The Indianapolis Colts have a running back controversy on their hands. The team traded for Trent Richardson, but backup Donald Brown appears to be the better back. However, Richardson continues to get the bulk of the playing time and has yet to capitalize off it. After yet another strong performance by Brown on limited carries, Richardson is defending his season and right to be a starter.
To compare numbers, Richardson has 272 yards on 96 carries in eight games for the Colts. He is averaging around 2.8 yards per carry. Brown has 323 yards on the season off 55 carries, averaging 5.9 yards. While many fans are frustrated by the lack of results stemming from a trade that saw Indianapolis giving up a first round pick for the running back, Richardson feels about where he is with the team.
"I'm not frustrated at all because I think I've been playing good," Richardson said, via the Indianapolis Star. "If you turn on the film, I don't have any missed assignments. I haven't had any missed reads. I've been playing good. Stuff just hasn't matched up like we thought it would when I'm in there. I think teams match up differently when I come in. But if Donald is having a good day or Andrew [Luck] is having a good day, I think that's a good day for me even if people are keying on me. That might let Donald get going or let Andrew have a big day. That's a good day for me, too."
Head coach Chuck Pagano is also going on the defense for Richardson. Just a week ago, the team said if they could do things all over again, they would still make the trade for the running back despite the low numbers. Richardson has been compared to some of the great running backs in NFL history and while Pagano is admitting the young back is struggling, he is confident the Colts can get him moving in the right direction.
"I don't know if he's snake bit, I don't know what the heck is going on," Pagano said, via ProFootballTalk.com. "We'll get it fixed. We'll get the holes there. He's making the right reads, he's doing all the right things, he knows what to do. He played great without the ball, protection-wise, those things. His numbers are going to come. I'm not concerned about that."
Pagano opts to instead call out the offensive line for the Colts which has been spotting all year. Pagano notes that there always seems to be a guy in the backfield when Richardson gets the ball or someone waiting to hit him past the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile, Brown will continue to get the better numbers as the team tries to work out Richardson.
