Alec Pierce

[lollygagger8]

I wish his stats were better for sure, but Pierce is doing a lot of dirty work that other WR's would complain about/not do. 

 

Dude is a worker 

[throwing BBZ]

16 hours ago, Shadow_Creek said:

hes practically open every other play..minshew just doesn't throw his way for some odd reason...

 

  Minshew is locked in on Pitt and Downs in the short range. For now that is Steichen's preference. He is using Pierce to stretch the D.

 Richardson will be able to throw downfield in a way Minshew just can't.

[shasta519]

17 hours ago, DoubleE Colt said:

Kinda assume people just look at a stats sheet and decide if someone's had a good game!!

 

Well, stats can be objective, whereas fans aren't. I am not sure what there is to suggest that Pierce is any more than a depth WR. The biggest thing he has going for him is draft capital. 

[shasta519]

10 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

  Minshew is locked in on Pitt and Downs in the short range. For now that is Steichen's preference. He is using Pierce to stretch the D.

 Richardson will be able to throw downfield in a way Minshew just can't.

 

In PHI, Steichen ran the offense through two WRs (AJB and Smith). He had a guy like Quez Watkins to stretch the field, but he was a small part of the offense.

 

Even with AR, I think it's still going to be MPJ and Downs because they are those first/second read type WRs. But AR should give him a few more opportunities...I just think Pierce's role is still going to be diminished for the expectations coming into the NFL. 

[shasta519]

16 hours ago, joeb said:

I feel as though I'm in the minority here. He was a second round pick. I'm not saying he is a bad player but i would like to see more. Much more.

 

You might be in the minority, but I don't think you're wrong to have higher expectations for a R2 pick...especially with the hype before last season and then heading into this season. Prior to last season, people were actually talking about him unseating MPJ as the WR1 on this team. And then this year was going to be his big breakout.

[tweezy32]

Ive seen in every game hes played in, hes open all the time. He just doesnt get thrown to. Dont be mad at him the qb doesnt look to him first and throw it. Ive seen Pittman have a guy all over him and Minshew force the ball into him when AP was wide open.

[Boondoggle]

6 hours ago, chad72 said:

Year 3 is when Reggie Wayne took off. Like most posters that inferred to it, we need to see him play 75% of the games with AR to truly see what he can do. The bigger elephant in the room there is AR needs to play 75%  

Players do emerge in year three.  But Wayne emerging in his third season doesn't make me feel any better about Pierce.  There's a much longer list of players who did not emerge in that third year, after all.

[w87r]

 

 

[chad72]

@w87r Minshew had never won a game as the Colts QB where he committed 2 turnovers, that was a stat I remember reading. He had a win or two with just 1 turnover. That 2nd INT would have been a BIG blow to the Colts' chances. 

[Dobbinblitz]

Glad to se the growth in Pierce's game. Major improvement in securing the ball after the catch. No doubt Reggie is having an impact with him.

I also hope the offense continues to rep and feed Mallory. he is a potential draft steal in development.

[ImissPeyton18]

On 11/27/2023 at 7:36 AM, chad72 said:

Year 3 is when Reggie Wayne took off. Like most posters that inferred to it, we need to see him play 75% of the games with AR to truly see what he can do. The bigger elephant in the room there is AR needs to play 75%  

I believe Pierce has all the tools to be a very good if not great receiver in the near future. I did not know Minshew could not throw deep. I'm not convinced Richardson will play enough or have the accuracy to hit wideouts consistently. It will be sad if he never gets the opportunity to play with a good QB in indy. People that watched Richardson play in Gainesville were shocked he was drafted in the first round. I hope he pans out.  

 

[chad72]

12 hours ago, ImissPeyton18 said:

I believe Pierce has all the tools to be a very good if not great receiver in the near future. I did not know Minshew could not throw deep. I'm not convinced Richardson will play enough or have the accuracy to hit wideouts consistently. It will be sad if he never gets the opportunity to play with a good QB in indy. People that watched Richardson play in Gainesville were shocked he was drafted in the first round. I hope he pans out.  

 

 

Matt Ryan could throw 30 yarders against 1-on-1 coverage, even as late as last year vs Jacksonville that led to a home game TD for Alec Pierce but if it were zone coverage, Ryan didn't have the arm strength to put the throw in a tight window before the safety could make a play. Same thing with Minshew, he can throw that too vs 1-on-1 coverage but if it is zone coverage, even if he throws the 30 yarder within the WR catch radius, the arm strength and/or accuracy is not strong enough like AR to get it there before the DBs make the play. 

 

So, it is about identifying the routes Alec Pierce can excel in first, and then identifying the coverages where the probability of the catch is high and getting the throw there. If Pierce excels in high pointing the ball, might as well throw those balls up there down the middle farther than 20 yards that Minshew can see the throw through, a depth our TEs can't get to fast enough. Either those or hit Pierce 1-on-1 on the outside allowing him to high point the ball. 

