Do you see any progress with Richardson?

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, stitches said:

I'm not sure I agree on the last sentence. I think purely physically he has the athletic ability and nibleness... What I think is the problem is that he doesn't seem to have the decisiveness, awareness and wherewithal on the run. Like... it's not physical limitation IMO... it's more of a mental thing. For example, he lets up when he needs to finish strong(the concussion last year vs the Texans), he keeps going when he needs to slide(yesterday hit)... he just seems awkward and inconsistent around bodies flying towards him. It's kind of weird. It's not timidness... it's not that he cannot do it, because there are cases where he does it. It's like... if you gave Matt Ryan Cam Newton's body, but didn't give him any time or reps to get used to what he can and can't do with it. 

 

At least that's what it looks to me. Don't know if I'm making any sense...

you are 100% correct. The awareness will come as he matures. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

3 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

I agree with his take.  He looked like he could have gone back in.  His body language on the sideline showed the same thing.  It could have made him a tougher player by showing confidence in allowing him to play through a minor injury.  Now the cloud still lingers.

Yep. He is also right colts can’t pull him after every knick and bruise.  QB play through things. They can’t baby him. Fans would be having a much different reaction today had he stayed in. The Oline is good enough to protect him if he was limited. Letting him play through would of toughen him up like you said.

[ShuteAt168]

46 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I don't think he moves like a "running" QB.  The more I watch, the more he seems to handle himself like a pocket QB that has speed to escape and get yards.  Nimbleness and athletic body control, like Mahomes or Lamar, or even Allen, is not his game.  IMO.

“Nimble” is good for Mahomes. That guy escapes the pocket for good yardage a lot and never takes a direct hit. 

[DougDew]

25 minutes ago, stitches said:

I'm not sure I agree on the last sentence. I think purely physically he has the athletic ability and nibleness... What I think is the problem is that he doesn't seem to have the decisiveness, awareness and wherewithal on the run. Like... it's not physical limitation IMO... it's more of a mental thing. For example, he lets up when he needs to finish strong(the concussion last year vs the Texans), he keeps going when he needs to slide(yesterday hit)... he just seems awkward and inconsistent around bodies flying towards him. It's kind of weird. It's not timidness... it's not that he cannot do it, because there are cases where he does it. It's like... if you gave Matt Ryan Cam Newton's body, but didn't give him any time or reps to get used to what he can and can't do with it. 

 

At least that's what it looks to me. Don't know if I'm making any sense...

I think we both see the same things.  Its not easy to describe.  IMO, AR looks more gangly and awkward than what he was billed to be by some and I do think some of that is natural physique combined with being an inexperienced runner.  Not saying that he is either, he just lands more towards that side of the line than Cam Newton, who simply looked stouter and more fluid whenever he moved.

 

Do you remember Vince Young?  Big and fast too, but don't think AR will ever run like him

 

I need to watch more for sure.

[Colt.45]

Quarter of the season check-in.

 

I think he's proving to be the perfect tough nut to measure. He has looked up and down in the first quarter of 2025. Some good, some bad. Even within game halves. The fluctuations are what we knew to expect. Basically, thru the first 4 games of 2025, AR has been exactly as advertised to me - inconsistent with extreme ability. Still a work-in-progress, learning.

 

For Q2 of 2025, I'll be looking for some more consistency. Nothing huge, just a little less up and down, and maybe stacking 2 to 3 consecutive good quarters. 

 

At this point, the arrow is flickering. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

This offense with AR yesterday was exactly how this colts offense should look. Colts just have to figure out how to run this offense and keep him healthy. That is going to hopefully come with maturity.

[jemack]

2 hours ago, Patrick Miller said:

I just want to see him be consistently accurate for an entire game.

The receivers were hanging on to some tough catches. That helped him look too.

.... Or am I splitting hairs? 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Hopefully the discourse stops now. Most QB play through stuff like this. Steichen should of let him come back in after the half.

 

 

[husker61]

When fans are saying a young will be better with time at several aspects of playing qb, it usually doesn’t happen. Fans are always hopeful their team has drafted a top qb and will make those excuses, only to be dissapointed. Then they blame the gm or coach.

