The veteran midfield reserve for the sixth pick. Offensive coordinator fired. A top offensive weapon to be traded.
All of those events happened within just eight days for Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1), who are going through dramatic changes to their struggling front line.
What does it all mean?
Let’s break down the ramifications, and optics, of the moves in this week’s Colts-focused AFC South lessons:
Brady seems to be the guy who loves Reich
On Tuesday, the Colts “reduced” Marcus Brady to his duties as offensive coordinator, a role he took up from last season following the departure of Nick Sirianni, who has since left. to become the head coach of Philadelphia Eagles.
Brady appeared to be the scapegoat for head coach Frank Reich – at least it appeared that way until the Colts provided a good reason for why he was fired.
Brady has been with the Colts since 2018, rising from assistant quarterback coach (2018) to quarterback coach (2019-20) to offensive coordinator (2021-22).
“This has been an incredibly difficult decision, but I felt it was necessary to make it in the best interests of the team,” Reich said in a statement. “I appreciate Marcus’ commitment to the organization, and he has contributed significantly to our offensive success over the past five seasons. I wish him the best going forward.”
Taylor Heinicke leads game win to beat Colts
The Commanders defeated the Colts 17-16 last Sunday in a winning game led by Washington QB Taylor Heinicke.
Brady’s shooting was a headbutt, considering Reich was a game player for the Colts. Brady helped with offensive game planning and gameplay design, and while there’s more to it than the average fan understands, it begs the question: How much of a change is real with Reich still calling the scene? Reich is expected to take on offensive coordination duties for the remainder of the season.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has given Reich (and general manager Chris Ballard) a vote of confidence, telling ESPN on Sunday that he has no intention of firing him. But Reich’s offense was horrendous, tied for worst of the presents (16), third-worst in scoring (16.1), second-worst in scoring in the first half (42 points in season) ), third in scoring performance fourth. (28.6%), and 26th in red zone performance (47.6%). So something had to change. Indianapolis voted for it as Brady’s job placement with the franchise.
After a disappointing end to last season, an amazing loss in the regular season finale Jacksonville Jaguars that ended their playoff hopes, the Colts pointed at Carson Wentz. They exchanged him with Washington Commandersjust a year after acquiring him from Eagle. Irsay later said at owner meetings that the transaction for Wentz was a “mistake”.
Seven games this season, the Colts pointed the finger at Matt Ryan – The Wentz replacement and the one they pegged is the missing link for a Super Bowl run. Sure enough, Reich admits that the team failed to reach a final deal by giving the 37-year-old QB an elite running game and solid pass protection. But the removal of Ryan before half-time shows that Indianapolis doesn’t trust the veteran to pull the offense out of the abyss.
And now the Colts are pointing the finger at Brady, an offensive coordinator who didn’t call the plays.
When will the finger be pointed at the Reich?
Can Ehlinger become Colts’ QB1 in the future?
It’s hard not to be impressed with what Sam Ehlinger began his early career with the Colts.
Offense found a way to beat himself again in Sunday’s 17-16 loss to the Commanders, Indianapolis’ second consecutive defeat. But the sophomore pro, with the weight of the Colts season on his shoulders, undeterred. He showed poise and commanded the attack. For the most part, he seemed comfortable in his pocket, which was one of the biggest question marks for the group’s observers. He advances in the pocket when needed and makes some nice throws on the go. According to Reich, all but one shot he knocked down on the field hit the target.
His best throw in the game: On Monday and 14 from the Colts ’19 in the third quarter, he connected with the rookie receiver Alec Pierce to complete 44 yards down the numbers.
“I think Sam looks good,” Reich said after the game. “I think we’re all confident we’ll see it, but you can feel it. … We don’t panic when we’re on the sidelines.”
But the Colts didn’t make enough plays to help Texas outstanding.