 

Minshew, from where he releases the ball, it is typically shoulder or chest level or lower for those taller WRs and TEs, but perfect for a guy like Josh Downs, that is another reason why fewer high pointed passes are thrown up for grabs for Pierce or Pittman or the TEs too. So there are several factors in play here for lack of balls thrown Pierce's way. AR may not be uber accurate but no reason he can't improve from his current 59% completion pct. and no doubt in my mind he is accurate enough to get it within the catch radius of those taller WRs like Pittman and Pierce, just needed more time with them.

[throwing BBZ]

2 hours ago, chad72 said:

 

Matt Ryan could throw 30 yarders against 1-on-1 coverage, even as late as last year vs Jacksonville that led to a home game TD for Alec Pierce but if it were zone coverage, Ryan didn't have the arm strength to put the throw in a tight window before the safety could make a play. Same thing with Minshew, he can throw that too vs 1-on-1 coverage but if it is zone coverage, even if he throws the 30 yarder within the WR catch radius, the arm strength and/or accuracy is not strong enough like AR to get it there before the DBs make the play. 

 

So, it is about identifying the routes Alec Pierce can excel in first, and then identifying the coverages where the probability of the catch is high and getting the throw there. If Pierce excels in high pointing the ball, might as well throw those balls up there down the middle farther than 20 yards that Minshew can see the throw through, a depth our TEs can't get to fast enough. Either those or hit Pierce 1-on-1 on the outside allowing him to high point the ball. 

 

Minshew, from where he releases the ball, it is typically shoulder or chest level or lower for those taller WRs and TEs, but perfect for a guy like Josh Downs, that is another reason why fewer high pointed passes are thrown up for grabs for Pierce or Pittman or the TEs too. So there are several factors in play here for lack of balls thrown Pierce's way. AR may not be uber accurate but no reason he can't improve from his current 59% completion pct. and no doubt in my mind he is accurate enough to get it within the catch radius of those taller WRs like Pittman and Pierce, just needed more time with them. 

 

 Excellent analysis.

 In time, Steichen will get us the TE play that consistently hurts our opponents. 

 Then, all of our weapons become more dynamic.

  We are not a very good team, just one with a weak schedule. 

  11 games under Steichen has me believing that we will soon be able to score 27 a game against a tougher schedule. 

  So fixing our D's back 7 is the priority. lol 

[Boondoggle]

Nice TD there kid.  

[joeb]

I'm so glad it finally happened. Nice game Alec.

[basketballsteve]

Alec Pierce with the Roger Carr catch (in fact 2 Roger Carr catches today). I like that, more please.

[cdgacoltsfan]

The naysayers bashed Fries then moved on to Pierce.

Who you gonna bash now?

[boo2202]

4 minutes ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

The naysayers bashed Fries then moved on to Pierce.

Who you gonna bash now?

Kwity 

[husker61]

12 minutes ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

The naysayers bashed Fries then moved on to Pierce.

Who you gonna bash now?

it’s like sports gambling, going against the big majority of the public is the way to go.

[joeb]

24 minutes ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

The naysayers bashed Fries then moved on to Pierce.

Who you gonna bash now?

I never bashed Fries. Last week on this thread people were bashing Minshew that he could not throw the deep ball. Well it turns out that he can. Maybe pierce will start getting some passes thrown his way.

[Smonroe]

2 hours ago, joeb said:

I never bashed Fries. Last week on this thread people were bashing Minshew that he could not throw the deep ball. Well it turns out that he can. Maybe pierce will start getting some passes thrown his way.

Every NFL QB can throw the ball deep.  But throwing deep with accuracy is the hard part.  
 

Minshew surprised me with those throws today.  At the very least it will make teams think twice about stuffing the box now.  

[husker61]

1 hour ago, Smonroe said:

Every NFL QB can throw the ball deep.  But throwing deep with accuracy is the hard part.  
 

Minshew surprised me with those throws today.  At the very least it will make teams think twice about stuffing the box now.  

when you don’t have that rocket arm with the flick of the wrist I makes a big difference. A lot of times you have to throw the ball before the receiver breaks open to get it there and this takes a lot of skill. Not many qb’s have that shoulder up part and why there are so many bust high draft choices.

 

he needs to take a couple shots deep every game to keep the defense honest. If it’s 3rd and long loft one up deep, if it’s intercepted and the receiver makes the tackle it’s like a punt not much harm. It’s better than throwing the 6 yard completion when you need 10 yards that constantly happens with the colts. 

[azcolt]

On 11/26/2023 at 3:43 PM, Shadow_Creek said:

hes practically open every other play..minshew just doesn't throw his way for some odd reason...

A month later since your observation. Score was tied 7-7 today. Minshew does a great job avoiding a heavy blitz on third down and throws a perfect 15 yard pass that sails right between Pierce’s mitts.  Of course lots of other bad stuff happened later but this was a key play when the game was still closely contested. That’s one reason he doesn’t get more attention from Minshew.

