Bremer: Anthony Richardson In 2024 Could Be A Roller Coaster

George, how are you? Doing well. Thanks for having me.

Well, thank you for taking the time. I guess the first question, what are your impressions and thoughts after the the good and the bad of Anthony Richardson last night? Yeah, I don't think anything was really shocking.

I think people probably here in India need to be ready for a bit of a roller coaster ride this year. I mean, he's only made I think, 23 starts I want to say since high school counting his high school career. You know, the physical talent is undeniable. We've seen his intelligence. We've seen his work ethic.

He's got all the pieces, but the cult said the day they dropped him. The biggest thing is he's raw and he needs experience and he didn't get that last year, unfortunately, because of the injuries. So I think you're going to see, you know, he's going to have to learn on the job.

And I think you're going to see ups and downs. That first drive, obviously, they'd love to see more of that on a regular basis. But I think they're ready to live with with some of the downside to and I think also one thing from last night, they had him playing a lot from the pocket because it's a vanilla kind of scheme right now.

You're you're not going to show a lot. I think he's one of those guys that when you get into those real game circumstances, and you increase the tempo, let him extend plays with his legs. He's a different player. The decisions that he makes, at least throwing the ball, it's his health. Has there been any type of emphasis as to how he should approach things when he gets outside for or gets away from that line of scrimmage?

Definitely seen him slide a lot more in training camp this year, which I think is no coincidence. And he's talked a lot about publishing psych and about the idea that, you know, understand the game situation, understand what you need in the moment and get out of bounds. You know, it. Don't take those unnecessary hits. But I think part of the thing last year was, you know, some of it's just unavoidable. I mean, the one that put him out was just a normal play. He's coming around the edge. Defender was a little bit faster than he expected.

He falls on the wrong shoulder. And he's, you know, unfortunately, he's out for the year. So I think there's definitely a focus on his part on the team's part for him to play smart and to know when to come back. Kind of take that risk and when not to. But they also want to make sure that you're still going to, you know, that that part of his game, his legs is such an important element. You don't want to fully take that away.

And George, you think about his I don't want to call it his battery mate. Jonathan Taylor isn't worried about a contract. He's coming off of a year where he was injured the year prior to that. Is he going to have to be the bell cow to really carry this offense? I know they just drafted A.D. Mitchell.

You want to throw the ball. Josh Downs has been rolling around now with a busted up ankle. Is Jonathan Taylor going to have to be the most reliable dude on this offense? I think so. I don't think it's coincidence that the one series he played was the best series they had last night.

I don't think that's a coincidence at all. I think they're going to run the ball a lot. And I think obviously he's going to be a big part of that. They feel like that tandem with Richardson and Taylor is unique and is something that can really stress opposing defenses. And I think it's obvious the ways Taylor can just open things up in the passing game for Richardson. You know, defense are going to have to put a lot of focus on J.T.

and that's going to make the reads simpler for A.R. in many ways for years in the NFL. A good running game has been a young quarterback's best friend. And I think the Colts are expecting a really big season for Jonathan Taylor.

The George Bremer is joining us, covers the Colts for the Herald Bulletin. Joe Flacco is making about nine million bucks as a backup. That says a whole hell of a lot that the fact that he's been brought in and the amount of money that he's making. Do you think at some point in this season he's going to get the call? I don't think he'll get the call over a healthy Anthony Richardson. I think they're committed to the idea.

They want to find out what they have with this mystery box, really, with A.R. He was a high draft pick. Again, we can see all the potential that he has.

And they have been for years. What he needs is reps. And I think they're going to ride him one way or another. I think the benefit of having Joe Flacco is twofold. One, if Anthony Richardson gets injured again, you have a guy who just did it last year.

Took Cleveland to the playoffs coming off the couch, literally. You have a guy you feel very comfortable with coming in and still leading your offense. But also, I think they like having another coach almost in many ways. Another set of eyes for Anthony Richardson. What does defense do on this down?

What do I need to do to make this throw work? Having Joe Flacco in that role is invaluable. And I think that's sort of intentional on the Colts' part. Having that veteran back there who can kind of help accelerate the growth that they hope they'll see from their second year quarterback. And we've done a lot of talking about the offense, George. You think about the defense. I would say the strength is the defensive line when you got Buckner and Stewart, who are names that most people are familiar with. And then when you get outside of that, it starts to go, well, who's that guy?

