10 thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts' 37-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars

[JAFF]

rs
Nate Atkins
Indianapolis Star


JACKSONVILLE - Ten thoughts on the Colts' 37-20 loss to the Jaguars at Everbank Stadium to fall to 3-3:

1. The Colts never play their best football in Jacksonville. Sometimes it makes no sense, like when they needed to beat a two-win team to reach the playoffs in 2021; and sometimes it does, like this game.

The matchup was never in Indianapolis' favor, with a backup quarterback who doesn't have a run threat, a run-first offense going up against the NFL's best run defense, the warm settings of Jacksonville and the way they play into Trevor Lawrence's hands and the bind the Colts defense is in trying to guard for his downfield passes with the way Travis Etienne can hit the perimeter.

So, it's not a surprise the Colts lost this game. Some of what played out, though, should bring some concerns about what the next month-plus of games could bring.

2. Let's start with the quarterback. Gardner Minshew has played above expectation this season, most notably in adequately stepping in and finishing wins against the Texans and Titans with high efficiency and safe play.

But like when he started in Baltimore, it's just a different situation when he's named the starter early in the week. It helps that he gets first-team reps to build a little chemistry with receivers, but it mostly helps the opposing defense to not exert energy into game-planning for Anthony Richardson's deep ball or rushing ability. The run game falls entirely upon the running backs, which is Jacksonville's strength as a defense. And defending the pass means getting pressure on Minshew to force off-balance throws and not worrying as much about whether he'll go down the field.

3. This was Minshew's first three-interception game of his career, which spans 26 starts for three teams. That's where things really fell off the wagon for him.


Each one seemed on the quarterback. He threw behind Michael Pittman Jr. on a ball that Rayshawn Jenkins picked off over the middle. He threw well over Pittman's head on the easiest interception that Andre Cisco will ever see, on a play where Pittman was open and Drew Ogletree even more open just to his right. And he rushed a jump ball to Pittman in the end zone that became something else, as Darius Williams was able to settle and scoop the ball up.

The fumble was a nice speed rush by Josh Allen around Bernhard Raimann's hip on the left side, but it was also a moment where I think Richardson would have moved in the pocket or absorbed the hit better.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II (10) from the bench during game action at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, in Jacksonville.
4. All in all, it's a showcase of how the floor can disappear in this offense without Richardson. The designed quarterback runs that became a point of contention over the risk it brought to Richardson were the bread and butter for dictating the opposing personnel and alignment of the defense. It was a way to shake elite run defenses out of traditional and technical defense, having to play for two runners at the same time. And that scrambling ability was a way to convert third downs when receivers are covered off the snap.


5. I do think the run game will be better from here on out, and it better be, as they had 17 carries for 44 yards. They'll face easier defenses to run on, hopefully with more favorable game scripts to stick with it. And Jonathan Taylor will increase his conditioning to be more of the player who can carry an offense that needs carrying some days. That was the Colts on Sunday, but it wasn't the time or the place for him to do so.

6. Alec Pierce hasn't had the start to his second season many were hoping for, entering Sunday with eight catches for 124 yards and no touchdowns. But he would be a sizeable loss if the shoulder he hurt in the second half ends up lingering. Even though they might not deploy it a ton with Minshew, he's the best perimeter-deep threat the Colts have. That will need to matter eventually for as much as they are likely to run with Taylor and Zack Moss and with how defenses are going to play them. It's also not a spot where the Colts have much depth.


7. The Colts did a decent job managing Braden Smith's sudden absence on the right side that moved fourth-round rookie Blake Freeland from the left side to the right side on Friday. That can be a disastrous situation in this league, but the Colts ran quick game and used a tight end to help out consistently.

The problem is that limited the threat they posed as an offense. Drew Ogletree had his best game last week, but he was mostly a blocker and a tertiary receiving option in this one, seeing just one target and no catches.

