Colts will give Trent Richardson first shot at starting RB job

[Stephen]

The sad reality is if he takes off and kicks butt for the last 2 years of his deal (which would be great of course), we likely won't be able to sign him long term as who can afford to spend money at that now devalued position when the trend is running back by committee everywhere that isn't Phil or Minn (even Seattle insists they are going to spread the carries).  If he struggles, it now appears they will keep sticking with him trying to save face while better options sit idle.  And once his deal is up, we'll have wasted that productivity at RB for 2 more years.   

 

Whatever happened to proving it in training camp and that no one is handed a job, they must be metal on metal sharpening each other until the sharpest blade gets the nod.  What point is there in handing someone who has done ZERO to earn it, the starting job so far in advance?  I thought starters couldn't lose their job due to injury?  

 

Disappointed to learn all of the was empty rhetoric. 

trent is healthiest back with experience on our roster ballard is in the worst shape of the big three. also they want to use bradshaw sparringly as his body doesnt hold up well to being full time starter

[Gavin]

Doug martin earned the right to start and then had a terrible year and was replaced. Trent will start and if he is terrible i dont think pagano will sacrifice season with him. Vick or bradshaw will get the nod.

Nope, Martin suffered a torn labrum and was put on IR

[jvan1973]

Doug martin earned the right to start and then had a terrible year and was replaced. Trent will start and if he is terrible i dont think pagano will sacrifice season with him. Vick or bradshaw will get the nod.

Doug Martin was injured

[LockeDown]

Ok bad example. Somebody in our backfield will produce. If not trent then someone else. Im mot worried at all

[Bbswatching]

Well if he would stop running straight into the line backwards.  Maybe he could have done something.  He is a excellent receiving back.  Still think Ballard should be starter. But they didnt give up a 1st rounder for him.

[ColtStronger]

If he isn't top 5 in the NFL it will be because success of Bradshaw and Ballard.  Im thinking about 1300 yds and 13-15 TD's.  That has nothing to do with his catches out of the backfield.  I have all the confidence in the world in him (Statement only valid if the O-line does their job).  I actually plan on nabbing him later than that around 8th or 9th, because I bet a lot of people pass on him.  Definitely don't get him in the 3rd.

I honestly believe Trent will be a top 5 RB in rushing yards this season. I see him getting anywhere from 1300 to 1400 yards and about 10 scores.

 

He will be a fantasy football steal. I will take him in the 3rd or 4th and laugh all the way to the championship

[Modern]

Trent will not be a top 5 back. I will place money on that any day.

[Modern]

He might improve, but from last to first ain't gonna happen.

[NewColtsFan]

Trent will not be a top 5 back. I will place money on that any day.

 

Agreed,  Trent will not be a top-5 back.

 

But, here's the deal...    he doesn't have to be.

 

He just has to be better (OK, much better)  than he was last year.   And with a hopefully improved o-line, and a full year to digest the offense and training camp and he's lost weight.....  all that should spell out a much better year for Trent.

 

And that's all Trent and Colts need.

[JPFolks]

If he isn't top 5 in the NFL it will be because success of Bradshaw and Ballard.  Im thinking about 1300 yds and 13-15 TD's.  That has nothing to do with his catches out of the backfield.  I have all the confidence in the world in him (Statement only valid if the O-line does their job).  I actually plan on nabbing him later than that around 8th or 9th, because I bet a lot of people pass on him.  Definitely don't get him in the 3rd.

 

That's a major cop-out. "(Statement only valid if the O-line does their job)."

 

That's like saying "The Colts will WIN the SuperBowl!  Statement only valid if they win all their games!"  =)

[a06cc]

It's up to our offensive line for any of our guys to have success this season. Last season before Donald Thomas went down the line blocked well. One player shouldn't make a difference, but in our case it did. We finally have depth behind key positions to combat injuries. We're pretty deep this year and that's what we lacked last season.

[RealityIsLuck]

Good, I'm happy give Trent the opertunity to earn it/ show it's his.

[John Dee]

The Colt RB situation will be a time share IMO.   

 

The Bell Cow days for NFL RB's are all but over.

 

The question is ...   who will get the goal line touches and who will see the field on 3rd down?

 

I think Brad on 3rd down and Trent at the goal line.

 

I'm not touching either in fantasy.   Unless one gets hurt.   heeee..

[lollygagger8]

With Satele and McGlynn gone, T-Rich should have holes big enough to drive a truck through. 

 

Hopefully our O-Line won't look like this again this year....

 

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

Yeah 'D'

....the Colts want Trent to be the No.1 guy and they're going to give him every chance.

'Breaking News'...

.....I wonder if they heard? Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis!!! Bad move. Football will never catch on there.

 Yeah  man

 

Thats right Indiana is a basketball state . ;) ;)

[Poster X]

The Colt RB situation will be a time share IMO.   

 

The Bell Cow days for NFL RB's are all but over.

 

The question is ...   who will get the goal line touches and who will see the field on 3rd down?

 

I think Brad on 3rd down and Trent at the goal line.

