Steichen 2nd year

[AustexColt]

I am optimistic because of the new coaching additions and the draft. Shane has gotten more offensive tools, a pass rush and depth at key spots. The only concern I have is AR's maturity to ride the waves of wins and losses. I am fully confident that if healthy (@ 255lbs) he will outperform Minshew, and that alone will add more wins and put us into the playoffs. It is going to be a fantastic Colt year.

[Solid84]

I don’t think Steichen will be a limitation. It’s really down to whether AR has progressed from “read 1, read 2, throw away/run” in my opinion. 
 

Last season we didn’t get to see the whole offense. 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

I’m taking this as ARs first year. Any wins a bonus. Just want the kid to practice safety over yards and get better at throwing/foot work. 
 

I think Shane is an up and coming to coach in this league. If AR can stay healthy and improve this will be a perennial playoff team. 

[chad72]

Wild card like Jalen Hurts' 1st year. 

 

Then we win the division and go to the SB the following year in 2025 season.  

[CR91]

I honestly don't think we've seen 20% of Stechien's offense at its full potential. I think with AR and the rest of the offense having a full year to learn the playbook, we can see a more wide open attack with more explosive plays

[Rolltide_gocolts]

13 hours ago, Solid84 said:

I don’t think Steichen will be a limitation. It’s really down to whether AR has progressed from “read 1, read 2, throw away/run” in my opinion. 
 

Last season we didn’t get to see the whole offense. 

I totally agree!! I’m sure Shane had the rug pulled from under him after AR went down…. Especially with JT being back…… I think we will see a vastly different type of Offense… the few times we see Shane reference the Jt /AR combo he grins like a goat eating briars !! You add Pitt, downs,AD, woods, Ogletree……. We’re kinda scary 

[AwesomeAustin]

If the roster has good health, Steichen’s offense should really start to open up mid season. I think it will still take a bit of time for AR to get comfortable. I fully expect this staff to put the offense in situations they can excel and add as they go along. Should be a fun season. 

[el duderino]

all we need is a healthy AR

[Scott Pennock]

If, and I mean IF Anthony Richardson can read the defense and unleash more down the field passes than Minshew did then the offense will open more than last year, and you will see players used properly (See pierce, Alex - one each) and a much more prolific offense. Woods and Mallory will add a different dimension to the TE's route running. AD will be a solid addition and Downs will find himself wider open than ever. They will all work in unison to create opportunities for each other based on a multitude/layered skill sets. 

 

This is all predicated on a healthy AR.

 

HOWEVA..........

 

Joe Flacco still has the arm talent to win games with our line, JT and the offensive weapons available to him. Flacco instead of Minshew last year and we win 2-3 more games because he would have been able to hit AP on those Go Routes! Just sayin.....

[CoachLite]

13 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

If, and I mean IF Anthony Richardson can read the defense and unleash more down the field passes than Minshew did then the offense will open more than last year, and you will see players used properly (See pierce, Alex - one each) and a much more prolific offense. Woods and Mallory will add a different dimension to the TE's route running. AD will be a solid addition and Downs will find himself wider open than ever. They will all work in unison to create opportunities for each other based on a multitude/layered skill sets. 

 

This is all predicated on a healthy AR.

 

HOWEVA..........

 

Joe Flacco still has the arm talent to win games with our line, JT and the offensive weapons available to him. Flacco instead of Minshew last year and we win 2-3 more games because he would have been able to hit AP on those Go Routes! Just sayin.....

Additionally, for a long season, we have better breadth and depth at most positions, even if there are a few injury bugs to overcome.

[smittywerb]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:57 AM, AustexColt said:

I am optimistic because of the new coaching additions and the draft. Shane has gotten more offensive tools, a pass rush and depth at key spots. The only concern I have is AR's maturity to ride the waves of wins and losses. I am fully confident that if healthy (@ 255lbs) he will outperform Minshew, and that alone will add more wins and put us into the playoffs. It is going to be a fantastic Colt year.