Shane Steichen, head coach for the Colts, after an Indianapolis touchdown against Jacksonville at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, in Jacksonville.
8. However, if Smith is out long-term, there's reason to be concerned with the youth at the two tackle positions. That concern could ramp up next week against Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith of the Browns. Something to really monitor this week.

9. It's odd to see the Jaguars with 37 points and just 234 yards on 3.8 yards per play. They had some short fields and were highly efficient in the red zone, but the Colts did a good job limiting explosive plays and held the Jaguars to just 2.9 yards per carry. This was a game that felt like last year, with the Colts putting too much responsibility on their defense until it breaks.



10. JuJu Brents had another up-and-down game, which is what rookie cornerbacks do. He was a part of the breakdown that led to Christian Kirk's touchdown catch on the left side, though it's hard to discern whose fault that was. He did have a nice breakup in the second half and some more reliable tackles, which is becoming a key part of his profile.

This experience is obviously valuable for him, especially against receivers like Calvin Ridley, and I expect him to stay as their No. 1 outside cornerback for a while.

[JAFF]

Doyel: Back to reality in Jacksonville for Colts without injured QB Anthony Richardson
Gregg Doyel
Indianapolis Star

We dared to dream about the 2023 Indianapolis Colts, didn’t we? Give credit to this team for finding itself tied for first in the AFC South five games into the season, and credit to us for the power of our positive thinking. That was us, before this game Sunday in Jacksonville: We saw the Colts’ possibilities.

Then came this 37-20 loss, and we saw their limitations.

Rookie cornerbacks. A leaking offensive line. Rookie coach. Gardner Minshew.

Add it up and you have the ugliest game of the season for the Colts, a mostly hopeless loss that gives Jacksonville the season sweep and therefore the head-to-head tiebreaker. In other words, for the Colts to win the AFC South, they cannot merely tie the Jaguars for first. They have to win it outright.

Insider:Gardner Minshew struggles in Colts blowout loss as Jacksonville curse continues

That last sentence, about the 2023 AFC South title? That was a statement of fact, nothing more or less. Damn sure wasn’t me, daring to dream. Not anymore. Not today, anyway. Ask me tomorrow, you know? But right now the Colts are coming off a game that laid bare their weaknesses, the bad ending to a bad day that started with a report from the NFL Network that reflected coach Shane Steichen's previous statements the franchise is seriously considering season-ending surgery on the right shoulder of rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.


If that means 11 more games like the one we just watched, well, please wake me up. Because this feels like a nightmare.

Gardner Minshew threw how many passes??

Before Sunday, Gardner Minshew had never thrown 50 passes in a game. He’d never been intercepted three times, either. Those numbers are related, primarily because Minshew doesn’t have the arm – sorry, let’s be like the cool kids; he doesn’t have the arm talent – to get away with that many passes. If he’s throwing it 50 times, his team must be trailing. Which means the other team knows he’ll be passing.

Which explains Sunday, when Minshew attempted a career-high 55 passes and threw a career-high three interceptions. But if you’re looking for the bright side, here you go:

It could have been much, much worse.

Minshew had one interception negated by a defensive penalty and had two easy interceptions dropped by Jags linebacker Devin Lloyd, and had a third, tougher one dropped as well. That’s what, seven potential interceptions? Well, not exactly. On the next snap after Lloyd’s first drop, Minshew threw an interception. That means he could’ve thrown only six picks, not seven!

You can’t throw two interceptions on the same drive, see. Though if it were possible, Sunday was your game and Gardner was your guy.

After the game, asked about the Jags' pressure, Minshew didn't go easy on himself.

"They got some pressure," he said, "but at the end of the day, I was careless with the ball. I didn't do a good enough job taking care of it. I put our team in a really bad spot, you know, and it's not fair to the rest of the guys, so I'm really going to look at those, hold myself accountable."

