The Mental Side (Of The Richardson Trade)

[In Luck We Trust]

You watched the games down the stretch right? Run blocking was terrible in the second half of the season. Yes Brown still had some decent games statwise, but I saw a lot of poor running due to poor blocking in early in most games, only to have break out runs late in the 4th. We were not consistently gaining meaningful yards early in the game. Don't be enamored with stats. Look at how they played situationally. If we didn't get yardage when we needed it most, we might as well not have that yardage at all.

yeah like in yesterdays game, patriots safety was already passed the offensive line and hitting richardson when he got the ball on NE 3 yard line on 1st down. line has been horrid since the bye week. 

[In Luck We Trust]

I do not understand you indianapolis colts fans I am one originally from baltimotr living in northern VA. He will be fine next year

 

                          SEASON GP ATT YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LST   Marshawn Lynch 2010 12 165 573 3.5 39 6 29 1 1   Trent Richardson 2013 14 157 458 2.9 22 3 25 2 1     SEASON GP REC TGTS YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LST Marshawn Lynch 2010 12 21 25 138 6.6 22 0 5 2 2 Trent Richardson 2013 14 28 41 265 9.5 24 1 13 0 0

 

His stats  are similar  to the beast mode 1`2 games vs 14 games

 

I didd not say it wasworth a 1st round pick in the middle of the season

he just needs time, but a lot of colt fans are ready to throw him to the wolves just like they did brown until this year. 

[MCurtis32]

Grigson flat out made a terrible trade for this so called runner. He is a horrible excuse of a running back, and now were without our number 1 draft pick because of this bum! All you dreamers that think he will be better next year are out of your mind, this guy is slow, slow to the hole, slow with his cuts, and that's never going to change no matter if you put a pro bowl line in front of him! We better resign Brown and Bradshaw, you can't count on Ballard because of his injury, and get rid of that bum! With Brown and Bradshaw we'll have a nice 1 2 punch!

 

Grigson flat out made a terrible trade for this so called runner. He is a horrible excuse of a running back, and now were without our number 1 draft pick because of this bum! All you dreamers that think he will be better next year are out of your mind, this guy is slow, slow to the hole, slow with his cuts, and that's never going to change no matter if you put a pro bowl line in front of him! We better resign Brown and Bradshaw, you can't count on Ballard because of his injury, and get rid of that bum! With Brown and Bradshaw we'll have a nice 1 2 punch!

then next year we have a crappy run game with Brown and who ever( Bradshaw is retiring) , who will you blame then?

[MCurtis32]

Brown went back to his roots in the playoffs.. Turn around behind the line of scrimmage and run backwards to get to the line of scrimmage. When brown gets 6 yards in the spred formation, he is our best man. Trent gets stuffed between the tackles when #72 falls back on him as he gets the football it is his fault. Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about. Im sighning off so you can take your rebuttle and cleanse you colon until next season. 

Moderators... have at it.

[Warhorse]

I think trading for T-Rich was a desperate move to reinforce our backfield after both Ballard and Bradshaw went down for the season. IMO without those injuries we hadn't traded for T-Rich. It looked  logical step, T-Rich was a first rounder with a solid rookie-season under his belt and looked a long term solution on RB post. It could have worked, but it hasn't.

 

T-Rich was in tough situation, he was just dumped by his team, and had to prove himself in a new environment, in a new scheme, under a totally different coaching staff. Plus IMO his abilities weren't utilized in right way...coaching staff should forfeit this 'power running' thing.

 

My educated guess is that he will have an off-season, training camps and preseason to prove himself as a Colt. If he can't show up, he will be likely cut. Just my 2 cents. I'm really worried/anxious about our RB-stable.

I like nearly all of this post greatly. I, however, am not worried about our RB's next season.

[OLD FAN MAN]

I like nearly all of this post greatly. I, however, am not worried about our RB's next season.

I think all our rbs need is some upgrades on the 0-line and we will be a force on the ground with all of them

[tenbears1971]

Donald Brown will not be resigned in the coming offseason. For the TR haters in here you better start getting used to that and hope he makes the transition. Best case VB comes back strong from injury but only time will tell.

