INDIANAPOLIS – Any serious critique of Anthony Richardson’s performance in the preseason – of the entire Indianapolis Colts offense, for that matter – must come with a stern warning.
Why bother?
Yes, returning to the playing field for the first time in more than 300 days last Saturday against Denver was beyond encouraging. It was only seven snaps, but they were the necessary next step in Richardson’s comeback from Oct. 24 surgery on his right shoulder.
He mentioned getting back into his game-day routine.
“Put my pads on, get a few snaps out there,’’ Richardson said.
He looked the part: 6-4, 244; strong if still slightly inaccurate arm; mobility that sets him apart from so many other quarterbacks across the NFL landscape.
But the long vision of the offense involves meshing Richardson’s unique skillset – an arms and legs guy – with Jonathan Taylor, who not that long ago led the NFL and set a franchise record with 1,811 rushing yards. Remember 2021?
The anticipation permeates the fan base.
The multi-dimensional quarterback who accounted for seven touchdowns in four starts as a rookie, including four as a dynamic runner, and the running back capable of getting loose with each handoff. The idea of Richardson and Taylor threatening the edges of a defense with run-pass options (RPOs) should catch the attention of opposing coordinators.
But patience will be required. Keep the Sept. 8 opener against the Houston Texans in mind.
Even though Taylor matched Richardson’s seven snaps against the Broncos – the first preseason exposure of his career – coach Shane Steichen and coordinator Jim Bob Cooter gave the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd seven scoops of vanilla ice cream.
We’ve seen more of what the Colts offense has to offer during 10 training camp practices at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield. And that again should be the case Wednesday and Thursday when the Colts and Arizona Cardinals have joint practices, and Aug. 20 when the Colts and Bengals have shared work in Cincinnati.
There have been occasions during 11-on-11 drills in camp when Richardson and Taylor have flowed left or right and forced the defense to make a decision. Often, Richardson has pulled the football back and run with it. A few times, he’s hesitated, then breached the middle on a quarterback draw.
We’ll be more than a little surprised if that’s the case Saturday evening against Arizona at Lucas Oil Stadium or in the Aug. 22 preseason finale at Cincinnati. If Steichen sticks to last year’s approach, there’s a good chance the starters won’t play much, if at all, against the Cardinals, but might play the entire first half against the Bengals.
Preseason game plans, Cooter noted, are designed to be functional and as efficient as possible. The No. 1 objective: don’t put players in compromising situations.
“Obviously, we’re trying to score points on offense. That’s what we do,’’ Cooter said Tuesday. “But I think we try to be a little bit more cognizant of getting those guys out there on the field, in their element, kind of playing live-action football again.’’
That’s especially true with Richardson, who was limited to 173 snaps and 84 pass attempts as a rookie, and Taylor.
“Just being able to get hit, get tackled for the first time,’’ Cooter said. “It’s just so big to get those carries for all running backs, JT being a great example of that.’’
Taylor had two carries for 4 yards.
“Just to get a few carries and get tackled,’’ Cooter reiterated. “It is different in practice where we thud-up and let ‘em finish. To me, it’s more about the experience of going through those plays, getting that action, getting tackled, getting hit, protecting the ball. For Anthony, moving around, sort of ducking out of bounds because, hey, it’s live-action. Those guys are coming to hit him.’’
Richardson completed 2-of-4 passes for 25 yards and escaped pressure once for a 1-yard gain that saw him scoot out of bounds.
For those eager to witness everything he has to offer as a dual-threat quarterback?
Again, patience. Now’s not the time.
“Real football is going to be different with Anthony out there. We know that,’’ Cooter said. “As the bullets get a little more live here soon, we’re going preseason one, preseason two, preseason three, then the regular season is coming at us fast. It’s going to be fun to watch Anthony play full-speed ball again and play real football again. We know it’s going to be a little different.’’
Steichen, Cooter and the offensive staff have gleaned enough from camp work to realize the offense has intriguing possibilities, starting with the Sept. 8 opener against the Houston Texans.
As Steichen has mentioned on several occasions, “the playbook is open to everything.’’
“I mean, those two guys are super explosive in the backfield,’’ he said last week. “JT is a phenomenal runner. I mean, one of the best backs in the league. His vision, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it. He’s got the nice little press the hole, that jump cut and then boom, that burst to go hit it and score. So, I can’t wait for that.’’
Cooter described the Richardson-related vibes as “optimistic upside.’’
There have been plays in 11-on-11 sessions where a defensive player has taken the proper angle on a Richardson keeper and “thudded’’ him, which might be considered a win for the defense.
“But like I said, it’s an optimistic upside type of thing where you kind of go, ‘Hey, they tagged him right off there. I’m not sure they made that tackle, though. I think Anthony got out of that,’’’ Cooter said. "We’re seeing all the practice reps, and we’re not even seeing all the best stuff a lot of times, right? It’s kind of for us coaches like, ‘Hey, there’s more out there. OK, we didn’t get a first down on this drive against our defense . . . but I kind of think Anthony might have got it there on third down taking off running.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.