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At his end-of-season pre s conference, general manager Chris Ballard let out a chuckle.He had been asked about how excited he was, about how much pre sure was off his shoulders, knowing that the Colts have a coach and young quarterback in place to build around.So that slight laugh wasn't just about the stability now in place. It was also about the bright days that seem to be ahead in Indianapolis."A much different tone than when we were sitting here a year ago, when we didn't have either one of them a coach or a quarterback ," Ballard said.ADVERTISEMENT That was a theme throughout Ballard's remarks, which lasted more than 50 minutes. He spoke as if a burden had been lifted. And it's hard to blame him. The Colts on paper appear to be primed for long-term succe s after a surprising 9-8 campaign with a rookie head coach in Shane Steichen. And with a quarterback in just a year into his rookie deal, Indianapolis has more financial flexibility than it's had in years. From 2019-22, Indianapolis had big money tied to non-franchise quarterbacks (Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz, Philip Rivers, Jacoby Bri sett).That's no longer the case.The Colts also have $58.9 million in 2024 salary cap space, fifth-most in the league, according to Overthecap.com."I feel really good about where we're going," Ballard said. "Even with the ending the Week 18 lo s to the , it probably was one of the more satisfying, fun teams to be around on a day-to-day basis."From a coaching standpoint, Steichen has brought stability and direction to the franchise, which was in chaos in the 2022 season. There was Frank Reich's midseason firing followed by the interim hire of Jeff Saturday, a team legend who had never coached above high school.Despite mi sing the playoffs for the third straight year, Indianapolis more than doubled its win total this past season. The offensive playcaller, Steichen also guided an offense that was top-10 in scoring (23.3 points per game) despite being without Richardson for 13 games, star running back and right tackle for seven, and center for three. Backup quarterback was added to the Pro Bowl roster Tuesday as an alternate, speaking to how deftly Steichen was able to tweak the offense on the fly to accentuate Minshew's strengths.Colts RB Zack Mo s talks Anthony Richardson & Shane Steichen's impact Indianapolis' succe s was all the more impre sive considering its very significant deficiencies Udonis Haslem Jersey in the secondary, where it leaned primarily on rookies and undrafted talent at cornerback, and inexperience at safety. According to FTN Data, the Colts ranked 25th in pa s defense DVOA, which ranks the succe s of each play compared to the league average. Standout nose tackle also mi sed six games due to a suspension for PEDs, which impacted the run defense. Former All-Pro was waived. The Colts defense overall allowed 65 explosive plays (pa ses and rushes that went for 20-plus yards), 11th-most of any team in the league, according to Sportradar.Despite its defensive flaws, Indianapolis was one win away from a playoff berth.That makes team observers think about the po sibilities of a healthier offense and reinforced defense in 2024."There is never a lack of confidence or seed of doubt in his mind in what he's doing, and he sees the big picture," Ballard said of Steichen. "This is not just an offensive coordinator that became a head coach who calls plays. No, he sees it all. That's an impre sive thing."Even after games, I'd go in, and we're both emotional, but he's always got such great recall about what happened in all three phases and what we need to fix. He's a tremendous problem-solver, which I think is an important skill set for anybody in leadership positions to have. He's extremely demanding, not only of players, but also of staff of all of us. He's going to pre s because he wants to win. He understands what needs to be done, what needs to happen to win. It'll be fun to watch his growth even more."Richardson's development remains key, though.The No. 4 overall pick showed tantalizing potential in his abbreviated rookie season, enough that team decision-makers have already referred to him as their franchise quarterback. Perhaps nowhere was that potential more evident than in the Week 4 overtime lo s to the , when Richardson guided a 23-0 run to end regulation two pa sing touchdowns, two succe sful two-point conversions, a rushing score to force extra time.He became the first quarterback in league history to score a rushing touchdown in each of his first three career games."I'm going to tell you one of the things that really surprised me with Anthony because I was concerned about it, but this guy is a pa ser," Ballard said. "I mean, this guy is a legitimate pa ser, and I believe that. I think he's going to continue to get better and improve the more he plays."But his rookie season ended after just four games, a routine tackle in Week 5 against the divisional-rival leading to an AC joint injury that required season-ending shoulder surgery. (He expects to start throwing again in February.) It addedfuel to the debate of whether Richardson, who also mi sed time due to a concu sion, can properly protect himself. There's also the question of his relative inexperience after starting just 13 games at .The Colts' ability to build on the succe s of this past season, to view their long-term outlook favorably, ultimately hinges on Richardson's strides in a second season that is his de facto rookie season, because of all the time that he mi sed for on-field growth."It allowed me to slow my mind down a little bit," Richardson said of mi sing 13 games, "sit back and really learn the game a little bit despite playing a few games this year."At this time next year, Ballard hopes to keep smiling.Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tenne sean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tenne see. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur. Derrick Jones Jr. Jersey |
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发表于 2026-4-24 12:28:45