Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson Delivers Madden-Like Performance Against Houston Texans

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson nearly willed the team to victory in Week 1 against the Houston Texans. Ben Borus joins the show to break down the highs and lows of this fun quarterb...ack. Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks. Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code all lowercase lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5.  For your next listen, check out the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Get daily insight to the best Fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashUse promo code LOCKEDFALL24 for 50% off up to $10 value, when you spend $15+ on your first order. Limited time offer. Terms apply. Promo is not valid for orders containing alcohol.HimsStart your free online visit today at Hims.com/lockedonnfl. PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code lockedonmlb to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts got a video game performance from their quarterback, Anthony Richardson. We're here to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly with the Colts franchise passer. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts.
Starting point is 00:00:34 Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use code all lowercase locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Hello, everyone. I am Zach Hicks, your favorite film nerd over at horseshoehuddle.com, but I'm joined by everyone's favorite film nerd over on Twitter and at the Blue Stable, and that is Ben Boris at Colts Film Room over on Twitter. We have a really fun announcement for all of you guys. Ben will be a regular on these Monday episodes talking Anthony Richardson. So let us know in the comment section, a cool name
Starting point is 00:01:09 for this, the show, this Monday show, the best I come up with on the spot when I was at work today was like the Richardson review or something. Give me an alliteration guys. I need an alliteration is what I need with this here. But we are going to be bringing you guys just a weekly breakdown on Anthony Richardson and talking about the good, the bad, and what we want to see from him, the offense, and everything going forward. So something to look forward to, you guys, on your Mondays after the game each and every week. But, Ben, we're here to talk about Anthony Richardson's, again, video game performance, I think, is the best way to say this and I say I say a Madden performance actually instead of video game because if this is the new college football game I'm not throwing the ball past five yards I'm getting sacked if I try to throw the ball past
Starting point is 00:01:53 five yards so more like Madden where Richardson has this a dot of what 16 in this game currently leads the NFL in yards per attempt with 11.2, which is like Matt Ryan MVP yards per attempt. His EPA per play is like six in the NFL right now. Like everything looks great on nine completions, nine completions. It's, it's honestly, if you go look at the box score and you never saw the game, it makes no sense. It literally makes no sense.
Starting point is 00:02:21 I think it was like 170 yards on two throws. And then when you go actually watch the film it starts to add a lot more context to this like ridiculous stat sheet that doesn't make sense but yeah I mean if you look at the box score you can pick some really good things out of what you saw from Anthony Richardson yesterday you you can make whatever argument you want to make on Anthony Richardson with this box score. It is perfect for whatever agenda you had going into the game. But we add the nuance here on Locked On Colts. And that's what this film sesh with these two film nerds here is going to do.
Starting point is 00:02:55 So we're talking about the good to start off here. Obviously, we have to get the very good out of the way when it comes to Richardson. And that is, this is an alien quarterback. Like, this is purely a one-of-one quarterback and it's it's fascinating to see a player where if we're doing like a basketball comparison I said the Colts offense is going to be a lot of threes and layups right we have a quarterback who is great at like the 30-foot three-pointer and maybe the layups aren't there yet but he can he can take the 30-foot three-po maybe the layups aren't there yet, but he can, he can take the 30
Starting point is 00:03:25 foot three point of the half court shot and make it at a higher rate than most players can. But like the, the, the first throw to Alec Pierce, like what Shane Sikens did today is one of the greatest throws I've ever seen a quarterback make the, the deep dig on the cheap motion, really cool Dolphins concept, which you highlighted on Twitter there to Ashton Doolin another just top tier quarterback throw where he not many guys can make that type of play and then even the bomb to how it pierced late that's a high level like just getting the ball down there to pierce against that safety one-on-one and making up for the the poor execution by the rest of the players like those plays are the reason why the Colts were even remotely close in this game.
