Anthony Richardson got the start against the Patriots and played the entire first half. Let’s break down each and every play of his.
Throw 1
Richardson comes out with a stinker on a designed roll out that left the tight end completely open in the flats. He fails to open up and align his upper body which results in his body staying closed to the target and one hopping it.
Throw 2
A screen pass here so nothing to break down.
Throw 3
While the majority of the blame should go to the receiver, Richardson definitely deserves blame for the read, which was completely wrong, and for the placement of the ball. He decided to throw to a receiver in the flats with a trailing defensive back and another one sitting over the top. He then decides to whip a fastball high that forces the receiver to jump high for it. Owen should’ve caught the ball but that ball never should’ve gone there.
Scramble 1
This is what Richardson does best and that’s using his legs to create. He does a nice job of getting 7 yards here.
Throw 4
Screen pass so nothing to break down.
Throw 5
This is a good clean rep from the 5 step drop to the launch angle to the placement.
Run 1
This is a fantastic run… nothing else to say.
Run 2
This is also a great run with a nice play design.
Scramble 2
This one is pretty simple… he needs to hold on to the ball. He was holding it way too loose for most of the entire run and it came out pretty easy.
Throw 6
He needs to sell the fake better but that was a missile right into the receiver’s body so well done on him for that.
Throw 7
This is a nice throw, with the tight end Mallory only needing to slow down slightly so kudos to Richardson on that one.
Throw 8
Richardson really got away with one on this. With better DBs that’s probably an interception or at the very least an incompletion. While you need to throw with some velocity on it, it is very much a touch throw so he doesn’t demonstrate much of it on that one.
Run 4
Good read on the option and he picks up a nice chunk of yards.
Throw 9
Screen pass so nothing to break down.
Run 5
Can’t stop the big fella up close.
Throw 10
I like this decision with 3 timeouts and Owen does a nice job of getting yards after catch.
Throw 11
This is a nice throw against a blitz and thrown in a spot where only the receiver can get it. With 2 timeouts, it’s also a good read.
Throw 12
This is Richardson’s best throw of the game. An absolute strike on the money to the tight end in stride and he gets out of bounds to get the Colts across the 50.
Throw 13
And because of the last throw and decision that got the player out of bounds, it allowed the Colts to run one more play to get into field goal range. This was a very well executed drive by Richardson.
Overall Recap
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It was a very rough start for Richardson, but he settled in nicely on the last few drives. The stat line will show 2 turnovers and he’s at fault or partially at fault for both of them. Nevertheless, it was the usual highs and lows from Richardson that we’ve come to see over the years, so while the highs were good, there’s still no consistency from him and that’s concerning.
After all these years with him, I still come back to the same conclusion that there should be an Anthony Richardson package with designed runs, RPOs and a few pass plays that he likes best because he isn’t ready to command a full NFL offense but 5-10 plays a game to show off the explosiveness could be a nice median. It sounds like the Colts are well beyond that and tonight’s game was more of a showcase, but let’s see what the future holds.
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