Nate Atkins:10 thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts' 37-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars

As for Colts coach Shane Steichen afterward, he did that thing he always does, saying the blame starts with him – “I’ve got to make it easier on him,” he said of Minshew – and while normally that’s just ego-massaging nonsense, he had a point Sunday. It’s true the Colts found themselves trailing 14-3 after the Jags scored 14 points in 16 seconds, but that was early in the second quarter. More than 14 minutes left, plus the entire second half to play. No time to panic.

Steichen called for 11 passes on the Colts’ next 13 plays, in part because Minshew had completed his first nine throws of the game, and in part because the Colts were already down 11 points. But for that many passes, the math works like this: Gardner Minshew plus a defense expecting the pass equals ugliness.

Minshew’s 10th pass in that stretch was dropped by the Jaguars’ Lloyd. His 11th pass was caught by Jags safety Andre Cisco. Jacksonville scored on that drive for a 21-3 lead. An exchange of field goals made it 24-6. Then Steichen was calling two passes on three plays before punting – a “three-and-out,” you call that – and the Jags were driving for another touchdown and it was 31-6 and time to go home.

Two of those touchdowns happened because the Colts’ rookie cornerbacks are not ready for this moment. These guys could be good someday, especially JuJu Brents of Warren Central, but Sunday was not that day.

Brents, a second-round pick this year, and Jaylon Jones (seventh round) each committed pass interference on a drive that ended on a 10-yard TD pass from Trevor Lawrence to tight end Brenton Strange, who was alone near the end zone. The closest Colts to him were Jones and linebacker E.J. Speed. Maybe it was Speed’s fault, but zone coverage has been complicated for the Colts’ rookie corners.

On an earlier touchdown, a 29-yard strike from Lawrence to Christian Kirk for a 21-3 lead, Brents let Kirk run past him, perhaps thinking he had help behind him.

Narrator: He did not have help behind him.

Shaddup, narrator. Not in the mood today.

Surgery makes sense for Anthony Richardson

Colts running backs Zack Moss and Jonathan Taylor ran 15 times for 40 yards, combined, which also could explain why Steichen felt what this Colts offense really needed was more Minshew.

With the news that Richardson could be facing season-ending shoulder surgery, the prospect of more games like this feels deflating after what we saw for five games. Yes, we saw Richardson get knocked from three of those games, all in part because of artificial turf – his bruised knee and separated shoulder smacked on the unforgiving stuff at Lucas Oil Stadium, while the back of his helmet crashed into Houston’s turf for a concussion – but we saw Minshew come off the bench and rally the team.

Doyel last week:Colts need to protect Anthony Richardson and switch to grass

At 3-2, the Colts were playing Sunday for sole possession of first in the AFC South, and a 3-1 record in division play. Win this game, and they were on their way to something special. Maybe. That was the dream, anyway.

But lose this game the way the Colts lost it – three interceptions, no running game, rookie cornerbacks making rookie cornerback mistakes – and the narrative changes. Before, we saw what was possible. One week after coming off the bench to lead the Colts past Tennessee, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Titans and a seven-game skid at Lucas Oil Stadium dating to October 2022, why couldn’t Minshew return to his old home of Jacksonville and help the Colts snap their eight-game road losing streak to Jacksonville?

Then we saw why.

And we saw, as if we’d forgotten, how important Anthony Richardson is to this franchise. On a day like Sunday, when the Colts offense needed Superman, he was standing on the sideline with his right arm in a sling. Good old Anthony, he still made this trip and came out to the field well before kickoff to sign autographs for anybody who wanted one. Given that he’s from nearby Gainesville, Fla., and played for his hometown Florida Gators, lots of kids wanted his autograph.

This franchise is in good hands with Richardson going forward, which is why it’s not the worst idea in the world for him to undergo shoulder surgery. Fix that thing surgically – which would make a second sprain less likely than simply letting it heal on its own – and prepare for the next decade.

