The Indianapolis Colts open up the preseason at home on Sunday against the Denver Broncos and most of the starters will play, including quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Following Friday’s practice, Steichen told reporters that the starters will play for “a series or two.” Steichen also added that there will be a couple of starters who won’t play, although he didn’t specify who those players would be.
For Richardson, this will be his first game since Week 5 of last season. Even with only 173 career snaps under his belt, the mere fact that Richardson has had a full year in Shane Steichen’s offense is already benefitting him on the practice field with the added comfort level he now has compared to a year ago.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still things to iron out–particularly the communication element–as is the case for any young player, particularly at the quarterback position. In the grand scheme of the NFL, Richardson is still an inexperienced player, but with the players on offense around him, he doesn’t have to do it all on his own either.
“We liked all the stuff we saw, but he’s still got to go prove it over the course of time, like any player does,” said GM Chris Ballard before training camp. “You can be a flash, but he’s still got to prove it over the course of time. But we think we got a good football team around him where he doesn’t necessarily have to carry us.”
The preseason will provide Richardson and the offense with a new challenge, facing a brand new opponent that they are unfamiliar with.
“I think that’s the biggest thing (communication),” said Steichen about what he wants to see in the first preseason game. “It is. It’s really communication at the end of the day. If we’re all on the same page, you know what I mean, everyone’s on the same page, that’s when you operate at a high level because you’ve got to have all 11 on the same page.
“If one guy is off, bad things happen. So the communication piece, we keep working on that and once we get to Week 1, we got to be at a high level.”
Of course, Steichen and the Colts team will want to see results from their starters when on the field, but equally important is the process component for each player, which at times can be difficult to decipher from the outside looking in.
But given the play call, what the player’s responsibilities are on that play, and how the opponent reacts, is the player diagnosing the play correctly and putting themselves in the correct position to make a play? During this time of the football year, this evaluating this element is crucial.
With a consistent process, both pre-snap and as the play unfolds, will come consistent results.