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Thoughts on Anthony Richardson’s comeback win

Vaseline2 weeks ago

0 5 minutes read

Thoughts on Anthony Richardson’s comeback win

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Seven thoughts, and three more coming from the locker room, from the Colts’ 28-27 win over the Jets at MetLife Stadium:

1. Anthony Richardson’s return was expected in the sense that we had no idea what exactly we would see: would he show improvement on the mental side of the game after two weeks of better studying, or was that mostly talk until Joe Flacco crumbled and did the Colts need him again?

Would the Colts deploy a game plan to play to his strengths and those of the offense, or would it be more of the same pass-heavy approach as earlier in the season?

And how much would it matter with three injuries along the offensive line?

The response to Richardson was more than encouraging. As a passer, he made sharp decisions without turnover-worthy throws. He was durable on big shots as a runner. He had just two really bad plays — the strip sack and the awkward exchange with Jonathan Taylor — and he led the Colts back with two touchdown drives with his arm in the fourth quarter.

The last line talks about his best game as a pro: 20 of 30, 272 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 9.1 yards per attempt and a 106.5 rating, along with two rushing touchdowns.

The Colts offense we’ve been waiting for

2. Like many, I waited 10 weeks for the Colts to do something with Richardson that resembled the Jalen Hurts offense that Shane Steichen rode to a Super Bowl two years ago. That’s become more of a necessity after the Colts signed Jonathan Taylor to a big deal, like the Ravens did with Derrick Henry for Lamar Jackson and like the Eagles did with Saquon Barkley for Hurts.

This week’s game script was what the doctor ordered.

The Colts came up with a variety of concepts they’ve barely used this season, from quarterback forces and draws, a heavy emphasis on the zone-read play with Richardson and Taylor, moving Taylor to the edge behind Ashton Dulin and allowing Richardson to throw on the move rather than silently throwing in the pocket.

It led to a stable offense that posed minimal risk and allowed the Colts to escape the worst parts of their current selves, which is what happened with the offensive line. And it got Richardson into a much-needed groove after the toughest two weeks of his career.

3. In a battle between one 40-year-old quarterback and another 22-year-old, with both solving problems related to the number of birthday candles, this game was always going to be about which offensive line handled the mismatches it faced in the could survive the battle. opposite front.

And it was an adventure in both directions.

Laiatu Latu got his season going again with a sack when Aaron Rodgers pumped the ball. The Jets had no answer for Grover Stewart in the run game, only finding success on stretch runs like Breece Hall’s 18-yard score.

Latu has been under a lot of pressure lately, which has led to some bad moments where he has broken control, such as Josh Allen’s explosive throw at the end of the first half last week. The opponent was much more manageable this week, but this was a nice boost for a rookie that the Colts really need to take the defense from good to something more.

Colts offensive line struggles

4. Indianapolis’ offensive line persisted while the game plan was new, run-centric and perimeter-oriented, but time caught up with the group.

The Colts started three rookies along the offensive line in left tackle Matt Goncalves, center Tanor Bortolini and right guard Dalton Tucker. Not only would that mean a drop in play in most situations, but it would also stress communication in a road stadium between a rookie center, a quarterback with ten career starts and two other rookies to communicate those protection changes on the fly.

I haven’t noticed many free rushers with a communication breakdown, but the Jets were able to get a few just based on skill specifically against Tucker and Goncalves. Braden Smith also doesn’t seem to have the bend in the knee at the moment to win against speed rushers like he used to.

It makes it difficult no matter who plays quarterback. And the closest thing to a solution is if Bernhard Raimann can return at left tackle so the Colts can at least protect the blind side and live in 11 men with easier answers to Josh Downs.

5. Of the many areas where the Colts wanted to see Richardson’s growth after a two-week stint on the bench, reading the blitz was the No. 1 priority.

They know his accuracy will be a work in progress that can’t be solved by better note-taking or even the reps in a first full starting season; that’s not how Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts got to where they are today.

But the Colts sat him ahead of a blitz-heavy game from Brian Flores because they needed a different preparation process during the week to see blitzes and pressure curveballs pop beforehand so he can find outlets after the snap more easily than just snapping. the first hit and turning a game into scramble mode.

As talented as he is at that, it’s hard to make it work until he has the skills and chemistry with receivers to adjust routes that way.

6. I don’t buy Steichen saying Joe Flacco’s performance had nothing to do with the decision to go back to Richardson. Especially since Flacco doesn’t seem to buy it either.

“I’m disappointed with the way the last two weeks have gone,” Flacco said Wednesday. “I wanted to provide a spark and get some wins for the team, but it didn’t work out. I am especially disappointed in that.”

If you take out the garbage time drive against the Bills, where Flacco threw a touchdown pass to Alec Pierce with so little time left that Bills players didn’t even try to rush the passer, he led 14 drives as the Colts’ starting quarterback. Indianapolis found the end zone on one of them.

That, combined with Flacco’s six turnovers in two games, put the Colts in a spot where their initial promise of advancing to the playoffs could no longer hold. It reduced the time they wanted to spend on “the process” with Richardson, where they hoped he could take notes and learn by watching Flacco make corrections and adjustments to his game film.

With little success on the field, it was difficult to create the real-time lessons they sacrificed through the repetitions. It became more difficult to tell the players on the team that this would bring a reward, now or later. So I think they went back to Richardson because they weren’t able to explain how it couldn’t be done.

7. The Colts defense can be difficult to read as it alternates between good and bad plays in the run game.

Part of that is the number of plays that add up when the offense has short drives, but that was less of an issue today.

Some of that is linebackers who seem to be too dependent on defensive linemen to blow up the play early before laying the wood.

Some of it is cornerbacks and safeties handling the stretch runs with authority.

But if the Colts want to force teams to really deal with their pass rush, they’re going to have to become more consistent here. As long as their offense is compromised along the offensive line, even scrappy teams like the Jets can find a way to survive with low risk and ultimately find points late in the game.

I’ll talk to you when I get back out of the locker room.

Vaseline2 weeks ago

0 5 minutes read

The Colts offense we’ve been waiting for

Colts offensive line struggles

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