 

[Dobbinblitz]

Steichen appeared to taking a little bit of a shot at Richardson. Seemed annoyed having to answer the question about his QB.

 

’‘“There’s always those things out there: Injury-prone, guys get hurt,” Steichen said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “It’s football. Guys go out and play, injuries happen sometimes. You don’t want them to happen. Obviously, it happened. Obviously, it wasn’t a huge, huge injury. We’ll see how the week progresses and go from there.”

[Nate!]

1 hour ago, husker61 said:

When fans are saying a young will be better with time at several aspects of playing qb, it usually doesn’t happen. Fans are always hopeful their team has drafted a top qb and will make those excuses, only to be dissapointed. Then they blame the gm or coach.

 

Most QBs are disappointment, yes.  

[AwesomeAustin]

9 hours ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Don't get me wrong, he is fast. However, I don't see that 4.4 speed yet. That could just be indecisiveness on his part in just exploding out of the blocks.

I saw the speed I believe on the 2nd to last play of the Packers game(could be Houston). We were trying pick up some yards for a better chance at the endzone. AR rolled out to the left and when no one was open he tucked the ball and ran up the sideline and then out of bounds to stop the clock. He covered a lot of ground quickly and looked fast as can be. That speed is why they will always have a spy on AR bc he will easily out run a DE 

[Moosejawcolt]

8 hours ago, DougDew said:

I think we both see the same things.  Its not easy to describe.  IMO, AR looks more gangly and awkward than what he was billed to be by some and I do think some of that is natural physique combined with being an inexperienced runner.  Not saying that he is either, he just lands more towards that side of the line than Cam Newton, who simply looked stouter and more fluid whenever he moved.

 

Do you remember Vince Young?  Big and fast too, but don't think AR will ever run like him

 

I need to watch more for sure.

I think that's what I was getting at when he doesn't look like a 4.4 runner. Can't put my finger on it but just something I noticed. Ultra althletic in terms of measurements but not seeing it yet in terms of pure explosiveness. Although Cam didnt measure as great at AR. Cam just looked like a beast out there. If that makes sense? 

[husker61]

1 hour ago, Moosejawcolt said:

I think that's what I was getting at when he doesn't look like a 4.4 runner. Can't put my finger on it but just something I noticed. Ultra althletic in terms of measurements but not seeing it yet in terms of pure explosiveness. Although Cam didnt measure as great at AR. Cam just looked like a beast out there. If that makes sense? 

there is straight line speed, and there is quick speed. Big athletes can be very fast in a straight line, but not shifty quick. Shifty is how you avoid the big hits and injuries. If you want a running qb, I wouldn’t take a big qb, no mater how fast he runs the 40! He will probably be injury prone.

[indykmj]

3 hours ago, husker61 said:

there is straight line speed, and there is quick speed. Big athletes can be very fast in a straight line, but not shifty quick. Shifty is how you avoid the big hits and injuries. If you want a running qb, I wouldn’t take a big qb, no mater how fast he runs the 40! He will probably be injury prone.

 

 Bingo !

 

 

[stitches]

14 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

This offense with AR yesterday was exactly how this colts offense should look. Colts just have to figure out how to run this offense and keep him healthy. That is going to hopefully come with maturity.

Agreed... this is the version I envision and this is the version of the offense I think both AR and the Colts with AR can be successful with. The question is... can he stay healthy playing in this type of offense? 

[SOMDColtsfan]

Don't know if it will make any impact on AR but the post game interview with Flacco, he said "its just football". Don't over think things, find the open guy and get him the ball. Maybe the "just spin it" analogy for AR is what he needs. 

[Mitch Connors]

14 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Hopefully the discourse stops now. Most QB play through stuff like this. Steichen should of let him come back in after the half.

 

 

Anyone else watch the Titans game at all yesterday? The same thing happened: young QB gets injured and comes out of the game. They get checked, cleared, warm up on the sidelines ready to come back in but they don't put Levis in again because Rudolph looked better. I'm sure the Titans will say we we're cautious, wasnt worth the risk to put Levis back in, etc, etc. 