 

Agreed, I was sold on Steichen since game one.  The playcalls, the adjustments, everything was just better.  He eventually got over his aggressive go for it habits and developed into a very solid coach by the EOTY.

 

we definitely haven’t seen the full potential of Steichen and this offense.  He did some great things with minshew, but was limited due to minshews limitations.  As you said, this is all predicated on AR.  

[Dark Superman]

 

Shane Steichen/Anthony Richardson/Jonathan Taylor

Michael Pittman Jr/AD Mitchell/Alec Pierce/Josh Downs/Anthony Gould

Jelani Woods/Will Mallory/Alex Ogletree/Kylen Gransen

A top-five offensive line with all five starters returning with the best depth across the board in a very long time.

 

[CoachLite]

2 hours ago, Dark Superman said:

 

Shane Steichen/Anthony Richardson/Jonathan Taylor

Michael Pittman Jr/AD Mitchell/Alec Pierce/Josh Downs/Anthony Gould

Jelani Woods/Will Mallory/Alex Ogletree/Kylen Gransen

A top-five offensive line with all five starters returning with the best depth across the board in a very long time.

 

I agree on offense. I think we'll need it with our defense which is currently very hard to evaluate.

[wig]

5 hours ago, CoachLite said:

I agree on offense. I think we'll need it with our defense which is currently very hard to evaluate.

 

We have one of the best OLs in the league, one of the best RBs, a really nice looking WR room, one of the best DLs, solid LBs and TBD on the backend of the defense. If, and a big if, AR is good and the young CBs do enough, nobody will be unbeatable 

[cdgacoltsfan]

On 5/18/2024 at 10:46 PM, Scott Pennock said:

If, and I mean IF Anthony Richardson can read the defense and unleash more down the field passes than Minshew did then the offense will open more than last year, and you will see players used properly (See pierce, Alex - one each) and a much more prolific offense. Woods and Mallory will add a different dimension to the TE's route running. AD will be a solid addition and Downs will find himself wider open than ever. They will all work in unison to create opportunities for each other based on a multitude/layered skill sets. 

 

This is all predicated on a healthy AR.

 

HOWEVA..........

 

Joe Flacco still has the arm talent to win games with our line, JT and the offensive weapons available to him. Flacco instead of Minshew last year and we win 2-3 more games because he would have been able to hit AP on those Go Routes! Just sayin.....

I'm not sold on Flacco. Last year was a nice story but he didn't have to go through the grind of OTAs , training camp and pre season. He's 40 plus years old. He also tends to throw a lot of picks. Hopefully if he plays, it's only for a game or two.

[azcolt]

Running Steichen’s RPO’s got AR knocked out of games twice including the season ender in less than a third of the season.  Unless Steichen has some new plans to take advantage of AR’s skills, I don’t know how anyone can be optimistic about this year.
 

I realize AR surely has learned a few things about protecting himself but there is a reason pro coaches have avoided running their qb’s for at least the last 50 years. Injuries are that reason. Playing 20 or more games in a successful season means lots of hits even without unnecessary ones.

[cdgacoltsfan]

15 minutes ago, azcolt said:

Running Steichen’s RPO’s got AR knocked out of games twice including the season ender in less than a third of the season.  Unless Steichen has some new plans to take advantage of AR’s skills, I don’t know how anyone can be optimistic about this year.
 

I realize AR surely has learned a few things about protecting himself but there is a reason pro coaches have avoided running their qb’s for at least the last 50 years. Injuries are that reason. Playing 20 or more games in a successful season means lots of hits even without unnecessary ones.

Tell that to Buffalo, Baltimore,Arizona, KC, Chicago, NY Giants,  and the Eagles to name a few . Times have changed 

[azcolt]

33 minutes ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

Tell that to Buffalo, Baltimore,Arizona, KC, Chicago, NY Giants,  and the Eagles to name a few . Times have changed 

Most teams still don’t run qb sweep right with no option like the play that knocked him out for the season. And if you are defending the RPOs for AR, let's see how it plays out in the next couple years.  You certainly aren’t claiming running him on designed running plays has worked out great so far?
 

