The Film Room: Trent Richardson

[Superman]

True. But there have been analysts in this situation in particular who are baffled as to how Trent took a nosedive in this offense. There are others who say that it is because he was thrown into a new offense unexpectedly and still others (Jim Brown) who said that he was nothing special in the first place when he was drafted. I guess we will see this season whose eyeballs work best lol.

 

The Browns fan posted a breakdown that's more critical of Richardson. Of course, that's from when he was with the Browns, not from 2013. But there's always going to be more weight behind an actual breakdown, as opposed to a one-off comment about how terrible Richardson was, especially when it's based on his 2.9 YPC, or some other surface level statistical analysis.

[throwing BBZ]

The casual fan doesn't know but there are a few former players here and even people that didn't play who can see the assignments and know that Rich still didn't do what was expected of him on a given play. I don't see why ones knowledge of the play in general should bear any more weight buy I do get what you were saying now.

 

 Not all blocks are executed as designed. It`s like this guy doesn`t get that good RB`s read the blocking and make GOOD cuts.

 For the many here that do watch the blocking under close scrutiny, it was clear he wasn`t assessing things well/quickly quite often.

 Thankfully we threw out the garbage and it IS a clean slate, New season for All! Yippee! Go running game.

[Superman]

Chose not to read the piece, just gonna go head & say this

Negativity has been surrounding the Colt's since Andrew came to town. All the media doubts us, etc etc. The Colt's are that little fly in your house that you can't get rid of so you learn to cope with it until it's ready to leave under it's own will

 

Do yourself a favor and read the article. You'll be glad you did, even if you don't agree with it.

[jvan1973]

Not all blocks are executed as designed. It`s like this guy doesn`t get that good RB`s read the blocking and make GOOD cuts.

For the many here that do watch the blocking under close scrutiny, it was clear he wasn`t assessing things well/quickly quite often.

Thankfully we threw out the garbage and it IS a clean slate, New season for All! Yippee! Go running game.

you watch with such close scrutiny, but you had no idea about the Saturday pancake block in the AFCCG against willfork. RIIIIIIIGHT

[Smurphy1]

Not all blocks are executed as designed. It`s like this guy doesn`t get that good RB`s read the blocking and make GOOD cuts.

 For the many here that do watch the blocking under close scrutiny, it was clear he wasn`t assessing things well/quickly quite often.

 Thankfully we threw out the garbage and it IS a clean slate, New season for All! Yippee! Go running game.

Of course not every block is executed successfully but what the author was showing was that practically none of the blocks were executed successfully. This means that the cut back lanes aren't there because everybody blew their assignment. Good cuts still require good blocking somewhere on the line in order to work.

[kjyb]

COBY FLEENER=DISAPPOINTMENT IN RUN BLOCKING!

[BpG]

If it makes you feel any better, the pick we acquired for T-rich, we used on Johnny 8ball

[Gibbons180]

I LOVE this article. I also have so much faith in Trent Richardson and im so glad we have him. It explains so well why his 2013 wasn't his best. 2014 should be such a better season. I know he will succeed. GO COLTS

[TKnight24]

Do yourself a favor and read the article. You'll be glad you did, even if you don't agree with it.

I read the title, not the article. Sure that's one writer who has something positive to say. My comment wasn't directed towards him more so as it was towards the negative writer's & fans of this very forum who continuously down talk Richardson and many other things Colt's related

[chad72]

COBY FLEENER=DISAPPOINTMENT IN RUN BLOCKING!

 

Can't be worse than Dallas Clark . At least DC's receiving skills made up for it a bit. Hopefully Fleener's hands and receiving production get to that level at least, if not better. I liked what I saw in year 2, to be honest. Chudzinski and Pep both love their TEs, so I expect a better year in year 3, which is when a lot of TEs shine.

[Superman]

I read the title, not the article. Sure that's one writer who has something positive to say. My comment wasn't directed towards him more so as it was towards the negative writer's & fans of this very forum who continuously down talk Richardson and many other things Colt's related

See my previous post.