[esmort]

it is exactly what im saying. as i said on another comment on this thread, people use to call brown a bum and wanted him out of indy and now everyone is talking about bringing him back. not to mention he is a former first round pick who took 4 years to finally break out.

As good as Brown has been for us this year drafting him in the 1st was a mistake as well, and we got one good season from him before his contract was up. Brown should be an example of why the Richardson trade was a mistake we should no have made.

nobody has patience with anyone on this team. 13 or 14 games into richardson's 2nd or 3rd system in just two years between indy and cleveland and people already want him gone.

He is not a rookie, he has had plenty of time to learn the system. Plenty of players are forced to learn multiple systems due to coaching turn over, and plenty of free agents are picked up into new seasons and adjust immediately. This excuse is so overused.

I would like to see anyone of you go out there learn a new system for the 2nd or 3rd time and avg 4 or 5 yards a carry behind that offensive line.

 

Irrelevant ... most of us probably couldn't do brain surgery either, but it doesn't mean a professional in that field can't learn and perform a new procedure ... especially after studying and practicing it for months.

Besides that every RB seemed to be able to perform behind that same line except him.

yeah, may not be the production you expect for a 1st rounder, but you can't expect a kid to get a grasp for another system so quickly.

Yes we can, thats why we paid such a high price for him.

Brown is a smaller faster back compared to richardson which is why he was able to get through the smaller holes.

Weak old excuse that holds no water. Half the holes he missed were plenty big or he stood there looking at them not even trying to get through them anyway.

and half the time it was obvious when the colts were running the ball when Richardson was on the field. him in the backfield they were running more times then passing, so as a defense yeah i would stack the box also and keep him from picking up big yardage. Colts were predictable when it came to run plays. and he was the obvious reason.

Half the time they were being obvious running the ball Brown was running it too. They ran both backs out of multiple formations on multiple downs. Quit with the same old excuses.

Richardson is horrible .... the trade was horrible ... quit making excuses for him.

[HungarianColtsFan]

I like nearly all of this post greatly. I, however, am not worried about our RB's next season.

 

 

I was corrected earlier that Bradshaw went out after T-Rich trade, still I think this trade hadn't happened if Ballard hadn't torn his MCL.

 

We shall see how our RB-stable looks like in the pre-season. I'm not very optimistic.

[lollygagger8]

I agree Richardson has ran very poorly for a RB that has had TWO first round picks given up for him. That said, I'll give him one more year before I throw in the towel on him. 

 

I think HOPE he turns it on next year and gets rid of his indecisiveness/ happy feet. <- the same exact thing Joseph Addai used to do. 

 

I'm hoping he is just a slow starter like Marshawn Lynch was at first. When we figure out our O-Line for next year (with Satele and McGlynn holding hands in the unemployment line) if Richardson doesn't turn it up by then, then we got majorly hosed on that trade. 

[Flash7]

The Marshawn Lynch comparison drives me crazy. It's not the norm, rather, it's the exception. How many good college RBs have been drafted and forgotten? Way more than Lynch or Donald Brown.

[Warhorse]

I was corrected earlier that Bradshaw went out after T-Rich trade, still I think this trade hadn't happened if Ballard hadn't torn his MCL.

 

We shall see how our RB-stable looks like in the pre-season. I'm not very optimistic.

Its all good. Most all of us want the same thing all want the same thing.

[Modern]

How many picks have been wasted on Richardson ? Browns traded their first 5th and 7th rounders to move up and get him, then we give a first to get him. So he has had 2 first round picks and a 5th and a 7th spent on him so far.

What do you think the Colts could get out of him ? Honestly ? I know some of you say to give him another season and he will be good ... Do you think we could get a 2nd or 3rd for him ? I dont.

4th or 5th ? Maybe but I still think teams would shop around before wanting to vet money on Trent.

