Richardson named starter for the season

[crazycolt1]

46 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah I thought our 1's got the better of their 1's on the Line.

Yeah, for the first time on the field I thought they looked acceptable.  Some seen the pick and assumed the worst. 

The good thing is the coaches got quite a bit on tape.  

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

Yeah, for the first time on the field I thought they looked acceptable.  Some seen the pick and assumed the worst. 

The good thing is the coaches got quite a bit on tape.  

Sometimes, I think all ESPN seen was the pick because after that AR was even good. Not 1 highlight of AR's TD pass to Pierce, well should have been. 

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Sometimes, I think all ESPN seen was the pick because after that AR was even good. Not 1 highlight of AR's TD pass to Pierce, well should have been. 

Not surprised with ESPNs coverage.  They are not a sports network any longer.  

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

Not surprised with ESPNs coverage.  They are not a sports network any longer.  

They have sucked for many years, yet I still watch at times because they do still cover Football pretty well. NFL Live is a good show. ESPN in the 80's and 90's and really upto around 2012 was great. Once Disney bought them, it was over.

[AKB]

I hope people keep their expectations tempered. One of the youngest QBs to start ever, he's gonna be the youngest starter at QB this season. 

 

Took Jackson a couple of seasons to figure it out, also took Hurts a few years. 

 

Are we all gonna freak out when he comes in with 55% accuracy and 1-1 TD int ratio?

[JColts72]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Need Einstein here.

[JColts72]

1 hour ago, FanFromtheWasteland said:

I really hope AR is our future.  I would hate to have to have one of those QB T-shirts like the Browns have

You know going to be compared to Levis and CJ. 

[FanFromtheWasteland]

10 minutes ago, JColts72 said:

You know going to be compared to Levis and CJ. 

Oh absolutely. No way around it

[Nickster]

1 hour ago, AKB said:

I hope people keep their expectations tempered. One of the youngest QBs to start ever, he's gonna be the youngest starter at QB this season. 

 

Took Jackson a couple of seasons to figure it out, also took Hurts a few years. 

 

Are we all gonna freak out when he comes in with 55% accuracy and 1-1 TD int ratio?

 

I won't freak out personally.  I think everyone including SS would be surprised if AR performs at a level for this team to be competitive this season.   On his performance Saturday, it didn't move the needle for me.  I liked his poise on film from college.  He didn't panic, but also often made wrong decisions.  But he looked calm.  That could be huge.  The accuracy issue was on full display Saturday.  That's the main thing for me.  If we don't see accuracy improving by later this year, I am gonna be concerned. 

 

I just hope we are not using him up.  If SS isn't planning on running this guy 150 times, then I am really baffled by the pick.  Hurts rand 160+ and Fields was similar but neither of those guys started right away.

 

 

[AKB]

29 minutes ago, Nickster said:

 

I won't freak out personally.  I think everyone including SS would be surprised if AR performs at a level for this team to be competitive this season.   On his performance Saturday, it didn't move the needle for me.  I liked his poise on film from college.  He didn't panic, but also often made wrong decisions.  But he looked calm.  That could be huge.  The accuracy issue was on full display Saturday.  That's the main thing for me.  If we don't see accuracy improving by later this year, I am gonna be concerned. 

 

I just hope we are not using him up.  If SS isn't planning on running this guy 150 times, then I am really baffled by the pick.  Hurts rand 160+ and Fields was similar but neither of those guys started right away.

 

 

yeah, i think we see a lot of read action.

 

one of the things i noticed was the defense was kinda of pausing at the snap of each play, or a tleast a few players were to check for the read option 

[Nickster]

15 minutes ago, AKB said:

yeah, i think we see a lot of read action.

 

one of the things i noticed was the defense was kinda of pausing at the snap of each play, or a tleast a few players were to check for the read option 

 It will be interesting to see how defenses adjust to zone read/RPO with it being run more.

 

It’s working pretty well for a handful of squad right now.

 

One thing to keep in mind about preseason is Ds don’t show much and they don’t prep for opponents all week like they do in the regular season.  You obviously have to honor the ability of guys like AR to pull the ball and get around the end, and Buffs edge guys did look somewhat slow on the read/reacts though.

