close
close

Guiltandivy

Source for News

    • The Colts force a backyard passing game on Richardson that will fail
    Update Information

    The Colts force a backyard passing game on Richardson that will fail

    Kathleen William Posted on

    HOUSTON – The Colts are struggling on offense between who they want to be, who they should be and who they actually are.

    They're searching for identity with the NFL's youngest starting quarterback. And neither Anthony Richardson nor anyone around the 22-year-old quarterback seems to have the light to lead the others out of the darkness.

    That search for answers led to a 3rd-and-3 late in the first half of Sunday's battle for AFC South supremacy against the Texans. With the ball on their own 11-yard line and 34 seconds left until halftime in a tied game, they could have passed the ball to Jonathan Taylor to see if he got the first possession or if he got one His patient explosives could break runs to the rim, or in the worst case scenario, he would run out of time for Rigoberto Sanchez to throw another punt deep.

    But a coach and a quarterback felt differently here. Shane Steichen sent Tyler Goodson onto the field in place of Taylor, and Richardson audibly sent Goodson out of bounds so he could throw from an empty formation.

    They ran a quick hitch play, but the Texans switched from usual man coverage to zone to block those hitch plays. Richardson saw that they were covered and threw anyway, and Jalen Pitre managed to allow an easy touchdown.

    A 7-point swing can result in a 23-20 loss that puts division title hopes on life support.

    “The goal is exactly to score a goal at the end of the half,” said Steichen. “That was the decision that was made and I know it’s a results-oriented league and it didn’t work out.”

    This gas-to-the-floor passing approach is what Steichen is all about. Richardson or the rest of his offense isn't ready for that. That disruption can sometimes hit like an earthquake, such as on a day when Richardson finished 10 of 32 with five sacks.

    The Colts knew they would have growing pains when they selected a 20-year-old quarterback with 13 career starts and undefined accuracy with the No. 4 overall pick in 2023. He would soon see things he had never seen before in a league of grown men. Adversity and some failures were inevitable.

    But they felt ready to prepare.

    In addition to Richardson, the most athletic quarterback prospect in NFL history who can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash and roll through defenders at 250 pounds, they had an NFL rushing champion in Taylor. They built a wall in front of them with an All-Pro left guard in Quenton Nelson, a Pro Bowl center in Ryan Kelly, a cornerstone right tackle in Braden Smith and tight ends and wide receivers in Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree and Michael Pittman Jr ., Alec Pierce and Ashton Dulin, who are successful as blockers.

    They hired a coach in Steichen to oversee an Eagles offense in which the No. 1 rushing attack, led by a young dual-threat quarterback, Jalen Hurts, tore the NFC apart.

    The 2022 Eagles were the formula. They were Chris Ballard's vision on steroids of fighting through the trenches with a superstar running back. And Richardson was their Madden Create-a-Player here to make them feel like their craziest dreams can come true.

    But the Colts are just 10 starts into his NFL career and aren't nearly as capable offensively as he is.

    They have lost track of who they even are. What was supposed to be a run-heavy scheme that relied on creativity and shooting moves has morphed into a backyard passing game with no meaning, rhythm or unpredictable outcomes.

    The twisting of identities has confused some players.

    INSIDER: 10 thoughts from the Colts on a 23-20 loss to the Texans

    “I feel like I’m a great passer,” Richardson said after his 10-for-32 performance. “…I'm just a different quarterback than everyone else, so people will point out that I'm not as efficient as everyone else, but for me that's cool. I run the ball a lot better than any other quarterback — probably not Lamar (Jackson), but most quarterbacks.”

    Richardson is definitely not a great passer at the NFL level right now. In just 10 starts, he has a 50.5% completion rate with 7 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.

    But he's a quarterback who must be judged by a different standard than Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers and other traditional pocket passers. He is a dual-threat quarterback, meaning he has two sides and one is way ahead of the other.

    But it's hard to notice his strength when the Colts use it as little as they do. On Sunday, they only asked Richardson for two designed runs and forced him to scramble for four more to get to 45 yards rushing. He's now averaging 5.9 yards per carry this season, which is impressive but mostly an afterthought when he carries the ball fewer than seven times per game.

    In Steichen's first year as his offensive coordinator in 2021, Hurts ran the ball 9.3 times per game. The next year, that number increased to 11 per game, allowing him 13 touchdowns and 67 first downs. Steichen's belief in Hurts' legs allowed him to succeed before his arm was ready.

    Richardson is open to a change in philosophy.

    “If the opportunity presents itself,” he said of the race, “if Shane and the offense feel like we should focus more on it, I will definitely take it.”

    This summer, Steichen compared Richardson's rushing to Steph Curry's 3-point shooting. He called it a superpower that he would not limit. But then his quarterback took a big shot on the opening play and also missed two plays, and now he's saving that for the second half of the game when the Colts are behind.

    The hits come anyway. Richardson collected five sacks and 10 quarterback hits on Sunday behind two overwhelming tackles, a backup right guard and the blitzes that a defense throws at a young quarterback not experienced enough to see them coming.

    “They heated him up today,” wide receiver Josh Downs said. “He stood in there and took a lot of hits, which I know is frustrating.”

    Tight end Mo Alie-Cox added: “With a lot of other quarterbacks it might have been 10 sacks.”

    The problem with basing a game plan on simply keeping Richardson on the field is that it doesn't matter if he doesn't succeed. There were also many healthy quarterbacks in the NFL who went bust.

    Everything about Richardson, Taylor, this offensive line and this era of two-high safety defense designed to prevent deep passes suggests that the Colts have only one path to success right now.

    “We've made plays that are just reads where either he keeps it or JT (Taylor) keeps it,” Alie-Cox said. “Just getting more reps and getting more looks, I think it can unlock his running routes to a different ability while not always having to give it to JT where JT can get yards, but (Richardson) will have an even bigger game.” I think we need to explore another level.”

    The pieces on the Colts just can't live any other way right now.

    Richardson can't keep retreating for a four-quarter day full of efficiency and rhythm. Despite this approach, he has only one start with more than 10 completions this season, and that was his 17-of-34 performance with three interceptions against the Packers.

    Taylor isn't particularly good at pass protection, something the Colts know well enough not to ask much of him. But the presence of Trey Sermon or Goodson alerts the defense to a passing play and invites more zone coverage with eyes on the quarterback, such as on interceptions.

    Pittman can't carry the passing game with a lower back that could send him to injured reserve any week. He's trying to get through a game right now, but he knows he can't tolerate his young quarterback throwing 37 throws in a game with a chance of success.

    “I have to work on my flexibility. I have to work on my strength to just be able to get down and really stop like I know I can stop,” Pittman said. “It all depends on my rehab plan to attack harder and refine a few things to be my best while we’re still doing this.”

    Raimann and Smith can't go back and shut down a four-time Pro Bowler like Danielle Hunter. Even undrafted rookie right guard Dalton Tucker can't live like that. What they can do is play well together, both downhill and in attack.

    What these players can do is get Taylor rolling, as he has done with three 100-yard games in five contests, but so far only for an average of 18.4 carries per game. They can block at the rim for him or Richardson, whose offense can keep the drive going and build confidence.

    They are able to overcome these two attacks so well that one of two high safeties ends up falling into the box and Alec Pierce clears the sideline to get deep. This is the world in which Richardson can complete few passes and still make a big impact, like he did at a historic level in Week 1.

    When the moment feels right.

    But when every moment feels wrong, the Colts and their young passing game wonder who they are.

    And the longer they choose to live in this darkness, the harder it becomes to find a way out.

    Tagged:

    LEAVE A RESPONSE

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Kathleen William
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like

    ads