 

 

[Pat Curtis]

AP is a 3rd option on his best day.  He can block and stretch the field with minimal separation on any route.  Ballard and staff need to realize his ceiling is not as high as hoped.  High motor but limited physical ability.

[Blueblood23]

17 minutes ago, Pat Curtis said:

AP is a 3rd option on his best day.  He can block and stretch the field with minimal separation on any route.  Ballard and staff need to realize his ceiling is not as high as hoped.  High motor but limited physical ability.

So far he doesn’t look like a starter. More like a role player coming off the bench. 

[GoColts8818]

He can’t get separation in the NFL.  Doesn’t matter what other skills you have as a receiver if you can’t get open.

[SR711]

Pierce really needed to step it up today with MPJ missing the game and, unfortunately, he failed big time.  

 

He cannot consistently separate to be considered a deep threat.  That in itself can be worked around.  MPJ has the same issue.  The difference is that MPJ makes a really high % of contested catches within his catch radius to offset this.  Pierce really seems to have issue with this.  The missed opportunity today on 3rd down with the Minshew high throw was an example of that.  

[ArmchairQB]

I’m going to continue to show patience with Pierce through next season.  I know this has been stated earlier in this thread but the QB-WR connection takes a lot of reps to really build.  I still say he hasn’t had enough reps to make a final determination.  His biggest issue is how high he was drafted for the production he’s giving.

[Indyfan4life]

Depending on how the draft and FA goes, I’d be fine with Pierce becoming our 4th WR. I like the guy, and it’s obvious he’s bothered by the drops and such, but I don’t want to see him starting anymore. 

[Bravo]

I think Pierce would be a good WR 4. Come in to spread the defense out and respect the deep ball.

 

Pierce definitely gives effort out there and is a great blocker. They even had Pierce chipping the defensive end last game to help out Freeland.

 

He wasn’t creating the separation needed but Minshew also threw 2 deep balls to him that were 5 yards over thrown and multiple high passes.

 

[cdgacoltsfan]

[DiogoSales]

We're starting to find too much excuses to like Pierce, to me as a 2nd rounder clock is starting to run out, 2 years and not much to show.

[AwesomeAustin]

Next year should be his make or break year. Pierce will get the starting QB back and he will have enough experience he should help AR just as much as AR helps him. I feel if he doesn’t take the next step in 24 the team will definitely start making plans on how he will be replaced when his rookie deal runs out. It wont be unreasonable to want 750ydd and 3-4 scores out of him as the 3rd option trying to solidify as the #2.  
 

I also can see how the team may not believe he will get there and go ahead and grab someone else in the draft to compete for his starting spot. If he does continue to develop then it’s an added bonus. I personally don’t think he is anything more than a backup. I get some WRs develop later like Reggie Wayne did…AP is not Reggie so not likely going to happen. 

[husker61]

People expecting Richardson to be a 2nd year starting qb next year isn’t reality. He hardly played this year and only had one year of college. Next year is probably going to be more like a rookie year than most here think. I don’t want to hear about practicing, reading game defenses aren’t learned in practice!

[Stephen]

1 hour ago, husker61 said:

People expecting Richardson to be a 2nd year starting qb next year isn’t reality. He hardly played this year and only had one year of college. Next year is probably going to be more like a rookie year than most here think. I don’t want to hear about practicing, reading game defenses aren’t learned in practice!

Mahomes  learned in practice 

[husker61]

20 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Mahomes  learned in practice 

and 3 years of college experience to build on. Even great qb’s say they get smarter every game they play, probably why they are great!

[throwing BBZ]

29 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Mahomes  learned in practice 

 

 I think learning in the classroom, and studying tape Is where they learn.

[GoColts8818]

4 hours ago, DiogoSales said:

We're starting to find too much excuses to like Pierce, to me as a 2nd rounder clock is starting to run out, 2 years and not much to show.

I am writing him off.  I’d be pleasantly surprised if he figures it out next year but I’ve seen this movie before.  He’s shown little to nothing to give you hope.  I know Reggie didn’t do a lot his first two years but a lot of that was playing time, especially his second year when he was behind Ismil.  When he got to play he showed signs to the point the Colts felt conformable rolling with him as the starter his third year.  I am not seeing that at all with Pierce.  He reminds me a lot of Dorrsett in terms of waiting for it to click but it’s not.  

[Happy2BeHere]

Yes he stinks 😷 💩 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

2 hours ago, husker61 said:

People expecting Richardson to be a 2nd year starting qb next year isn’t reality. He hardly played this year and only had one year of college. Next year is probably going to be more like a rookie year than most here think. I don’t want to hear about practicing, reading game defenses aren’t learned in practice!

The reality was that AR5 was the starter in his rookie season so it's logical that AR5 will be the starter next year and his play will be a upgrade over the QB play this season. The bigger concern is staying healthy.