The Indianapolis Colts have decided to bench 2nd-year quarterback Anthony Richardson in favour of veteran Joe Flacco. Richardson has had an up-and-down season and the Colts currently sit at 4-4, one spot out of the playoffs.
The decision to bench Richardson is a complex one and while fans seem to be completely against the move, media are split on it and it’s important to look at this move from the organization’s perspective as well. Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives from all sides.
Positives
- This move gives the Colts the best chance of winning right now. After the move was announced, the line of the Colts moved from +6 or +6.5 depending on the site to +5 or +5.5. That’s a change of around 5%. So Vegas, who is the absolute best at predicting games and making lines, believe Flacco gives the Colts a better chance of winning games by around 5%.
- To piggy back on the point above, the Colts are in a battle for the AFC South divisional title. The Texans sit at 6-3 and the Colts are at 4-4. A win against the Vikings this week would put them 1.5 games back. While the Texans are still heavy favourites, the Colts can win the division and aren’t just fighting for the last playoff spot.
- One could argue that Richardson’s biggest weakness right now is his maturity and attitude. His “tap out” against the Texans showed a lot of immaturity and a spot on the bench would allow him to learn how to be a leader more properly. As a side note, one could argue that his last performance was far from his worst this season, so the decision to bench him must have something to do with the tap out or with players complaining. It wouldn’t surprise me if the receivers, especially captain Michael Pittman Jr led a group of players who complained and Steichen listened to them to hold the locker room.
Negatives
- The biggest criticism is that Richardson’s lack of experience has been on display this year and the only way to improve is by getting experience. The only way to get experience is to play real game reps and by benching him, you are not getting that. Some of Richardson’s flaws could only be improved with game reps, such as decision making. Timing and ball placement, especially timing, are also aided tremendously, but at least they can be developed in practice, especially if his mechanics are fixed.
- Richardson’s performance against the Texans was far from his worse of the season. The numbers were ugly, but receivers either dropped passes or were an inch out of bounds. On top of that, the Texans defensive backs made some very good plays to knock out balls so while his numbers on paper look bad, Richardson’s performance was not bad at all. To bench him after a somewhat encouraging performance against a good team is a big shot to the confidence.
- Another negative would be that the Colts are sacrificing the long-term for the short-term. Excusing the poor play, the Colts are benching Richardson much earlier than the large majority of other similar quarterbacks of the 21st century. The move can be seen as too early, which means the Colts are pulling the apple off the tree well before it is ripe because they don’t like the pace at which it’s growing.
Neutral points/comments
- No two players are the same, so some approaches work better for some and better for others. Peyton Manning improved by playing and struggling in his rookie season. The Colts played him every game and he threw 26 interceptions, but learnt a ton of valuable lessons that aided him in his future. The Colts went him 3-13 in his rookie season to 13-3 in his second season. On the other hand, Patrick Mahomes didn’t play his first season and sat behind Alex Smith and learnt from him and one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL. He credits that year for being invaluable in his development. There is no better approach, just a better approach for a particular player, and a lot of that is personality/attitude based, which only the Colts staff knows best.
- All in all, this entire benching seems to be based off the tap out based on some subtle comments from teammates and the 45 minutes conversation between the GM, head coach and Richardson which wouldn’t happen for a simple performance review after a not-so-bad game.