He may be built like a linebacker but so was Luck and in his first few seasons he used to say he liked getting nailed. How did that work out? Do we want Luck Part II?

[cdgacoltsfan]

6 minutes ago, azcolt said:

Most teams still don’t run qb sweep right with no option like the play that knocked him out for the season. And if you are defending the RPOs for AR, let's see how it plays out in the next couple years.  You certainly aren’t claiming running him on designed running plays has worked out great so far?
 

He may be built like a linebacker but so was Luck and in his first few seasons he used to say he liked getting nailed. How did that work out? Do we want Luck Part II?

He is a pass first QB but they are going to run the RPO and he's going to run ,so brace yourself. 

[azcolt]

3 hours ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

He is a pass first QB but they are going to run the RPO and he's going to run ,so brace yourself. 

I don’t doubt Steichen will do it but so far it appears AR won’t be able to play the 20 game season of a successful qb. And if not, there may not be a need to start another thread like this one for Steichen, Year 3. Unless the Colts want to search for yet another franchise QB to be chewed up by his RPO system.

[cdgacoltsfan]

1 hour ago, azcolt said:

I don’t doubt Steichen will do it but so far it appears AR won’t be able to play the 20 game season of a successful qb. And if not, there may not be a need to start another thread like this one for Steichen, Year 3. Unless the Colts want to search for yet another franchise QB to be chewed up by his RPO system.

Yep ..the seasons over for sure.

[GoColts8818]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:57 AM, AustexColt said:

I am optimistic because of the new coaching additions and the draft. Shane has gotten more offensive tools, a pass rush and depth at key spots. The only concern I have is AR's maturity to ride the waves of wins and losses. I am fully confident that if healthy (@ 255lbs) he will outperform Minshew, and that alone will add more wins and put us into the playoffs. It is going to be a fantastic Colt year.

I have a lot of concerns about Bradley’s ability to coach the defense.

[ADnum1]

5 hours ago, azcolt said:

Do we want Luck Part II?

[CardiacColts]

2 hours ago, azcolt said:

I don’t doubt Steichen will do it but so far it appears AR won’t be able to play the 20 game season of a successful qb. And if not, there may not be a need to start another thread like this one for Steichen, Year 3. Unless the Colts want to search for yet another franchise QB to be chewed up by his RPO system.

 

With all due respect, this is such a tired take. It seems well documented that AR’s AC joint never fully healed from his HS injury. 
 

Stafford dealt with the same lingering issues when he tried to rehab the AC joint. Didn’t work. Once he had surgery, he was fine for years. 
 

Obviously all of us want AR to have a fully healthy season. I would imagine fans of every team feel the same way. But good lord man, let us be excited for the upcoming season. If he gets hurt, he gets hurt. It’s the NFL… Let us at least enjoy the excitement of going into the season fully loaded. What do you get out of these doomsday takes at this point of the offseason?

[Dark Superman]

On 5/20/2024 at 8:06 AM, CoachLite said:

I agree on offense. I think we'll need it with our defense which is currently very hard to evaluate.

I like the front seven a lot, but the secondary is a huge question mark heading into the season. Players staying healthy is going to be key as always, but for the Colts to have a great season the younger guys will all need to step up and take a step forward since it's not looking like the Colts are signing a veteran Corner or Safety which I think is a huge mistake.

[CardiacColts]

Just now, Dark Superman said:

I like the front seven a lot, but the secondary is a huge question mark heading into the season. Players staying healthy is going to be key as always, but for the Colts to have a great season the younger guys will all need to step up and take a step forward since it's not looking like the Colts are signing a veteran Corner or Safety which I think is a huge mistake.