So he is provably in the 6th or 7th round pick area. Should a guy who was drafted so high be so low after 2 seasons ? I don't think so.

In fact I can't think of any other running backs who have fell so far so fast.

[BpG]

It's funny how now that the season is over, everyone agrees he isn't good. I have been getting called names since I got here for saying the exact same thing. He doesn't have it between the ears. He's dumb as hell. He cannot find the crease., no vision. 

 

He looks the part, he looks like Frank Gore, but Gore gets skinny in the crease. Richardson, if he even finds the crease, doesn't get skinny and runs into his linemen. I seriously doubt he is going to be your starting running back next season. 

[dgambill]

It's funny how now that the season is over, everyone agrees he isn't good. I have been getting called names since I got here for saying the exact same thing. He doesn't have it between the ears. He's dumb as hell. He cannot find the crease., no vision. 

 

He looks the part, he looks like Frank Gore, but Gore gets skinny in the crease. Richardson, if he even finds the crease, doesn't get skinny and runs into his linemen. I seriously doubt he is going to be your starting running back next season. 

I agree about that part of him....Brown does a good job getting skinny to get through the hole and then finish strong. I think Trent can be taught that..or learn that...and that is what I am counting on. I'm greatly dissappointed but he is still a Colt and I'm going to root for him to improve. He is used to running through a big hole with his body squared up to cut right/left and make a lb miss etc...but in the nfl...it usually isn't that easy. You have to find the hole or a cut back lane and he just hasn't developed that vision. I will say he runs harder and works harder for any 1-2 yds than any back in the league. If we can get him to that second level...he can be special...but we don't have a line that can open up those types of holes...we just don't...so a guy like ballard/bradshaw/brown fit better because they hit those holes hard and get small and once through look for daylight. Somewhere there is a rb coach that can help this kid...because he has the body, speed, strenght...just needs help with the vision.

[Le Neon]

You see the flaw in this logic, right? You're blaming the O-line for T-Rich's slowness, when its been evident that they've blocked for all of the other backs.

That isn't evident at all. Ballard had Donald Thomas at guard, so that comparison is a non starter. Bradshaw was awesome against the niners, but one game is a lousy sample size.

Donald Brown had a terrific year. But he had a better time because he could offset all those no gain plays with an occasional long gain. He, alone on this roster, had the speed to punish defenses on the draw/trap/counter runs. He was athletic enough to play the finesse game our interior line was capable of.

Both Trent and Brown were getting met in the backfield, the difference was Brown was fast enough to run away from defenders. Trent had to break a tackle and take what he could get.

Thornton and McGlynn were completely, quantifiable horrible this year, and Satele wasn't much better.

[Flash7]

That isn't evident at all. Ballard had Donald Thomas at guard, so that comparison is a non starter. Bradshaw was awesome against the niners, but one game is a lousy sample size.

Donald Brown had a terrific year. But he had a better time because he could offset all those no gain plays with an occasional long gain. He, alone on this roster, had the speed to punish defenses on the draw/trap/counter runs. He was athletic enough to play the finesse game our interior line was capable of.

Both Trent and Brown were getting met in the backfield, the difference was Brown was fast enough to run away from defenders. Trent had to break a tackle and take what he could get.

Thornton and McGlynn were completely, quantifiable horrible this year, and Satele wasn't much better.

You make valid points. Since this is a forum for discussion, please know that my reply is intended for discussion and not for argument's sake.

 

If we look at all of the RBs as a whole, without T-Rich in the equation, everyone would average to have a YPC over 4.0 throughout the entire season. Some of that is with our better O-line at the beginning of the year, and some of that is with our depleted O-line at the end of the year and would include guys like Choice. Nonetheless, it would appear that despite who we've put back there, they have produced a better YPC than Richardson.

 

Now, there are other factors to take into consideration as to what makes a good RB, such as pass protection and catching out of the backfield, which Richardson is good at. Perhaps better than other on the roster. But overall, you would have to deduce that he is a hindrance to the offence when it comes to running.

