Frank Reich: Matt Ryan, Colts needed each other

[JAFF]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ed-each-other/

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When the offseason began, many people expected the Colts to make a quarterback change but there weren’t many people suggesting that they would wind up with Matt Ryan taking over the position, but that changed once the Falcons threw their hat into the ring for Deshaun Watson.

The Watson pursuit opened the door for Ryan’s exit from Atlanta and the Colts landed the former NFL MVP for a third-round pick last week. It makes Ryan the latest in a revolving door of starters during Frank Reich’s tenure as head coach and the hope is that they’ll finally be the one who can lead the team to playoff success.

Reich told Tom Pelissero of NFL Media that he sees “no diminishing physical skills” from Ryan, which makes him what the Colts are looking for in a quarterback. He also noted that the Colts’ roster fits what Ryan is looking for in a bid for his first Super Bowl ring.

“I think everyone saw from the outside that this is a good fit,” Reich said. “Like, people can universally agree you got a guy who’s still playing at a high level with a team and roster that is built to make some noise. We needed each other.”

Reich said he plans to put together an offense that’s largely based on what the Colts have done in the past, but that he’ll incorporate things Ryan has done well in the past as well as “things that will be created together.” If the result is a step forward for the Colts, it’s a good bet that the Colts will be able to step off the quarterback carousel next offseason.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by JAFF

Frank Reich: Matt Ryan, Colts Needed Each Other

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Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Lennon and McCartney.

Abbott and Costello.


Reich and Ryan ...... hey, I can dream, can't I ???

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[Colts And Orioles]

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Several Colts players are making some lofty comparisons for the Colts' newest quarterback ......



Why Matt Ryan’s Colts Off-Season Reminds Some of Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning

(By Zak Keefer)

https://theathletic.com/3358133/2022...colts-mincamp/

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[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

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Several Colts players are making some lofty comparisons for the Colts' newest quarterback ......



Why Matt Ryan’s Colts Off-Season Reminds Some of Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning

(By Zak Keefer)

https://theathletic.com/3358133/2022...colts-mincamp/

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Thanks for the link, but I am not paying for the article.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

Thanks for the link, but I am not paying for the article.

o


It's free for me, and I'm not a subscriber.

Perhaps if you clear your cache, you could also see it.

o

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

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Several Colts players are making some lofty comparisons for the Colts' newest quarterback ......



Why Matt Ryan’s Colts Off-Season Reminds Some of Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning

(By Zak Keefer)

https://theathletic.com/3358133/2022...colts-mincamp/

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The praise poured in after he first arrived, from coaches and players and just about anyone who crossed paths with him in the building.

This is what the Colts said about Matt Ryan then:

“He’s damn near a coach on the field,” said offensive coordinator Marcus Brady.

“You feel him in this building,” said defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.

“He reminds me of Philip,” added DeForest Buckner, and he wasn’t the only one comparing Ryan to former Colts QB Philip Rivers … or former Colts QB Andrew Luck … or former Colts QB Peyton Manning.

Almost eight weeks later, after the Colts wrapped their mandatory minicamp last week, this is what they had to say after getting their first chance to work with him on the field:

“He could basically run this offense and this team by himself,” said rookie wideout Alec Pierce.

“I knew he was good, but his accuracy is insane,” said coach Frank Reich.

“With Matt, the ball is out,” added tight end Mo Alie-Cox. “Like, you turn your head and the ball is gonna be on point.”

And the franchise’s all-time leader in games played, new wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne, with perhaps the most eye-popping quote of the spring: “Man, it makes me almost want to throw up because he reminds me of Peyton so much. He’s the epitome of a leader.”

Welcome to the Matt Ryan era in Indianapolis. The transition has been stunningly seamless. Ryan, the 14-year veteran, has quickly earned the respect of teammates and coaches, absorbed Reich’s offense and offered glimpses of just how different it might look in 2022.

Make no mistake: They love this guy.