 

I'm not touching either in fantasy.   Unless one gets hurt.   heeee..

Something tells me they will use Ballard on 3rd downs, and when looking to dump the ball off to a back. Bradshaw might be best used as a blocker.

[Modern]

Bradshaw is the best of the 3 as far as skills, he is just made of glass. Ballard, I don't see him doing a lot. He is a good backup, or was before the injury. Trent .... Well.....

[BpG]

Trent is going to surprise some people on here I think. His rookie numbers were good when you look at the situation 51 catches 970 rushing yards vs 9 in the box all year 12 td's in 15 games while playing with a rib injury. He had Weedan as the QB and Little as the number 1 option at WR not much to keep a D honest.

 

I think we will have a lot of TRich fans by weeks 3.

 

 

Please stop posting this as a fact. Trent Richardson did not face 9 man boxes all season as a Browns player. That year Richardson was 25th among running backs with 7 or 8 in the box and he was still at best an average back. 

 

That year Vick Ballard AND Donald Brown both faced more men in the box. 

 

this article is dated May 8th 2013

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/05/08/facing-eight-in-the-box/

 

 

 

 

 

Stop posting made up numbers as fact. 

[akcolt]

Please stop posting this as a fact. Trent Richardson did not face 9 man boxes all season as a Browns player. That year Richardson was 25th among running backs with 7 or 8 in the box and he was still at best an average back. 

 

That year Vick Ballard AND Donald Brown both faced more men in the box. 

 

this article is dated May 8th 2013

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/05/08/facing-eight-in-the-box/

 

 

 

 

 

Stop posting made up numbers as fact. 

I did not post made up numbers as fact intentionally it was a guess. I should have said what appeared to be a stacked box sorry.  I had him on my fantasy team and watched as many Brown games as I could stomach it sure looked like they were dialed in on the run because Weedan couldn't complete a pass to save his life.  I am sure run blitz's were not accounted for. Anyone who watched Cleveland play in 2012 could plainly see that teams did not nor did they have to respect the pass.

 

It doesn't change the fact that the main and really only offensive threat in Cleveland his rookie year was Trent. Weedan was the starting QB. He had a QB rating of 72 and 14td's vs 17 ints. Greg Little was the leading receiver 53 catches.  Trent was second with 51 catches. Trent put up decent numbers on that team. I think he bounces back this year.  

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

He should be the stater to start with, but I think all will play if they are healthy! I Would be surprised if he loses the job though. I am just not sure how good this guy is?

[Poster X]

Fair point. Comments were based on ability, not the contractual side of things.

So you think they will flat out cut him? I can't see that no matter what happens... If Trent comes out, and performs at the top of his game the big question is what will happens when all of these rookie contracts come up in the same year?!?

[Valpo2004]

I do not expect TR to be our starter by week 5. And he won't be on our team next season. Just a hunch, based on what I saw last year. Give him all the camp he wants, I just don't think he's good enough.

 

T-Rich cut is unlikely. . . his contract is fully guaranteed to 2016 much like Luck's is.  The only difference is we arn't taking a cap hit on the signing bonus portion as the Browns took that cap hit when they traded him.

 

The absolute worst that will happen to him is he will languish on the inactive list until his contract runs out.  

[Gavin]

Bradshaw is the best of the 3 as far as skills, he is just made of glass. Ballard, I don't see him doing a lot. He is a good backup, or was before the injury. Trent .... Well.....

Ballard was more then just a good back up prior to injury, He rushed for 814 yards in only 12 starts his rookie year behind an interior O Line that if I were them I would not be to quick to claim Im an O Lineman. Behind a good O Line I think he could be a stud if you watch his running style

[Modern]

Maybe.

[Cobb78]

Personally, I like this article discussing Trent Richardson and the trade.

 

http://coltscamp.com/article/the-trent-richardson-trade-in-context

[dgambill]

Good, last year wasn't his fault.

Michigan had the same problem. The OL play was so terrible and the running game was therefore pathetic. But no one blames the Michigan RBs because they aren't as easy a target as TR is.

I mean we all WANT Trent to be the guy that came out of Alabama...be our workhorse back....but did all the running backs have bad statistics or just one.....because what I saw before Trent got here was Bradshaw and Ballard run effectively and after Brown run very effectively. The common denominator wasn't the OL performing poorly but Trent. Now there is plenty of blame to go around but lets be honest...that OL did good enough for our other backs...maybe they just didn't like Trent...or maybe Trent was indecisive in hitting the whole or reading cut back lanes...or maybe he didn't know how to get small and get through the cracks...or maybe he just didn't feel comfortable in our offense...it's probably a lot of that...but he better step up big this year if we expect to compete for a SB....because in the playoffs we saw running the ball is important...NFC and AFC. We will need him.