 

I do not think that we have a solid O-line, and I have stated many times that it should be our primary focus in the offseason, along with the D-line. But that doesn't excuse Richardson's lack of running ability. I agree with what you've said about being met in the backfield before the play even gets started. That's partly on the O-line, and partly on Richardson for not getting to the line fast enough.

 

Overall, our run game can use a lot of improvement. I think we can all agree on that.

[Le Neon]

You make valid points. Since this is a forum for discussion, please know that my reply is intended for discussion and not for argument's sake.

If we look at all of the RBs as a whole, without T-Rich in the equation, everyone would average to have a YPC over 4.0 throughout the entire season. Some of that is with our better O-line at the beginning of the year, and some of that is with our depleted O-line at the end of the year and would include guys like Choice. Nonetheless, it would appear that despite who we've put back there, they have produced a better YPC than Richardson.

Now, there are other factors to take into consideration as to what makes a good RB, such as pass protection and catching out of the backfield, which Richardson is good at. Perhaps better than other on the roster. But overall, you would have to deduce that he is a hindrance to the offence when it comes to running.

I do not think that we have a solid O-line, and I have stated many times that it should be our primary focus in the offseason, along with the D-line. But that doesn't excuse Richardson's lack of running ability. I agree with what you've said about being met in the backfield before the play even gets started. That's partly on the O-line, and partly on Richardson for not getting to the line fast enough.

Overall, our run game can use a lot of improvement. I think we can all agree on that.

He's certainly had struggles running the ball, that's undeniable. The area open for debate is why, and if he can improve. Trent, imo, doesn't have the acceleration to ad lib and escape when his line can't cover their responsibilities like Brown could. It's just not his strength. Trent s gonna need his blockers to win at least some of their matchups.

I think his effectiveness with the ball out in space project well for what he could do if our line could do even an adequate job. But if we don't upgrade the line significantly things could get rough next season.

[BpG]

I can't forget the look on Lucks face when the play call came in. I forget the down and distance but this was his reaction. I was wondering what the play call would be that would make him look so confused. When the play came in through his helmet, he was visibly confused. 

 

I say to my gf "he hates this play, wonder what it is"
- see Richardson in the backfield, know what's coming 
- gain of 0

 

 

 

 

The play was a handoff to Richardson. 

[In Luck We Trust]

As good as Brown has been for us this year drafting him in the 1st was a mistake as well, and we got one good season from him before his contract was up. Brown should be an example of why the Richardson trade was a mistake we should no have made.

He is not a rookie, he has had plenty of time to learn the system. Plenty of players are forced to learn multiple systems due to coaching turn over, and plenty of free agents are picked up into new seasons and adjust immediately. This excuse is so overused.

 

Irrelevant ... most of us probably couldn't do brain surgery either, but it doesn't mean a professional in that field can't learn and perform a new procedure ... especially after studying and practicing it for months.

Besides that every RB seemed to be able to perform behind that same line except him.

Yes we can, thats why we paid such a high price for him.

Weak old excuse that holds no water. Half the holes he missed were plenty big or he stood there looking at them not even trying to get through them anyway.

Half the time they were being obvious running the ball Brown was running it too. They ran both backs out of multiple formations on multiple downs. Quit with the same old excuses.

Richardson is horrible .... the trade was horrible ... quit making excuses for him.

wont quit making excuses for him until after next season is over. if he does not get better then fine, but if he improves and turns out to be better then this year, guarantee a lot of you change your opinion on him and some will try to claim they been behind him the whole time.  

[In Luck We Trust]

I can't forget the look on Lucks face when the play call came in. I forget the down and distance but this was his reaction. I was wondering what the play call would be that would make him look so confused. When the play came in through his helmet, he was visibly confused. 

 

I say to my gf "he hates this play, wonder what it is"

- see Richardson in the backfield, know what's coming 

- gain of 0

 

 

 

 

The play was a handoff to Richardson. 

and notice on that play the defender was already in the backfield. can't expect a RB to get positive yardage on that when he is hit as soon as he gets the ball

[In Luck We Trust]

He's certainly had struggles running the ball, that's undeniable. The area open for debate is why, and if he can improve. Trent, imo, doesn't have the acceleration to ad lib and escape when his line can't cover their responsibilities like Brown could. It's just not his strength. Trent s gonna need his blockers to win at least some of their matchups.