Starting point is 00:04:08 And I think there's a lot of merit to that in a quarterback's what fifth career start where it's like, you can be in games that you don't deserve to be in because this guy can do special things that not many other people can do. I couldn't agree more. I think there were some plays that like you rewatch and you even watch live and you are like, oh my God. I mean, we've seen the same throw. That's 63 yard, absolute nuclear through that thing.
Starting point is 00:04:36 I actually don't even have a lot of words for it. It was insane. Slipped on the turf, has a guy right into his lap, and then he just throws like he's throwing that like nerf thing at the beach i saw that on twitter i thought it was hilarious uh but and it's right there in a bucket perfect throw and like those are the throws that he can make that i'm i'm not sure that there are very many quarterbacks that can make that period uh it does come down to having a little bit more help around him from a play calling perspective from a supporting cast perspective and that'll help him make some of the layups because I think
Starting point is 00:05:12 it's really to use your analogy it's it's half courts it was really just half court through you know it was a half court uh shot competition and that's what kept the Colts in this game especially in the second half just the throw to Doololin which is like that's a play that the miami dolphins run but they have ridiculous speed that you know with all due respect to ashton doolin doesn't have tyree kill speed because who does and then it's just really predicated on timing and really none of it was there it was just an unreal throw that fit into a window where al shayer who played out of his mind by the way he he's a game wrecker, came in and almost made a play on the ball. But when you can throw 100 miles an hour,
Starting point is 00:05:51 it does not matter. So that's really what we're looking at is this quarterback that can make insane throws. And if he can put it together, it's going to be very, very special. It just might not happen right away. Right, right. And on top of those insane throws, there was another reason why the Colts were able to kind of get something going on offense. And it was the legs of Anthony Richardson, the design QB run game that the scrambling of Richardson, I mean, in a day where their running game with their actual with their running backs was not good whatsoever. He was able to make this, you know, a pretty steady 4.6 yards per carry for the offense because he brought in the six carries for 59 yards just, or 56 yards,
Starting point is 00:06:32 sorry, six carries, 56 yards, just that ability that he brought. I think for the most part too, he protected himself really well in these runs, aside from the sack, that should have been a penalty and the goal line one where he barreled
Starting point is 00:06:43 into the end zone, but that's a gotta to have it play. I understand him going a little heavy there. You got to take that one out just because you're right. That's a got to have it situation. And I think that's where, you know, you can hear him talk about it in the press conference where he's like, yeah, Shane would have wanted me to do that.
Starting point is 00:06:59 I think everyone would have wanted it to. The play wasn't there. The play call was not there and he made it work. I tweeted this out during the game it's like it is a little cringeworthy to see your quarterback take this many hits like it makes you makes you uneasy um but i love the intensity i think when you're when you're there and gotta have it situations no one cares more than anthony richardson and he's willing to put his his shoulder down absolutely barreled through defenders I mean that I can't say I love that for all all 17 18 games but uh you got to do what you got to do and he absolutely did that yeah I do think on his other runs he did a little bit better with it though like he did cut in he cut inside a little bit
Starting point is 00:07:41 sometimes and I was like okay chill man like this run of bounds. But he did a good job of falling with the hits to limit the impact on the ground. He slid on that one scramble. That was like a 26-yard gain. So I do think he did a good job with his design QB runs. And again, those are really the only things that were working. I kind of wish the Colts would have called a few more just to open up the run game a little bit. But again, we don't want to talk too much scheme. But yeah, the highlight plays, the high-level throws,, those top end throws. I think he did some really good
Starting point is 00:08:08 things on the ground in this one. And there were a couple of the shorter passes where I think, you know, he made some good throw while rolling out of the pocket, did a good job getting that ball out to Pittman and a couple other ones. I mean, the sideline throw to Pittman Jr. Tight coverage, great arm strength to get it out there to Pittman, did some good things on that. So it wasn't like all awful in the short game, but obviously our second segment is going to be a little bit more filled with the scheme around him, some of the misses and the short and underneath stuff. But overall, yes, 47% completion percentage is not winnable football. But I think he did good enough in some areas to where it's like,
Starting point is 00:08:50 look, the Colts were outcoached and outplayed in this game. He was the reason why they were in it. So when you're looking at the positives for a 22-year-old quarterback in his fifth career start, that's the biggest positive you can really bring up right there. Yeah, I think that's, you just summed it up perfectly because they didn't deserve to be in the game and anthony richardson kept a minute uh whether it and alec pierce to be honest i know i'm not here to talk about alec pierce but he definitely made some plays in this game uh i i really feel that way as well i think there's a couple throws that like you just watch it even that routine rolled out route versus der Stingley.