What about the rest of the 2023 season? Well, it doesn’t look great. Not today. Then again, anything seemed possible just one week ago. This is a crazy game and a crazy league, and worse teams than the 2023 Colts have found themselves in the postseason.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


One of the few bright spots today was the fact that our kicker (Matt Gay) continued to show that he is very good ...... he booted a 56-yard FG just before halftime, and is 11-for-12 on the season for 3-pointers.

o

[JAFF]

Insider: Gardner Minshew's limitations exposed in Jacksonville and put Colts in tough spot
Joel A. Erickson
Indianapolis Star

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Colts find themselves back in a familiar position.

A spot they know all too well, although the difference is that this time the Colts didn’t put themselves there.

Indianapolis is going to have to carry its quarterback as long as Anthony Richardson remains on the sideline.

Because Gardner Minshew cannot make life easier on the rest of the offense.

Forced to put the ball in Minshew’s hands by Richardson’s injury and a Jaguars defense that dared the Indianapolis passing game to make plays, the Colts saw their backup quarterback’s limitations exposed in a 37-20 loss in Jacksonville, the place he first made his name in the NFL and a place that has become a house of horrors for Indianapolis over the better part of the past decade.


“I was careless with the ball,” Minshew said. “I didn't do a good enough job taking care of it. I put our team in a really bad spot, you know, and it's not fair to the rest of the guys.”


Minshew typically hasn’t been careless with the ball in his career in terms of interceptions.

Fumbling, the first turnover he committed Sunday, as Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen bore down on him from behind, has been an issue. He’s now fumbled 24 times in 26 career starts.

Interceptions haven’t posed the same problems. Minshew’s lifetime interception percentage is just 1.5%, a reasonable number that makes Sunday’s three-pick performance against an opportunistic Jaguars team seem like an outlier.


Doyel:Back to reality in Jacksonville for Colts without injured QB Anthony Richardson

But it’s the reasons for those interceptions, and a few of the other missed throws, that are going to make life difficult on the Colts offense as long as it doesn’t have Richardson, who could end up missing the entire season due to the AC injury he suffered against Tennessee last week.

“The one to (Michael Pittman Jr.), I sailed. The other (in-breaking route), I sailed,” Minshew said. “And then there was a fourth down, Cover Zero (man-to-man), I dropped (back) and tried to lay a ball up there, and I should have thrown it more outside.”

All three throws were down the field.

A place Minshew doesn’t throw often.


A place where his lack of arm strength can be an issue. Unlike Richardson, who has the easy velocity to fire heat-seeking missiles to downfield targets over the middle, Minshew can’t simply turn up the gas. When he does, the ball has a tendency to sail, and it can lead to incompletions or interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II (10) on the bench during game action at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, in Jacksonville.
Minshew’s third interception, though, highlighted another limitation in his game. Unlike Richardson, who has shown a natural ability to evade oncoming rushers, escape the pocket and make throws on the move, Minshew has a tendency to speed up his process too much in the pocket, in part because he's not comfortable throwing on the move and cannot create a lot of space for himself with his legs.

When Minshew starts playing too fast, he misses.

He threw the third interception off his back foot, dropping back even though a pass rusher was a few steps away. On a couple of throws earlier in the game, he pulled the trigger early, firing as if the pocket was closing on him when, in reality, he had a little bit of space to operate.


“You know, Jacksonville did some good things,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “Obviously, it starts with myself. I’ve got to be better for him in those situations.”

But that’s part of the problem. It’s one of the reasons that Minshew remains a backup and that he was available for a relatively cheap contract in a rising backup market last offseason.

The Colts have to minimize Minshew’s shortcomings.

Nate Atkins:10 thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts' 37-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s a problem Indianapolis has faced too many times since Andrew Luck’s retirement, the reason the Colts drafted Richardson in the first place. For Minshew to be successful long-term, Indianapolis is going to have to run the ball well, allowing Steichen to emphasize the quick, high-percentage passing game that fits Minshew’s skill set.

When Minshew is getting the ball out of his hands quickly — a strategy that keeps him from dealing with the pass rush — he is accurate, and he can put together long drives like the 16 plays the Colts used to open the scoring with a field goal.