I think his effectiveness with the ball out in space project well for what he could do if our line could do even an adequate job. But if we don't upgrade the line significantly things could get rough next season.

he was not to bad in the passing game though.  I'm staying behind him, and if a better line is provided and he still cant get better yardage then I will leave it a lone and say maybe it is time to let him go. 

[In Luck We Trust]

That isn't evident at all. Ballard had Donald Thomas at guard, so that comparison is a non starter. Bradshaw was awesome against the niners, but one game is a lousy sample size.

Donald Brown had a terrific year. But he had a better time because he could offset all those no gain plays with an occasional long gain. He, alone on this roster, had the speed to punish defenses on the draw/trap/counter runs. He was athletic enough to play the finesse game our interior line was capable of.

Both Trent and Brown were getting met in the backfield, the difference was Brown was fast enough to run away from defenders. Trent had to break a tackle and take what he could get.

Thornton and McGlynn were completely, quantifiable horrible this year, and Satele wasn't much better.

that has been my point this whole time. Brown is smaller and faster which led to positive yards for him, Richardson is slower and bigger and when the defense got in the backfield before he can get the ball he had to take the 2 or 3 yards he could get. better interior line will improve richardson. and i may be the only colts fan who is still behind him, but thats fine. i have faith in him

[esmort]

wont quit making excuses for him until after next season is over. if he does not get better then fine, but if he improves and turns out to be better then this year, guarantee a lot of you change your opinion on him and some will try to claim they been behind him the whole time.  

 

 

he was not to bad in the passing game though.  I'm staying behind him, and if a better line is provided and he still cant get better yardage then I will leave it a lone and say maybe it is time to let him go. 

 

The "he will get more yards behind a better line" excuse that so many like to use makes no sense at all.  Of course he should get more yards behind a better offensive line; but that applies to most any running back in the league.  It doesn't mean Richardson got better only his situation did ... and if the improvement only makes him a middle of the pack RB than we still wasted our pick, because we could have gotten average Rb performance for far less than what we paid for Richardson.

 

"When they make the questions on the test easier I will get more right"  ... see the problem here? Same logic.

[In Luck We Trust]

The "he will get more yards behind a better line" excuse that so many like to use makes no sense at all.  Of course he should get more yards behind a better offensive line; but that applies to most any running back in the league.  It doesn't mean Richardson got better only his situation did ... and if the improvement only makes him a middle of the pack RB than we still wasted our pick, because we could have gotten average Rb performance for far less than what we paid for Richardson.

 

"When they make the questions on the test easier I will get more right"  ... see the problem here? Same logic.

okay so you are saying the line was never the issue?? in the NE game alone, there was multiple times that as soon as richardson got the ball he was met by a defender in the backfield. and where did that defender come from?? up the middle. but we are just going to have to agree to disagree 

[CanuckColt]

I'm not sure this has been discussed yet, but it is something I have wondered about for months now... 

 

When Richardson was traded to us, could it have triggered a mental block for him?

 

Think about it. Here is a guy who was selected #3 overall. I'm sure Mike Holmgren and the Browns and Pat Shurmur all told him he was the future of the franchise. That he was going to be the focus of the offense and the savior of the team,

 

He had a solid rookie season. 

 

And then one day, the team who had picked him to help them finally make up for years of shortcommings, sends him away. Without notice. Without warning. He went from being "THE man" to "another guy". 

 

How much would that have hurt his psyche? How much would that affect his confidence?

 

I think it had some to do with it. It was culture shock. It was a drastic change in his career.

 

I personally think it was all a little too much for him to properly handle mentally in the midst of the grind of the season. I think it hurt his confidence, I think it hurt his pride, and I think the situation was just rather rough on him. And I even think Reggie Wayne hinted that it had been when he said that Trent was relieved to not have the weight of being the starting back on him after Brown took the role. 