Starting point is 00:09:26 It's like Derek Stingley is a great corner. He's also a very aggressive corner. So he got hit on a couple of double moves in this game. But that's six the other way for a lot of quarterbacks that don't have the arm strength to throw a field rolled out route versus a corner that's pretty much jumping it. Pittman takes a big hit and he makes the play and he makes the catch but that's six the other way for a lot of quarterbacks but it's not for Anthony Richardson because he can throw like a like a closing pitcher it's the best way to describe it no for sure and one more thing I did want to note about that first throw to the the super highlight throw to Alec Pierce look a post is how you beat quarters typically not at that depth though so it was it was unfair
Starting point is 00:10:09 because it he basically out through the coverage like yeah they covered it they stayed on top of it like like quarters is beat by a post but only if that that safety bites on an underneath router or takes a false step that that safety didn't take a false step. It was just a foot race, and Pierce beat him to the ball. And when DB coaches are going to go, especially in Green Bay, they're going to plan for him next week. A lot of times you get 40, 50, 60 yards down the field you're running, you're like, he ain't throwing this.
Starting point is 00:10:38 Whatever. Reps over. No, it's not. Because he will absolutely throw it over your head, and he will outthrow your coverage. And even when you think you're on top of the routes, you're really not because he can throw it even farther. So like that's, it's, it's just unfair. Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's really the biggest pluses you can bring from the, and again, if this were his 50th career start, we could be more hypercritical about some things, but with the, with this being his fifth career start,
Starting point is 00:11:03 everything being bad around him, which we'll talk about more in segment two here, I think we can look at this as a more positive showing from Anthony Richardson than a negative one. But you guys let us know in the comment section what your overall thoughts were. I'm impressed with some of the good things he showed, but we are going to take more of a negative turn in this second segment. We're talking about the things that we need to see get better going forward, things maybe schematically around him that were not great, and still some areas where Richardson just kind of wasn't at his top in this first week against the Houston Texans. But first, a word from our friends over at PrizePix. One Caleb Williams passing yard gets you a win on PrizePix every week in September.
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Starting point is 00:14:21 I'm all for it if we're playing a video game. It's not a feasible way to win a football game. In reality, you do have to hit your layups every now and then you do have to complete more passes in the underneath game. And you have to sustain some drives. Like, like, don't get me wrong in a perfect world. If you could have one play touchdown drives, every time you touch the ball, you will probably win. But the way that football works, if you're having three and out or three and score every single time and your defense is out there for, I don't know, 40 minutes of a game, you're probably not going to win a football game. So obviously, when we talk Anthony Richardson and this Colts offense and we can go more so into the issues that the Colts overall offense had as well and the guys around him, the game plan it just wasn't good enough we can talk about that too but uh it just wasn't good enough from a structural standpoint in this one you like if
Starting point is 00:15:12 you have to rely on the alien moments every week you're not going to win many games so like while this was fun to watch and say like oh my gosh anthony richardson has this ability what happened in week one can't repeat every single week. There needs to be just better from the game plan perspective, better from short accuracy and getting the ball, better from a run game perspective, better from an offensive line perspective. Like we can't rely on Anthony being an alien every week.
