At first glance, Shane Steichen's recent comments about the Indianapolis Colts' running game, and specifically Jonathan Taylor, might not seem all that bad. On second glance, reading between the lines, you could argue the head coach took a subtle shot at his star running back.
Heading into Week 6 against AFC South division rival the Tennessee Titans, the Colts have failed to get their offence going collectively. Taylor, by contrast, has been solid individually, except for last weekend's 45-yard, zero-touchdown performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Generally speaking, though, Taylor has been the only constant in the Colts’ offense, and although he hasn't hit the 100-yard mark on the ground yet, he's been the Colts' only true source of points. Still, what Steichen said about Taylor this week might suggest Taylor isn't doing enough.
Indianapolis Colts HC Shane Steichen wants more explosive runs from Jonathan Taylor
Let's be honest: Steichen should worry about bigger things than Taylor. Daniel Jones, for instance, and a wide receiving group without life, largely because of Jones's struggles. But Taylor? According to Steichen, maybe.
It is strange that through five games the seven-year rusher hasn't gone over 100 yards rushing yet. He's hit the mid-90s three times, and 68 yards and 45 yards once each. Those aren't the numbers he put up last season, though his six rushing touchdowns tie for fourth in the league, and his 36 total points are 12 more than any other Colts player not named Spencer Shrader.
Taylor can do more, yes, but what Steichen said this week sounds out of touch with the bigger Colts’ offensive picture when he responded to what needs to change for Taylor and the Colts’ running game going forward.
"I think, schematically, every week we look at those things, and being able to adjust when teams are playing different fronts will be big for us moving forward," Steichen said, via Colts.com. "We get the fronts and the looks we want; execution has got to be at a premium. He sees it right, hits it right, we'll be good. Obviously, the chunk plays like we saw last year, we haven't had those in the run game, and it would be great to get back to that and get those explosives going forward."
Steichen is right in that Taylor hasn't hit the burners on explosive plays or recorded chunk runs, because he really hasn't. Taylor's longest rush this season is 24 yards, and he's had only three rushes of 20+ yards in 101 carries. Compared with the league's other three running backs with 100 carries each, he’s almost equal across the board.
Derrick Henry (113 carries) has three 20+ rushes, like Taylor, and Jahmyr Gibbs (105 carries) has two. Bijan Robinson is the only running back of the four with over 100 carries (102) and more than three rushes for over 20 yards (six). From that perspective, Taylor's explosive plays are largely on par with other backs with over 100 attempts.
Steichen didn't directly call out Taylor for producing bigger plays and longer runs, but he did so passively aggressively. Again, hopefully Taylor's production isn't what Steichen is focused on. Hopefully, his eyes are on Jones and the Colts' passing attack more, which needs major work.
Instead of wishing for Taylor to look more like he did last season, Steichen should wish for Jones to start looking more like he did last season. Taylor will be alright. Jones, on the other hand, is hard to say right now.
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