Associated Press
The NFL notebook…
ANDERSON, Ind. — In three plays, Andrew Luck showed Indianapolis Colts’ fans how tough life can be for a rookie quarterback.
He threw one interception, had another pass broken up and nearly picked off and then ran for a score on a quarterback draw. One defensive coach even urged Jerry Hughes to celebrate the interception.
Welcome to the NFL, kid.
Luck looked calm during most of the afternoon practice, completing 27 of 38 passes during team drills, throwing for three touchdowns and one interception in his first workout in full pads since being selected No. 1 overall in April’s draft. By most accounts, it was another good day for the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up.
“He’s not a rookie quarterback, really,” safety Tom Zbikowski said. “He’s smart. He’s wise beyond his years.”
And he should feel comfortable in his new Colts gear.
Luck dressed in white pants, a white helmet and a red No. 12 jersey — the same colors he wore at Stanford the past three years. Had it not been for the blue stripes on the helmets and pants, a bigger, faster defense and 2,000 people monitoring his every move, Luck might have felt as though he was still in college.
So far, things have gone as well as could be expected.
Coaches and teammates have praised his knowledge of the offense and his ability to take command in the huddle. Former Colts coach Tony Dungy was impressed with Luck’s decisiveness. Team owner Jim Irsay acknowledged that despite some anticipated rough patches this season, Luck will make the transition from college star to franchise quarterback as smoothly as any quarterback since Peyton Manning in 1998.
That is why the Colts (No. 32 in the AP Pro32) released Manning in March and drafted his successor a month later.
PETERSON UPDATE
MANKATO, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has resumed his rehabilitation after a scary allergic reaction that sent him to the hospital.
Peterson picked right up where he left off in his recovery work on his surgically repaired left knee Tuesday, the day after eating jambalaya in the team’s training camp cafeteria caused shortness of breath and his face to swell.
This time? He had hot dogs.
Peterson said he eats jambalaya with seafood all the time, so he is not sure why his body reacted the way it did. But it sure told him it didn’t like what he ate.
“Like 20 minutes after I ate, I went to lay down and felt my throat itching and my ears itching and all of a sudden my face swelled up. I couldn’t breathe out of my nose,” Peterson said.
He called head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman, who rushed to his room in the team’s residence hall with a doctor to help stabilize him. They stuck him with an “EPI” pen so he could breathe better, before he was taken to the hospital.
Peterson is awaiting blood tests to determine the source of the allergy.
FINLEY CLEARED
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers tight end Jermichael Finley has had a concussion before. He is not entirely sure what he had last week qualified as one.
Finley was cleared to return to full workouts Tuesday, saying he was thankful trainers pulled him out of practice last week and put him through the requisite concussion safety protocols. He was hurt when he fell while running a pass pattern in Thursday’s practice.
“I had run a 10-yard comeback route, and slipped,” Finley said. “My helmet came off and I busted my chin on the ground.”
That’s not what happened to him when he was in college at Texas, though, when he absorbed a huge hit and was diagnosed with his only previous concussion.
JONES TALKS TO BRYANT
OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has finally talked with Dez Bryant about the receiver’s recent arrest.
After the Cowboys wrapped up their second day of training camp practices Tuesday, Jones said he has talked extensively with Bryant. Jones called it a great visit but didn’t elaborate on details of the conversation.
During a camp-opening news conference two days earlier, Jones said he hadn’t talked to Bryant since the former first-round pick’s July 16 arrest for allegedly assaulting his mother. Jones said then he didn’t know why he hadn’t talked to Bryant.
On Tuesday, Jones said he had been too mad and didn’t want to talk to Bryant emotionally.
Bryant hasn’t been available for interviews because of pending legal issues, and still the possibility of NFL or team discipline.
KOLB SITS OUT PRACTICE
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb sat out Tuesday’s practice because of a bruised right thigh but says he will try to work out with the team on Wednesday.
Kolb says the injury isn’t serious and won’t affect his ability to play in Sunday’s Hall of Fame Game against New Orleans in Canton, Ohio.
Kolb was injured when he took a knee to the thigh late in practice on Monday.
Kolb will start Sunday’s game but remains in a fight with John Skelton for the starting job.
The players might alternate starts until coach Ken Whisenhunt decides who gets the job.