[Coffeedrinker]

I mean we all WANT Trent to be the guy that came out of Alabama...be our workhorse back....but did all the running backs have bad statistics or just one.....because what I saw before Trent got here was Bradshaw and Ballard run effectively and after Brown run very effectively. The common denominator wasn't the OL performing poorly but Trent. Now there is plenty of blame to go around but lets be honest...that OL did good enough for our other backs...maybe they just didn't like Trent...or maybe Trent was indecisive in hitting the whole or reading cut back lanes...or maybe he didn't know how to get small and get through the cracks...or maybe he just didn't feel comfortable in our offense...it's probably a lot of that...but he better step up big this year if we expect to compete for a SB....because in the playoffs we saw running the ball is important...NFC and AFC. We will need him.

This is a common argument and I'm not doing this to knock any RB because I like them all and I was happy to see DB once he got behind a man blocking scheme rather than a zone, but there are a few holes in that theory.  And Ballard is my favorite RB on the team.

 

One Ballard had one game so there is not enough of a sample size to see how he would have done throughout the season.

Two:  Both Ballard and Bradshaw went down before teams got some good film on the line and their blocking schemes and that does make a huge difference.

Three:  DB had some good runs when he became the starter but he did not run the ball well.  He had as many runs for a loss as he did for positive gains. DB did have the home run threat that TRich doesn't have but I don't think anyone expects TRIch to break off 50-80 yard TD runs.

 

Not to say the issues with TRich were all the oline, they weren't, he had his own problems but the oline was definitely a big issue with the running game last season.

[Nobody]

I mean we all WANT Trent to be the guy that came out of Alabama...be our workhorse back....but did all the running backs have bad statistics or just one.....because what I saw before Trent got here was Bradshaw and Ballard run effectively and after Brown run very effectively. The common denominator wasn't the OL performing poorly but Trent. Now there is plenty of blame to go around but lets be honest...that OL did good enough for our other backs...maybe they just didn't like Trent...or maybe Trent was indecisive in hitting the whole or reading cut back lanes...or maybe he didn't know how to get small and get through the cracks...or maybe he just didn't feel comfortable in our offense...it's probably a lot of that...but he better step up big this year if we expect to compete for a SB....because in the playoffs we saw running the ball is important...NFC and AFC. We will need him.

Read the texans SBnation article on Trent.

[TKnight24]

Ok, no excuses for Trent this year. The guy had 3/4 of a season last year, the off season and a full

training camp and preseason this year. He needs to come outta the gate hot and not lay a turd in

his first few games or this place will have a come apart.

Wishing he does well but I have severe doubts about it.

Wait..... Colts already had their training camp & preseason games???!!!!!

I slept too long!!!!!!!

[Blue_Is_The_Colour]

last season was probably a bit of a shock to him.  i bet he starts off strong this year.

[ColtsHoosiersBB]

Wait..... Colts already had their training camp & preseason games???!!!!!

I slept too long!!!!!!!

You know what I meant Stimpy.

[Superman]

I've been rewatching the Dolphins games from last year lately (in pieces). I forgot that Bradshaw made some plays. His first catch when for 14 yards, and he looked excellent grabbing the ball and accelerating around the corner. If he's healthy and ready to play, he'll be a solid part of the rotation. He's still probably our most complete back.

[Bluefire4]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2VUWJgMecOA

[ruksak]

I've been rewatching the Dolphins games from last year lately (in pieces). I forgot that Bradshaw made some plays. His first catch when for 14 yards, and he looked excellent grabbing the ball and accelerating around the corner. If he's healthy and ready to play, he'll be a solid part of the rotation. He's still probably our most complete back.

He also smashed SF pretty hard. I believe that's the game he got injured in, as well as Trent's first game. If I remember right, wasn't Trent's first carry as a Colt a 1 yard TD run after a long opening drive by Bradshaw? 

 

Anywho, let's not forget that Bradshaw was the top rated blocking RB in 2012, going in to last season. That's huge if he stays healthy. 

[Stephen]

Bradshaw looks fast and explosive. Richardson looked slow despite the fact he runs 4.4 forty.I think he must have lost some of that speed or was just indecisive.

[Superman]

He also smashed SF pretty hard. I believe that's the game he got injured in, as well as Trent's first game. If I remember right, wasn't Trent's first carry as a Colt a 1 yard TD run after a long opening drive by Bradshaw? 

 

Anywho, let's not forget that Bradshaw was the top rated blocking RB in 2012, going in to last season. That's huge if he stays healthy. 

 

Yeah, to me, the SF game always stood out. I forgot that he had another good game for us last year.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

Trent will not be a top 5 back. I will place money on that any day.

 

I believe that this year Pep has more confidence in moving him around and using him in different formations. Assuming that will be the case then the I feel like sky is the limit, especially once they get rolling with 2 TE sets. Once he gets involved in downs that aren't obvious running downs in obvious running formations, he'll be a totally different player.

[Modern]

We shall see.

[ruksak]

We shall see.

Yes, we shall

[Steamboat_Shaun]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2VUWJgMecOA

 

Good vid BF4. That's more of what I expect to see this year, I especially liked watching the runs on the Steelers, Bengals, and Ravens. And of course when he ran over dude from the Eagles and knocked his helmet. Good stuff.