INDIANAPOLIS – To understand what this story is going to say about new Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, you need to understand Quenton Nelson. You probably do understand Big Q, the All-Pro left guard whose No. 56 jersey you’re probably wearing at the moment, but let’s review:
Quiet guy, mostly. Serious. Intimidating. Glowering? Sure, that works. Half the time when Quenton’s talking to me, he’s scaring the hell out of me. The other half, he’s boring the hell out of me.
Both are by design, you understand. Quenton’s a smart guy – Notre Dame grad, all that – and he gives reporters what he wants to give us, and not a syllable more. It’s impressive, really, how the most ferocious figure in the Colts’ building can become so docile when he feels like it. Here, pull out your phone for a second. Go to the emojis. See that blank face?
That’s Quenton, when he’s talking to reporters.
Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson (56) leaves the field Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, after losing a game 20-3 against the Los Angeles Chargers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Now then, pull up a chair. Listen to what Quenton had to say Wednesday about Richardson. Pay close attention to what he said about Richardson’s performance at the 2023 NFL Combine, where he was bigger, stronger, faster and more explosive than any quarterback we’ve ever seen.
“Really excited,” Quenton said when asked about the Colts’ new QB. “Heard great things about him and his character and the person he is. Seeing his film and things he can do on the field is pretty extraordinary. He dominated the combine. Did really well in college football.”
Dominated the combine.
Those three words, they jump out at you. Especially coming from Quenton, who rarely says much – because he doesn’t want to say much – that jumps out at you. So a few minutes later I was asking him about that. Understand, please, that Quenton Nelson also dominated the NFL combine back in 2018, scoring in the top 5% of all guards tested since 1987. Most players in an NFL locker room, the best of the best certainly, dominated the combine. It’s what they do. It’s who they are.
Only, nobody has dominated it like Anthony Richardson.
You think you were excited, when the Colts drafted the 6-4, 244-pound behemoth out of Florida?
Check this out.
Anthony Richardson means fresh start at QB
We’ll get to Quenton. But it occurs to me that maybe you should hear first from Grover Stewart, who pays attention to college football like you do, and who had thoughts about all the quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft class like you did, and who had a particular thought about Antony Richardson.
“That’s the guy I wanted,” Stewart told us Wednesday. “When I saw that we got him, I was like, ‘Shoot, I’m good now.’”
Grover starts laughing, but not because he was joking. Nope, you call this happy laughter. The building is a lot happier than it was six months ago, when the Colts were spiraling and someone was stabbing Frank Reich in the back until he was fired and then the season really got ugly. You know all that.
You probably also know, or think you know, this: Of course they’re saying building is a lot happier. What else do you expect them to say, genius?
Look, I’m fine with you thinking you know more than the rest of us, but lose the “genius” comment, OK? Sarcasm is so ugly.
Anyway.
The vibe is different. The previous vibe was Frank Reich and his utter positivity, getting 1% better each day, going 1-0 each week, until the vibe was Jeff Saturday and … whatever he was doing. Based on the way the team absolutely quit on him down the stretch, he wasn’t doing much. Plus it was Matt Ryan or Nick Foles at quarterback. Whole lot of bad vibes, is my point.
But this is different. For one thing, sure, the new quarterback. For the first time since 2018, when Andrew Luck was last healthy, the Colts have hope for a fantastic future at quarterback. With Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan, they had the hope for a good present. With Carson Wentz, they had Carson Wentz.
With Anthony Richardson, they have someone to believe in.
“It’s like a fresh start, man,” Stewart was saying. “Having a young guy come in, can be here for a long time, it’s like something new.”
Said Quenton: “(After) bouncing from year to year, quarterback to quarterback, it’ll be nice to be able to build something for years to come.”
Good vibe, there. And then there’s the coach, Shane Steichen, who says what he means and means what he says, and you don’t have to like it. And players don’t like it. They love it.
“When he talks in the team meeting room, the offensive meeting room, it gets you excited – the confidence in his voice,” Quenton said, then pretended to quote Steichen for us: “’This is what we’re going to do, this is how we’re going to do it.’
“Very direct and holding guys accountable,” Quenton continued, “which has been great. Team meetings, calling out mistakes, not letting anything slide. Also praising you when you do well. It’s really appreciated by the players.”
Players prefer to be treated like adults, you know? But even the Colts can sound like kids when they discuss Anthony Richardson.
Dominated the combine.
A few minutes later I’m reminding Quenton of those words, and telling him how Richardson’s combine performance resonated among Colts fans too. But it sounds like it energized the Colts’ locker room, too. Is that what I’m hearing, Big Q?
“The game film is more important,” Quenton says, going where he wants to go with his answer, and seeing how he’s 6-5 and 332 pounds, I’m not mad at him, “seeing some of the spectacular plays he made and the throws he made. But to go to the combine and do like he did and be the best ever, I’d say that’s pretty important (that) he took it that seriously and dominated it the way he did. That’s a guy you want to draft. He wants to be the best.”
Doyel: GM Chris Ballard picked freakish Anthony Richardson, and was just starting to get his freak on
If you recall, Grover Stewart had said of Richardson, “That’s the guy I wanted.” But the pressure, someone – OK, it was me – was asking of Grover. Richardson is still just 20 years old. How will the locker room respond to a guy this young?
“I’ve been watching him on his interviews,” Grover said, “and he seems like a great guy. We’re going to be behind him, and he’s going to be behind us.”
The third and final Colts player to speak with reporters Wednesday, Valdosta State graduate Kenny Moore II – congrats, Kenny – didn’t want to go where reporters were trying to lead him. Was Richardson the quarterback he was hoping his team would draft? Kenny was smiling, but he wasn’t having it.
“Man,” he said, “I just work here.”
That’s a terrible answer, someone teased him. (I wish that one had been me.)
“I think it’s a great answer,” Kenny said. “What am I going to do about it?”
Prodded a little more, from another angle – what’s it like for you, Mr. 2021 Pro Bowl cornerback, to play a dual-threat quarterback like this? – Kenny came clean.
“Playing a dual quarterback is extremely hard because yes, he can pass, but he can definitely run,” Kenny was saying, “and you have to tackle – especially this guy we just got. You’ve got to get him to the ground. We’ve got a choice to make very fast (in the secondary): Do you want to go get him, or do you want to (cover the receiver) who’s behind you? You have a choice to make.”
Sounds to me like the Colts have made their choice, and it’s the same choice most of us seem to have made about the drafting of young quarterback Anthony Richardson:
|
05-04-2023, 02:17 PM
Doyel: New vibe for Colts with rookie Anthony Richardson at QB and Shane Steichen at
Linear Mode
