Jeff Saturday has a plan for the Colts to bring the real Jonathan Taylor back
After an underwhelming start for Jonathan Taylor, interim coach, Jeff Saturday, has a plan to get Taylor rolling for the Indianapolis Colts.
Entering the season, the Indianapolis Colts were expected to benefit from another great year from Jonathan Taylor. People weren’t discussing if Taylor would have another good season, they were asking how great would his season be. Could he go for 2,000 rushing yards? Would he break any more records? Expectations were high for Taylor.
After rushing for 131 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries in Week 1, it seemed like Taylor would meet all of those expectations. However, everything started to quickly go downhill after that. The offensive line was struggling run block and Taylor was trying to battle through a nagging ankle injury. Playing in five games from Week 2 to Week 9, Taylor was held under 60 yards three times, and in the two games he went over 60 yards, he only had 71 and 76.
The Colts just didn’t look like the dominant rushing attack that they were during the 2021 season. However, in Week 10, it looked like something changed. Taylor had 22 carries for 147 yards and one touchdown. This performance came in Jeff Saturday’s first game as interim head coach and that may not have been a coincidence.
In a recent interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Saturday admitted that the overwhelming majority of his time as interim head coach has been spent in the offensive room. Not only has he been challenging the offensive line to be better, but he’s making a concerted effort to get his All-Pro running back the ball more.
"I called our offensive line out & they appreciated the challenge" ~@SaturdayJeff#PMSOverreactionMonday pic.twitter.com/1w7xktlXS6
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 14, 2022
Jeff Saturday wants to get Jonathan Taylor touches
Saturday said that Taylor is “special and touches matter for him and getting the run game going.” This probably seems like an obvious approach since Taylor entered the season as arguably the best running back in the NFL, but the Colts have transitioned into somewhat of a pass-first team this season. That isn’t necessarily a critique of Frank Reich because the passing game was far more effective than the run game during the first half of the season so Reich was just calling the plays that he thought give Indy the best chance to win.
With Saturday now in charge, it appears he wants to get back to a balanced attack that benefits from having one of the best young talents in the league at running back. Against the Raiders on Sunday, the Colts dropped back 29 times and ran 30 times. They also had 208 passing yards and 207 rushing yards— that’s like the epitome of balance.
Moving forward, if Indianapolis is going to remain balanced and Jonathan Taylor is going to get back to form, of course, touches will be important but so will offensive line play. Saturday and the coaching staff have to continue to challenge the offensive line to execute weekly. If the offensive line can continue to answer the call, the Colts could get things turned around.
