Here’s today’s trivia question. Which Indianapolis Colts quarterback has the most rushing yards in franchise history? Hint: he predates the move to Indianapolis.
Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas ran for almost 1,800 yards during his career as a Baltimore Colts quarterback. That’s good for 20th on the all-time franchise rushing list. As you might expect, he trails 19 running backs.
Unitas was not known as a runner. He was one of the best downfield throwers of the 1960s. He leads all Colts’ QBs because of longevity. It took him 206 games to get all those yards. His rushing average was a mundane 3.9.
Andrew Luck would have passed him had he stuck around. Luck and Bert Jones are the only other QBs to rush for more than 1,000 yards while playing for the club.
Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has to take the snow tires off his offense
But Indy currently has a QB who has run for more yards than Unitas in far fewer games. He has run for more yards than Luck and Jones despite playing in fewer games – a full seasons-worth.
Daniel Jones has run for 2,207 yards in just 72 career games. He has averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He has more touchdowns and first downs. His success rate – based on situation – is much higher.
The takeaway here is that Daniel Jones is a good runner.
During much of his career with the Giants, he was running for his life. Everyone knows that Andrew Luck was sacked a lot when he quarterbacked the Colts. Jones was sacked at a significantly higher rate with the Giants. If he didn’t run, his team would have no offense, and he would probably have wound up in traction.
But that’s not happening, at least not yet, in Indianapolis. It’s a miniscule sample size but one of the Colts’ two games this year was against Denver, a team recognized for its ferocious pass rush. When he was with New York, Jones was sacked at a rate of 8.49%. That means every 200 times he dropped back to throw, he was sacked 17 times.
Through two games with Indy, that rate is 3.09%. That is truly outstanding. It speaks to how good the Colts’ line has been, how sharp Jim Bob Cooter’s schemes have been, and how well Jones has executed them.
Now it is time to shift into a new gear. It is time to let Daniel Jones run.
Of course you do not want him running a lot. Indy has an elite back in Jonathan Taylor and a decent youngster in DJ Giddens. Cooter may want to design some runs to take advantage of what Tyler Warren, AD Mitchell, and Alec Pierce can do.
But Jones should be running. His legs are too big a weapon to keep on ice.
Actually, he has been running. Through two games, his attempts mostly track with his career norms – about six rushes per game. But his yards-per-carry are way down. Several of his runs have been short yardage and goal line sneaks. What I want to see are a few read options and naked boots.
Those are dangerous plays. They can be blown up, and your QB can get hit hard. Cooter needs to pick his spots. But many of the best offenses employ them. Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts run them. So do Josh Allen and Jayden Daniels.
Like those teams, Indy boasts a good offensive line and, more importantly, a dynamic lead back. Opposing defenses have to focus on Taylor whenever he is in the game. That is when designed QB runs have their best chance of working.
Indy almost lost to Denver last week because of how conservative Cooter was on his final three calls. He plunged Taylor into a line that was expecting him and ended up with a 60-yard field goal attempt. A flukish penalty saved the day.
On first or second down, a read option would have been brilliant. Jones puts the ball in Taylor’s belly, then reads how the defensive end reacts. If he crashes in, Jones keeps the ball and runs outside for a nice gain.
You can’t run that play on third down because there is always the chance the defense sniffs it out and tackles Jones for a five-yard loss. But on second down, against a very aggressive defense, use what you’ve got.
You’ve got a very good running quarterback. Start using him.