As far as NFL fan bases go, Colts fans are about as tame and measured as they come.
Most Colts fans really haven’t had much to be mad about in their lifetimes.
At least in comparison to a lot of the other dreadful organizations in the NFL.
Since Peyton Manning was drafted in 1998, there’s never not been hope.
They’ve almost always been competitive.
They’ve never had back to back losing seasons.
Luck had them in the playoffs his rookie season.
To at minimum be “in the hunt”.
Or as ESPN once put it, “sniffin' around” the playoffs every season.
Which is a lot more than a lot of NFL teams can say.
And again… that’s a lot more than a lot of teams can say.
Where “at least the Colts have a competitive roster”… That’s starting to wear thin.
Now Colts fans are officially pissed.
And I’m afraid the current Anthony Richardson vs Joe Flacco situation is going to tear them apart.
To me, this current quarterback situation seems pretty simple.
On one hand, you have a quarterback who you drafted with the 4th pick overall in Anthony Richardson.
You hoped he would be the future of your franchise.
Unfortunately he’s had some struggles.
Then Anthony Richardson went out with an injury in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Joe Flacco came in and led the Colts to a 27-24 win.
Yet when Richardson got healthy, the Colts gave him another chance.
When he came back, it was a lot more of the same.
Now to be fair, his receivers didn’t help him out much.
There were a lot of drops.
And Anthony Richardson does things with his legs that make the Colts offense not one-dimensional.
As ugly as his numbers are.
As ripe as he if for viral highlights that the entire internet can come together an laugh at.
So there’s still some hope with the guy.
But you might’t watch Anthony Richardson with the Colts this season and tell me the good outweighs the bad.
He was becoming the laughing stock of the NFL.
He was throwing 100mph missiles 10 yards over the heads over wide open receivers.
You were holding your breath every time he dropped back to pass.
So you had a situation where the Colts were 4-4 with a realistic shot at making the playoffs.
Their defense had looked great at times.
They have some legitimate weapons on offense.
Joe Flacco has looked like the better QB this season.
But holy shit was I wrong.
Clearly Joe Flacco is not a long-term answer.
After last night, he might not be the short-term answer either.
But my god can we relax a bit?
And it was just last year that Flacco joined the Browns and led them to the playoffs.
He finished the regular season 4-1, throwing for 300+ pass yards in all of his wins.
He beat out a man who died and came back to life for Comeback Player of The Year.
Not that last night wasn’t dreadful.
Joe Flacco looked incompetent.
It looks like the clock may have officially struck midnight on the 39-year old QB’s career.
I fear Barstool may have sold the last of the Joe Flacco Elite shirts.
He undoubtedly played a dog shit football game last night.
And maybe that’s who he is now.
He’s 22 years old.
He has so much football ahead of him.
Obviously that gets the Colts nowhere.
Personally, I’d go back to Anthony Richardson for the rest of the year right now.
I was a Flacco guy there for a bit.
I don’t believe in the whole Super Bowl or bust mentality.
And I thought maybe Anthony Richardson could learn a thing or two from a QB with 17-years of experience.
But after Flacco’s last couple of games, I’m not sure that’s realistic.
At this point, I say we buckle up and enjoy the rollercoaster ride that is 2024 Anthony Richardson.
The decision to play Flacco over Richardson was just not that big of a deal.
It doesn’t have to mean the Colts have given up on their young QB.
It doesn’t mean Richardson’s career is over.
But I don’t even think they’ve built a bad team.
They just don’t have a QB right now.
You give the Colts a real one and we legitimately might be talking Super Bowl.
And maybe somehow Anthony Richardson will develop into that.
At least Seth is still in good spirits