No one’s looking back. No one’s lamenting what went wrong. The wounds of Jacksonville and the uncertainty that followed? In the rearview mirror. It’s not a stretch to say Ryan has reinvigorated the franchise.

The focus is forward, and the new quarterback is the biggest reason.

“Matt was unbelievable,” Reich said. “Really, A-Z, he did everything right. Just great leadership, great play. I mean, the whole way he took command …”

It’s a benefit Carson Wentz didn’t have a year ago: a full offseason to acclimate himself on and off the field in Indianapolis. The Colts essentially held two weeks of walk-throughs last spring and were done before Memorial Day; this year, the players were in town eight weeks, a stretch that more closely resembles a normal NFL calendar. Reich and Ryan took advantage.

“It’s unreal,” Reich said. “I mean, I forgot how much I love this, how much we need this. We got so much done. It’s amazing that you can play a season without doing this. So many details are covered.”

The differences between Ryan and his predecessor are also obvious: Ryan’s release is quicker and more decisive, and that should aid the Colts in Reich’s timing-based offense this fall. His receivers, tight ends and running backs have all echoed this, noting how much faster the ball comes out, and how it’s always on time.

With Wentz, the receivers always spoke about his arm — the ability to launch it deep down the field.

With Ryan, the conversation is different. They talk about his accuracy, his command of the offense, his leadership.

Ryan’s also better than Wentz at seeing the middle of the field, and that’s where a majority of his completions came last week.

A few highlights:

• He drilled Michael Pittman Jr. on a deep crosser in Wednesday’s practice, slipping the ball over a linebacker and beneath the approaching safety. It was a great catch, for sure, but Ryan’s ability to find his top receiver in heavy traffic was impressive. Look for Reich to call these routes a lot more this season.

• Any real signs of Ryan’s deteriorating arm — he turned 37 last month — weren’t evident last week. He launched a deep throw in Tuesday’s practice, dropping it right in the hands of streaking wideout Dezmon Patmon, who’d snuck behind the defense. Problem was: Patmon dropped the pass. It would’ve been a 50-yard touchdown, but that wasn’t on the QB.

• Still, the best throw of Ryan’s week came in Wednesday’s practice, when he threaded a dime to Nyheim Hines for a 35-yard touchdown. Hines was out wide, and Ryan rifled it past the cornerback and beneath the safety, precisely where the ball had to be, and Hines snagged it just as he hit the end zone. Beautiful throw and catch.

Ryan isn’t nearly as athletic as Wentz and doesn’t have the ability to extend plays like him. Wentz’s deep-ball ability led to some explosive plays, too, but most of those came early in the season, before the Colts’ passing game faded and the team was forced to become more run-centric than anyone in the league.

Ryan’s fit in Reich’s system is obvious, and he’s spent the better part of eight weeks getting to know his new teammates and their tendencies. He didn’t want to overdo it at first — didn’t want to come in and act like Rivers or Luck or Manning — but Ryan does have a certain standard he operates at, and he sees his role as franchise quarterback essential to the development of the Colts’ young receiver room.

But first, he had to know what he was talking about.

“Number one, you have to learn the offense,” Ryan said. “You have to be able to speak their language. That’s the thing I said from the start: You’ve got to help me here (because) at the very beginning guys are probably further along than I was, there’s no doubt. And not being too hard-headed and saying, ‘Listen, I’m gonna need your help.’”

Once he did that, Ryan felt comfortable pushing them. Alie-Cox mentioned that after they break every huddle, Ryan screams, “Get set!” In a recent conversation with former tight end Jack Doyle, who retired in March, Alie-Cox mentioned how much Ryan’s on-field personality reminded him of Luck’s.

In other words: If you’re not sharp, he’s on you about it.

“I’m trying to help them become the best player they can be, and I expect the same from (them), too, if it’s their turn to get me going,” Ryan said. “And they’ve done that. Our guys have done a good job of that and I’m really just trying to be myself and make sure that I’m as knowledgeable in the offense as I can be to help those guys.”


