We’re all starving for football. And more importantly, we’re also starving to see Anthony Richardson take the field after we were robbed of his rookie season. Wait no longer, the Indianapolis Colts preseason is here.
But I cannot reiterate this enough, do not let yourself fall into the trap of overanalyzing these games.
The preseason is a great opportunity for starters (and key role players) to get their feet wet and in the rhythm of gameday again. What’s my 1 pm/nighttime kickoff routine going to be this year? What’s my pregame stretch and warmup going to be? The preseason gives you the chance to get those things squared away. For the veterans on the team, it’s no more than just a warmup for the real thing, which is probably why the league is trending toward playing starters for a series or two.
For someone like Anthony Richardson, it’s going to be about knocking off some rust with the guys, continuing to add reps to the bank, and building some confidence heading into the season.
My philosophy, just from my experience in football, is that joint practice is king. They play such a key role in the overall evaluation because it’s a controlled environment where you can get rid of the confounding variables a preseason game brings. But for some guys, preseason reps may be the only chance they get to prove themselves to the staff.
You may think I’m gonna put guys like AD Mitchell and Laiatu Latu on this list… but I won’t be. Will it be fun to see them move around in a Colts uniform? Sure, it’s exciting. But I know for a fact it won’t be where Chris Ballard’s binoculars will be aimed at in the booth on Sunday.
Trey Sermon/Evan Hull
Running backs are one of the more difficult positions to evaluate in a practice setting. You can see the burst, acceleration, and raw speed in a practice at Grand Park, but a lot of times that changes when you get put into a real game setting. The blocking is different, the running lanes are smaller, and the tackles are more aggressive (obviously).
I think we’ll primarily see base zone runs and maybe a couple of gap schemes, but for the most part, I’ll be focused on these backs making decisive reads and hitting the hole. If they break a tackle vs a third-string LB that’s less important to me than reading the frontside backer and ID’ing a running lane.
I also want to see how these guys pass protect. Jonathan Taylor will most likely be the third down back, but if you can’t pass-protect in this scheme, even on 1st and 2nd downs, you’ll be unlikely to see the field.
There won’t be many exotic sim pressures or blitzes being thrown at these guys, but if we’re in jet protection can the RB go from Mike to Sam? Can he get in the mix with a larger LB to keep the QB clean?
The ‘F’ Receiver
Reports were coming out of Grand Park on Friday that AD Mitchell was taking reps at the slot. I wasn’t in attendance to see what the formation looked like, but I think it’s super important (at least for fans who care to know these things) that there’s a difference between the “slot” and the “F”. Josh Downs, who is out with an ankle, is the Colts ‘F’ receiver. However, the Colts have formations in their system that can effectively put any WR in the slot, it just may limit the route concepts the team will be able to run.
I want to see the formations the Colts use with the ones on Sunday and what those look like in order to get a better idea of how the Colts may go about replacing Josh Downs while he is out of the lineup.
Though I am fairly certain it will be an ‘F’ by committee approach. The adaptability of Steichen’s system is designed so that when injuries like this occur, you don’t need to rely on a player to learn an entirely different role that doesn’t match their skillsets.
The FS position
Ok, let’s have the talk.
Ed Dodds said they need game reps to determine who might be the FS of the future. Gus Bradley says he’s still waiting for one guy to step up and earn that role. Shane Steichen says they’re still competing and he’s looking to find a playmaker out there. Chris Ballard’s message is the same as it always has been, that we need to see them compete with the pads on.
While no one is lying to you, I also would be willing to hypothesize that the message is quite different behind closed doors. When anybody steps up to the podium for a press conference, they are prepped in excruciating detail beforehand. Teams want to ensure that there’s a consistent and specific message being delivered to the media. Especially for questions like the FS position that are fluid and ongoing. For example, If the head coach or GM says one thing, the position coach or coordinator can’t undermine them and say another thing. Or in this case, Chris Ballard and co. won’t say anything about the FS position that would ruin leverage in any negotiating setting, or ruin team morale should they not land the player they want. And sometimes when that message is a little too consistent, there usually is something happening behind the scenes. That could be a potential contract in the works, trade discussions, an injury looming, etc. It could be a lot of things.
But I personally am not buying this idea that the Colts still need more time to determine who the guy is. I think they are simply buying time until someone they have their eyes on becomes available, a contract gets done with Simmons (should he be interested in playing in Indy), or Nick Cross and Co. do something out of nowhere to change the narrative.
I could be wrong but I find it so hard to believe that Chris Ballard has all this extra cap space and is going to sit on his hands and hope this current group, who have had plenty of opportunities to show you who they are, will magically show up. Not when the stakes are so high for Gus Bradley and this defensive unit. Gus is a great coach, but the pressure is on. He has a veteran front 7 that is built for January. If he hasn’t been in Chris Ballard’s office begging for proven talent in the secondary, then he’s a sitting duck whose time in Indianapolis is ticking away.
As for what I’ll be watching for this Sunday during the Colts preseason opener? Playmakers.
Who is going to change the narrative? Who’s going to force Chris Ballard to put the phone down?
If they do that, on Sunday or in future opportunities, it won’t be hard to see.
The New Kickoff
I just want to see how ST Coordinator Brian Mason attacks this new rule. Because it is so new, I just am looking forward to analyzing it from both sides of the ball and seeing the thought process behind it, as there seem to be some different schools of thought early on.
Honorable Mentions
- Procedural Penalties
- Last year, especially in the first drive in Philadelphia, the starters got crushed with penalties. While it didn’t necessarily haunt the 2023 Colts in the regular season, it always has to be a point of emphasis each year. The most important thing the starters can do is get in and out of the huddle, know the snap count, and do their job to keep the offense on schedule.
- Jelani Woods
- I think he’s a candidate for someone who needs to go out there and maybe not score 3 TDs, but go out there and show this staff you’ve mastered the system, can block on the edge and look explosive in a game setting.
Bottom Line
Don’t fall into the deadly trap of making more out of a preseason game than there needs to be. There will be some important reps for players looking to earn roster spots and starting roles. But the most important thing for these guys, as cliche as it is, is to keep stacking days and Sunday is just another one.
When we get to cut day, the play you made in the third quarter of a Week 1 preseason game will be long forgotten about. When you keep building on top of plays, that’s when you make yourself hard to forget.
I’ll be breaking down some of the film on X (formerly known as Twitter) because I just love football too much, and while you should not prevent yourself from getting excited when the starters run out there, I also think it’s important to be able to step back and realize we still have a month until Week 1 vs. HOU and a lot can change from now and then.
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