Any Colts fan knows general manager Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen are on the hot seat this season … and deservedly so. Ballard is entering Year 10 of an up and down tenure and Steichen has yet to make the postseason in his three seasons and is 25-26 overall.
But one analyst is using the words “underrated,” “undervalued” and “brilliance” to describe Steichen.
Warren Sharp of SharpFootballAnalysis.com notes the Colts are top three in points per drive in the first quarter of games during Steichen’s three seasons. NFL coaches generally script the first 15 plays their team will run and that statistic demonstrates Steichen’s skill at game planning.
“I think Shane Steichen might be the NFL’s most underrated, undervalued play scripter that we have,” Sharp said on X. “The other teams in the upper echelon in the first quarter (and) game scripting are elite offenses like the 49ers, like the Lions, like the Rams. They’re elite quarterbacks like Joe Burrow, like Lamar Jackson, like Josh Allen.
“Shane Steichen has no business (having) his offense with those teams with Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew making the lion’s share of the starts. It is nothing but the brilliance of Shane Steichen that has this team starting games so quickly.”
The Colts’ quarterbacks have a 91.0 passer rating in the first quarter, 82.7 after that. Their 31 touchdowns trailing only the 49ers and Lions between 2023-25.
Sharp added that the Colts reached the red zone in 60% of their opening drivers last season, the second-best mark since 2000.
There is, of course, more to being an NFL coach that play scripting and, obviously, there is more to NFL games than the first quarter but this is clear evidence of just how good Steichen is at an important aspect of play calling.
“(Steichen is) elite at scripting plays and does not get the recognition he deserves,” Sharp said.
For more analysis from Sharp, you can purchase his NFL preview book: http://bit.ly/ws-book-2026
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why an NFL analyst is using the word brilliance to describe Colts Shane Steichen
Reporting by Nat Newell, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nat Newell, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
