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Let this be clear: There’s no question who’s the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.
Anthony Richardson is the kind of physical outlier that video gamers create in Madden 25: 22 years old, 6-foot-4, 244 pounds and with 4.43 speed. The Colts used the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to select Richardson, signed him to a $34 million contract and gave him a $21.7 million signing bonus. Indianapolis is invested in Richardson being the future of the franchise.
Meanwhile Joe Flacco is a 39-year-old whose 40 time could be measured by a sundial. His best days, which were very good considering he led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win in the 2012 season, are well behind him. He signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Colts in the offseason knowing Richardson was entrenched as the starter.
But, according to the SportsLine Projection Model, Indianapolis is better with its No. 2 quarterback than its No. 1. The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception, says the Colts with Flacco as quarterback win 8.0 games, win the AFC South 18.1% of the time and make the playoffs 36.2% of the time. By contrast, with Richardson behind center, they win 7.5 games, win the division 12.5% of the time and reach the postseason 25.4% of the time.
Why the difference? According to Stephen Oh, SportsLine’s principal data engineer and the man behind the model, Flacco is exactly what Richardson is not (accurate) but is exactly what Indianapolis needs. Flacco is a career 61.6% passer, while Richardson sits at 55.3%. This season Richardson has completed just 50.6% of his passes. He also has thrown six interceptions, which is tied with the Titans’ Will Levis for the most in the league (though Levis has thrown 21 more passes). Finally Richardson has a passer rating of 60.2, which ranks second to last in the…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/anthony-richardson-vs-joe-flacco-how-the-colts-season-projects-with-each-quarterback/
Author : Gene Menez
Publish date : 2024-10-02 19:43:49
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