The Colts are going back to Anthony Richardson after two games with Joe Flacco and present a devastating picture to the outside world. A commentary analysis by kicker columnist Adrian Franke.
For the Colts, it’s now a matter of prioritizing Anthony Richardson’s development.
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Less than 48 hours before he announced that Anthony Richardson was being made the starter again, Colts coach Shane Steichen had said this: “For now, we’re sticking with Joe. Joe will be the starter against the Jets.”
This statement lasted less than two days.
Of course, this 180-degree turnaround came as little surprise. The entire last month of this Colts season has been a complete 180-degree turnaround, and you won’t find a real plan. And that suggests that the decisions here are not made by the sporting decision-makers. But rather that someone with a lot of impatience makes impulsive decisions. Someone like team owner Jim Irsay.
Richardson was benched after the Week 8 game against Houston. A game in which he wasn’t good athletically, but not so bad that it could be considered a logical step. Rather, he took himself out of the game for a play because he needed to take a breather.
Even more than this move from Richardson in the game, his handling of the scene after the game showed a certain naivety. As a quarterback, publicly admitting that you needed a break couldn’t go over well in the NFL context. And it didn’t: Numerous former players spoke out and harshly criticized Richardson, even Colts center Ryan Kelly said that it wasn’t the standard “that he has to play to and that the rest of the team expects of him demanded”.
All this feedback, this loud criticism from players – and we are supposed to believe that Jim Irsay, who installed Jeff Saturday, who was completely inexperienced as head coach, as interim coach two years ago, will swallow it? Accepting it without any emotional reaction? Certainly not.
Richardson’s Benching: Not a sporting decision
It is clear that the benching of Richardson had more to do with this scene than with Richardson’s athletic achievements. They were undoubtedly not good, especially as a passer that could be described as “problematic”. But this season has always been about giving Richardson as many snaps as possible to develop. This physically highly talented, but also extremely inexperienced quarterback who only had 13 starts in college before his rookie season ended due to injury after less than 100 dropbacks.
No young quarterback in the NFL needs the snaps and game experience more. And the Colts knew that. But that brings us back to the massive inconsistency with which the Colts are managing this season and which ultimately prevents any success – whether short or long term. When he announced the move to Flacco two weeks ago, Steichen said: “I’m just looking at where we are as a team. We have a balanced record and the season is still long. I think Joe gives us the best chance. ”
The question must be asked: The best chance – for what? Maybe get into the playoffs as a wild card only to be dismantled in the first round? That would have been the best case, and the two games with Flacco quickly made it clear that even that wasn’t realistic. Without Richardson, the run game dropped noticeably, and Flacco’s third-down efficiency from his previous outings consequently reversed.
Still, Steichen said Wednesday that Flacco’s performances over the last two weeks were not a factor in his decision to go back to Richardson.
Yes, what then? According to Steichen’s public statements, Richardson was cut because Flacco gives the team a better chance. That lasted two games, and after two defeats and poor performances from Flacco, everything is undone – but not for sporting reasons?
Jim Irsay provides the instability
None of this makes sense. None of this fits together. At least not if you believe that Steichen actually makes these decisions and then justifies them the way he sees them himself.
It’s obvious that an impatient owner – possibly combined with pressure from the locker room – is at work here.
The result is a head coach who publicly appears like a puppet and has lost massive amounts of credibility. A locker room that can’t know where it stands – just like the fan base. A franchise that shows no clear direction. And a young quarterback who we have to ask ourselves what happens if he has two bad games again? Or what if the rest of the season shows little progress? Does Irsay want another quarterback after the season?
There were so many better ways to handle this situation. The Colts could have given Richardson a break that was communicated as such and then allowed him to play again as scheduled after a game. They could have communicated his development to the outside world as a transparent priority, instead of half-heartedly arguing that they are thinking about the record this season and then reversing the role for supposedly non-performance-related reasons.
Of course, all of this would only work if the head coach also makes the decisions that he sells to the outside world. That there is a plan.
It’s this short-term thinking, it’s these impulsive decisions that prevent franchises from breaking through to the top. And this is where the Colts have been since Andrew Luck.
