by Rashaad McGinnis
The Indianapolis Colts right now are in the national headlines for their handling of the Jonathan Taylor situation. Whether right or not, Shane Steichen is doing all he can to block out that noise and prepare his team for a game on Thursday.
The Colts have the Philadelphia Eagles awaiting them, and nobody knows that challenge better than Steichen. The Eagles are fresh off a Super Bowl visit and are one of the most talented teams in the entire NFL. There are a lot of great matchups I’m looking forward to, but I think these three are the most important.
The Eagles had the best pass rush from an overall unit in the league last year. Four different players had 10+ sacks, and the team had 70 total. This season is a little different with the departure of Javon Hargrove, who was playing at an all-pro level.
The Eagles will now rely on the two young former University of Georgia teammates Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter to generate that pressure. The Colts trio of Ryan Kelly, Quenton Nelson, and Will Fries (who is currently not healthy) will be tasked with slowing down that group.
The Eagles like to make quarterbacks bail from pressure up the middle in hopes a QB just keeps retreating to give their bendy edge rushers (Hassan Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham) a chance to get home. Each of those three guys will be a great test for Braden Smith and Bernhard Raimann.
The Eagles have two of the most talented receivers in the NFL. The young duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith would be a tough test for any group of cornerbacks especially one with as little playing experience as the Colts.
While it may be Darrell Baker Jr. and Dallis Flowers who will probably be the two that actually get the task of stopping them, I honestly wish it was JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones. Either way, this is baptism by fire for whoever has the assignment. It’s the exact opposite of easing a guy into a role. It is throwing him into the deep end and telling him to swim, which I love.
These Colts corners are young and will take a lot of lumps this season, but nobody is going to feel sorry for them. If you want to play in this league you have to go out there and compete at the highest level. Thursday gives them an opportunity to do that.
Everything gets analyzed individually, of course, but let’s be honest. In the grand scheme of things, none of this matters if Anthony Richardson is bad.
This Eagles defense, while I don’t think it will be as good as last year, still presents a formidable challenge for Richardson. Richardson should show some growth from the last game he started. I want to see how well he commands the huddle, how well he goes through his reads, does he know where to go with the football based off what the defense is giving him, and his accuracy/ball placement on his throws.
Hopefully the offensive line gives us a chance to properly evaluate him and he’s not running for his life every snap. The Eagles safeties are a question mark, but they do have two outstanding corners with Darius Slay and James Bradbury (if they play) who will be looking to make Richardson pay for any mistake he makes.
Originally posted on msn.com