 

There is a second option here: Flacco is just better than AR right now and he gave the Colts a better chance to win Sunday. 

 

*I'm not saying AR wont be better in the long run but Flacco looked great so lets not turn this into that conversation please. 

[Nevbot]

It really was pretty wild to see the difference in AR to Flacco as it pertains to processing in live time. 

They really are pretty much the opposite QB at this point in their careers,

Like some have mentioned- AR is just unrefined in everything he does.  His reads are too quick, his footwork is too unsettled and he looks like a wild stallion in that pocket.  When he makes big plays it usually isn't because of the aforementioned traits, its because he can release the ball quick with superior velocity. 

 

In Flacco you have a guy who makes perfectly settled, on rhythm reads, has solid and quiet footwork in the pocket and looks calm and collected out there. When he makes big plays its because of his veteran decision making within the construct of the offense. However, if that breaks down his chances of overcoming it are very slim. He won't run for the first down and his 40 year old arm (while still good and lightyears better than a 37 year old Matt Ryan's) is limited.  You could see the difference in his arm strength on the deep ball.  His float like a balloon and Richardson's are absolute ropes. 
 

In theory, Flacco should be the perfect QB from a skillset standpoint to mentor Anthony on his weaknesses, and those seem to be Flacco's strengths. 

 

Ultimately though, for every pass Joe has to throw in a game means less chance of Anthony developing.  He needs to be on the field.  Having Joe is nice if you are contending or in a playoff hunt, but having Joe on the field for meaningful time in week 4 was NOT and is NOT in the blueprint of what we are building. 

 

A lot of people are complaining ad nauseum about Anthony and if he will ever get there- but nobody denies the upside that we've seen. I think the first step in his development is being able to hone down on what he needs to work on the most and I really think that stage is almost complete.  He will grind, and by week 8 lets have another conversation. 

Injuries aside of course.  The kid needs to also learn the physicality of the NFL and had no time to sink his teeth into S and C last offseason. 

 

 

[DougDew]

10 hours ago, Moosejawcolt said:

I think that's what I was getting at when he doesn't look like a 4.4 runner. Can't put my finger on it but just something I noticed. Ultra althletic in terms of measurements but not seeing it yet in terms of pure explosiveness. Although Cam didnt measure as great at AR. Cam just looked like a beast out there. If that makes sense? 

Just curious, other than height, weight, speed, and ball velocity; do we know how AR measured in other athletic drills?  3 cone, shuttle, bench press, etc.  He moves like a guy who might not score very high on those others.  JMO.

 

Not that I would expect a QB to do those others drills.  Its just that this idea of his athleticism we have maybe comes from our imagination and hope rather than anything substantial.  Its like because he scores a 98th percentile on HWS, and throwing distance, we expect a 98th percentile for explosion and body control to come with it.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

1 hour ago, Mitch Connors said:

Anyone else watch the Titans game at all yesterday? The same thing happened: young QB gets injured and comes out of the game. They get checked, cleared, warm up on the sidelines ready to come back in but they don't put Levis in again because Rudolph looked better. I'm sure the Titans will say we we're cautious, wasnt worth the risk to put Levis back in, etc, etc. 

 

There is a second option here: Flacco is just better than AR right now and he gave the Colts a better chance to win Sunday. 

 

*I'm not saying AR wont be better in the long run but Flacco looked great so lets not turn this into that conversation please. 

We can’t run out offense with Flacco. If you didn’t see the difference that’s on you. JT got stuffed without AR. This stuff needs to stop. AR was on fire Sunday. Quit acting like he was awful. The Steelers came back because the offense wasn’t good enough.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

BTW AR was good. So let’s stop acting like Flacco was that much better.

[JediXMan]

This is kinda freaky lol.

[Superman]

3 hours ago, Mitch Connors said:

Anyone else watch the Titans game at all yesterday? The same thing happened: young QB gets injured and comes out of the game. They get checked, cleared, warm up on the sidelines ready to come back in but they don't put Levis in again because Rudolph looked better. I'm sure the Titans will say we we're cautious, wasnt worth the risk to put Levis back in, etc, etc. 