The problem is that’s the way defenses want Indianapolis to play, and the antithesis of a Steichen offense that is predicated on creating explosive plays. Minshew completed 33 of 55 passes for 329 yards, a line that looks good at first glance, but ultimately comes up short, an average of just 6.0 yards per attempt, even though Indianapolis completed three throws of 40 yards or more.

Jacksonville was happy to let Minshew play that game Sunday. The Jaguars stacked the box, using a diamond front that puts seven defenders on the line of scrimmage, daring Minshew to throw deep, knowing he probably wouldn’t be able to do it enough to beat them.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II (10) during game action at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, in Jacksonville.
Opponents hadn’t been playing the Colts that way.

Not with Richardson back there.

“They played a different defense,” center Ryan Kelly said. “They played base defense the entire day. If they’re going to cover up every single one of us, (the offensive line will) not be able to get on double teams.”


Which makes it difficult to get the dangerous 1-2 punch of Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss going on the ground. Taylor and Moss combined for just 40 yards on 15 carries Sunday, spending most of their day running into a wall of Jaguars.

Insider:Gardner Minshew struggles in Colts blowout loss as Jacksonville curse continues

The best way to beat that kind of approach?

Throw it deep. Make Jacksonville pay for using a heavy front.

A player like Taylor helps.

Under the previous coaching staff, particularly in 2021, Taylor was nearly able to run the Colts into the playoffs despite facing the same kind of fronts Indianapolis had to deal with Sunday.

But it’s not easy, and it’s going to put a ton of pressure on Steichen, offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and the rest of the offensive staff to find answers. When Richardson was at the helm, the threat of the rookie’s legs often held the defense’s attention, making it easier for the offensive line to open holes.

“If that’s what teams are going to do, you need to have a counter-plan,” Taylor said. “You need to find a way to match that.”

As long as Richardson is out, the defense can stay focused on Taylor and Moss.

“When they do that, we do have to make them pay outside,” Minshew said. “We'll all take that personally as a challenge.”

Richardson was far from a finished product, but the Colts drafted him because his physical tools freed them from the shackles of the limited offense they’d been playing.

And the flashes were starting to show. Richardson brought Indianapolis roaring back by making remarkable plays with his arm against the Rams two weeks ago, had already opened holes for explosive runs with his legs.

The hard part is the Colts might not have Richardson for a long time.



Richardson is on injured reserve, and the team is still deciding whether he’ll need surgery, whether he’ll miss the entire season.

Minshew’s going to be the guy in the meantime.

“We continue to believe in him, and that’s not going to fade,” Pittman said. “If you look at all the games we have won, he’s had his hand in all those games.”

Minshew can help the Colts win despite his limitations.

But he can’t carry the weight of the offense, the way he tried to shoulder everything Sunday in Jacksonville, and for the Colts, that’s a reality that has been all too familiar.

[njcoltfan]

Originally Posted by JAFF

Insider: Gardner Minshew's limitations exposed in Jacksonville and put Colts in tough spot
Joel A. Erickson
Indianapolis Star

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Colts find themselves back in a familiar position.

A spot they know all too well, although the difference is that this time the Colts didn’t put themselves there.

Indianapolis is going to have to carry its quarterback as long as Anthony Richardson remains on the sideline.

Because Gardner Minshew cannot make life easier on the rest of the offense.

Forced to put the ball in Minshew’s hands by Richardson’s injury and a Jaguars defense that dared the Indianapolis passing game to make plays, the Colts saw their backup quarterback’s limitations exposed in a 37-20 loss in Jacksonville, the place he first made his name in the NFL and a place that has become a house of horrors for Indianapolis over the better part of the past decade.


“I was careless with the ball,” Minshew said. “I didn't do a good enough job taking care of it. I put our team in a really bad spot, you know, and it's not fair to the rest of the guys.”