Starting point is 00:15:40 We need to have the procedural stuff in front of him. And part of that's on him too. Like the layups, he has to hit And part of that's on him too, like the layups. He has to hit some of those layups and stuff too, but it just needs to be a better process from this Colts team going forward. Yeah, I think overall it was clunky and insane all at the same time where I think they just have to be better on first and second down. That's really the thing where it's awesome to be that
Starting point is 00:16:06 explosive you never want to discredit a quarterback for scoring too quickly like right you score you score points like and he did it and he did it really easy it just you want to have more balance going forward because not every game is going to go like that where like having a being able to bail yourself out of you know not being able to win on first and second down when you have this offensive line and you have this running back uh it's just not going to really uh be feasible moving forward and i think one thing with anthony richardson you know that i think will continue to be a work in progress is just learning to take some of the gas off some throws, understand that, yeah, you can – and he did it at Florida.
Starting point is 00:16:49 I mean, he can launch the ball 80 yards, and that is awesome, and that is so cool. But, like, I think – I can't wait for that day where I'm tweeting out a five-yard in route because he saw the defense, got into the right play, and just made that – like, I think even that play he made in Cincinnati where he he just threw it to Alec Pierce, just these pitching catch throws. I think getting Josh Downs back will be huge for that element of the offense. I think that also, if we're going to put that on Anthony Richardson, we got to put that on Shane Steichen as well. I think abandoning the
Starting point is 00:17:18 run game and letting your defense go out there when they were potentially still tired probably hurt them in this game. It's awesome to be that explosive, but I think just learning to hit some of the throws that an average NFL quarterback can make, if he can put that together, it's going to be a problem for the rest of the league. Yeah. And, and I think again, going away from the schematic issues and the supporting cast issues,
Starting point is 00:17:40 I think the couple that you can really highlight as being Anthony Richardson issues were obviously the fourth and one missed to AD Mitchell. Again, we could talk about the play call all we want. It was a weird play call, but Mitchell got open and Richardson, you got to take some gas off. You got to get that ball. I mean, you don't even have to take some gas off. You just have to really step into that throw. He threw it off his back foot, threw it high and wasn't able to connect on that fourth and one. And ultimately, that's a big play in a game. You have to convert on fourth and one. We talked the interception. I think the interception was more of Granson slipping, but still just one that you would like to have back, obviously, on that one too.
Starting point is 00:18:17 Some other ones, I mean, there was a miss on, I think, a comeback route to A.D. Mitchell as well. Mitchell slipped a little bit out of his break on that one too. There was another one where a couple to Pittman where, one, he kind of pumps it a little bit and it wasn't – kind of turns it down a little bit. Al Shayer made a really good play. Yeah, yeah. It looked like that ball was potentially going to get intercepted. A couple where there's a ball, Pittman on a crosser,
Starting point is 00:18:48 and the ball's a little bit behind him. There's some throws that he's going to want to have back. And it's like, I think when you talk about a quarterback that potentially has the struggles with accuracy label, we can't lose fact that every quarterback is going to miss some throws. Now we just hope that those become less and less. You want that completion percentage to be higher and higher, and that we're making some miss some throws. Now we just hope that those become less and less. You want that completion percentage to be higher and higher and that we're making some of those throws.
Starting point is 00:19:08 But every single week we're going to be talking about a throw that a quarterback missed, no matter who you're – even Patrick Mahomes. It's no quarterback has never missed a throw in his entire life. So it's more about the types of throws that he's missing. Can we eliminate that pattern? And then obviously eliminating some of the numbers in key in critical situations yeah i think a big thing that i'm really seeing with richardson and again this comes from when i was talking to guys like tom
Starting point is 00:19:35 house and adam dado and stuff even years ago about quarterback mechanics and stuff like that i don't think the game has slowed down for richards Richardson yet in the sense that in the pocket, like I think he moves better in the pocket than like Gardner Minshew did last year. Like I'm not saying that he's bad in the pocket. Like at least when Richardson moves out of the pocket, he resets his feet and does try to find a target, which I love, does some great things with that stuff.