 

There is a second option here: Flacco is just better than AR right now and he gave the Colts a better chance to win Sunday. 

 

*I'm not saying AR wont be better in the long run but Flacco looked great so lets not turn this into that conversation please. 

 

 

Also, slight pushback on "Flacco looked great." He was fine, he did his job as a backup, and if we had a Flacco specific game plan, I don't doubt he could play even better. But he didn't look great. He was adequate. And aside from Richardson not sliding, he was better than Flacco in this game. Short sample, but the Richardson/Flacco dynamic on Sunday was different from the Levis/Rudolph situation yesterday. 

[Solid84]

3 hours ago, Mitch Connors said:

Anyone else watch the Titans game at all yesterday? The same thing happened: young QB gets injured and comes out of the game. They get checked, cleared, warm up on the sidelines ready to come back in but they don't put Levis in again because Rudolph looked better. I'm sure the Titans will say we we're cautious, wasnt worth the risk to put Levis back in, etc, etc. 

 

There is a second option here: Flacco is just better than AR right now and he gave the Colts a better chance to win Sunday. 

 

*I'm not saying AR wont be better in the long run but Flacco looked great so lets not turn this into that conversation please. 

I'm sure Flacco overall is a better QB than AR right now, but that is besides the point and too many fans seem to have missed that.

 

This about the future and if you sit AR to win another 1-2 games with Flacco we're still nowhere. This isn't a Super Bowl team with Flacco, so what's the point in sitting AR? It's only going to prolong the process and possibly make a big dent in AR's confidence.

[chad72]

4 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

I'm sure Flacco overall is a better QB than AR right now, but that is besides the point and too many fans seem to have missed that.

 

This about the future and if you sit AR to win another 1-2 games with Flacco we're still nowhere. This isn't a Super Bowl team with Flacco, so what's the point in sitting AR? It's only going to prolong the process and possibly make a big dent in AR's confidence.

 

If the doctors clear AR, he has to play. no two ways about it, IMO. We will see on Sunday.

[Mitch Connors]

1 hour ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

We can’t run out offense with Flacco. If you didn’t see the difference that’s on you. JT got stuffed without AR. This stuff needs to stop. AR was on fire Sunday. Quit acting like he was awful. The Steelers came back because the offense wasn’t good enough.

 

 

OK serious question. Did you read anything I said? Honestly? 

 

Did I say AR was awful? Nope. 
I said Flacco looked great against the #4 ranked defense coming in unexpectedly and doing exactly what we asked him to do to get this team a win by putting together 4 scoring drives. I simply suggested the Colts weighed how good Flacco was performing into their decision. If Flacco was 1/6 with 3 INTs do you think AR would have come in? Seriously - would AR have come in?

 

I LITERALLY said let's not make this about Flacco > AR because that's not the point and that's exactly what you did. 

 

 

 

[Solid84]

17 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

 

Also, slight pushback on "Flacco looked great." He was fine, he did his job as a backup, and if we had a Flacco specific game plan, I don't doubt he could play even better. But he didn't look great. He was adequate. And aside from Richardson not sliding, he was better than Flacco in this game. Short sample, but the Richardson/Flacco dynamic on Sunday was different from the Levis/Rudolph situation yesterday. 

Drives led by AR:

8 plays 70 yards, TD

8 plays 78 yards, to Pittsburgh 5

 

Drives led by Flacco:

2 plays 5 yards, TD - after AR's 78 yard drive

9 plays 25 yards, FG - after Pitt turnover on downs

4 plays 29 yards, punt

6 plays 38 yards, punt - after Pitt fumble

3 plays 9 yards, punt

4 plays 6 yards, missed FG - after Pitt fumble

10 plays 70 yards, TD

10 plays 54 yards, FG

3 plays -5 yards, punt

1 play -1 yard, victory formation

 

Flacco got a game gift-wrapped for him by our defense and AR.

