Fans are starting to get whiplash from all the back and forth.
Someone in the Colts organization must be a fan of Stampede Blue.
Someone in the Colts organization must be a fan of mine, to be more specific.
You’re welcome…
Ok. All jokes aside, I am extremely pleased that someone woke up and made the choice to go with Richardson at quarterback again, supposedly for the rest of the year. The question remains who ultimately made the call as many are suspecting Jim Irsay to once again have had his fingerprints on the situation. While I like the recent move, the whole thing was done in the worst way possible. It leaves a once proud franchise appearing dull and disorganized.
When the decision to bench Richardson was made, it was for the year. That was how Steichen described it. Joe Flacco was to be the quarterback for the remainder of the season because he gave the team the best chance to win. There was no indication this was a short-term disciplinary action for Richardson to mature and learn how to be more of a professional. It looked like the Colts were turning the page, and Richardson was no longer part of the story. Even as late as this week, Flacco was still being tabbed as the starting quarterback. Then the about-face.
How did we get to this point? Currently, it is extremely unclear. If the organization wanted to send a message to Richardson telling him to grow up and get serious, they could have at least informed him of the reason. He seemed to be just as confused as the rest of us. Even Chris Ballard wasn’t in the know when the decision was made. The franchise has used a lot of smoke and mirrors over the years to keep fans in the dark, and this is just another example. I understand that we don’t need to be privy to every little detail, and maybe this was a move to actually protect Richardson. If that was the case, why does no one, inside or out of the organization, seem to understand what the plan was?
Steichen had every opportunity to say, “Look. We are taking this week by week. Anthony needs to take a step back and gather himself, so he can lead this franchise the best way possible. This isn’t a permanent move, but we need to work through a few things with him before he is ready to take the field again.” Would that have created some questions? Sure. It also would have provided some clarity and context for the benching. Making it seem like it was permanent didn’t do anyone any good and only created more of a firestorm.
I am not sure if we will ever get the whole story. If Anthony Richardson comes back and looks better than ever, all will be forgiven. I can’t say, however, all will be forgotten. This is a franchise that has a transparency issue and an owner who may be unable to keep from meddling. Those are still two current issues. When the next “situation” comes along, don’t expect it to be handled any differently. Hopefully, all’s well that ends well. This week’s game against the Jets got a lot more interesting, though.