Minshew typically hasn’t been careless with the ball in his career in terms of interceptions.

Fumbling, the first turnover he committed Sunday, as Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen bore down on him from behind, has been an issue. He’s now fumbled 24 times in 26 career starts.

Interceptions haven’t posed the same problems. Minshew’s lifetime interception percentage is just 1.5%, a reasonable number that makes Sunday’s three-pick performance against an opportunistic Jaguars team seem like an outlier.


Doyel:Back to reality in Jacksonville for Colts without injured QB Anthony Richardson

But it’s the reasons for those interceptions, and a few of the other missed throws, that are going to make life difficult on the Colts offense as long as it doesn’t have Richardson, who could end up missing the entire season due to the AC injury he suffered against Tennessee last week.

“The one to (Michael Pittman Jr.), I sailed. The other (in-breaking route), I sailed,” Minshew said. “And then there was a fourth down, Cover Zero (man-to-man), I dropped (back) and tried to lay a ball up there, and I should have thrown it more outside.”

All three throws were down the field.

A place Minshew doesn’t throw often.


A place where his lack of arm strength can be an issue. Unlike Richardson, who has the easy velocity to fire heat-seeking missiles to downfield targets over the middle, Minshew can’t simply turn up the gas. When he does, the ball has a tendency to sail, and it can lead to incompletions or interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II (10) on the bench during game action at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, in Jacksonville.
Minshew’s third interception, though, highlighted another limitation in his game. Unlike Richardson, who has shown a natural ability to evade oncoming rushers, escape the pocket and make throws on the move, Minshew has a tendency to speed up his process too much in the pocket, in part because he's not comfortable throwing on the move and cannot create a lot of space for himself with his legs.

When Minshew starts playing too fast, he misses.

He threw the third interception off his back foot, dropping back even though a pass rusher was a few steps away. On a couple of throws earlier in the game, he pulled the trigger early, firing as if the pocket was closing on him when, in reality, he had a little bit of space to operate.


“You know, Jacksonville did some good things,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “Obviously, it starts with myself. I’ve got to be better for him in those situations.”

But that’s part of the problem. It’s one of the reasons that Minshew remains a backup and that he was available for a relatively cheap contract in a rising backup market last offseason.

The Colts have to minimize Minshew’s shortcomings.

Nate Atkins:10 thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts' 37-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s a problem Indianapolis has faced too many times since Andrew Luck’s retirement, the reason the Colts drafted Richardson in the first place. For Minshew to be successful long-term, Indianapolis is going to have to run the ball well, allowing Steichen to emphasize the quick, high-percentage passing game that fits Minshew’s skill set.

When Minshew is getting the ball out of his hands quickly — a strategy that keeps him from dealing with the pass rush — he is accurate, and he can put together long drives like the 16 plays the Colts used to open the scoring with a field goal.


The problem is that’s the way defenses want Indianapolis to play, and the antithesis of a Steichen offense that is predicated on creating explosive plays. Minshew completed 33 of 55 passes for 329 yards, a line that looks good at first glance, but ultimately comes up short, an average of just 6.0 yards per attempt, even though Indianapolis completed three throws of 40 yards or more.

Jacksonville was happy to let Minshew play that game Sunday. The Jaguars stacked the box, using a diamond front that puts seven defenders on the line of scrimmage, daring Minshew to throw deep, knowing he probably wouldn’t be able to do it enough to beat them.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II (10) during game action at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, in Jacksonville.
Opponents hadn’t been playing the Colts that way.

Not with Richardson back there.

“They played a different defense,” center Ryan Kelly said. “They played base defense the entire day. If they’re going to cover up every single one of us, (the offensive line will) not be able to get on double teams.”


Which makes it difficult to get the dangerous 1-2 punch of Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss going on the ground. Taylor and Moss combined for just 40 yards on 15 carries Sunday, spending most of their day running into a wall of Jaguars.

