Matt Ryan returned to the lineup and guided the Colts to a victory in Week 10, but Indy has since dropped each of their past two games. Following the Colts’ loss last night to the lowly Steelers, head coach Jeff Saturday told reporters that the veteran quarterback will remain under center.
“Matt’s going to continue to be the guy,” Saturday said (via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra). “We’re going to keep moving forward, keep pressing forward with what we got. I tell the guys in the locker room, we’ve got the players in the locker room to do it. We’ve got the plays to do it. We gotta figure out how to execute in moments that matter. That’s really what we have to focus in on and hone in on.”
Following his unexpected hiring, Saturday gave Ryan an immediate vote of confidence by inserting the QB back into the starting lineup over Sam Ehlinger. The interim head coach has continually asserted that Ryan gives the Colts the best chance to win each week, and while the 37-year-old’s production has been down during his first season with the organization, he’s still completing passes at a 68.8 percent clip while going 4-5-1 as a starter.
On the flip side, the Colts’ offense was mostly responsible for each of the past two losses, with Ryan tossing one touchdown and one interception over that stretch. Plus, with the Colts sitting at 4-7-1, the team effectively has nothing to play for, so it makes some sense to give their second-year QB more playing time. In his two starts, Ehlinger completed 32 of his 52 pass attempts for 304 yards and one interception. He also added another 54 yards on the ground.
Benching Ryan for Ehlinger never made sense in the first place, unless the plan was either to tank completely or you thought Ryan was actually in imminent danger behind that line.
Oooof, the plan has been to tank completely. Their QB options are 60 year old Matt Ryan or Sam Ehlinger. With Jonathan Taylor, there’s no reason they’re throwing the ball so many times. The hiring of Saturday was proof of their intentions.
@dirkg: Speaking of Taylor, shut him down? College through now, a lot of tread worn off those tires.
it made total sense
matt Ryan is garbage , so they tried the backup
Lowly? Seriously, like the colts are any better?
They need Chad Kelly back so badly
CFL champion with the Argos
Keep him away from parties thrown by Von Miller.
This call isn’t as easy as it seems. Ryan looks bad. He never had a huge arm but playing behind a line that barely gives him time to set his feet makes it worse. Opposing teams have no fear of being beaten over the top. And somehow the Colts don’t incorporate play action. This team is a mess.
That OL has a couple of pro bowlers other GMs would drool over.
But why can’t Matt set his feet?
“They don’t incorporate play action?” Really? Do you even watch the games? They try to use play action, but when pressure starts to close the pocket, Ryan is too old, slow, & not elusive; so it ends up a sack or a 3-4 yard check down.