When Chris Ballard announced he was going to increase the level of competition in the offseason across the board for the Indianapolis Colts, it sounded encouraging, while at the same time, mostly talk. GMs and coaches talk about competition a lot and at some positions, where there is no true front runner, it makes perfect sense. When he mentioned specially that he was bringing in competition for Anthony Richardson, what seemed like talk before looked borderline performative. Boy were so many, myself included, wrong about that.
Was Richardson setting the league on fire? Absolutely not. He has incredible struggles with accuracy, sustaining drives, leadership, etc. He was highly imperfect, yet he was also very young and raw. When drafted, patience was preached. Richardson was someone who was going to take time. Injuries impacted that “time”, but it seemed like there was still plenty of it. When Daniel Jones was signed in the offseason on a one-year Ballard special, other than the contract price, there wasn’t a ton to talk about. Sure, have Jones come in and “push” Richardson to be better and then fall in line as the backup. The process was simple and straight forward.
Then the offseason started. The competition started out slowly, as neither man could create enough separation to be the clear starter. Shane Steichen had seen enough, however and sided with Jones; a decision that was met with an incredible amount of derision, speculation, and questioning. Rightfully so. Jones was also imperfect during his Giants tenure, leaving a lot to be desired. Maybe it’s the Giants, the Colts, or Jones finding himself in a new situation and scheme that fits his talents, but the quarterback competition that so many saw as nothing more than talk is paying early dividends.
The Colts are 2-0. They haven’t been 2-0 since 2009. Let that sink in. They are doing all of this because of Jones. Yes, “because of” not “in spite of”. The offense has been historic with ten straight drives ending in points and no punts over two games. Jones has been efficient, consistent, reliable, and skilled. He isn’t throwing 40 times and completing 17. He is using each throw to maximize his team’s opportunity to win; getting every single player involved. The wideouts and tight ends appear to be reborn and Jonathan Taylor is reaping the benefits of it all. Everything is humming and wouldn’t you know, it’s because of Jones. So many quarterbacks have come through the doors at West 56th street over the last decade plus, but Jones is the one that seems to have finally put it all together.
Chris Ballard takes plenty of knocks,…I should know…I hand out plenty…but he was on to something with this whole quarterback competition. Maybe he didn’t fully believe Anthony Richardson would be supplanted by Daniel Jones, but he at least had the guts to put it out there for Shane Steichen to make a decision. The Colts and Jones aren’t out of the woods yet. It is a long season and being two weeks in only provides so much data. The outing against the Broncos goes a long way though. Time will tell how this whole thing goes. As of today, however, it’s one of Ballard’s best decisions yet.
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