INDIANAPOLIS -- Josh Chapman's hold on the starting nose tackle position for the Indianapolis Colts is loosening up.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano didn’t come out and directly say it during a conference call with reporters Sunday evening. He didn’t have to say anything. It was evident during Saturday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears.

Chapman started at nose tackle against the Bears, but rookie David Parry was in the game early getting snaps with the first unit. Chapman was on the field in the second half while the rest of the starting defensive players were on the sideline watching the rest of the game.

“There's a lot of competition out there,” Pagano said when asked about Chapman. “So we're going through this preseason and evaluating everybody."

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement from the coach about Chapman. And that’s the right approach Pagano should take. Chapman started 15 of 16 games last season, but he hasn’t excelled at anchoring the middle of the defensive line.

If the Colts are going to finally prove they can stop the run -- 18th in the league in that category last season -- it has to start in the middle of their defensive line.

Parry, in his short period, doesn’t have eye-popping stats (three tackles), but what he’s done is show that he can win the battle at the line of scrimmage and push the offensive lineman back.

“You get a guy that's smart, he's tough and he understands the scheme and he plays with really good technique,” Pagano said. “He's doing a nice job. He's got good movement skills. He plays square. He plays with heavy hands. He can get some knock ‘em back. When we put him on the move, he's got some quickness and some twitch about him to make some offensive guys miss. He has the ability. He had a chance to make a play in the backfield [Saturday] and the guy put a little move on him, and that's tough on any D-lineman. But he's progressing well."