[Bravo]

i like how people act like other running backs never miss a hole. They miss them once and a while it is part of being a running back in the NFL. And i would assume your going to miss them more often when the O-Line does NOT block for you one bit. A running back needs to trust his offensive line that they will make the holes and really 3/4 the time, especially on the Colts the hole wouldnt even be there so he had to cut back.. Richardson was so used to getting the ball and having defenders in his face that when he didn't im sure he was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

 

I am so happy that someone has finally called out our offensive line when it comes to Trent Richardson. It needs to happen more often.. I have more interest in the O-Line than most because I was a center my whole football life. It was extremely disappointing every single game to watch how horrific our line was... Seriously words can not describe it. It was embarrassing. By seeing other lines I would not doubt 1st or 2nd worst in the league in all seriousness.

 

We and our offensive line are EXTREMELY lucky to have a special talent at quarterback. Luck made plays that most quarterbacks wouldnt be able to make with that (bad work) blocking. He made the line look decent at times. Richardson just couldn't channel his inner Luck and save his own but 70% of the time. I am glad they have addressed the offensive line this off season by drafting Jack Mewhort. I was so confused when people were complaining about that pick. I guess i just pay more attention to the most important part of the offense besides quarterback. As the article states, i do hope with Allen back, Thorton improving, Holmes at center, and Mewhort hopefully starting that this will be a more successful year and with at least decent O line this team will have a Super Bowl caliber offense. 

 

Here's to hoping that one year and some changes can change our O-line from dreadful and embarrassing into a consistent decent O-Line.

 

 

:clap:     

[1yrdandacloudofdust]

Still does not explain these.

http://www.draftbrowns.com/2013/06/browns-film-room-trent-richardson/

LoL. /thread

Perfect execution. The Browns wouldn't have traded a beast. Offer a 1 for Jpe Thomas and see what they say. He's a beast

[Coffeedrinker]

True. But there have been analysts in this situation in particular who are baffled as to how Trent took a nosedive in this offense. There are others who say that it is because he was thrown into a new offense unexpectedly and still others (Jim Brown) who said that he was nothing special in the first place when he was drafted. I guess we will see this season whose eyeballs work best lol.

How many of them took the time to review the plays and break them down as this guy did and how many just looked at the stats?  As to Jim Brown, here's what he had to say about calling Richardson an ordinary back

 

 

"The things I said about him were not harsh at all," Brown said. "I said he looked like an ordinary back. That's not a criticism, that's a launching pad. What makes you great before you run the ball as a professional?"

 

[Coffeedrinker]

 Not all blocks are executed as designed. It`s like this guy doesn`t get that good RB`s read the blocking and make GOOD cuts.

 For the many here that do watch the blocking under close scrutiny, it was clear he wasn`t assessing things well/quickly quite often.

 Thankfully we threw out the garbage and it IS a clean slate, New season for All! Yippee! Go running game.

This is one of the funniest posts I've read on this forum in a long time.

[Gavin]

To me when I watched Richardson struggle last year I saw 3-4 things more then anything else(Except some awful O Line blocking):

 

1.Lack of patience for the hole to open (He would to often times press the hole to much leaving him no place to really cut back if the hole was not open)

 

2.Some of his Jump Cuts were to long I think which made him come to almost a complete stop to where he almost had to gather himself...He is more of a Power Jump Cutter......I personally hope he learns to use the Speed Cut more

 

3.He does posses power in his runs for sure but I would not say its elite power, Not the Jerome Bettis/Jamal Lewis type of power

 

4.Solid hands for catching the ball overall

 

5.He got better at pass protection as the year went on

 

 

 

All my opinions of course

[coltsfanmilyman]

i'm not gonna quote the post of a bunch of plays again because i don't want to make this thread way bigger than it needs to be but those are literally 4 separate plays where he missed.  I'm sure if you could do that with some of the best RB's out there.  Not to mention, A) he was a rookie, learning a new system. B) He literally carried the team on his back if I remember correctly that year, broken ribs and all.  When your QB has more INT's then TD's you know it wasn't a great season.

 

I'm not saying he's not at fault, because like all rb's yes even my all time favorite Colt #32(no, not mike hart) the one and only EDGE would occasionally miss a lane.  Give the guy the benefit of the doubt at least.  For gosh sakes he's a   cheer him on instead of chide him for what he's not doing.

[The Peytonator]

I like that the writer is a fan of Big Red. 

 

 

[crazycolt1]

How does your comment apply to this particular situation

Because he uses every opportunity to make negative comments when it's any other team but his favorite. 

[crazycolt1]

COBY FLEENER=DISAPPOINTMENT INo RUN BLOCKING!

So TRiches problem was Fleener? Do you even watch the NFL?

