Colts inform Anthony Richardson, ‘You Incomplete Me’

Ice Dice acquired fired on his day without work; Anthony Richardson acquired re-hired on his.

Richardson is that this week’s ‘Quarterback of the Week’ although he hasn’t even began a recreation since tapping out towards the Texans on Oct. 27, as a result of in a league the place a quarterback is barely as useful as what occurred within the final recreation — whether or not he performed or not — generally a few weeks off the sphere is healthier than one other unhealthy recreation on it.

Three weeks after the faucet out, lower than two weeks after naming Joe Flacco the starter “shifting ahead”, and solely two days after confirming that Flacco would begin the following recreation, head coach Shane Steichen flipped the script once more by naming Richardson the starter for the remainder of the season.

Colts playoff probabilities: Will beginning Anthony Richardson assist?

Most likely not. With a 2% probability to win the division and lower than a 20% probability to sneak into the ultimate AFC Wild Card, Steichen’s indecisiveness is a sign that the Colts are as soon as once more specializing in growing 2023’s fourth general decide following two losses with Flacco since making the primary change.

With two seven-win groups within the AFC North (7-2 Steelers, 7-3 Ravens) and the 6-3 Chargers knocking on the door of a three-game benefit over Indianapolis, there’s actually just one path to the AFC playoffs for six-loss groups like Indianapolis, Miami, and Cincinnati: The ultimate Wild Card.

That at present belongs to the 5-5 Broncos, so the Colts are technically just one recreation out of the playoffs. However that also signifies that the Colts need to be higher than the Broncos, and likewise higher than the Dolphins and Bengals. It’s inconceivable sufficient to imagine that even when Indianapolis have been to go 5-2 with Joe Flacco, they might nonetheless miss the playoffs.

The remainder of the season is devoted to growing Anthony Richardson as a result of there aren’t any different worthy objectives left for the Colts.

How unhealthy is Anthony Richardson?

Essentially the most exceptional factor about benching Richardson is that he’s taking part in in addition to ought to have been anticipated after a school profession by which he sat on the bench for 2 years after which solely accomplished 54% of his passes as a junior at Florida.

The Colts drafted a quarterback ranked 102nd in completion share in faculty after which act shocked when he’s on tempo to set new fashionable NFL information for inaccuracy?

Eye-popping Anthony Richardson stats:

• 44% completion share, together with 41% in his final 4 begins
• 57.2 passer score
• He’s averaging one fumble for each 10 completions; extra fumbles than complete TDs
• He’s averaging >1 interception for each 10 makes an attempt (7 interceptions, 133 makes an attempt)

Yeah, it’s unhealthy, but in addition not shocking. Richardson had a troublesome time getting taking part in time in faculty regardless of his super athletic items and the one factor he actually couldn’t afford to do was sit for one other two years after being drafted. Richardson had 393 cross makes an attempt in faculty, so he’s not price evaluating to gamers like Patrick Mahomes as a result of he sat as a rookie with the Chiefs in 2017 after he threw 1,349 makes an attempt in faculty.

Requested what Richardson must do to enhance, offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter refused to get into specifics:

“He’s acquired to maintain placing that work in,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter stated. “We’re in a position to try this inside the observe construction: getting reps, working particular person (drills), throwing the ball to the receivers, all of the stuff that quarterbacks do. We’re engaged on all types of stuff.

“I don’t wish to pinpoint one or two – form of put something on the market. We’re simply engaged on getting higher. All of us. Anthony’s proper there with us, and we’re working behind the scenes on that proper now.”

Even Richardson doesn’t know, telling reporters after his benching, “I’m not essentially certain which one factor usually it’s” that he must work on, apart from “all features”.

That seems like rather a lot to get completed with out taking part in.

It wasn’t all unhealthy

Regardless of how ludicrous the quantity “44%” appears subsequent to a QBs identify within the NFL, Anthony Richardson will not be even near being the least useful quarterback within the league in response to Subsequent Gen Stats:

• Richardson’s -0.14 EPA per dropback is definitely higher than 9 different QBs who’ve not less than 100 cross makes an attempt this season, together with Bo Nix and Caleb Williams
• That EPA/db is just about no completely different than Trevor Lawrence, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford, and Drake Maye’s numbers this season
• Joe Flacco’s EPA/db is -0.05, so the distinction has been negligible in the identical offense

Anthony Richardson has rather a lot to show as a quarterback and that’s been true since he was 18, however he doesn’t need to show it this season.

A-R you prepared for some soccer?

It was puzzling that the Colts would draft such an inexperienced quarterback with the fourth general decide as a result of the workforce didn’t appear as unhealthy as their 2022 document indicated, however since that’s what they did, absolutely Indianapolis needed to settle for from that second that Richardson would play extraordinarily badly inside the first couple of years.

Then Richardson acquired harm and the Colts have been adequate to go 7-6 with Gardner Minshew, proving that but, it is a playoff caliber workforce with an excellent quarterback.

1. The Colts wanted a QB who was prepared; they as an alternative picked one who isn’t.

2. Richardson wanted to go to a nasty workforce; he went to an excellent workforce.

Now after a 12 months and a half of missed connections, the 2 sides are lastly on the identical web page even when it’s not the e book they wished: Unhealthy quarterback AND unhealthy workforce … which equals an excellent alternative to see the Colts and Anthony Richardson can fail — or succeed — collectively.