How can the Colts free up Jonathan Taylor against Green Bay?

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There was so much anticipation, excitement, and hope that the Colts winless week one drought would come to an end against the Texans.

If you had to pinpoint how Indianapolis could have done that, it was by dominating the Texans on the ground.

Instead, Jonathan Taylor has 48 yards on 16 attempts. He did find the end zone for the seventh consecutive game. With Gardner Minshew last season, the fewest yards he averaged per carry was 2.6 (minimum of 10 carries). He ended last year with 30 carries for 188 yards against Houston.

Now, the Texans did revamp their defense. None of the defensive lineman that started on Sunday started in that season ending loss for Indianapolis. However, that doesn’t make sense that the Colts would struggle running the football like that with defenses having to account for Anthony Richardson along with how much Chris Ballard has invested in the offensive line.

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There have only been three games that Richardson has started and finished in his career.

• 2023 Week 1 vs Jacksonville – Deon Jackson 13 attempts 14 yards (1.1 average)
• 2023 Week 4 vs Los Angeles Rams – Zack Moss 18 attempts 70 yards (3.9 average)
• 2024 Week 1 vs Houston Texans – Jonathan Taylor 16 attempts 48 yards (3.0 average) TD

The longest run from a non-Richardson ball carrier was 20 yards by Moss. In Sunday’s loss, Taylor’s longest run was SEVEN yards. That was the second time in his career where he failed to record a run of 10+ yards with at least 10 rush attempts (11/1/20 at Detroit).

Most of, if not all, of Taylor’s came with Richardson in the shotgun. Perhaps there is an adjustment period for Taylor because it’s not something that he has done of a ton in his career. At Wisconsin, they were a power running team when Taylor was there. It was like that in the early years of Taylor’s career with Frank Reich.

“Yeah, I like under center for him. He is so good. He’s not just a speed guy, he can get downhill and get in between the tackles and make people miss. That’s what I didn’t know about him when he first came into the league is how great he is with his vision inside the tackles and he’ll make one guy miss and then he’s a home run. Get him going downhill. I’ve never ran the ball as a running back, but I would think that’s an easier feel as a running back for sure.” Former Colts offensive lineman Rick DeMulling on Query & Company Monday morning.

It just felt like there were a few runs that were in the game plan and no creativity outside of the two-point conversion.

Next up for the Colts are the Green Bay Packers, who let Saquon Barkley gash them for 109 yards on 24 attempts (4.5 average) and two touchdowns. Barkley also had a pair of receptions for 23 yards and a score. I wonder if Shane Steichen will call up Nick Sirianni for some pointers on how to exploit the Packers run defense.

I am fascinated to see if Steichen will opt for much designed runs for Taylor underneath center so he’s able to pull Quenton Nelson like we have seen so many times, get Taylor on the edge more, and scheme up some better running lanes for the 2021 rushing champion.

Other topics DeMulling discussed with Jake Query & Jimmy Cook were:

• If Joe Mixon’s dominating performance was a fluke against the Colts run defense?
• His biggest concern moving forward with the Colts
• Loved that Anthony Richardson finally let people see Alec Pierce’s big play ability

To listen to Jake Query and Jimmy Cook’s conversation with Rick DeMulling , download the podcast containing the conversation below! You can always listen to the Query & Company from 12pm-3pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. You can also watch and interact with the show by going to the 107.5 The Fan YouTube Channel .

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