[Qwiz]

The Browns fan posted a breakdown that's more critical of Richardson. Of course, that's from when he was with the Browns, not from 2013. But there's always going to be more weight behind an actual breakdown, as opposed to a one-off comment about how terrible Richardson was, especially when it's based on his 2.9 YPC, or some other surface level statistical analysis.

Yeah, but one can break down a lot of things/plays to fit their argument. I haven't given the piece a proper look myself but you don't necessarily have to only look at surface stats to determine a player's effectiveness or ineffectiveness. Even in-depth analysis and stats is still that...stats. I'm definitely not dismissing that Richardson could become a better player this season but I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out how he performed in 2013.

[Qwiz]

How many of them took the time to review the plays and break them down as this guy did and how many just looked at the stats?  As to Jim Brown, here's what he had to say about calling Richardson an ordinary back

Yeah, that's what I was saying. Calling someone an ordinary back is basically the same as saying that the back isn't anything special.  could have sworn Brown made a harsher comment about the guy but maybe I'm misremembering things.

[Superman]

Yeah, but one can break down a lot of things/plays to fit their argument. I haven't given the piece a proper look myself but you don't necessarily have to only look at surface stats to determine a player's effectiveness or ineffectiveness. Even in-depth analysis and stats is still that...stats.

 

A) In depth analysis is not stats. Like you said, you haven't read the piece.

 

B) Much of the criticism of Richardson is based on his pathetic YPC, especially in comparison to the other backs on the team last year. The article is specifically contesting that type of criticism.

[Qwiz]

A) In depth analysis is not stats. Like you said, you haven't read the piece.

 

B) Much of the criticism of Richardson is based on his pathetic YPC, especially in comparison to the other backs on the team last year. The article is specifically contesting that type of criticism.

In-depth analysis is the breaking down of stats/plays...I guess we can call it breaking down and it is the only way we can truly measure the way players perform I guess.

I am sure YPC is a part of it but a lot of it is also missing running lanes, not hitting the hole with the burst he showed in college, etc. He has a superb receiving percentage though, so no one can knock him for that lol. I'll take a look at the article when I have the time but like I said earlier, nothing is going to convince most of his criticizers until he shows that he can warrant his first round status/trade.

[kjyb]

So TRiches problem was Fleener? Do you even watch the NFL?

actually some off he's runs he couldve broke big ones but fleener misses the blocks and messes up the runs,im saying its the offensive line and fleener not setting the edge in inside 

[Superman]

In-depth analysis is the breaking down of stats/plays...I guess we can call it breaking down and it is the only way we can truly measure the way players perform I guess.

I am sure YPC is a part of it but a lot of it is also missing running lanes, not hitting the hole with the burst he showed in college, etc. He has a superb receiving percentage though, so no one can knock him for that lol. I'll take a look at the article when I have the time but like I said earlier, nothing is going to convince most of his criticizers until he shows that he can warrant his first round status/trade.

 

What stats measure missing running lanes or not hitting the hole with burst? There's a clear difference between evaluating a player based on the film, and evaluating him based on stats. A true evaluation is a marriage of both, because it's obvious that you can't get a true idea of the abilities of a player without seeing them and measuring their production.

 

You also need to know what the heck you're looking at; some people don't understand the finer points of playing running back, and assume that if a back bounces to the outside or cuts back, that it's because he either has no burst, no vision, or both. Conversely, some people assume that if a back doesn't cut back or bounce outside, it's because he has no ability to improvise. So you can take two people with incomplete evaluation skills and get two completely contrary breakdowns of the same play.

 

Lastly, in my mind, there's no way Richardson can ever live up to his draft/trade status. I don't think even the best backs are worth first round picks in today's NFL. I said it when we drafted Donald Brown, and I said it when we traded for Richardson. It will be nice if he puts up Pro Bowl numbers, but I still won't be fully supportive of the trade for him. And even if he breaks every rushing record in the books, I can't see him ever being worthy of the #3 pick in the 2012 draft (the Browns missed on Nick Foles, Russell Wilson, Matt Kalil, Luke Kuechly, Doug Martin, etc., etc.) At some point, we have to evaluate him on his merits, not on his draft/trade status. That ship has sailed, unfortunately. Time to move on and treat him like any other player.