 

The oline had some positive signs in Q1 though.  If they are decent even this season Ie.  Middle of the pack or so, we are going to get some chunky runs and move the ball well at least between the 20s.  What we do from the RZ is a different animal.  I don’t expect us to be very good there for at least a while.

 

 

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

15 hours ago, King Colt said:

Fine but if the OL performs like they did in their first preseason game AR will ask to be traded after week 3. 

 

 

For What A Tackling Dummy ?

[Myles]

Well, this season is over already.  I feel Minshew gave us the best option to actually win games.  I understand wanting to get AR the playing time, but we all know it means scarifying the season.

[NewColtsFan]

8 minutes ago, Myles said:

Well, this season is over already.  I feel Minshew gave us the best option to actually win games.  I understand wanting to get AR the playing time, but we all know it means scarifying the season.

We sacrifice one season to improve our chances in future seasons.  Improve as soon as possible.   The Colts lose the battle, but eventually win the war.  They’re playing the long game. 

[Superman]

1 hour ago, Myles said:

Well, this season is over already.  I feel Minshew gave us the best option to actually win games.  I understand wanting to get AR the playing time, but we all know it means scarifying the season.

 

How many games?

[RollerColt]

2 hours ago, Myles said:

Well, this season is over already.  I feel Minshew gave us the best option to actually win games.  I understand wanting to get AR the playing time, but we all know it means scarifying the season.

I think you were setting yourself up for major disappointment by thinking we had a chance this year to compete…

 

We have our QB, but we’re still missing a lot of pieces. 

[King Colt]

10 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

I'm not going to fuss with you but your comment was wrong. So either you didn't know what you were looking at or you just threw out a troll comment.  

"Wrong" is nothing more than your opinion, not a fact.

[King Colt]

Lawrence vs. Richardson or Lawrence vs. Minshew. Which Colt QB would be favored more to win? Apparently, the Colts brain trust believes zero experience the key to getting off to a positive start this season.

[JPPT1974]

Bet Gardner knew when he signed with the team, he knew this would have happened. He played really good in preseason week 1 despite being that a preseason. Made all of his passes complete without an incompletion. But yeah through the kid into the line up and let him learn. He will have growing pains but also Gardner could be an awesome mentor and provide veteran leadership to AR!

[VikingsFanInChennai]

2 hours ago, King Colt said:

Lawrence vs. Richardson or Lawrence vs. Minshew. Which Colt QB would be favored more to win? Apparently, the Colts brain trust believes zero experience the key to getting off to a positive start this season.

Colts Brass (Irsay, GM and coach) all have at different points have made it clear to fans to be patient with the development of QB, and it's not about winning alone 

 

Having Richardson as starter isn't about Ws, it seems they're okay with throwing him into fire as they believe he could handle it from the very start of his career, not necessarily start winning but show positive progress in becoming a franchise QB.

 

Why do you add the pressure of wins when you know very well the situation and the need for Richardson to get better? 

[AKB]

10 hours ago, Nickster said:

 It will be interesting to see how defenses adjust to zone read/RPO with it being run more.

 

It’s working pretty well for a handful of squad right now.

 

One thing to keep in mind about preseason is Ds don’t show much and they don’t prep for opponents all week like they do in the regular season.  You obviously have to honor the ability of guys like AR to pull the ball and get around the end, and Buffs edge guys did look somewhat slow on the read/reacts though.

 

The oline had some positive signs in Q1 though.  If they are decent even this season Ie.  Middle of the pack or so, we are going to get some chunky runs and move the ball well at least between the 20s.  What we do from the RZ is a different animal.  I don’t expect us to be very good there for at least a while.

 

 

i agree with everything except the redzone. 

 

I think we can be a very good RZ team with all the big targets we have. question is can we move the dline in those crowded situaitons

[crazycolt1]

5 hours ago, King Colt said:

"Wrong" is nothing more than your opinion, not a fact.

Sorry, not today. 

[Nickster]

3 hours ago, AKB said:

i agree with everything except the redzone. 

 

I think we can be a very good RZ team with all the big targets we have. question is can we move the dline in those crowded situaitons

Well we’ve had big targets for several years now.  Doesn’t appear our big targets are particularly good at catching TDs.  At least there’s been little evidence of it so far.

