INDIANAPOLIS – The message has been the same as the Indianapolis Colts prepare to follow yet another starting quarterback into a season.
Daniel Jones is the 11th different starter since Andrew Luck’s retirement prior to the 2019 season, and the sixth who’ll lead the offense into the opener.
He’s cerebral, a great communicator, has command of the offense and the huddle and has gained the respect of his teammates. He’s also markedly more efficient in the passing game than Anthony Richardson Sr.
Jones completed 64.1% of his passes in 70 career games with the New York Giants. That resides in the bottom third of qualifying quarterbacks since being selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft, but light years ahead of Richardson’s 50.6%.
Yet there’s another aspect to Jones’ game.
“I think he’s a sneaky runner,” Shane Steichen said. “When he was in New York, some of those zone-read things he did were very beneficial for him.
“I think there’s a time and place for that, when the opportunity presents itself. . . . He can run the football and that’s another element to it.”
You can look it up: 399 rushes/scrambles for 2,179 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jones’ 708 yards in 2022 – the Giants’ only playoff appearance since 2016 – are the most in a season in team history. He’s generated at least 50 rushing yards 15 times, including on six occasions in ’22.
In his only successful season – 9-6-1 as a starter – Jones had rushing games of 107, 91, 79 and 68 yards.
He isn’t likely to be the running threat Richardson was in his 15 career starts, but the 6-5, 230-pounder isn’t exactly Joe Flacco or Philip Rivers.
Jonathan Taylor was impressed by Jones’ speed during training camp.
“Yeah, he’s fast,” he said. “Guys will hit 21 miles an hour during a game. You know, adrenaline, sprinting down the field.
“He’s hitting 21 miles an hour at practice. Especially for a quarterback, that’s unique. I don’t know many quarterbacks that are hitting those speeds at practice.
“That was something that really caught my eye is for him to hit some of those speeds at practice. I don’t want to say sneaky, deceptive, because I don’t think it’s a secret. I think people know he’s a pretty athletic dude. I’m excited for him to put it on display.”
The Colts always were trying to maximize a pairing of Richardson and Taylor, although injuries kept limiting the opportunities.
Now, it’ll be Jones and Taylor.
Following JT’s lead
As much as Steichen values explosive plays, he’ll probably lean heavily on his run game, starting with Sunday’s opener against Miami.
Taylor remains one of the league’s premier backs. His career average of 89.7 yards per game is the best among active backs and ranks No. 5 all-time behind Hall of Fame backs Jim Brown (104.3), Barry Sanders (99.8), Terrell Davis (97.5) and Eric Dickerson (90.8). Another Hall of Famer – Walter Payton – is No. 6 at 88.0.
Taylor had the best season by a back in club history in 2021. His 1,811 rushing yards led the league and broke Edgerrin James’ club record. He also led the NFL with 2,171 total yards from scrimmage and finished with 20 total TDs.
“He’s been consistent since he’s been here,” Steichen said. “I think it’s the way he works, goes about his business, his home-run ability that he has.
“I’m looking forward to him having a big year for us this year.”
It’s hard to generate a stronger finishing kick than Taylor’s final five games last season: 144.6 yards per game, 5.1 per attempt. His five-game stretch included 218 yards against Tennessee and 177 against Jacksonville.
He finished 4th in rushing with 1,431 yards despite missing three games. It was a much-needed bounce-back season after injuries and a contract dispute contributed to Taylor rushing for 861 yards in 11 games in ’22 and a career-low 741 yards in 10 games in ’23.
Last season, Taylor tried to be more patient.
“No. 1, really just being able to not force a lot of things,” he said. “Any back, they always want to have a big play… an explosive run. A lot of those runs sometimes is just being patient, letting the blocks develop.
“Maybe a 2-3-yard run turns out to be a 7-yard run, not a 20-yard run. But we’ll take 6 or 7 (yards) all day.”
And about Jones hitting 21 miles an hour during training camp?
Taylor pays attention to analytics because they provide an indication of the strength of a run.
“Necessarily for the feel,’’ he said. “You just go and find out, ‘Hey, what miles an hour did I hit on that?’ So, feeling like this, I know these are the speeds that I can hit.”
Taylor’s objective: 23 miles an hour.
His top speeds over the past five seasons, according to Next Gen Stats, came in 2021: a league-best 22.13 mph on a 67-yard TD run against New England and 22.05 (No. 4 overall) on a 78-yard TD against the New York Jets.
Honoring Irsay
Late owner Jim Irsay will be added to the team’s Ring of Honor on Sunday.
“What he’s done for so many people in this city, this organization… what he’s meant to so many people not only in this city but out of this city,’’ Steichen said. “It’ll be a big week 1 for us as a team.”
The Colts have dedicated the season to Irsay’s memory.
“We’ve been talking about it, how we really do want to win for Jim,’’ defensive end DeForest Buckner said. “Start out fast and put something out there that he would be proud of, looking down on us.
“We definitely take that to heart. Just the footprint that he’s left here amongst the players, this organization, the city.”
“It’s going to be a really special moment, a really special season,” Taylor said, “because it was built on something special.”
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.