Starting point is 00:19:58 But I do think there is this a little bit of just being erratic in the pocket, being quick with his decisions. And there are times where it's like pressure's closing in. I need to will this ball somewhere down the field. And he's made some great plays doing that. But also like you want to see the game slow down a little bit more for him. You want to see him like, oh, pressure's coming. Let me slide. Let me step into this. Let me take some gas off. I have to let me calmly get it here or or like the the just the
Starting point is 00:20:25 miscommunication AD Mitchell on the double move right I know he had a blitzer in his face obviously him and Mitchell were not on the same page but that's also one where like when you see him just walking by himself down the field maybe take a little gas off and just loft it up there like I know it's hard in the split moment in the split second there like I'm not trying to criticize him too much for that one but like stuff like that where it's hard in the split moment, in the split second there. Like, I'm not trying to criticize him too much for that one. But like stuff like that, where it's like, when the game slows down for him, those split seconds will feel like a minute. So you can make those calmer decisions and getting the ball where it needs to go without, oh no, it's not what I expect. Let me just put some gas on it. And it leads to a high throw or it leads to an erratic
Starting point is 00:21:04 decision or something like that we are seeing them pay off for big plays at times but there's going to be mistakes because right now again it's more so like when he panics it's just let me throw as hard as i can and let me will this to where it needs to go when it's like when the game slows down for him he'll be able to make those decisions in a much calmer mindset and much more proactive type mindset if you get what i mean yeah i i totally agree with you i don't think the mechanics are an issue i don't think it's something where he's some broken guy no cannot we can never lose sight with anthony ridgerton that that was his 18th game yeah like that no for sure never lose sight about that
Starting point is 00:21:38 uh and he could do things on the field that no human can do uh it's just finding those but like also in critical moments nfl quarterbacks cannot miss a wide receiver running absolute when they're the only thing the broadcast is showing when there's no dv even yards around them can't happen so i think those that's one that he's going to be in the film room today and be like really kicking himself for it um and i think there's going to be a couple more of those and i think just over time that's what i think colts fans that are watching anthony richardson every sunday um and once on monday or maybe it's always sunday i forgot there's one prime time even there uh if you're watching anthony richardson i'm gonna sound like a broken record coming on here every week but like it's just finding more of those consistencies where
Starting point is 00:22:24 it's like hey that was that was a throw he was missing in week one that he's not he's not making in week seven so right four week three so it's all about building off of what you put on tape last week so that's kind of where i'm at there right no i completely agree completely agree and that segues us perfectly into our final segment where we talked about the good, we talked about the bad. Where do we go from here when it comes to Anthony Richardson and this overall Colts offense for them to get where they need to be here in 2024? But first, let's talk about our friends over at GameTime. GameTime has a new feature called the GameTime Picks that makes getting tickets for your favorite live events even easier. Game Time Picks filters out the fluff
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Starting point is 00:24:07 It's GameTime. All right, Ben. So we're talking about where we need to go from here with this Colts offense. And we haven't talked about it too much on this episode, so I think now is the perfect time to talk about it schematically speaking with the run game uh just the layups countering what the defense is showing you the colts and this offensive staff need to be better going forward because if you're expecting like zone or something or whatever the heck they were expecting going into this game and that's not there you can't just say okay we'll
Starting point is 00:24:42 just run mesh and spot i'll get like i know they didn't have the ball much in this game and that's not there you can't just say okay we'll just run mesh and spot all game like i know they didn't have the ball much in this game so maybe that's part of it but like your answer to everything can't just be like oh we'll just spam mesh it can't again it can't be like me on madden or like that's not how real football works here um i think they fully expected to come to this game running some more rpo and inside zone stuff. The Texans were really geared up to stop that. And it just became a game plan that wasn't suitable for productive series on offense. It was a lot of spamming deep shots, which again, it keeps you in the game,
Starting point is 00:25:15 but it kills your defense. So Ben, what do you need to see from Shane Stike and this offensive staff going forward to better promote productive play from Anthony Richardson? Yeah. I mean, it was just like I told you beforehand, it was a little unsettling, honestly, just because we saw something from that I'm not used to really seeing from a Shane Steichen coach team, but also a Chris Ballard roster where like the trenches really, you know, wasn't what they're, I think it wasn't up to their standards, probably on both sides of the ball,
Starting point is 00:25:42 but specifically offense. And I think too, just it kind of feels like that Saints game a little bit where they were abandoning the run really early last year with Jonathan Taylor. Credit to Houston, they really brought a force up front. It was really hard to get anything going and keep you in rhythm. I think there were shot plays getting called because they were working. I mean, that was what, that was what was working. Hey, let's, let's fake. Like we're going to, you know, take our check down and we're going to end up hitting you for something deep.
