Stampede Blue
The Colts might have a great quarterback in Anthony Richardson and Shane Steichen is not doing a good job of getting the most out of him.
The disaster that was the Broncos game should serve as a starch reminder that this Colts team is not playoff caliber and is levels away from being one. In order to become a playoff team, changes need to be made and that starts with Shane Steichen.
The way the Anthony Richardson benching was handled was completely poor. Steichen left most of the team in the dark with the move, which caused a lot of confusion amongst the players (based on their interviews). The move was clearly made hastily and it led to absolutely nothing from Joe Flacco. There was an argument to be made that when Richardson was playing poorly in games, he could be replaced by Flacco, but to outright bench him when he needed the experience was not only a poor decision but it was handled even worse. A poorly done decision like that could lead to the destruction of a quarterback’s confidence. Luckily that wasn’t the case with Richardson.
During the 2024 season, Richardson has been completely misused. In 2023, Richardson thrived in his short amount of time using RPOs and running the hell out of the ball. Until recently, Richardson only started running more again and Steichen has still refused to call RPOs. The Colts have called 13 RPOs for Richardson this season, which is low. In 2023, 10% of the pass plays called for Richardson were RPOs. In 2024, that number is 5%. With RPOs, the reads are simplified and there is the threat of a run with Taylor or Richardson, who are both incredibly good in that regard. Those plays are tailored perfectly for Richardson and the Colts have inexplicably called much less of them. Steichen called the same amount (percentage wise) of RPOs for Flacco in the games he started! The Colts should be amongst the league leaders in RPOs!
The team’s play calling has been odd, shifting away from a run first strategy for no reason and when they rely on Richardson to throw the ball, that isn’t the best strategy for the current time; this has left them with a lot of long 3rd down situations.
In general, the Colts should be amongst the league leaders in terms of rush attempts per game. When you have Richardson and Taylor, you can take over games if you effectively run the ball. The Colts are average in the league in terms of rush attempts per game (15th) and if you take a look at the 7 teams who run the ball the most: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Detroit, Baltimore, Green Bay, Buffalo, you’ll see that they are all playoff teams. The run game has been rejuvenated in the NFL and teams with strong ones (who commit to them) are winning games. The Colts have one of the best running backs in the league in Taylor and one...
