If second-year player can learn nuances of defense, he could use his speed and size to greater benefit

Stephen Holder | IndyStar

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Matt Kryger/IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – Bad angles, bad decisions, bad penalties.

Those seemingly were the hallmarks of safety T.J. Green’s 2016 rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts.

It was enough to make one wonder whether he’d played the position before. That’s a statement, as it turns out, that would not have been far off the mark.

Green, a former wide receiver at Clemson, spent just one college season as a starting defensive player before being drafted by the Colts in the second round in 2016. The tantalizing measurables — the size, the speed, the length — proved irresistible for the Colts.

But they soon learned they were dealing with a player who needed significant development. That takes time.

And, the Colts have learned, patience.

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So far, the team seems very willing to exercise it with Green.

“With him only being a safety for a short time, it takes some time,” defensive coordinator Ted Monachino said. “Those guys who play with instinct — Malik (Hooker) for instance is a very instinctual player — T.J. is just learning that side of the football. I’m sure when he was an offensive player, he had better instincts because he’d been that. But he’s getting better at that (on defense). And those little things — understanding leverage and knowing where his eyes should be — those things he’s made a great improvement in.”

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Green is running mostly with the second unit during training camp, but the Colts’ safety situation is particularly fluid.

With 2016 starter Clayton Geathers still recovering from neck surgery, and with the team’s recent history of using a three-safety personnel package in certain passing situations, the Colts could benefit greatly from Green making a considerable jump in 2017.

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Colts back at practice before Detroit Lions come to Indy

This is less a luxury and more a necessity. But, again, they have to be patient.

Green's recent tone provides hope. Last season, he often failed to publicly acknowledge his struggles — missed tackles, missed assignments and the like. Now he owns up to them and explains their root causes.

“When you’ve played the position for a good length of time and you’ve had the reps that I’ve been fortunate to get, I feel like you get a better feel for the game,” said Green, who, at 22, is younger than several of the Colts’ current rookies. “You start to see things happening in front of you and that memory and that recall comes back to you and you realize you’ve seen that play before. Then you start to understand how you stop that play. It’s about knowing what’s going on out there.”

It’s clear Green didn’t always know in 2016. You could see him struggle to make decisions on the fly, while a more experienced player might have more quickly allowed his ability to take over.

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“The expectation (for this training camp) was that he’d make a quantum leap from a communication standpoint and an understanding standpoint and just the feel of playing safety,” Monachino said. “He’s checked off all three of those boxes. He’s put himself back in a legit competition for a lot of meaningful snaps. This next four weeks are really important to T.J. He’s got to show that he’ll do it under the lights (in the preseason) with moving parts and playing next to different guys. He’s not always going to be playing next to the same guy. So, it’s a big four weeks for T.J.”

If and when Green can start to display better instincts and prove he’s a reliable decision maker, the Colts have to hope his physical characteristics start to show.

That’s the reason he’s here. If he can't begin to maximize his physical abilities, Green won’t come close to reaching his ceiling.

“I feel like the more you know, the faster you’ll play,” said Green, who stands 6-3 and 211 pounds and had the fastest 40-yard dash among safeties at the 2016 NFL combine (4.34 seconds).

“The more comfortable you are in a system, the more you feel free to go out there and roam around and use your abilities more. Now that I know what I’m doing, I can maybe jump a route faster and make that play. I understand the concepts of the game now. There’s so many things that come with the game that you have to learn. I feel like I’ve made a big jump in understanding things.”

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Vontae Davis, a Pro Bowl cornerback and the most accomplished member of the Indianapolis’ secondary, actually sees some of himself in Green.

“He’s just raw,” Davis said of Green. But, if things ever click for Green, “man, he could be dominant. He could take over games. He just has those tools that you don’t teach. He’s just blessed with ability. But it’s about the learning curve of the NFL. It was the same for me. I had all this ability coming into the league. But I didn’t really know the game.

“Now, I have a good grasp of the NFL. It’s experience.”

There is, however, one important distinction between Davis and Green.

“I’ve been playing corner my whole life,” Davis said.

Green’s relative inexperience at his position is not so much an excuse as a reality. Either way, it’s not something to dismiss out of hand. The same applies to Green’s enticing physical gifts, which are off the charts.

Can Green put it all together? Can he be the player the Colts projected in the long term? As the preseason draws near, we’re about to find out.

“It’s an opportunity to go out and show these coaches how much I’ve improved,” Green said. “I can play this game and I help this team.”