Indianapolis Colts alum Pat McAfee has not been shy about giving his opinion about... well, anything. Like many other former player, he's made a secondary career as an analyst and commentator, but McAfee has rarely shied away from NSFW takes when he gets fired up. And after the Colts suffered yet another embarrassing loss - this time to the Buffalo Bills - McAfee had another hot take, commenting on both Anthony Richardson and the recent comments from Kenny Moore II on the Colts' failures.
For context, in the Week 8 game against the Texans, Richardson tapped out for one play, later explaining, to much controversy, that he was "tired." There were many analysts and former players who expressed outrage afterwards, of which McAfee was one. "I had never seen an NFL QB tap out while still being healthy until watching Anthony Richardson," he said. "The QB is your franchise. The message it sends is loud and influential."
Since then, Richardson has been, quite controversially, benched in favor of veteran QB Joe Flacco, and though head coach Shane Steichen said Flacco gave the team a better chance of winning, Flacco has played horribly and the Colts are on a three-game losing streak. And, to be put it mildly, McAfee's tune has changed (although he's still NSFW, as always).
What Kenny Moore said tells you everything that you need to know about this Colts team#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/q89KC3qJyK
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 11, 2024
Starting off with a note that he was "disgusted" by the Colts, McAfee now seems to blame Steichen and the Colts' front office for Richardson's struggles in his 10 starts with the NFL.
"AR had no chance with this building that is happening. That is what I've realized over the last 12 hours," he said. "I'm wondering why AR's tapping out of games as quarterback. Like, how's this guy not know you can't, as a quarterback, do that? Like, call timeout. Waste of timeout. Instead of tapping your head and showcasing that whole thing. And, you know, is he getting better? Is he getting worse? Is he in shape? All those things. He's got nobody telling him how he's supposed to operate in that building."
McAfee then moved on to the recent comments from several Colts players, including team captains Zaire Franklin and Kenny Moore II, that the team was not prepared well enough and isn't putting in the effort needed to win.
"So AR had no idea how he's supposed to be a professional because there's no damn professionals in that building. These have been the stories that have been happening over the last few years," he began. "You know, and I'm not saying this team under Shane Steichen has been this, but if you remember when Frank Reich was the coach ... people were late to meetings, team meetings, people showing up late to team meetings, people were - people were missing training. You know, obviously there's a story about gambling in the locker room that came out from the Colts. And it was like, why aren't we winning? It's like, oh, the culture is just not very like conducive to being a professional outfit. And then this whole thing happens and it's like, we're all here working hard. It's like, how do you not even, what do you even, what do you mean you're not working hard in this entire thing? Joe Flacco throws a pick on the first play. Not great. Then he gets the ball back again, throws another pick. Then he's ready to go on to throw a third one.
"And obviously Josh Allen is a phenomenal football player. He threw two picks against Bradley's defense. Defense was flying around doing its thing. We were in that until we weren't. And the Buffalo Bills showcase today are at the top of the AFC as a whole. They are a good team. They work hard."
There have been fingers pointed at Steichen, as well as general manager Chris Ballard, as the people responsible not only for Richardson's failure to develop this season, but for the Colts' lack of success overall. Since Richardson was benched, the rumors began that Steichen has lost the locker room; with Moore's comments after the Bills loss, those rumors are at a roar.
And McAfee sees it. It's clear that this Indianapolis team has some serious problems that go way deeper than just Anthony Richardson vs. Joe Flacco, and they may not get any better until the Colts clean house.