Oh, I think I know him. What are your thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts' defense? There's a lot riding on their first-round pick, Layatu Layatu. This is a kid who had an outstanding camp. Looked really solid in the preseason, the little bit of work he got. Super quick off the ball, super athletic, nonstop motor, all those things that coaches love to talk about. But he's going to have a big year coming off the edge.

And I think if he does, it makes Quitty pay that much better on the other side. And it really makes DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart that much more dangerous. Because I think for years, people have been kind of able to load up in the middle there and not maybe have to worry as much about what's coming off the edge. If Layatu can change that, it could unlock something up front in the defense.

The big question marks are on the back end. They know what they have in Kenny Moore. They know what they have in Julian Blackman. But here we are two weeks from the start of the regular season. They still don't know who the other starting safety is.

That feels like a pretty big concern. Well, George, how does this bode for them when it comes to everybody else in the AFC South? The Texans went to the postseason last year and shocked everybody. The Jaguars, if they had a healthy Trevor Lawrence, they probably wouldn't have fallen off the face of the earth. The Titans, eh, you got to see what you have.

And Will Levis, certainly. Where do the Colts fit in? This is going to be a competitive division.

A very competitive division. I think especially with the quarterbacks. I mean, as you mentioned, C.J. Stroud, such a huge engine for that Houston run last year. Trevor Lawrence has already shown what he can do at this level. Nobody knows quite yet what Will Levis is, but I know there's a lot of excitement down there in Tennessee and hope that he can be a great quarterback. And the Colts have got to show that they can consistently defend that level of passing game.

And it all rides up front. I think this team right now, the formula for success is to jump out with this high-powered offense and get a lead and then chase people down with that defensive line. I think if they have to play from behind, if they get stuck in tight games late and the other team has got the ball with two minutes to go, there's going to be some nervy moments at Lucasola Stadium, for sure. What do you think they're going to do this year?

Right now, I still have them in that same sort of nine and eight range where they've been for most of the last four or five years. I think there's a lot of potential on offense. I think there's reason to be optimistic about what they can do there. They were a top ten offense last year, and they had about half a season from Jonathan Taylor and a quarter season from Anthony Richardson. But I think the back end of that defense, I think there's enough question marks there that I think it's going to keep them from getting where they want to go. Internally, their expectation is that they're going to win the AFC South for the first time since 2014. I think that's a big ask for this roster right now. George Bremer is here with us, covers the Colts for the Herald Bulletin. How much patience is the fan base going to have?

Not just with Anthony Richardson, but him and Shane Stipe. At what point are the fans going to go, alright, we've seen enough, it's time to pull this plug. They're not going to last the whole season, are they?

Some of them are already there now, I think. It's been a long time for this fan base. Not as long as it's been in other cities around the league, but you go back to the Andrew Luck retirement right before the 2019 season, and fans are kind of over the whole rebuilding idea. They're done with the idea that this team is still looking for answers. They want Anthony Richardson to be that guy. They think there is a lot of optimism, but Shane Stikin might be that guy, but he's going to go and prove it again in year two. We've seen plenty of coaches come out with a surprising year one and not be able to follow that up. But I think the fan base is absolutely ready to tip.

They want to see a winning football team, and they want to see it immediately. If things get off a slow start, it could get ugly, no doubt about it from a fan base standpoint. Oh boy. Well, I think Hickey knows about things getting ugly for the Colts, and so do you. Hickey, is that accurate? You agree with George there? Yes, very much so. Fingers crossed. We've seen some ugliness.

Two years ago does not need to be revisited. This is some hopefully good vibes coming here in 2024. OK, hopefully with the good vibes. Hey George, thank you for bringing good vibes this way, man. Where can people follow you and all your work on what will be an interesting season?

Yeah, no doubt about it. On Twitter, I'm at GMBremmer, and you can follow all my stories at haroldboltin.com slash colts. Alright, thank you so much, George. We'll catch you on down the line, OK? No problem. Thanks a lot, guys. Anytime.