Pressure has a funny way of making a secondary look better than they are. I wanted to add a vet to the secondary too, but I think they are going to be better than people think. 

[Dark Superman]

2 hours ago, CardiacColts said:

Pressure has a funny way of making a secondary look better than they are. I wanted to add a vet to the secondary too, but I think they are going to be better than people think. 

I was high on the defensive line BEFORE they drafted Laiatu Latu. On paper, this is probably the most talented defensive line from top to bottom during my lifetime. I'm just hoping everyone can stay healthy this year! It's gonna be a ton of fun watching Latu improve as the season goes on. He's the most talented pass-rusher the Colts were able to get their hands on since Robert Mathis, Dwight Freeney were in their primes.

 

[ChuggaBeer]

Am I the only one that doesn't think that  Shane goes into a game not knowing what Bradley is going to do????   Do you all not think that all game plans are run through SS?    Do you not think that SS knows the limitations of last yrs D as far as personnel? 

 

Bash Bradley all you want BUT the head coach signs off on all of this.

 

Bradley has more talent this year     Up to SS to decide now 

 

 

[CoachLite]

11 hours ago, Dark Superman said:

I was high on the defensive line BEFORE they drafted Laiatu Latu. On paper, this is probably the most talented defensive line from top to bottom during my lifetime. I'm just hoping everyone can stay healthy this year! It's gonna be a ton of fun watching Latu improve as the season goes on. He's the most talented pass-rusher the Colts were able to get their hands on since Robert Mathis, Dwight Freeney were in their primes.

 

"It's not the inherent capability of the tools, it's how you use them." That is my problem with our defense and it has very little to do with the talent of our players. We'll see whether my concerns have been addressed, or not.

[Superman]

17 hours ago, CardiacColts said:

 

With all due respect, this is such a tired take. It seems well documented that AR’s AC joint never fully healed from his HS injury. 
 

Stafford dealt with the same lingering issues when he tried to rehab the AC joint. Didn’t work. Once he had surgery, he was fine for years. 
 

Obviously all of us want AR to have a fully healthy season. I would imagine fans of every team feel the same way. But good lord man, let us be excited for the upcoming season. If he gets hurt, he gets hurt. It’s the NFL… Let us at least enjoy the excitement of going into the season fully loaded. What do you get out of these doomsday takes at this point of the offseason?

 

To jump in on this, beyond Richardson's specific injury concerns, the constant worrying about using the QB in the run game is so 2012. Designed QB run is a weapon in modern offenses, and that will continue to be the case. (Also, it's a pet peeve of mine, but RPO and designed QB run are two different things. The "R" in RPO refers to a handoff, not a QB run.)

 

If Richardson can't physically handle modern QBing -- including QB runs -- then that will become obvious, and either we adjust the offense, or we change QBs. But to refuse to use QB run, especially with a QB like Richardson, is to deny yourself an incredibly dynamic weapon on offense, and you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. 

[BeanDiasucci]

13 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

To jump in on this, beyond Richardson's specific injury concerns, the constant worrying about using the QB in the run game is so 2012. Designed QB run is a weapon in modern offenses, and that will continue to be the case. (Also, it's a pet peeve of mine, but RPO and designed QB run are two different things. The "R" in RPO refers to a handoff, not a QB run.)

 

If Richardson can't physically handle modern QBing -- including QB runs -- then that will become obvious, and either we adjust the offense, or we change QBs. But to refuse to use QB run, especially with a QB like Richardson, is to deny yourself an incredibly dynamic weapon on offense, and you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. 

This may be a bit tangential but kind of interesting. Richardson was 7th in the league last year among QBs in rushing attempts per game at 6.25. https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/most-rushing-attempts-per-game-by-a-qb-in-nfl-this-season

 

Of course, not all of his four games were full games so he would likely be higher on the list if he hadn't been injured during games. 