 
 

[RollerColt]

Do people seriously think Minshew would be able to win the division with this team? I like the guy but there’s a reason he isn’t a starter in the league. 

[throwing BBZ]

4 hours ago, AKB said:

i agree with everything except the redzone. 

 

I think we can be a very good RZ team with all the big targets we have. question is can we move the dline in those crowded situaitons

 

 We certainly don't have Phillies great line so it can't possibly be nearly that consistent. Getting that headed in the right direction is for next off season at C and G.

 Richardson seems to be eating up Steichen's system like a Pacman. 

We must have much better blocking than we got last season from our TE, WR, and RB's. 

 Getting AR good at the quick passing game is priority one. Get him 70% on the shorts and the D's will get ground to death.

[King Colt]

5 hours ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

Colts Brass (Irsay, GM and coach) all have at different points have made it clear to fans to be patient with the development of QB, and it's not about winning alone 

 

Having Richardson as starter isn't about Ws, it seems they're okay with throwing him into fire as they believe he could handle it from the very start of his career, not necessarily start winning but show positive progress in becoming a franchise QB.

 

Why do you add the pressure of wins when you know very well the situation and the need for Richardson to get better? 

Rookie QBs that have been starters in season one have owned proven records in college. You can't compare AR's numbers with most if not all of the previous persons. I am all for AR being drafted but team wins are more important than any one player especially one that has never played pro ball. I am pulling for him but the decision making of recent years at his position is embarrassing. I hope I'm wrong, but it does not make sense especially with the Jags this season the Colts are going to need all the help they can get

[NFLfan]

21 hours ago, Chucklez said:

Explain why. 

Seriosuly, what did they do (or not do) that warrants this reaction from you? How many sacks did they give up while they were in? What was their pressure rate on the QB while the first team was in? Heck.... pull up the footage and show me some screenshots of some plays where they were bad. Anything.... You can't just say "they stunk" because that fits your narrative....

 

Agreed.

[Dingus McGirt]

50 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Rookie QBs that have been starters in season one have owned proven records in college. You can't compare AR's numbers with most if not all of the previous persons. I am all for AR being drafted but team wins are more important than any one player especially one that has never played pro ball. I am pulling for him but the decision making of recent years at his position is embarrassing. I hope I'm wrong, but it does not make sense especially with the Jags this season the Colts are going to need all the help they can get

Easy, big fella.  Things will sort out.  Who knows what happens with the Jags this season?  The decisions made after the unexpected departure of he who I will not name are only (really) embarrassing in retrospect.  

[Superman]

3 hours ago, Nickster said:

Well we’ve had big targets for several years now.  Doesn’t appear our big targets are particularly good at catching TDs.  At least there’s been little evidence of it so far.

 

The theory is sound. Last time we had a good QB paired with a good, big target, Ebron was 2nd in the league in TD catches. When we had Rivers, our leading pass catcher was Nyheim Hines. 

 

What's been missing since then is the combination of a good QB and a good, big target. 

[Nickster]

4 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

The theory is sound. Last time we had a good QB paired with a good, big target, Ebron was 2nd in the league in TD catches. When we had Rivers, our leading pass catcher was Nyheim Hines. 

 

What's been missing since then is the combination of a good QB and a good, big target. 

 

Yes Ebron was our last successful RZ target.  I was going to mention that in the post.

 

We haven't had anyone show very many glimpses of being a solid, consistent RZ target that I can think of.  There are many possible reasons for this, but I haven't seen much evidence of us being a good RZ passing team since Ebron and Luck. 

[#12.]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a wider range of opinions than those on Richardson's first game in Buffalo.  Some thought he was horrible, looked liked a 3 year project while PFF hyped him up and Chris Simms compared him to Josh Allen.  

 

I would go somewhere in between.  He looked good enough to start game 1, that's all we know for now.

[BlackTiger]

2 hours ago, King Colt said:

. I am all for AR being drafted but team wins are more important than any one player

What we are doing is unusual but AR is a unique case.  He might be the most athletic qb ever, the idea is to turn him into a winner by next season 

 

They think the growing pains this year are worth it

[CardiacColts]

20 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

They have sucked for many years, yet I still watch at times because they do still cover Football pretty well. NFL Live is a good show. ESPN in the 80's and 90's and really upto around 2012 was great. Once Disney bought them, it was over.

