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10 Colts film thoughts on Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew

Ten thoughts after watching the All-22 coaches film from the Colts' 31-20 win over the Texans:

1. Shane Steichen's plan for Anthony Richardson was similar to start this game as it was in his opener, with single reads and quick throws to get him comfortable in the more difficult phase of the game before rolling out the designed runs that have him at his best. The first four snaps were all passing plays, and they went crosser, hitch, swing and back to the crosser.

It's also an acknowledgement that the defense was likely to come out in zone so as to keep eyes on Richardson and maintain alignments when he scrambles.


2. But the Colts were going to get to the designed runs eventually, especially as the field condensed in the red zone and the need for guarding over the top disappeared.

Richardson's legs are most lethal in the red zone because every blade of grass counts for so much more. A step slow might as well be 10 steps slow if it allows the ball to cross the plane.


3. That's what happened on the first touchdown, where the Colts motioned Zack Moss from out wide left into the backfield to the right to fake the swing pass motion they'd established and to unclog the left side of the field. It's a good design to create a basic run for most quarterbacks, but this one runs a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, and you can see the upside of that when you consider that he went from this spot to scoring on a jog:

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson scored on touchdown runs of 15 and 18 yards against the Texans.
Unfortunately, that success would set up the primary issue in this game on the next snap, when another Steichen design mixed with Richardson's speed in the red zone had him out in so much grass that he pulled up for the final five yards.

As Richardson swiveled his head from the pylon to a defender on his back hip, it was easy to assume that with his 255-pound body traveling forward at this speed that he was going to make it anyway, and he did. But M.J. Stewart is a seventh-year pro who knows plenty about what happens when a player loses the ball at the goal line and it flies through the end zone, as he lost a playoff game with the Browns in 2020 against the Chiefs when a teammate committed this error. He's a fourth-string safety trying to make a play.


Unfortunately, something worse happened than the ball getting dislodged, as Richardson slammed his head backward on the turf and soon would feel symptoms of a brain injury, and his second start would end early.

"Anthony is obviously extremely athletic, made some great runs the other day and will be part of his continued understanding and development – kind of figuring out how to avoid certain hits and being able to keep going," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said.

Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson ran for two touchdowns against the Houston Texans.
FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Inside Anthony Richardson's brain injury and the toughest decision for a rookie to make

Special play design of Anthony Richardson's second touchdown

4. The design on that touchdown run was special. Steichen installed it early last week and the Colts practiced it relentlessly to get the critical details down -- like the full offensive line moving left, Richardson turning his back to the defense as he faked a handoff to Josh Downs, Kylen Granson slipping to the right behind the shade of that big offensive line and Michael Pittman Jr. lining up his crack block with the exact moment the linebacker flipped his head from right to left so as to avoid a penalty.


It took the right moment to unfold this perfectly, too. The Colts had just strip-sacked C.J. Stroud, forcing the Texans defense on the field before it was expecting to be. Houston lined up in Cover 1, allowing Indianapolis to move the cornerback with Downs' motion into the backfield and keep the single high safety out of a strong pursuit angle with how close the end zone was.


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It all underscores how important it is for Richardson to sprint through the tape on these plays, for his safety and to ensure the ball can't be dislodged.

"He's not used to the ferocity of hits in the NFL," Pittman Jr. said. "He's in his learning process."

5. Richardson said he felt symptoms on the next two drives, both of which were three-and-outs. The Colts were trying to get further into the play sheet. It all came at a tough moment.

His first snap on the third series was a play-action drop-back that sent Alec Pierce screaming downfield on a deep post route against man coverage. He had a step on the defender shaded to his backside with lots of green grass, and Richardson had a nice pocket but didn't quite see it, so he stepped up into pressure before firing the ball left-handed out of bounds.

Have faith in Alec Pierce

6. It's plays like these that should maintain some faith in Pierce despite his five targets and three catches for 33 yards through two games. The Colts have built a game script for a 21-year-old rookie quarterback that emphasizes the opposite of Pierce's top trait, which is his ability to win vertically.

