It was a new and improved Anthony Richardson against the Jets on Sunday.
Not like a hurry; his two diving touchdowns through New York’s safeties, while impressive, simply took a page from the playbook that made this Colts the quarterback is the first signal-caller in NFL history with four rushing touchdowns in his first three games.
And not as a game expansion; even during the two difficult performances before his two-week benching, Richardson had a highlight where he ignored defenders and kept the sack totals from reaching alarming levels.
What was new was the death.
From his decisions to his timing, from his precision to ball placement, from his risk aversion to his balance, the play Richardson put on against the Jets was his best based on throws alone. Although he started with a 44% completion rate this season, he finished with a career-high 20 completions on 30 attempts for a career-high 272 passing yards with a career-best completion rate career-high 67% for a complete game. high quarterback rating of 106.5.
The end result was the first fourth-quarter comeback of Richardson’s young career.
“He was putting the ball on goal,” receiver Alec Pierce said. “He made some good shots today. It’s really encouraging.”
As Colts Coach Shane Steichen spoke with Richardson during a private film session Monday, a day when the rest of the players were off, and he came away impressed by the accomplishments both flashy and mundane. That set in motion a lot of things they’ve been talking about behind the scenes for two weeks, when the coach benched the quarterback in order to set a higher standard for his game preparation.
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Here are three throws that stood out for the Colts:
A cross to Adonai Mitchell for 33 yards
Steichen is a connoisseur of explosive play, but he can also get excited about the little moments that not everyone sees. He designs pieces to focus on these small moments. And he saw them time and time again when Richardson was playing from the pocket on Sunday.
Take the final play of the first quarter, before the Colts got going and found the end zone. They faced a third-and-4 from the Jets’ 34-yard line and saw something they don’t often see when Richardson is playing and third down arrives: man coverage.
So Steichen sent Adonai Mitchell, his most natural horizontal athlete, on a cross from the far right into open space along the left side. At this point, the Colts knew the Jets had a linebacker spying on Richardson, so they used the spy to create traffic for Sauce Gardner to get around as he tried to chase Mitchell.
Even though Richardson faced some pressure in his face from the left side – rookie left tackle Matt Goncalves was making his second career start – he was able to drop back and throw over the defensive end with loft to reach a target. line for Mitchell to crush.
It was a simple throw in theory, but the arm mechanics survived a messy lower half due to pressure, as it didn’t in Richardson’s first few starts. And not only hitting Mitchell, but hitting him in stride is what allowed one of his shortest deep targets to become his second-longest completion of the day, as Mitchell passed Gardner to the line from 1 yard, establishing Richardson’s 2-. the touchdown plunge two plays later.
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“Some of those crossing routes he threw — very calm target line in the pocket,” Steichen said. “It wasn’t sped up. He just played very comfortable in the pocket the whole game and obviously he had to make some plays when he had to make some plays, but he threw the ball very accurately. “
A third conversion to Josh Downs with a man on his back
By the time the third quarter hit, Richardson was feeling his sharpest start yet and had a simple plan for third-and-long: look for Josh Downs.
The only problem was that by the time he made a third-and-9 on the second drive after halftime, Richardson had a defender on his back.
Steichen called a group formation on the wide side of the court for Richardson to make a simple half-court progression from the shotgun. But the pressure hit again as the Jets blitzed Quenton Nelson’s knees and fed Michael Clemons from his edge into the busy All-Pro guard’s face so he could meet Richardson in the chest.
Downs wasn’t looking back yet. Richardson was still in the pocket. So he simply had to hold on to save his life.
“I walk my route hearing the crowd cheering,” Downs said. “I look up and the ball is out, but it’s floating funny. I knew he was under duress. But he passed it to me.”
Clemons is 6-foot-5 and 263 pounds, the type of body that bends most quarterbacks like a lawn chair the moment he arrives unblocked. But Richardson himself is 6-4 and 250 pounds, and that produced enough mass to stay upright just long enough for Downs to turn his head deep, and Richardson placed the throw in the open grass near the line sideline with enough zipper to allow Go down to catch it, turn away from the scrambling defender and advance for a first down.
It ended up becoming a critical conversion at a difficult point in the game for the Colts offense, when the Jets had Jonathan Taylor and Richardson swarming in the running game. This allowed Matt Gay to kick a 56-yard field goal that would keep the Colts within one score once the Jets began to take a 24-16 lead.
And they weren’t all new skills, as Richardson’s sack avoidance was his only constant during a rough sophomore season. But this one came to him because he was in a passer’s rhythm, so much so that he could simply cock the ball without proper footwork toward a predetermined space of open grass to give his receiver a chance.
“The game plan we had yesterday, I think it really helped him settle in. It allowed him to get his bearings,” receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. “…The pace is almost synonymous with confidence. It is a confidence builder.
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A 39-yard fade route to Alec Pierce to lead a comeback
On a day spent spreading the ball all over the field in intermediate range, Richardson was going to have to tap his arm downfield at least once to achieve what resulted in a two-touchdown comeback march.
After getting the ball back with just over two minutes left, trailing 27-22, the Colts attempted a quarterback play that gained only 4 yards. They had 66 meters to go.
Alec Pierce had noticed that the Jets were playing a constant stream of palm coverage, or a variation of Cover-2 where the cornerback can jump into the slot route if he gets into his zone. He relayed the information and the Colts called for an option for Downs who could influence Gardner to give Pierce a clean release on his trademark fade route.
But to complete the idea, they needed Richardson to pump fake as if he were heading toward Downs, his primary receiver for the day. So Richardson zoomed into a three-step drop and made a strong feint, dragging Gardner into the flats. The Jets safety read what was happening and headed straight to where Pierce was heading.
And Richardson completed his longest run of the day, 29 yards through the air to a spot where Pierce could run underneath just before safety arrived to push him out of bounds.
“You have to do the pump and the reset and then always throw a good ball and manage where the coverage is, manage where the defenders are. It probably looks easier than it is,” the offensive coordinator said of the Colts, Jim Bob Cooter.
“You have to work on that at the quarterback position. You have to work on not only your drops, your footwork and your simple first-read type pass throws. You have to work on those advanced moves. Anthony did a really good job there in a very good job. great moment on the road to deliver a nice ball.
That throw capped off a day focused on Richardson’s pace and control. He finished 20 of 30 but also went 9 of 12 on passes between 10 and 35 yards.
This is something the league will adjust to, and that will be the new challenge for Steichen and Richardson, adjusting and finding consistency in what is still a new part of the game for a 22-year-old quarterback. who has 11 career starts.
He still has a long way to go, with a completion percentage still below 50% and more interceptions than touchdowns this season.
But there is a positive dynamic in the air, and that is what they are looking for this season.
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Colts Anthony Richardson: Inside 3 throws that show progress as a passer