Starting point is 00:26:15 So I think all in all, just heading into green Bay next next week, more balance, just more balance offensively because for going into the draft and then saying, we don't want Anthony Richardson to be Superman. We don't want him to feel like he's Superman. And then have a game plan where Anthony Richardson has to be Superman to keep you in the game. That's not what this is about.
Starting point is 00:26:38 There's too much talent on this offensive unit for that to be a factor. So, yeah, better balance because be a factor. So yeah, better balance. Cause I think that the quarterback run, I think you had alluded to it earlier. That was something that I felt like it was, it was working for a good period of time. I'm not sure why I got abandoned. Jonathan Taylor, you know, he had the, he had the touchdown run after the block block punt, but like,
Starting point is 00:27:03 there just wasn't, he would, there was a lot left to be desired in that capacity. And then just some really weird play calls that felt from a dropback passing perspective, which I wasn't really expecting. So I'm hoping that, obviously it's week one, I think they had a game plan to maybe punish some of the aggression of the Texans secondary. And while that worked deep down the field, because Anthony Richardson can make throws, it's going to have to be better because the game plan really wasn't good enough. Yeah, I think a big thing for me going forward is, especially when it comes to fixing, not just fixing, but just making it so Richardson can be a more accurate passer and get
Starting point is 00:27:38 balls more on the hands of receivers here, is you've got to install more passing concepts where it's one or two reads. And I'm not saying you have to simplify everything for Richardson, because I do think he's passed the point of that Jaguars game last year where you had to make it super simple. But you got to get me some more RPOs in here. The Colts led the NFL in RPOs last year. You got to use the quickness of Richardson's arm strength, like his arm, his arm, just elasticity is his arm strength, his ability to when his feet are already set on those RPOs, that ball is going to come out quick and on time, you got to use that to your advantage.
Starting point is 00:28:15 And that's how you can get, you know, productive on first and second down and get out of those third and 15s. So more RPOs, more quick screens, maybe just get the ball in the hands of your wide receivers and let them go more, you know, low reads and stuff like that just let him set his feet to one side of the field or set his feet to a target and don't ask him to you know bounce around the whole field too much because that's when you'll see again the him being a little bit erratic in the pocket him being a little bit crazy i know he's an nfl quarterback he has to make full field reads i'm not saying take away all of them i'm just saying on some plays you can have it be like you know rpo you're just going to set to this or you're going to hand to the running back
Starting point is 00:28:52 that way that ball if it is coming out in a pass it's going to that intended wide receiver um but sorry just you want to jump yeah i was going to say that i think the rpo thing i mean knowing shane steichen i'm sure he wanted to call some RPOs. I think the one – there's a couple ways to defend an RPO from a defensive side. One, you can play man-to-man coverage, which – and if they can't get open and you force the handoff and you swallow up the run, that's how they're going to do it. The other way is you can blitz into it.
Starting point is 00:29:22 If that's how you feel like you want to go do things. And the third way is you just have a dominant nose tackle and you can stop the run from a lighter box and that's kind of what had happened i had to take a closer look at it before i can confidently say that but off the initial viewing uh that's kind of how i felt futakasi i believe his name is the nose for the texans he was a force and there when you can control the A and B gaps, that can be an issue. So I think that's where, like, the RPOs really weren't working. Some of the drop back passing had worked in some capacities or some weird play calls for me.