Yes, Pierce must improve his route running and chemistry to win on underneath routes. But I think the feeling about his performance is different if he hits one of these explosive plays a game. For reasons intentional and not, the Colts haven't gotten there in the passing evolution.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew completed 19 of 23 passes for 171 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions against the Houston Texans.
7. I do wonder how that changes if Gardner Minshew starts Sunday at Baltimore. Deep shots aren't exactly his forte, and the only one he tried in this game came on a busted coverage that let Will Mallory scream down the field. Indianapolis might need to rely on comebacks and quick fades in tempo for Pierce like it did with Matt Ryan's limitations last year.

That said, Minshew can be a good fit in other ways. The coaching staff knows how to use him, and that plan was clear when he stepped in and ran shotgun run-pass-options with the ball coming out quickly and an emphasis on throwing from the pocket. If the defense plays more man coverage without that scramble threat, he should be effective with his ball placement on crossing routes, especially with Downs, with whom he has some chemistry after working together on the second team.

8. The question is how the Colts generate explosive plays with a Minshew-Moss backfield and no Jelani Woods.

Let's give credit where it's due: Moss earned his 88 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against the Texans by running with authority, following double teams, cutting off them and finishing through contact amid those cuts. It's what none of the backs did against Jacksonville. If the Colts interior line can execute these doubles like it did with Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly and Will Fries, the run game should stay competent. Some of that is in question with Kelly in the concussion protocol, though, and no Danny Pinter to fill in.

But a couple runs did showcase the difference Taylor brings. Steichen rolled out one design from the left hash mark where Moss took a shotgun handoff around the right side as Braden Smith sealed Will Anderson inside, but he gained just six yards in a spot where I think Taylor out-angles the nickel cornerback and hits an explosive gain.

I also am left wondering what Taylor does with a hole like this one:

The Colts offensive opened up consistent holes for Zack Moss in an 18-carry, 88-yard rushing performance against the Texans.
It's not to take away from Moss, who is averaging 4.8 yards per carry as a Colt. But he can't play 98% of the snaps very often, and the explosive upside has to fall on someone else, and without Richardson or Woods or Taylor, you wonder who that will be.

9. The Colts defensive line feasted on a Texans offensive line missing four starters, and the encouraging part was how much of a committee the effort was. DeForest Buckner mostly consumed double teams to allow others to get their seasons revved up. Samson Ebukam dominated a guard moved to left tackle, showing too much speed and length for that kind of player in 1-on-1 matchups. Dayo Odeyingbo gave guards trouble with length. Kwity Paye flashed the bull rush. And the second wave of Tyquan Lewis, Taven Bryan and Eric Johnson all had some impressive reps as well.


The Colts lead the NFL with 17 tackles for loss through two weeks, which is a great start. But we also need to see it against better competition than the Texans' backups and a Jaguars line missing Cam Robinson that got ruthlessly annihilated by Chris Jones this week. Baltimore will provide a great test if Ronnie Stanley is back from missing this week with a knee injury.

Can the Colts outside corners produce?

10. That pass rush has to deliver right now with some of the leaks at outside cornerback. Stroud threw for 384 yards, and it was more than just compiling stats late, when the Colts approach shifted from heavy Cover 1 and 3 with some blitzes to mostly Cover 4 and 6 to keep the ball in front. It felt like when Stroud had time to set his feet, he was going to find something down the field or outside the numbers.

Darrell Baker Jr. was often the target, and it felt like inexperience caught up to him sometimes. He played with much cushion, off the ball and with outside leverage, despite often playing with a safety in the middle of the field. Some alignments like this one are asking a timing and placement quarterback like Stroud to work a sideline route:

The Colts allowed 384 passing yards to Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud on Sunday.
Cornerbacks as young as Baker Jr. and Dallis Flowers are going to have ups and downs at a confidence-based position in a passing league. But on days when one is having more downs than another, it will help to have another option to plug in and switch it up. That's where second-round Kansas State product JuJu Brents needs to emerge as an option they trust on game days.