5 Things Learned: Anthony Richardson Finishes Strong - Page 6
- Anthony Richardson had a mixed bag but finished strong, leading a TD drive
- Riley Leonard's night was marred by turnovers and pressure, challenging his backup QB status
- Backup linebackers Boettcher, Ajiake, and Carlies made plays, competing for playing time
5 Things Learned: Anthony Richardson Finishes Strong
INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts wrapped up a week in Foxborough on Thursday night with their preseason opener.
Following the 13-13 tie to the Patriots, the Colts will now return to Westfield for four more training camp practices.
What was learned from the Colts first preseason game?
FIVE THINGS LEARNED
1. Rough Start, Better Finish For Anthony Richardson Sr.: Per usual with Anthony Richardson Sr., you had quite the mixed bag on Thursday night. The rough moments were an opening layup miss of a wide open Will Mallory, and then a later fumble after a promising run. His best moment was going 4-of-4 on a drive that ended with his touchdown sneak from a yard out. And a final drive that got the Colts into (some very long) field goal range. With Richardson, he continues to look more comfortable the further down the field he’s throwing it. More than anything, Richardson struggles to identify and hit the simpler completions to help stay ahead of the chains. His interception on Thursday should fall more on wide receiver Coleman Owen not securing it, although some will debate that decision and the precise location of the ball. But an 11-of-14 night is a rare occurrence for Richardson, although the turnover(s) can’t be ignored. To sum it up though, on a night where Richardson got the initial start in the preseason, that presented an opportunity to send a strong message in his backup QB competition, and to around the league. Thursday’s end was certainly better than the start, but Richardson has to show improvements in the areas he needs to correct the most. His legs remain tantalizing though if you were game planning around that.
2. Riley Leonard Struggles: Whereas Richardson started slow and ended strong, Riley Leonard didn’t find those highlights after a rockier start. Leonard threw an awful underthrown interception on his first drive of the game. His night was largely marred by pressure/sacks and having multiple passes batted down. Some of this is life running the third offense, but some of this was squarely on Leonard, too. Entering Thursday, I would have had Leonard above Richardson on the depth chart. But Richardson certainly had more better moments than Leonard. Is this enough to flip the two? Probably not. But it puts a little more attention on the upcoming joint practices, and Leonard getting the first half opportunity next Saturday in the second preseason game.
3. Many Starters Sit: I had around 4-ish regular season starters see playing time on Thursday night. Second-year right tackle Jalen Travis only played one series. On offense, Travis is the only locked in starter to play. The Colts did have wideouts Laquon Treadwell and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine playing early on. They could factor into some depth receiver spots. Defensively, rookie safety A.J. Haulcy started and played a couple of series. At linebacker, CJ Allen (hamstring) remains out and the Colts also sat veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither. Thursday night starters in Bryce Boettcher and Austin Ajiake could very well be playing some role when things get real in September. We talked a lot about the offense above, but I was left wanting more from the Colts defensive line in the first half (mainly the edge pass rush) and the cornerbacks (Mekhi Blackmon and Jonathan Edwards struggled).
4. Competing Linebackers Flash: The linebackers were always going to be a group to watch on Thursday given so much uncertainty around the in-season playing time there. Currently, expected rookie starter CJ Allen (hamstring) has missed more than a week of action. Veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither, who has history with Lou Anarumo, didn’t play on Thursday night. Those two, plus the trio of rookie Bryce Boettcher, Austin Ajiake and Jaylon Carlies have been rotating a lot at camp. On Thursday, you saw some nice moments from Boettcher getting downhill in the run game, Ajiake as a sound tackler in the open field and Carlies made some plays in both the run and pass. Good luck predicting Week 1 playing time for this group, but I thought Thursday was a nice outing for some of those in competition.
5. Who Stood Out? Here, I’ll point to a few guys that I thought stood out on Thursday. Fourth-year tight end Will Mallory is always a productive August player. And he was great on Thursday with 6 catches on 7 targets for 80 yards, showing some yards after catch ability. The box score won’t show it, but I liked what rookie running back Seth McGowan displayed in his first NFL action. You see some juice to his running style, despite carrying around 230 pounds. And the 7th round pick flashed with a nice 2nd half kick return, which could be a role he carries into the regular season. I’m still struggling to see how the officials called his reaching to the goal line a fumble late in the first half. I was surprised by how much Adetomiwa Adebawore played on Thursday. To me, he’s pretty darn established and will be a key defensive line reserve. He was a disruptive interior rusher on Thursday, contributing majorly to a sack by rookie George Gumbs Jr. Also on the defensive line, rookie Caden Curry was quite disruptive in the second half. Lastly, the Colts used both kickers on Thursday night. Blake Grupe was wide right from 61 yards to end the first half, following a made extra point earlier in the half. Spencer Shrader made both of his attempts, splitting the uprights from 46 yards out and later hitting from 61 yards.
5 Things Learned: Anthony Richardson Finishes Strong - Page 6 was originally published on 1075thefan.com
