Pep Hamilton on Hakeem Nicks: “Can’t Say I’ve Seen Enough”

May 29, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts assistant coach gives instruction to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (14) during organized team activities at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts signed free agent wide receiver Hakeem Nicks this past offseason, and were hoping that he could be the missing piece to their wide receiving corps. He was a major disappointment when he was with the New York Giants last year, and the Colts were hoping that a change of scenery could turn his career around. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case so far in Colts’ training camp, and that was made clear by offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s comments.

“Yeah, I don’t know if I can say that I’ve seen enough. I think he is still working to get himself in game shape.”

Those comments can be taken two ways, but neither of them are a good sign for the Colts. One way, is that he simply didn’t get in good enough shape for training camp and is trying to work his way there through practice. That wouldn’t be too terrible, but it would still show a serious lack of work ethic. The other way that it could be taken, is that Hamilton has been extremely disappointed with Nicks and that he is hoping for a turnaround before the regular season gets here.

Nicks ended up catching 56 passes for 896 yards, but he didn’t end up with any touchdown catches. Part of that had to do with the poor performance of Eli Manning, but he also simply didn’t fit into the offense system that the Giants ran. The Colts are looking to pass the football and make more plays through the air this season, and they were hoping that Nicks would fit in alongside of Wayne and Hilton.

If Nicks is unable to figure things out, they could look to play wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers a whole lot more than he played last season. He showed excellent potential for the future and an ability to be a playmaker down the field. Rogers ended up catching 14 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie season last year.

Overall, it’s going to be very interesting to see what ends up happening with Nicks as the preseason games begin. The Colts are still supportive of him and are obviously hoping that he will turn things around, but it is very possible that his confidence is shot from last season. Either way, Nicks is going to have a chance to prove himself to the Colts, and needs to start proving himself in the very near future.