|
Post by tapsgator on Oct 10, 2023 13:00:18 GMT -5
It's a bummer but hopefully he gets healthy quick. If he can stay on the field he has the look of a star.
|
|
|
Post by tapsgator on Oct 11, 2023 12:32:28 GMT -5
Well he's on IR so he's out at least a month. Shame because with Taylor coming back it was going to be interesting to see what that was going to look like. Hopefully he avoids surgery and can come back this year. It's the right call long term, they didn't draft him 4 with the knowledge of how raw he was thinking about 23.
I'm sure the fragile tag is coming out with Richardson as he (even moreso than most early QB picks) has a ton of people rooting against him for some reason that I really cannot fathom. Mostly fans of other SEC teams who want to be right about the "he won't even get drafted" hill they died on. I think in reality it's 1 of 2 things or a combo thereof that make him injury prone:
1) This is another by product of a lack of time playing QB and/or receiving high level coaching. He started 6 games at QB his senior year for a 2-8 team. True Freshman year he doesn't play any meaningful snaps and is 3rd string. Redshirt Freshman year he gets some relief duty and then starts one game against the best defense in FCB history. New coach comes in from the Sunbelt and he plays 12 games in a vanilla offense with very few pro concepts. Combine the coaching turnover with the fact that he was the 200th ranked player by Rivals and 245 by 24/7 along with the whole being on the verge of being homeless and taking care of his little brother and there wasn't a lot of time or money for the private coaches that most 5 stars have. He's trying to learn to play the position, including protecting himself, with guys that are on a relatively level playing field athletically. I'd imagine it's a steeper learning curve the tougher the competition. Quick comparison here to the guy he most often gets compared to (even though I think it's a little racist because his skillset is more Josh Allen), when Jalen Hurts came out he had played 56 college games, won a national championship and played for: Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, and Lincoln Riley. He had a 4 game audition after sitting the first 12 of his rookie year under Steichen and Johnson. He still struggled a little bit his 2nd year (consistent with Andy Reid philosophy that it takes 3 years for a QB to master a system) and then took off last year. Richardson is literally 4-5 years behind him from a coaching/teaching standpoint and instead of SEC and/or big 12 defenders who are overmatched at most other positions he's facing the best of the best with a pretty depleted skill position corps. It's a big ask. His performance is ahead of schedule in the other areas but in the protecting himself arena he has a ways to go.
2) This one actually worries me, it's the Bo Jackson/Mike Vick/Lamar Jackson effect. He is one of those generational athletes that move at a different speed than anybody else and that makes them vulnerable to injury. They're moving faster when they get hit by opposing forces (whole E=MC2 thing) and they take more hits because they break more tackles. The other thing he has in common with Bo is that he's so damn big people are going to tackle him low in the open field, his injuries are largely low hits to the knee, drag downs leading to lower leg stuff (this is actually where the career altering/ending risk is), and him going to the ground hard or in a bad position as or after people go low with the two most recent.
I think/hope its at least mostly the former not the latter. For what it's worth that seems to be what most NFL teams are banking on (and there's no way he goes 4 if Indy was the only team that had him graded in the top 5), so fingers crossed because he's a good guy that is really fun to watch and it's usually one or the other in the NFL.
|
|
|
Post by Rock Gator on Oct 11, 2023 16:19:25 GMT -5
Another way to say it, he's probably always been the best athlete on the field. The best athlete doesn't shy away from contact, he bowls players over or outruns them. Now, he's in the big leagues and there are all kinds of freak athletes. He needs to learn that difference or it'll be a short career. I hope it'll be long and glorious.
|
|
|
Post by tapsgator on Oct 12, 2023 9:46:29 GMT -5
Yeah hopefully he figures it out, Mullen really really screwed the kid over so the learning curve is super steep and the growing pains are going to be severe, both literally and figuratively. Mullen should have known better, Napier quite simply does not at this point in time. He's never developed an NFL QB as a HC, OC, or QB Coach, and his time in the wide receivers room and bringing guys coffee in Tuscaloosa doesn't count. Maybe Garrett Grayson at Colorado State but that wasn't him it was McGoober and McGoober didn't bring him to Florida as even a position coach because he preferred Nussmeier (who sucks but actually has had some success coaching QBs).
|
|
|
Post by gatordoll on Oct 15, 2023 14:06:44 GMT -5
Latest is that he is strongly considering season ending surgery for AC shoulder. Could be the best way to help him heal.
|
|
|
Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 15, 2023 19:29:05 GMT -5
Latest is that he is strongly considering season ending surgery for AC shoulder. Could be the best way to help him heal. He was shown on the sideline in Jacksonville this afternoon wearing an arm sling.
|
|
|
Post by tapsgator on Oct 16, 2023 10:46:17 GMT -5
Latest is that he is strongly considering season ending surgery for AC shoulder. Could be the best way to help him heal. He was shown on the sideline in Jacksonville this afternoon wearing an arm sling. Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world long term in my humble opinion. The only thing tougher than learning to play QB at the NFL level with a depleted roster would be doing it hurt. A lot of guys only play a couple games their rookie year, granted it's generally at the end, but big picture this season and even the first part of next was always going to be about getting up to speed, no reason to risk it. He just turned 21 in May and has had 6 months of real coaching. Watching, learning, and getting healthy should be the priorities.
|
|
|
Post by g8rfan on Oct 17, 2023 13:55:13 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 18, 2023 22:27:48 GMT -5
ESPN is calling it official, out for the season.
|
|
|
Post by tapsgator on Oct 26, 2023 9:30:35 GMT -5
www.si.com/nfl/colts/news/colts-jim-irsay-updates-anthony-richardsons-shoulderAs an unapologetic Richardson fan I'm torn, on one hand this is really good news and the surgery may have been a blessing in disguise because he was taking a beating getting on the job training and learning to play QB properly against NFL Defenses and a career altering injury was certainly possible. On the other hand, why in the Sam Hell is Jim Irsay the go to guy for all things Richardson? He needs to stay away from him and let the actual football do their job.
|
|