After the Indianapolis Colts were trounced by the Jacksonville Jaguars 42-7 in Week 8, head coach Shane Steichen said everyone needed to be better, and he would be re-evaluating everything. Whatever.
That isn't to say Steichen was lying, because that wouldn't be right. Maybe he really wanted to at the time, but if that meant upsetting quarterback Daniel Jones, whom Steichen clearly likes personally, then the head coach wasn't going to make a change at QB.
One day after claiming he would look at all positions, Steichen reverted to his tired line that Jones gives the team the best chance to win. Does he? There is no recent evidence proving that.
Indianapolis Colts' Shane Steichen doubles down on Daniel Jones stance
Steichen said, "Daniel will be our starting quarterback. Obviously, evaluating the tape...some things he could do better, some things that we need to help him with, but I do feel like Daniel gives us the best chance to win right now...It goes back to the preparation and the command that he has of the offense and what we're trying to get done.
The coach also said a couple of interesting bits about Jones' two interceptions against the Jaguars. The first wasn't his fault. The ball hit off tight end Tyler Warren's hands and into the hands of a Jacksonville defender. Steichen said the ball hit off the receiver's "chest."
On the second, Steichen said Jones underthrew the ball when the Colts were trying to "take a shot." What? Jones was simply trying to throw a pass between the hash marks to Warren, but the throw was only 15 yards in the air and nowhere near the goal line.
Sure, the above two paragraphs are a bit nit-picky, but they also further illustrate that those who wonder exactly what Steichen is saying when explaining how he sees the game have a right to their wonderment.
Through eight games, Daniel Jones has a quarterback rating of 68.7, 31st in the NFL. His total QBR is 39.6, which is 29th. He has five touchdown passes and nine interceptions. No one can logically think that he gives any team its best chance to win games.
Steichen does often like to bring up Jones' "preparation" and his control of the offense. The former is said simply because Steichen likes Jones, though that seems unclear to the coach. No matter how much prep Jones puts in, that hasn't translated into good play.
As for having control of the offense, that is meaningless. The offense is ineffective.
In fact, Anthony Richardson should have just as much of a grasp of the offense as Jones because Richardson has been in Steichen's system for four seasons. If Richardson doesn't have the same understanding that Jones has, that's on Steichen, not on the quarterback. It's the head coach's job to make sure all his quarterbacks can run the system if called upon.
None of this ultimately matters, most likely. Shane Steichen will be gone by the end of the season, or the fan base is going to be enraged. Daniel Jones will likely be gone in the offseason, too. So will Richardson, who is set to be a free agent. The future has to be brighter, simply by not having Steichen in it.
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