on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad before breaking through with the Colts last season, is hoping to earn a starting job again.
Of the 13 offensive lineman currently on the Colts’ roster, only five were with the team last year. Five of them are rookies.

Luck solid again
Andrew Luck put on another impressive performance, consistently zipping spirals all over the field.
He completed 19-of-24 passes in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, and made frequent use of his former Stanford teammate Coby Fleener.
“More than anything, he can catch the football,” said Arians of Fleener, noting that the tight end and Luck are clearly in sync. “But I’m really pleased with his in-line blocking. On inside run drills he’s been extremely good, and that is a pleasant surprise.”
Luck made several connections with newcomer Donnie Avery as well as Colts veterans Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie.
The rookie quarterback also had no problem taking command of the offense, stepping to the line and calling audibles several times. His only blemish on the day came late in practice when Jerraud Powers stepped in front of a slant route, picked off the pass and took it back 30 yards for a touchdown.

Showing some fight
The Colts got pushed around last year on the way to a 1-15 record. On Thursday, there was some pushing and shoving in practice.
A pair of fights broke out, with the first scrum centered around offensive tackle Winston Justice and outside linebacker Jerry Hughes. More than a dozen players came rushing off the sidelines to help break up the battle, in which Hughes lost his helmet. Justice sent the helmet flying hammer-throw-style from his position inside the numbers to about 15 yards out of bounds.
The second skirmish came after a pass play on which cornerback Cassius Vaughn was defending against Avery. The two players scuffled briefly, but were quickly broken up. As he was pulled away, Avery removed his helmet and slammed it to the turf.
“You never want to see guys fight,” said Arians. “Somebody can get hurt, stupidly. But the intensity was good. When it gets that hot on a day like today, sometimes that happens. But you don’t want to have Colts fighting Colts.”

Notes
ESPN’s John Clayton was in attendance at Colts training camp Thursday. He told Colts.com what he saw in practice confirms that Andrew Luck is one of the best to hit the league in two or three decades … Dwayne Allen, the other Indianapolis rookie tight end, made the longest play of the day. The first-team defense broke down leaving him wide open on the right side, and Stanton found him for an easy touchdown ... Thursday evening, the Colts traded cornerback Kevin Thomas and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2013 draft to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebackers Moise Fokou and Greg Lloyd. Thomas had 33 tackles in nine games for Indianapolis last season, and Fokou started 22 games in three years with the Eagles.[[In-content Ad]]