 

[Superman]

27 minutes ago, Mitch Connors said:

If Flacco was 1/6 with 3 INTs do you think AR would have come in? Seriously - would AR have come in?

 

I don't think so. Richardson was visibly limping when he walked out to the bench area after halftime.

 

I think there's a variety of reasons why people are looking for alternative reasons for why Richardson didn't come back in the game: they want this injury to be minor (so do I), they want Richardson to protect himself (same), they want Steichen to protect Richardson (same), etc. And from those desires, I think some narratives are emerging -- like the idea that Steichen was teaching Richardson a lesson, or that they just erred on the side of caution. Who knows to what extent any of that is true... 

 

But I don't think Richardson was able to play after he was taken out of the game. Maybe he could have gutted it out, but he would have been limited. My opinion only, but Richardson wasn't coming back in the game, bottom line. 

[DougDew]

30 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

Drives led by AR:

8 plays 70 yards, TD

8 plays 78 yards, to Pittsburgh 5

 

Drives led by Flacco:

2 plays 5 yards, TD - after AR's 78 yard drive

9 plays 25 yards, FG - after Pitt turnover on downs

4 plays 29 yards, punt

6 plays 38 yards, punt - after Pitt fumble

3 plays 9 yards, punt

4 plays 6 yards, missed FG - after Pitt fumble

10 plays 70 yards, TD

10 plays 54 yards, FG

3 plays -5 yards, punt

1 play -1 yard, victory formation

 

Flacco got a game gift-wrapped for him by our defense and AR.

 

I think AR should be the starting QB, so this isn't a AR vs Flacco thing.  But, the oline played remarkably different 1Q than it did the rest of the game...(not seeing grades by quarter).  If you tell me that AR was responsible for that, I'll call foul.  I think Pitt adjusted. 

[DougDew]

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I don't think so. Richardson was visibly limping when he walked out to the bench area after halftime.

 

I think there's a variety of reasons why people are looking for alternative reasons for why Richardson didn't come back in the game: they want this injury to be minor (so do I), they want Richardson to protect himself (same), they want Steichen to protect Richardson (same), etc. And from those desires, I think some narratives are emerging -- like the idea that Steichen was teaching Richardson a lesson, or that they just erred on the side of caution. Who knows to what extent any of that is true... 

 

But I don't think Richardson was able to play after he was taken out of the game. Maybe he could have gutted it out, but he would have been limited. My opinion only, but Richardson wasn't coming back in the game, bottom line. 

Its also about further aggravating a soft tissue injury that could hurt his chance to practice during the week.  Another consideration a HC might think about.

[Superman]

31 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

Drives led by AR:

8 plays 70 yards, TD

8 plays 78 yards, to Pittsburgh 5

 

Drives led by Flacco:

2 plays 5 yards, TD - after AR's 78 yard drive

9 plays 25 yards, FG - after Pitt turnover on downs

4 plays 29 yards, punt

6 plays 38 yards, punt - after Pitt fumble

3 plays 9 yards, punt

4 plays 6 yards, missed FG - after Pitt fumble

10 plays 70 yards, TD

10 plays 54 yards, FG

3 plays -5 yards, punt

1 play -1 yard, victory formation

 

Flacco got a game gift-wrapped for him by our defense and AR.

 

 

Contrast with the Titans offense vs the Dolphins:

 

Drives led by Levis:

7 plays, 29 yards, INT

3 plays, 9 yards, punt (Levis injured scrambling on 3rd down, resulting in 4th and 1 from the Titans 45)

Zero points, one turnover

 

Drives led by Rudolph: 

9 plays, 21 yards, FG

8 plays, 19 yards, FG

4 plays, 19 yards, punt

3 plays, 27 yards, FG (end of 2nd quarter)

3 plays, -3 yards, punt

5 plays, 70 yards, TD

6 plays, 11 yards, FG

8 plays, 27 yards, FG

3 plays, 2 yards, punt

4 plays, 10 yards, TD (after onside kick attempt by Dolphins)

29 points, no turnovers; Titans defense got a safety for 2 points

 

My point is that the Titans played better after Levis got hurt, and I don't think the same is true of the Colts.