Chris Shepherd of Stampede Blue joins BRB for five questions
Life goes on in the NFL. Whether you are coming from the winner’s circle like the Indianapolis Colts or from soul crushing defeat like the Houston Texans, life has to move on. The Colts are arguably the Texans biggest rivals on a year to year basis in the AFC South and this year is no different. It doesn’t mean that those of us that cover the teams have to combative. Chris Shepherd is one of the more enjoyable people to do this feature with. He always asks thoughtful questions and always responds to my questions with thoughtful answers. We began our conversation as we usually do by talking about the quarterbacks.
Battle Red Blog: I hate to get stuff started with Colts fans, but from afar it looks like the team was performing better and moving the ball more under Joe Flacco than Anthony Richardson. Is that a fair characterization? Is there a quarterback controversy moving forward or are the Colts committed to growing with Richardson as long as he is healthy?
Chris Shephard: It’s a fair question and it’s one a lot of Colts fans are asking too. Ultimately Joe Flacco, a 17 year veteran, former Super Bowl winning MVP, is more of a pocket passer and a better passer than Anthony Richardson. That should surprise exactly no one. Richardson’s throwing struggles are expected.
There’s a narrative surrounding Richardson’s play now and no matter what he does the book is in on him and people are going to say the same thing: he’s inaccurate. But the thing is, last week, he wasn’t that inaccurate. He had one wild ball. His problem last week was that the balls were coming out late. He talked about how in the first games of the year he was going too fast. Those first few games he was working his reads quickly and his feet were a mess. Last week he worked slowly and his feet were much better in the pocket. The ball just came out late and it gave DB’s a chance to break on those balls.
Last week showed growth and watching growth can be painful. But in a player as inexperienced as Richardson, it’s necessary.
The Colts aren’t winning a Super Bowl this year with Anthony Richardson at quarterback. The Colts aren’t winning a Super Bowl this year with Joe Flacco at quarterback. What’s the point of starting a nearly 40 year old and going 8-9, when you could keep giving your young, talented and inexperienced quarterback the very thing he needs to potentially succeed in the future?
It’s a fair question but starting Flacco over a healthy Richardson makes very little sense.
BRB: The Colts have been 4-2 since the week one loss to the Texans. What have been the biggest reasons for their success?
CS: If I’m being completely honest, outside of the week four win against the Steelers the Colts owe their success to playing a rookie quarterback in his third professional game, an injured Will Levis playing like Will Levis and the Dolphins not having an NFL caliber backup quarterback.
The win against the Steelers was a solid one. The rest… well I’m just happy the Colts are currently over .500.
BRB: Jonathan Taylor has been banged up this year. What is his status for Sunday? If he can’t go then who will get the bulk of the carries?
CS: Taylor has returned to practice and they would like it if he was able to go. They haven’t said either way and it wouldn’t surprise me if he became a game time decision. In his absence Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson have filled in. Goodson is the more explosive player and has been more effective overall. That said Taylor is a special back running behind a very good offensive line with a quarterback who the defense has to account for as a runner, which stresses run fits and creates more running lanes. So we all hope Taylor can play.
BRB: The Packers effectively shut down the Texans’ passing game on Sunday. Is there anything you could see there that the Colts could replicate?
CS: Absolutely!
The best chance the Colts have to limiting CJ Stroud to fewer than, say, 250 passing yards is to let Joe Mixon carry the ball 30 times for 159 yards and just refuse to tackle him before he gains five yards. If you give the Texans no reason to throw the ball against an objectively bad Colts defensive line, then Stroud can’t hurt you!
BRB: Fanduel has the Texans favored by 6.5 points. Do you feel like that is a fair line? Are there any prop bets you feel comfortable recommending?
CS: That is absolutely fair. The Colts, at this time, are not a good football team. They’re 4-3 and I’m happy about that but without some serious growth over the back half of the season this team isn’t going to finish over .500. This week starts a brutal stretch of games for Indy and there’s a very real chance they drop their next five in a row.
As far as prop bets go, if you can get odds on C.J. Stroud throwing an interception, take it. It won’t have an impact on the outcome of the game at all, but each time the Colts play Stroud they’re *this* close to picking him off and I’d be willing to bet it happens this week. Frankly I hope it does, that way when the the Colts lose by double digits at least the guy who comes away with the pick can remember that play fondly.
We’d like to thank Chris for taking the time to answer our questions. Hopefully, his predictions for Sunday will come true, but I am expecting a closer football game because that seems to be the way these things go. We’d like to wish Chris and the Colts the best of luck on the remainder of the season. As per usual, we hope that luck begins on Monday morning.