WESTFIELD — With time running out on the game clock Friday at Grand Park Sports Campus, Anthony Richardson surveyed a rapidly collapsing pocket and air mailed a pass out of bounds along the far sideline.

The problem, as officials saw it, was no eligible receiver was in the area for the Indianapolis Colts. A flag was thrown for intentional grounding, bringing up third-and-Hamilton County as time dwindled for the first team’s second two-minute drive.

On the next snap, Richardson fired a strike over the middle to veteran wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. that recouped about half the necessary yardage and set the offense up for a long field-goal attempt.

Rookie Spencer Shrader’s 55-yarder fell short, but head coach Shane Steichen was happy for the experience with his second-year quarterback.

“I mean a great situation came up there at the end,” Steichen said. “There was a third-down deal, and we had an intentional grounding. So we had to move back and have a 10-second runoff or burn our timeout. So it was great that it came up.”

Not all growth for Richardson will be linear.

The 22-year-old was 8-for-13 during Friday’s 105-minute practice, and he threw his second interception of training camp when safety Julian Blackmon again improvised in the defensive scheme.

Blackmon has arguably been the star of this year’s camp, and the ongoing chess match against the veteran defender is sharpening Richardson’s skills — both physically and mentally.

“It helps me a lot,” Richardson said. “The same way I feel like I help (the defense) when I’m scrambling. Most quarterbacks don’t move out the back as much. So whenever I move around for the defense, it lets them know that they’ve got to stay true to their lanes and their gaps.

“But (Blackmon) being back there, it’s like you see that guy back there — because I see him a few times, but it’s like, ‘OK, he’s not supposed to be there. So why is he there?’ It’s more so learning the offense because if he’s there then that means somebody else has to be open. So (it’s) just trying to fine-tune certain things like that with the mental aspect of the game.”

Communication between Richardson and Steichen is among the primary areas in which the quarterback has grown since last season.

Their talks have gone to a deeper level as Richardson’s understanding of the scheme has grown, and he’s become more willing to offer his own ideas and potential adjustments.

It’s part of the natural progression for any quarterback. As comfort and confidence grows in the offense, a passer transitions from running the pre-programmed reads and progressions and begins adding his own flavor to the attack.

“The communication is definitely — has advanced for us,” Richardson said. “Last year was more so, ‘OK, follow the read. Do this.’ But now it’s like, ‘OK, if the defense does this, now I want you to think about this right here.’ And sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

“But it’s just trying to find ways to just tweak our offense and just get comfortable with each other. But I definitely feel like there’s been a huge jump from last year to this year.”

Richardson’s connection with second-year wide receiver Josh Downs is the most obvious example.

The two are constantly talking before, during and after practice about what they’ve seen from the defense and how best to attack the look the next time it comes up.

It leads to creativity on the field and an unspoken language developing between the two young stars.

“I think that communication piece is really good, and once guys keep playing more and more and more together — I mean, I’ve been around some guys that have played 16 years together, and they just kind of look at each other and give a wink, and it’s like, ‘We know what we’re doing,’ ” Steichen said. “So you get to that level, it’s pretty special.”

Downs confirmed earlier this summer he and Richardson are well on their way to that level.

They’re starting to see the same things from the defense, and they’re developing additional ways to communicate at the line of scrimmage.

As the Colts look to join the NFL’s most potent offenses this fall, that sort of improvisation will be welcomed and encouraged.

“I just tried to tell (Downs), ‘With the route, I know we’ve got rules and steps to run it a certain way, but you just get open. You’re going to get open. I’m going to get you the ball,’ ” Richardson said. “I tell that to all the receivers. I know the coaches want us to take a certain amount of steps to get a certain route open, but I just tell them, ‘Get open and I’m going to try to find you the ball.’ So it’s just a matter of just working out chemistry and just knowing each other.”