[CR91]

If it makes you feel any better, the pick we acquired for T-rich, we used on Johnny 8ball

 

atleast you can take comfort in the fact that he'll bring his hot girlfriend to the games

[Qwiz]

What stats measure missing running lanes or not hitting the hole with burst? There's a clear difference between evaluating a player based on the film, and evaluating him based on stats. A true evaluation is a marriage of both, because it's obvious that you can't get a true idea of the abilities of a player without seeing them and measuring their production.

 

You also need to know what the heck you're looking at; some people don't understand the finer points of playing running back, and assume that if a back bounces to the outside or cuts back, that it's because he either has no burst, no vision, or both. Conversely, some people assume that if a back doesn't cut back or bounce outside, it's because he has no ability to improvise. So you can take two people with incomplete evaluation skills and get two completely contrary breakdowns of the same play.

 

Lastly, in my mind, there's no way Richardson can ever live up to his draft/trade status. I don't think even the best backs are worth first round picks in today's NFL. I said it when we drafted Donald Brown, and I said it when we traded for Richardson. It will be nice if he puts up Pro Bowl numbers, but I still won't be fully supportive of the trade for him. And even if he breaks every rushing record in the books, I can't see him ever being worthy of the #3 pick in the 2012 draft (the Browns missed on Nick Foles, Russell Wilson, Matt Kalil, Luke Kuechly, Doug Martin, etc., etc.) At some point, we have to evaluate him on his merits, not on his draft/trade status. That ship has sailed, unfortunately. Time to move on and treat him like any other player.

I agree completely. About the marriage of stats and actual on-field immeasurables to form a good opinion of a given player and that you can't fully know the abilities of a player without measuring their production. I think if the Draft having every player in the league right now were to happen, A.D. would still be a first-rounder and maybe even McCoy, but of course everyone has differing opinions of the value of runningbacks in today's NFL. Unfortunately, fans don't forget mistakes and right now they are unsure if pulling the trigger on Rich was one or not. He's going to ultimately be judged on his trade status, be it fair or not.

[Superman]

I agree completely. About the marriage of stats and actual on-field immeasurables to form a good opinion of a given player and that you can't fully know the abilities of a player without measuring their production. I think if the Draft having every player in the league right now were to happen, A.D. would still be a first-rounder and maybe even McCoy, but of course everyone has differing opinions of the value of runningbacks in today's NFL. Unfortunately, fans don't forget mistakes and right now they are unsure if pulling the trigger on Rich was one or not. He's going to ultimately be judged on his trade status, be it fair or not.

 

If you're going to judge him on his draft/trade status, then just bury him right now.

 

As a Colts fan, I'm more concerned with what he can do than with what he already cost us. Can't change the latter; the former is hopefully going to help us win some games. And this article gets to the heart of the matter, rather than dwelling on the fact that we shouldn't have done the trade in the first place.

[OldSchoolColt]

When all the players on the O-line and the fullback make so many mistakes game after game all 2013, when do you look at the Offensive Line Coach?? Joe Gilbert. "Joe Gilbert was elevated to the team’s offensive line coach for the start of the 2013 campaign". Would you give this guy another try in 2014?? He has had college success, but maybe we should look at what is out there.

 

http://www.colts.com/team/coaches/Joe-Gilbert/6c25abe3-ee4d-449d-a99a-c95fb7fb07cb

[a06cc]

When all the players on the O-line and the fullback make so many mistakes game after game all 2013, when do you look at the Offensive Line Coach?? Joe Gilbert. "Joe Gilbert was elevated to the team’s offensive line coach for the start of the 2013 campaign". Would you give this guy another try in 2014?? He has had college success, but maybe we should look at what is out there.

http://www.colts.com/team/coaches/Joe-Gilbert/6c25abe3-ee4d-449d-a99a-c95fb7fb07cb

You absolutely correct with this being his first year, but Luck was actually sacked less last season. Give it another season. Plus he got to pick the personal for drafting lineman. Vick Ballard was averaging 5 ypc. Donald Thomas went down, then a rookie had to come in.

[akcolt]

I agree  with Superman he will never be worth a 1st round pick because RB's just aren't worth 1st rounders anymore. If we can somehow build on O Line he will be a very good weapon for the offense hopefully he and Pep get to know each other we can play to his strengths and the strength of the O Line if we have on instead of dives behind the weakest part. Allen back should help.

 

If the O Line doesn't improve Trent is the least of our worries Luck can not continue to take the beating he takes or we are going to be in big trouble.