 

[NewColtsFan]

17 hours ago, Dark Superman said:

I like the front seven a lot, but the secondary is a huge question mark heading into the season. Players staying healthy is going to be key as always, but for the Colts to have a great season the younger guys will all need to step up and take a step forward since it's not looking like the Colts are signing a veteran Corner or Safety which I think is a huge mistake.

I wouldn’t be so sure the Colts won’t sign a free agent for the secondary.   And perhaps sooner than you think.  
 

Summer break happens around the second week of June.  I think the Colts will sign a veteran corner or safety by then.   Most free agents want to know where they’re going to play by then.   They need to get a home, especially if they have family going to live with them.  They want to get into the playbook and meet with the coaches they’re going to play for.

 

Players need to get their lives in order soon, so I think we’re going to get the signing we all want. 

[Superman]

12 hours ago, ChuggaBeer said:

Am I the only one that doesn't think that  Shane goes into a game not knowing what Bradley is going to do????   Do you all not think that all game plans are run through SS?    Do you not think that SS knows the limitations of last yrs D as far as personnel? 

 

Bash Bradley all you want BUT the head coach signs off on all of this.

 

Bradley has more talent this year     Up to SS to decide now 

 

This is a fair point. But Bradley is who is, and that's who he's been for over a decade now. Yeah, we had a bunch of injuries in the secondary last year, so it made sense to play it safe, but Bradley always plays it safe. This is his defensive philosophy, and it puts him among the most conservative and predictable defensive coaches in the NFL. The only way for his defense to be successful is to have a really talented group of players, and at that point, it's fair to ask whether Bradley actually brings anything to the table.

 

What's head scratching is that there's a major disconnect between Steichen's way of coaching offense and Bradley's way of coaching defense. Steichen is multi-faceted and innovative, he adjusts his gameplan and runs new stuff every week, and he appears to help his key players perform at a higher level. Bradley is one dimensional and static, the gameplan almost never changes, and it doesn't seem like he's helping any of his players perform better. 

 

And that's why I was hopeful that Steichen would make a change at DC this season. I wanted him to bring in a DC who matches his offensive approach, who can raise the ceiling for the other side of the ball with dynamic gameplanning and play calling. Instead, we kept Bradley, and realistically speaking, the primary (only?) hope for better defensive performance is that our players get better, because it doesn't appear they're going to get much help from the person running the defense. What's really frustrating is that Bradley completely bucked his nature against the Ravens, so we know it's in there somewhere. We don't see that type of change-up nearly often enough, IMO.

 

So I hope Flowers and Brents are healthy and get better, I hope Paye and Dayo continue to get better, I hope the pass rush is improved (Charlie Partridge is an intriguing hire, but I'm reserving judgment until we see how it works), etc. But there will still be games where we're outmatched on that end, or maybe the opposing QB is having the best game of his career, and the defense will need to make an adjustment to counter what the other team is doing. And in those situations, it should be the DC bringing something to the table. And I don't think Bradley can/will do that.

[Superman]

11 minutes ago, BeanDiasucci said:

This may be a bit tangential but kind of interesting. Richardson was 7th in the league last year among QBs in rushing attempts per game at 6.25. https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/most-rushing-attempts-per-game-by-a-qb-in-nfl-this-season

 

Of course, not all of his four games were full games so he would likely be higher on the list if he hadn't been injured during games. 

 

 

It makes sense that he'd be at/near the top of the league in rushing attempts. Even if you distilled this down to designed QB runs, we'd expect him to be near the top. He's one of the most dynamic athletes of all time, at any position. To refuse to use his athleticism in the gameplan is kind of a waste.

 

Still, he'll need to be better about protecting himself, and part of that is probably just having an appropriate respect for his opponents. His concussion against the Texans happened because he thought he was safe; hopefully he learned his lesson.

 

I think the best comp for Richardson is Josh Allen, so seeing them closely grouped on this list makes sense. Allen has games where he runs 12-15 times, and then other games where he only runs 3-4 times. I think we can probably expect 5+ from Richardson every week, and maybe closer to 9 attempts/game over the course of the season.