For me, personally, ESPN started going downhill in ‘03-‘04. As soon as they cancelled Playmakers (great show btw) due to pressure from the league, that was the beginning of the end. That was the approximate time that I recall beginning to see different agendas at play that really compromised what I would consider objective coverage. 

[BlackTiger]

9 minutes ago, CardiacColts said:

For me, personally, ESPN started going downhill in ‘03-‘04

Yeah the internet changed things and ESPN changed with the times.

 

They are not as entertaining or interesting anymore but they sure do yell loud to get noticed 

[Superman]

27 minutes ago, Nickster said:

 

Yes Ebron was our last successful RZ target.  I was going to mention that in the post.

 

We haven't had anyone show very many glimpses of being a solid, consistent RZ target that I can think of.  There are many possible reasons for this, but I haven't seen much evidence of us being a good RZ passing team since Ebron and Luck. 

 

Our QBing since then has not been good. And our WR corps in 2020 was pretty bad, not a great fit for Rivers. Hilton got hurt, Pittman was a rookie and got hurt, etc. 

 

I know you've defended Wentz in the past, but I'm sure you'd agree he's not exactly a technician... There's just been such a reduced standard since Luck retired, and we haven't even met that standard most of the time. And now we have a raw project who might not ever be technically refined, especially in short area stuff. 

 

As it pertains to what you said earlier, I think the biggest reason we haven't taken advantage of all the size we have among our pass catchers is because we haven't had good QBing. But I do agree, just having big guys in the red zone doesn't automatically equal TDs. They have to be good at making plays.

[Nickster]

39 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Our QBing since then has not been good. And our WR corps in 2020 was pretty bad, not a great fit for Rivers. Hilton got hurt, Pittman was a rookie and got hurt, etc. 

 

I know you've defended Wentz in the past, but I'm sure you'd agree he's not exactly a technician... There's just been such a reduced standard since Luck retired, and we haven't even met that standard most of the time. And now we have a raw project who might not ever be technically refined, especially in short area stuff. 

 

As it pertains to what you said earlier, I think the biggest reason we haven't taken advantage of all the size we have among our pass catchers is because we haven't had good QBing. But I do agree, just having big guys in the red zone doesn't automatically equal TDs. They have to be good at making plays.

 

I didn't want Wentz from the beginning and was not sad he was gone.  Most of the Wentz apologetics was from my perspective that he was scapegoated for an org that was vastly overrated from a talent perspective.  I never loved Wentz but he's thrown 33 TDs in a season and 27 twice.  He had Zach Ertz and Alshon Jeffery who both have been good RZ targets in the 33 TD year.   These guys were both pretty solid RZ guys.

 

But Wentz was 9th in QBR that year and Rivers was a stud too, so I don't agree that we've had bad QBing on its face.  JB sucked and so did MR. 

 

I think that our Oline doing it's impression of a colander is as much if not more a factor in this deficiency as anything.  But like you, I still don't think that being big necessarily equates to a good RZ target.  I think the receivers are also a factor.

 

But this all to say what I said in the original post, and that is for this year,  I don't expect to be good in the RZ  with a rookie QB, a line that is unproven as a protection unit, and a receiving corps that has never had receiver catch more than 6 TDs in a season. 

[Superman]

6 minutes ago, Nickster said:

 

I didn't want Wentz from the beginning and was not sad he was gone.  Most of the Wentz apologetics was from my perspective that he was scapegoated for an org that was vastly overrated from a talent perspective.  I never loved Wentz but he's thrown 33 TDs in a season and 27 twice.  He had Zach Ertz and Alshon Jeffery who both have been good RZ targets in the 33 TD year.   These guys were both pretty solid RZ guys.

 

But Wentz was 9th in QBR that year and Rivers was a stud too, so I don't agree that we've had bad QBing on its face.  JB sucked and so did MR. 

 

I think that our Oline doing it's impression of a colander is as much if not more a factor in this deficiency as anything.  But like you, I still don't think that being big necessarily equates to a good RZ target.  I think the receivers are also a factor.

