Jake's Takes | Colts Elect to Sit Anthony Richardson vs. Bears
The Indianapolis Colts hosted the Chicago Bears for their preseason home opener on Saturday night, but head coach Shane Steichen elected not to show off his shiny, new quarterback, Anthony Richardson, to the home crowd just yet.
That'll have to wait for the season opener on Sept. 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
However, despite the vast majority of the Colts' starters watching from the sideline, there was plenty to observe among the rest of the roster. While wins and losses during the preseason hardly move the needle, the Colts did leave their home turf with a 24-17 victory.
Here are my takes on the game.
— Following the game, Steichen was asked about his decision not to play Richardson. He pointed to the two joint practices with the Bears on Wednesday and Thursday as to why, saying that they view those as "legit games." While the reasoning does make sense, it perhaps makes even more sense to get Richardson reps in an actual game scenario, in front of the home fans. Even just a series would have crossed that off the list for both Richardson and the fans. However, virtually no other regular starters played either so you don't necessarily want to trot him out there with players he won't be lining up next to on Sundays.
— During the local television broadcast, Colts owner Jim Irsay was interviewed in the booth and said that the Colts were excited to have running back Jonathan Taylor back, who was away from the team this week for an excused personal absence. Steichen explained that Taylor is expected back with the team on Sunday, although there is no word on when he will be medically cleared from the Physically Unable to Perform list for his ankle. Irsay also mentioned that he's leaning on general manager Chris Ballard to "calm the waters" regarding Taylor and his dissatisfaction over his contract and relationship with the team.
— Linebacker Shaquille Leonard participated in every practice of training camp up until Thursday, and Steichen explained that it is due to Leonard getting "dinged" and being in the (concussion) protocol. We'll see when he's cleared to play.
— For the second consecutive game, rookie wide receiver Josh Downs caught a pair of passes and looked good doing it. He also had an 11-yard reception called back due to Pharaoh Brown's offensive pass-interference penalty. Downs received the majority of the first-team reps at slot receiver this week and is only getting more and more equity with the coaching staff as the summer wears on.
— The bottom of the wide receiver and tight end depth charts have some interesting battles taking place, and Juwann Winfree (4 catches, 24 yards, 1 touchdown), James Washington (1 catch, 42 yards), and D.J. Montgomery (2 catches, 39 yards) all had a positive impact on Saturday. Throw rookie tight end Will Mallory's hat into the ring as well, particularly in the extended absences of Mo Alie-Cox, Jelani Woods, and Drew Ogletree.
— Brown has a chance to earn the main blocking tight end role currently as Alie-Cox continues sitting out with an ankle injury, but it's been a rough last week for Brown. He got dinged for a holding call on a big run in preseason Week 1, a pass interference call on Saturday, and was also dismissed from practice on Thursday after getting into an altercation with a Bears player on consecutive plays.
— Safety Nick Cross and linebacker Cameron McGrone paired up for a couple of nice plays early on Saturday. They had a tackle for loss on a screen pass on their first drive and then teamed up again for a pass breakup on the next play. Cross has had a phenomenal summer but McGrone is starting to catch up after spending the first chunk of training camp injured.
— It was a notable day for the Colts' young secondary. Cornerback Jaylon Jones repeatedly attacked the ball and either broke up the play or was immediately there to make a tackle. He also had a tough special teams tackle on punt coverage. Darius Rush continues his summer of peaks and valleys, allowing a 35-yard touchdown to former Colts receiver Daurice Fountain. Safety Trevor Denbow also had a solid night, making a pass breakup while breaking on the ball quickly, covering the tight end out of the slot, and then registering a sack for a nine-yard loss later in the drive.
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