 

You can't have numbers like this last year 109 hits 3rd most in the NFL surprisingly Mack and that great O Line in Cleveland game up the most.I know Weedan is cross eyed but still surprised.  His sacks dropped to 32 which was good the 6th least sacked but how many sacks did he slip out of? 1 a game puts him in the top 5 most sacked.

 

2012 41 sacks 9th most in the NFL hits 116 2nd most in the NFL.  Don't feel like doing the work but I would bet that Luck is the most hit QB in the last 2 years and he is very elusive in the pocket. Our line is a major area of concern.

 

2 years 225 hits and 73 sacks our O Line needs fixed and fixed fast. That is 298 pops not good

[akcolt]

When all the players on the O-line and the fullback make so many mistakes game after game all 2013, when do you look at the Offensive Line Coach?? Joe Gilbert. "Joe Gilbert was elevated to the team’s offensive line coach for the start of the 2013 campaign". Would you give this guy another try in 2014?? He has had college success, but maybe we should look at what is out there.

 

http://www.colts.com/team/coaches/Joe-Gilbert/6c25abe3-ee4d-449d-a99a-c95fb7fb07cb

we started 8 different lines 8 wks in a row hard to judge Trent seems like coach did ok might start to wonder who's buying the groceries if we don't have a C this yr

[Douzer]

This analysis is spot on.

 

He had no agenda, pro or con about the Colts, he just wanted to study the Richardson draft. His initial intent is look at Richardson's reads and reactions, yet he is continually distracted and shocked to see just how atrocious the blocking in front of him is. Play after play he's astounded by the ineptness of the Indy O-Line. The more he watched, the more he came to realize, the Indy O-Line is garbage and Trent Richardson IS a BEAST who consistently made something out of nothing, gains out of losses and positives out of negatives.

 

Grigson knows that, Pagano knows that, I know that, now he knows that.

[southwest1]

"... A staggering 90% of Trent Richardson’s so-called bad plays were caused by the abysmal run blocking that Indianapolis and Cleveland put in front of him last season...There was no movement generated at the line of scrimmage, bad back side blocking on cut back lanes, and pulling guards completely whiffed on linebackers in space..." 

 

I won't pretend to be a football guru here, because I am not, but these 2 quotes listed above are my favorite parts of this entire article. TR is not the problem--Creating running lanes & open pockets on the line is. If Pagano fixes that AFC Championship Game here we come. I have faith in TR & Bradshaw should blow the doors of their competition this year & yes SW1 really believes that too. 

 

Great stuff Dustin as always! Nice work. 

[Gavin]

A) In depth analysis is not stats. Like you said, you haven't read the piece.

 

B) Much of the criticism of Richardson is based on his pathetic YPC, especially in comparison to the other backs on the team last year. The article is specifically contesting that type of criticism.

What do you think in regards to my opinion of 1 and 2 of my post above

[Adonai]

"Watching the Colts attempt to run block in 2013 made me physically angry. It was like the fan inside of me was tricked into watching some bizarro football where everyone strives to mess up more times than the man next to him. When the Colts did keep it together long enough to block one play successfully from top to bottom, Richardson made it count. The problem was just how rare that kind of blocking was. - When you add up Holmes, Mewhort, and Allen’s collective upgrade potential, it is not far-fetched to think that Richardson might finally have enough room at the line of scrimmage to explode in his third season. If you ignore the noise from the media and take stats with a grain of salt, the tape screams one thing loud and clear – bet big on the Colts' ground game in 2014." - Sanity

 

 

[Adonai]

".....We've got to get that line fixed, though."

 

You're just now coming to this realization where Trent Richardson is concerned?

[CroatianColtsFan21]

lol at coby fleener's pathetic attempts at blocking...

[NagelHausForge]

When I looked at the article I could see where both the O-line certainly had issues but also where Richardson seemed to be too slow to get to the hole that did open, if even for a second or two.  I would say that the O-line issues contributed to Richardson's inability to adapt well to the new offense and made him hesitate more than he normally would.  Add that to trying to learn a whole new playbook and system and you have a back that is very ineffective.

 

I am willing to see what he does this season before I judge him too harshly.  It looks like he has the ability to be a high performer for us and be that workhorse back.  He just needs to be comfortable in the system and have a somewhat decent O-line.  Doesn't have to be stellar.  Just good enough.