 

But this all to say what I said in the original post, and that is for this year,  I don't expect to be good in the RZ  with a rookie QB, a line that is unproven as a protection unit, and a receiving corps that has never had receiver catch more than 6 TDs in a season. 

 

I agree that people overrated the roster, and/or the roster underperformed in certain ways (for example, Eric Fisher being a sieve in pass pro might have been predictable, but obviously wasn't expected). I don't think Wentz was scapegoated, I think he was a legitimate problem and needed to go. But I agree that there was a perception among some fans/media that replacing Wentz with Ryan would solve all our problems, and that was misguided.

 

My point about QBs was just that we haven't had a good match of efficient, technical QBing + good RZ target since 2018. In 2020 we probably had the weakest group of pass catchers we've had in a long time, so even with Rivers it wasn't a good situation.

 

I also think the coaching has been a problem along the way. I don't think Reich was terrible the whole time he was here, but I don't think his offense did a good job masking deficiencies and maximizing strengths. We could be subpar in protection and still scheme up some stuff in the RZ, especially with a QB like Wentz who is big, strong, and somewhat mobile. Instead, we did stuff like this. But aside from leaning into Taylor down the stretch of the season, I don't think Reich did a good job of establishing an identity on offense, and at least part of that was probably due to Wentz's tendency to be erratic at times.

 

Agreed on the bolded, which is the main point. But I think we have weapons, so the potential is there. Pittman isn't a slouch, neither is Pierce, I really like Jelani Woods, and I think Downs and McKenzie are legit YAC guys, and Downs is looking like a nice route runner. But we still have the question about the QB...

[teganslaw]

A poster on another forum mentioned that a QB needs to have the right mental makeup in order to be successful. They can have talent and athleticism, but being a QB in the NFL also requires a certain mental attitude. If the QB lets mistakes bother him and starts to have doubts, then he won't go far. Much of it depends on the training he receives from coaches.  If the coaches can work with the QB and develop his skills along with the right mindset, that is a good start. 

[Nickster]

52 minutes ago, Superman said:

Agreed on the bolded, which is the main point. But I think we have weapons, so the potential is there. Pittman isn't a slouch, neither is Pierce, I really like Jelani Woods, and I think Downs and McKenzie are legit YAC guys, and Downs is looking like a nice route runner. But we still have the question about the QB...

 

Yep.  I question every QB draftee.  Most of them fail even when selected with high picks.

On one hand I can't believe this kid got drafted that high with his lack of actual success on the field and obvious accuracy issues, but OTOH, if he sucks we will suck and will get another shot in a couple years.  From that perspective, it isn't unreasonable to purchase the AR lottery ticket this year with the rare physical gifts and the RPO/Zone Read offense we will try to run. 

[Stephen]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

 

I agree that people overrated the roster, and/or the roster underperformed in certain ways (for example, Eric Fisher being a sieve in pass pro might have been predictable, but obviously wasn't expected). I don't think Wentz was scapegoated, I think he was a legitimate problem and needed to go. But I agree that there was a perception among some fans/media that replacing Wentz with Ryan would solve all our problems, and that was misguided.

 

My point about QBs was just that we haven't had a good match of efficient, technical QBing + good RZ target since 2018. In 2020 we probably had the weakest group of pass catchers we've had in a long time, so even with Rivers it wasn't a good situation.

 

I also think the coaching has been a problem along the way. I don't think Reich was terrible the whole time he was here, but I don't think his offense did a good job masking deficiencies and maximizing strengths. We could be subpar in protection and still scheme up some stuff in the RZ, especially with a QB like Wentz who is big, strong, and somewhat mobile. Instead, we did stuff like this. But aside from leaning into Taylor down the stretch of the season, I don't think Reich did a good job of establishing an identity on offense, and at least part of that was probably due to Wentz's tendency to be erratic at times.

 

Agreed on the bolded, which is the main point. But I think we have weapons, so the potential is there. Pittman isn't a slouch, neither is Pierce, I really like Jelani Woods, and I think Downs and McKenzie are legit YAC guys, and Downs is looking like a nice route runner. But we still have the question about the QB...

Panthers are having the same issue we had last year which is scoring points. Young went three and out on his first  few drives and we routinely  did that last year.