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Some things are going to be made this week about Trent Richardson's debut as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.
- He had only 35 yards on 13 carries, averaging 2.6 a carry
- Ahmad Bradshaw had 95 yards on 19 carries, running behind the same Colts offensive line
- The Cleveland Browns won their first game without Richardson, and scored 31 points in the process
However, from what I saw on Sunday - and I was watching with a very critical eye - Richardson played a pretty good ball game, all things concerned.
One thing in particular that stuck out at me was his pass blocking. It was good. Quite good, actually.
On a second and ten from the Indy 20 in the first quarter, I saw Richardson pick-up a blitzing linebacker and stone him, allowing Luck to complete a short pass to Reggie Wayne. It looked minor in the grand scheme of the game, but I think it was significant. Against a 49ers front that is as close to dominant as it gets, Luck was sacked only once.
A big reason why Luck's jersey was clean much of the day was the blocking of Richardson and his running mate, Ahmad Bradshaw.
In terms of running the ball, I didn't see many errors on Trent's part. He mostly gained positive yardage, and at times when holes did not emerge in the front, he plunged forward anyway and got something out of nothing. No dancing. No silliness. Just smash-mouth football.
Oh, and it was cool to see his first carry as a Colt go for a touchdown in a short yardage situation.
Naturally, not everyone is necessarily feeling good about Richardson's performance:
Just 35 yards on 13 carries for Trent Richardson in his Colts debut. New team, same story? *waits to be blasted*
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) September 23, 2013
Personally, I didn't think it was bad. The key for Richardson is he must build off this. No matter what, if Ahmad Bradshaw is averaging 5 yards a carry while T-Rich is at 2.6, that's not good.