Starting point is 00:29:57 But let's just throw it down the field because our quarterback can outthrow your coverage. Yeah. Maybe get some more empty personnel in there to isolate your receivers and you know you could have got ad mitchell against a linebacker or ad mitchell against a safety abandon all that yeah it was it was a weird game plan it was a lot of play action a lot of drop back from like just standard shotgun looks they there wasn't much pistol in this either like there was like it was a weird game plan. So I do think there are ways the Colts can make life easier for Richardson and, and obviously make those layups a little bit
Starting point is 00:30:31 more of a gimme going forward. But ultimately looking forward to this Packers game, you know, great chance to get back on track, establish the run game. Hopefully Josh Downs is back. So the layups become easier when you have a guy like Josh Downs, who him and Richardson have a really special connection. And ultimately I do want re-establish this because we said at the top of the show I want to make sure we say it now overall very positive showing from Anthony Richardson oh incredible some show some throws you want to have back obviously but in his fifth career start as the youngest starting quarterback in football the Col said, we need you to carry us to victory. And while they still lost in this game,
Starting point is 00:31:09 he went toe-to-toe with C.J. Stroud with everything against him. Like he was willing this Colts team. It's kind of like the Rams game last year where everything was going wrong for the Colts, but the reason why they were in that game is because Anthony Richardson. There's so much to build on. there's so much to build on. There's so much to build on. I think if,
Starting point is 00:31:28 if you're going to look at a game where like that was the first Shane steak, even some of the blot losses last year, this is the first game plan. I'm like, what is going on? Just even from the initial viewing, that's why I'm definitely going to go look at it again.
Starting point is 00:31:39 But I just think that like, if, if you could get a young quarterback, put his team on his back, like he did, I'm thinking specifically some of the bombs to Pierce. Not take the first touchdown out of it because they were still in the game at that. They weren't in the critical situations just yet. So the throw to Doolin, who also played really well yesterday. If you can have a quarterback in his what what, like fifth, what is it now?
Starting point is 00:32:06 Fifth start? Fifth career start. Not even two dozen starts since high school. And he can do that and put an NFL team on his back versus a team that we expect to see in late January. I mean, I'm taking, I think there's so much to build on. It wasn't all perfect. You fill in some of the gaps and we'll be where we need to be with him yeah yeah as long as the staff the offensive line the run game can figure it out
Starting point is 00:32:31 around richardson i really do think there is chance for him to really figure it out this year i think by the midway point of this year when we're doing we'll be doing these monday shows obviously for you guys all year but i think by the midway point of this year when the game starts to slow down for him you're going to see a quarterback really starting to take over um and and go from this you know 40 percent passer who's going for 200 yards on nine completions to maybe a 300 yard game on 20 completion you know like maybe a more normal type style of game there but we've seen his ability to hit the half court shots really well we need the layups going forward and some of the mid-range stuff i do think that is coming
Starting point is 00:33:05 with better performance from a schematic standpoint, offensive staff standpoint, offensive line standpoint, and obviously running game and stuff like that. But that's all we have for today, guys. I do want to remind you
Starting point is 00:33:15 that our friends over at Locked On NFL are now two shows every single week. So right after you listen to this, make sure you check them out. They're featuring Tyler Rowland in the morning and then Tony Wiggins for some real NFL talk afterwards.
Starting point is 00:33:25 Add in the Locked On local experts and you get unprecedented NFL insight all 30 minutes. It's the new Locked On NFL and it's twice a day. Make the Madman Tyler Rowland and the Barber Tony Wiggins your second listen on the new Locked On NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts. I want to give a big shout out, obviously, to our friend Ben Boris at Colts Film Room for joining us this Monday. And every Monday going forward, I believe it's going to be every Monday, because I think their one primetime game is Sunday night football. So I think we'll be good on that one, too. So Ben will be joining us every Monday to talk about Anthony Richardson. Again, in the comments, leave us a good name for this segment or this show on Mondays, because I need a good alliteration, guys.
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