Two plays after that deep connection with Pierce, the star runs again Jonathan Taylor waiting for the ball. And in a situation challenging from even the best quarterbacks, with just 19 seconds and a timeout left, Ehlinger gave Indianapolis a fighting chance. He delivered a great ball in stride Michael Pittman Jr. deep middle. But the Colts’ top receiver ignored the pass.
Defense didn’t help either. After holding the Commander to seven points in three quarters, it gave away 10 points for possession back of 80 meters plus at the end of the final period.
Ehlinger is not perfect. There are several pitches he might want to return to, including a close intercept in the first quarter. He also fumbled at the Commanders ’17 game in the second half, when he appeared to lose the ball when trying to put and run under pressure.
But there are better ways than bad.
Considering the sequence of events that led the Colts to Ehlinger, who had never attempted a pass in an NFL regular game before Sunday, that’s pretty impressive.
“Obviously, you never really know what’s going to happen until you’re in there and live ammunition is coming,” Ehlinger said. “I think now I know what it’s like to play a regular game. I think there’s a lot of potential for growth, which I’m very excited about. There’s a lot of things to clean up and things to do. things to do better. There are so many opportunities to be had. I look forward to continuing to grow and improve.”
After an encouraging start for Ehlinger, there’s a lot to unpack with the Colts midfield situation. Reich has said Ehlinger is the starter for the rest of the season. But will he continue to flourish with more reps? A match certainly won’t dispel the uncertainty for the team’s future in this position.
Even if Ehlinger plays well for the rest of the season, will that be enough to land him the job in 2023? Who knows. Maybe the Colts didn’t even know.
There’s a strong argument for the Colts getting a quarterback in next year’s draft regardless of how Ehlinger plays. But this factor: Are the Colts even bad enough to land one of the top midfielders? Defensive numbers will be strong regardless of Ehlinger and offense. Had the season ended today, Indianapolis would have had a 15th pick in the draft – certainly not high enough to get one of the blue-chips in midfield.
For now, the Colts will try to take their hat off to an already potentially inconsistent offense. Against the Commanders, completed 47 yards for Pierce, ran 27 yards for Taylor in the first quarter and a 38-yard pass for Parris Campbell.
“We showed that we can be an explosive offense,” Ehlinger said after the game. “We’ve had some explosive plays. We just have to keep building from here.”
Ehlinger will have the opportunity to do that.
Hines will be missed by the Colts, but he won’t be fully utilized either
Trading is running again Nyheim Hines arrive Buffalo Bills on Tuesday, the Colts lost their versatile #2 pick to All-Pro Jonathan Taylor.
Since being picked in round 4 of the 2018 draft, Hines has shown him to be a threat in the run and pass game, alongside his pitching skills. He has 1,725 yards received over the past five seasons, the fifth most among full-backs.
But the fact is that Hines was also not used up in the Colts offense. He’s played with the lowest 30% of attacks of his career this season. He’s made just 18 36-yard runs – an average of two meters per take – in seven games this year playing behind arguably the worst offensive line in football. He has only 46 carries in 2021, a sharp drop from 2020, when he had 89.
As for Hines, who is said to have opened the trade, he has a fresh start with a Super Bowl contender that is expected to use him heavily.
In return Colts get running again Zack Moss and a conditional sixth round pick in 2023 could become a fifth pick. Indianapolis couldn’t give Hines the role he probably deserved and cast him on a draft pick and a fallback. Moss will compete with Deon Jackson – who flashed when given the opportunity – for a role RB2 becomes less important with Taylor’s workload increasing again after two games absent due to an ankle injury.
Moss is also a much cheaper fallback when running again, playing on a rookie deal. Hines signed a three-year, $18.6 million contract extension with Indianapolis in September 2021.
For those reasons, the Colts return to Hines isn’t all that bad – even if this commercial takes its toll on some fans.
Ben Arthur is an AFC South correspondent for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the writer who beat the Titans for a year and a half. He joined the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) before moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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