A team giving a young quarterback time off is usually the first step in a divorce. For the Colts, the decision to bench second-year QB Anthony Richardson feels like a move aimed at giving the Colts a chance to make the playoffs.
Indy has 4 wins and 4 losses. The rest of the season could be a breakout in some way. Veteran Joe Flacco, who went 1-1 as a starter and won games for the Steelers after coming off the bench due to Richardson’s injury, is now helping the team win.
The cost, of course, is Richardson’s delayed development. He entered the league in desperate need of reps, but missed 13 games as a rookie due to injury. He still needs those reps now more than ever.
But the Colts need to win. Guys like coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard may not get that reward if they miss the playoffs due to a loss that occurred while Richardson’s game slowed down.
Do not forget about the role of the locker room in this situation. Veteran players aren’t interested in giving their all as part of a glorified apprenticeship. This is especially true if the apprentice player is willing to tap during a match because he or she is tired.
Everybody’s tired, especially the guys blocking the quarterback.
That makes it easy for his teammates to get behind Flacco, both because they want to win and because they’re not fans of Richardson, who will miss Sunday’s game.
Will that negatively impact Richardson’s development? yes. But it would also preserve the chance for Steichen and Ballard to grow in Indy, as both are still employed by the team. If they leave, the new regime may ensure Richardson never gets a chance to figure out how to play NFL football as a member of the Colts.
Still, I hope he gets it. As Peter King used to say, PFT LiveBill Walsh said that once you see a man do something, you can coach him to do it all the time. Richardson can do great things once.
The only problem is that it’s often literally once per game. That, and once checked out of the game, Richardson is asked to take a seat.
It’s up to him to make sure this only happens once.