Five More Thoughts from Mini-Camp


1) l No receiver caught more passes than Parris Campbell last week, and he did it all over the field: slants, crossers, wheel routes in space. Campbell and Hines were as active as any players on offense — starting running back Jonathan Taylor was held out for precautionary reasons, according to the team — and for the oft-injured Campbell, it was an indication the Colts still have a lot of belief in him. He ran exclusively with the first-team offense and was featured extensively.

There’s always a caveat with Campbell, and he knows it. He hears it. A second-round pick in 2018, he’s played just 15 games in three seasons. He has just 360 receiving yards.

“From the outside looking in, people say, ‘Oh, he can’t stay healthy,’” Campbell said a few weeks back. “Excuse my language, but to hell with that. I know who I am at the end of the day. I know what type of player I am. I know why I was drafted here.”

The Colts aren’t giving up on him, but Campbell knows this is his last shot. This spring was a good start. But like he — and everyone watching — already knows, he can’t prove anything until the games start to count.

2) l For those wanting an update on the offensive line, that won’t come until August, when they slip on the pads. The team stuck with the same lineup throughout the spring: Matt Pryor at left tackle, Quenton Nelson at left guard, Ryan Kelly at center, Danny Pinter at right guard and Braden Smith at right tackle.

The competition figures to come at the left tackle spot, where rookie Bernhard Raimann could make a run at the starting job. The Colts practiced in shorts and jerseys — no pads — last week, and there’s no way to gauge lineman play without watching in real football situations. Stay tuned on that.

The Colts did do a bit of shuffling late in practices, moving Pinter to center and Kelly to right guard. Reich said the move was essentially to cross-train, a way to get Pinter, the backup center, some snaps with the first-team offense. Kelly’s job isn’t in jeopardy.

“One thing you need to learn in this business is you have to have guys that can play center,” Reich said.

3) l Something we might see a little come training camp: the Colts giving a pass rusher the freedom to stand up and move around before the snap. The defense experimented a bit with this near the end of Thursday’s workout, letting Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo roam free on separate snaps. I imagine if Yannick Ngakoue was playing — he was a limited participant last week — he would have been doing the same, as well.

It could be an interesting wrinkle in new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s scheme, a bit like what the Colts did back in the day with Robert Mathis in the 3-4.

4) l Pressed for clarity on Darius Leonard’s ankle and back injuries Thursday, Reich offered little detail.

Leonard, the Colts’ All-Pro linebacker, underwent surgery Tuesday to alleviate back pain, and there is a belief that the operation could in turn help him move past the lingering ankle injury he’s been fighting through for a year.

So, Reich was asked, are the two injuries intertwined?

“My understanding from talking to the trainers is at one level, yes, everything is connected at some level or another,” Reich said. “But my conversation with the trainers was maybe some connection, but they are different injuries. They are different injuries.

“Is there some connection? Honestly, I didn’t go that far into it with them at the time of that discussion. So, I’ll need to talk to them to get further clarity of what level of connection, if any, there is.”

Reich added this: “My guess is now with the back issue cleared up, the work he does will actually take effect,” referring to Leonard’s ankle rehab. “My general understanding is with what was going on (with the back), maybe that could’ve slowed down some of the other rehab.”

The bottom line: If Leonard is good to go by the start of this season, none of this matters. But he’s an essential piece to their defense, and back surgery is no joke. This remains a situation to monitor as the team inches toward the start of training camp.

5) l A few other players who stood out over the past week — and remember, this is spring football, and things don’t get real until they slip the pads on the first week of August: Pittman, Pierce, Hines, Stephon Gilmore, Bobby Okereke and Isaiah Rodgers.

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[Racehorse]

The quotes about Ryan are telling. Wentz had no leadership ability, and he was as inaccurate as a weatherman in the Midwest.