[Superman]

22 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

I wouldn’t be so sure the Colts won’t sign a free agent for the secondary.   And perhaps sooner than you think.  
 

Summer break happens around the second week of June.  I think the Colts will sign a veteran corner or safety by then.   Most free agents want to know where they’re going to play by then.   They need to get a home, especially if they have family going to live with them.  They want to get into the playbook and meet with the coaches they’re going to play for.

 

Players need to get their lives in order soon, so I think we’re going to get the signing we all want. 

 

I think they should, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

This is what Ballard said after the draft, when he was asked about potentially adding a veteran corner or safety:

 

"It just depends. You know between now and the start of the season ... there's still some good players out there. I mean there is there's some veterans out there that can still play. You know we'll dig and investigate all of them and then make a decision if we think they're the right fit for us as we go along." (Transcribed by Youtube, 12 minute mark if you want to watch.)

 

To me, that means they're not in a hurry to do anything. I think they'll shuffle some spots going into camp, they always do. But any noteworthy veteran signings are probably going to be reserved for what they think they need coming out of camp, maybe due to injury or a young player not being ready to make the final roster. That's my interpretation.

 

Edit: Ballard went even further on McAfee's show. 'We have our eyes on the market, but we want to see how our guys look.' 

[NewColtsFan]

24 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think they should, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

This is what Ballard said after the draft, when he was asked about potentially adding a veteran corner or safety:

 

"It just depends. You know between now and the start of the season ... there's still some good players out there. I mean there is there's some veterans out there that can still play. You know we'll dig and investigate all of them and then make a decision if we think they're the right fit for us as we go along." (Transcribed by Youtube, 12 minute mark if you want to watch.)

 

To me, that means they're not in a hurry to do anything. I think they'll shuffle some spots going into camp, they always do. But any noteworthy veteran signings are probably going to be reserved for what they think they need coming out of camp, maybe due to injury or a young player not being ready to make the final roster. That's my interpretation.

 

Edit: Ballard went even further on McAfee's show. 'We have our eyes on the market, but we want to see how our guys look.' 

I think it’s entirely possible I’m wrong.  
 

Ballard has also said it takes two to make a deal.  So even if the Colts would like to sign someone today, if the player isn’t ready to commit then nothing happens.   
 

There are roughly two and a half weeks left for someone to sign before the summer break.   That’s a lot of time.  So I think something happens.   Then again,  I suppose anything is possible either way.  

[Superman]

31 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

I think it’s entirely possible I’m wrong.  
 

Ballard has also said it takes two to make a deal.  So even if the Colts would like to sign someone today, if the player isn’t ready to commit then nothing happens.   
 

There are roughly two and a half weeks left for someone to sign before the summer break.   That’s a lot of time.  So I think something happens.   Then again,  I suppose anything is possible either way.  

 

I could be wrong also. I hope I am, because I think there are players available who could make the secondary better right away. Just seems like Ballard has signaled that they aren't considering that kind of signing right now.

[AustexColt]

I have rewatched our 2023 season and honestly I feel that we have made some significant roster changes that will make us a better team. The change of our DL coach will help us improve our consistency. Area I still have a concern is our secondary namely our safeties. Depth in our LB's and RB's. is a concern. Fortunately for us these are area that we can supplement from the free agent market without breaking the bank.

 

 

[Hoose]

20 hours ago, Superman said:

Just seems like Ballard has signaled that they aren't considering that kind of signing right now.

It seems pretty clear they want to evaluate Cross and Scott at FS before making a move. That makes sense; you just hope that the analysis doesn’t take so long that a player like Simmons is gone before they decide a move is needed. So a serious addition like Simmons would likely have to take place soon. I’m pulling for that, though I admit Scott has me intrigued. 

[Relocated]

Let's not forget about player development.

I thought that Reich and his staff failed in this aspect.