 

I think it was all a little too much a little too fast for him, and now that he will have the time to settle in and do a reset, that he will handle the duty better next season, 

 

He was thrown to the wolves here. No doubt about it. He was thrown in behind a terrible at best run blocking line. Many times there were guys already in the backfield as he took a handoff. 

 

Is he gonna make the first we sent for him pay off?

 

Eh, we'll see. But next season should certainly be better from him I think. 

A team would need the greatest O-line in history to get this guy up to 4 yds per carry average.

[Gavin]

Some people are a glutton for punishment by going over whats already done and over repeatedly.....The trade? Done an over...It was bad, should have never been done...But its done......Richardsons overall bad season? Done...Can only make sure it dont happen again...If he dont improve Im sure someone will be held accountable.....not just Richardson either.......But whats done is done......We just have to hope he applies himself to getting much much better...Not as good as his draft status says because he was overdrafted by a clown show of an organization but much better none the less

[BOTT]

and notice on that play the defender was already in the backfield. can't expect a RB to get positive yardage on that when he is hit as soon as he gets the ball

That tends to happen when a RB is slow getting to the hole

[BOTT]

I can't forget the look on Lucks face when the play call came in. I forget the down and distance but this was his reaction. I was wondering what the play call would be that would make him look so confused. When the play came in through his helmet, he was visibly confused. 

 

I say to my gf "he hates this play, wonder what it is"- see Richardson in the backfield, know what's coming - gain of 0

 

 

 

 

The play was a handoff to Richardson.

That was my look after the trade was announced

[Dark_Indy]

You watched the games down the stretch right? Run blocking was terrible in the second half of the season. Yes Brown still had some decent games statwise, but I saw a lot of poor running due to poor blocking in early in most games, only to have break out runs late in the 4th. We were not consistently gaining meaningful yards early in the game. Don't be enamored with stats. Look at how they played situationally. If we didn't get yardage when we needed it most, we might as well not have that yardage at all.

 

 

stop judging everything by ypc

 

 

so you know how good a rb is by his ypc? Doesn't tell the whole story

 

 

Ok- we shouldn't judge a player based on the average of his runs.

 

Trent Richardson averaged 2.9 yards a carry, which means a majority of his runs were around the 2.9 yards per rush mark. For his one 22 yard run, there were how many -1 or -2 yard runs to kill that average?

 

Lynch averaged 4.1 YPC this year

AP averaged 4.5 YPC

Shady McCoy averaged 5.1 YPC

Demarco Murray averaged 5.2 YPC

Knowshon Moreno averaged 4.3 YPC

Reggie Bush averaged 4.5 YPC

Eddie Lacy averaged 4.1 YPC

 

a 4.0 YPC is the base stat that proves your effectiveness as a runner. A sub-4.0 YPC means that you aren't doing what you need to do to get yards behind you.

 

Put these stats into a vacuum- 

 

If a runner is averaging 4 yards per carry, that means theoretically that over 3 rushes that runner will gain 12 yards and a first down. Those rushes could be 4,4,4 or -2, 10, 2 etc. Either way, in a 3rd and short (2-3 yards) situation, you can have a little more faith in your running back to get those yards and keep a drive alive. 

 

If a runner is averaging >3 yards a carry like TRich is, over those same 3 runs, a runner can be expected to get about 9 yards, and now you're punting the ball to the other team. 

 

YPC matters. 3rd and 3, you're not handing the ball off to a guy with a 2.9 YPC average. Why? Chances are he's going to get you 2.9 yards. 

[Dark_Indy]

okay so you are saying the line was never the issue?? in the NE game alone, there was multiple times that as soon as richardson got the ball he was met by a defender in the backfield. and where did that defender come from?? up the middle. but we are just going to have to agree to disagree 

 

 

So let me get this straight. 