Insider:Gardner Minshew struggles in Colts blowout loss as Jacksonville curse continues

The best way to beat that kind of approach?

Throw it deep. Make Jacksonville pay for using a heavy front.

A player like Taylor helps.

Under the previous coaching staff, particularly in 2021, Taylor was nearly able to run the Colts into the playoffs despite facing the same kind of fronts Indianapolis had to deal with Sunday.

But it’s not easy, and it’s going to put a ton of pressure on Steichen, offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and the rest of the offensive staff to find answers. When Richardson was at the helm, the threat of the rookie’s legs often held the defense’s attention, making it easier for the offensive line to open holes.

“If that’s what teams are going to do, you need to have a counter-plan,” Taylor said. “You need to find a way to match that.”

As long as Richardson is out, the defense can stay focused on Taylor and Moss.

“When they do that, we do have to make them pay outside,” Minshew said. “We'll all take that personally as a challenge.”

Richardson was far from a finished product, but the Colts drafted him because his physical tools freed them from the shackles of the limited offense they’d been playing.

And the flashes were starting to show. Richardson brought Indianapolis roaring back by making remarkable plays with his arm against the Rams two weeks ago, had already opened holes for explosive runs with his legs.

The hard part is the Colts might not have Richardson for a long time.



Richardson is on injured reserve, and the team is still deciding whether he’ll need surgery, whether he’ll miss the entire season.

Minshew’s going to be the guy in the meantime.

“We continue to believe in him, and that’s not going to fade,” Pittman said. “If you look at all the games we have won, he’s had his hand in all those games.”

Minshew can help the Colts win despite his limitations.

But he can’t carry the weight of the offense, the way he tried to shoulder everything Sunday in Jacksonville, and for the Colts, that’s a reality that has been all too familiar.

How much better is Minshew than Ellinger? Ellinger would at least be able to scramble a little and maybe, just maybe get a few 1st downs with his legs. I know, I know I'm way out in no mans land................

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by njcoltfan

How much better is Minshew than Ellinger? Ellinger would at least be able to scramble a little and maybe, just maybe get a few 1st downs with his legs. I know, I know I'm way out in no mans land................

He's a lot better. He had a terrible day with too much on his shoulders with 55 pass attempts. Part of that is the success we had on the first drive... the other part is the hole we were in forcing us to pass. Minshew needs to be the compliment to the run-game, not the focus of the offense. We just didn't run the ball enough early.

Ehlinger can do some of Steichen's AR run-designs that Minshew can't... but that's the only advantage.

[BCN#1]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

He's a lot better. He had a terrible day with too much on his shoulders with 55 pass attempts. Part of that is the success we had on the first drive... the other part is the hole we were in forcing us to pass. Minshew needs to be the compliment to the run-game, not the focus of the offense. We just didn't run the ball enough early.

Ehlinger can do some of Steichen's AR run-designs that Minshew can't... but that's the only advantage.

Might be interesting to switch them out on some plays as mentioned above and throw a twist into the opponents game planning. We are paying him to carry a clipboard anyway - just sayin....

[YDFL Commish]

Is it a crime to play under center and just smash them in the mouth with heavy doses of JT and Moss?

[Mr. Session]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

Is it a crime to play under center and just smash them in the mouth with heavy doses of JT and Moss?

To me this was the concern. Jax was clearly blitzing very heavy from the start to really force the issue on the run game and the coaches never really adjusted imo.

I also do not like the run designs with Taylor trying to beat the defense to the perimeter or make a cut. Taylor needs to be dotting an I or something and running downhill IMO.

It will be curious to see how they adjust and grow against Cleveland.

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

Is it a crime to play under center and just smash them in the mouth with heavy doses of JT and Moss?

We haven't run anything from under center at all, have we? It'd be a shift in Steichen's playbook and I don't know what Minshew's history under center is.

Seems like with Minshew's skillset, he could benefit the effect that under center play-action has on second level defenders (freezing LB's a bit longer, etc.).