 

The main tenants to a Trent Richardson Apologist's argument

 

1. You cannot judge a runner by his average YPC

2. Trent Richardson is a good running back

3. The O-Line is awful. 

4. It is irrelevant that Vick Ballard, Ahmad Bradshaw, Donald Brown and Tashard Choice were able to average above a 4.0 YPC behind that line because of tenant 1.

5. The fault of our lack of running game is placed solely on the Offensive Line, not due to the fact that Trent Richardson does a Waltz every time he touches the ball.

 

Did I miss anything?

[Modern]

In 2012 Richardson ran behind the 5th best offensive line that season and averaged 3.6,yards per carry.

I would say that is performing far under expectations for a 3rd overall pick.

We will not have a top 10 offensive line next year, it just isnt possible giving the picks and money we have to work with.

If he needs a top 10 line to break into 3 ypc then its gonna be a long hard season if he is named the starter.

[No 1 Manning Fan]

So let me get this straight.

The main tenants to a Trent Richardson Apologist's argument

1. You cannot judge a runner by his average YPC

2. Trent Richardson is a good running back

3. The O-Line is awful.

4. It is irrelevant that Vick Ballard, Ahmad Bradshaw, Donald Brown and Tashard Choice were able to average above a 4.0 YPC behind that line because of tenant 1.

5. The fault of our lack of running game is placed solely on the Offensive Line, not due to the fact that Trent Richardson does a Waltz every time he touches the ball.

Did I miss anything?

Of course you can. But there are many of you "I hate TRich" guys out there that want to solely blame him for the lack of running production instead of facing the music that our O Line stinks. Like I said. It was decent early on in the year and Brown showed that he can actually be a good back with blocking. That really tapered off in the second half of the season. He still broke some big ones, but I also noted that we were not getting 4-5 yards a pop on a consistent basis. We have to get 4 yards per carry to have a viable running attack.

I don't care about breaking a big run if we can't sustain 4 yards minimum per carry. We must upgrade the O line. That should be the #1 priority this offseason.

[esmort]

So let me get this straight. 

 

The main tenants to a Trent Richardson Apologist's argument

 

1. You cannot judge a runner by his average YPC

2. Trent Richardson is a good running back

3. The O-Line is awful. 

4. It is irrelevant that Vick Ballard, Ahmad Bradshaw, Donald Brown and Tashard Choice were able to average above a 4.0 YPC behind that line because of tenant 1.

5. The fault of our lack of running game is placed solely on the Offensive Line, not due to the fact that Trent Richardson does a Waltz every time he touches the ball.

 

Did I miss anything?

 

You haven't been keeping up on the latest Richardson excuse news???  The new favorite is that the reason behind Richardson's inability to run is because we aren't using the right scheme .... we are using a Man Blocking Scheme, but Trent is accustomed to a Zone Blocking Scheme.  So once we get upgrade our o-line and change to ZBS to accommodate one player we can expect great things from Trent.

 

A #3 overall pick can only run in one scheme you know.

[OldManP]

I think it's 70%, mental.

[Modern]

I think it's 70%, mental.

Maybe he needs incentive, they could give him a gold star every time he finds a hole and 2 gold stars every time he gets more then 3 yards.

If he gets enough stars at the end of the season they can take him to Chuck E Cheese.

[BpG]

I think it's 70%, mental.

 

I agree, unfortunately you can't fix stupid. 

[MCurtis32]

Give the kid another year. The colts wasted 4 on Brown. I was exited when they picked Brown because of the years the team wasted on Addai. I have a gut feeling on richardson. We will see how that goes. Boy I miss Edgerrine. He set the bar high.

[Kyle]

we wont have bradshaw sorry to say.  Bradshaw is injury prone,

 

wrong ;)

[YOUR GM]

and notice on that play the defender was already in the backfield. can't expect a RB to get positive yardage on that when he is hit as soon as he gets the ball

 

Did you also notice the big void of empty space to the outside that he could've easily bounced to? You don't have to defend his horrible play just because we're stuck with him now. All we can do is hope someone can "whisper" some field vision into his game