Scott Tolzien has been forced into the starting role all summer and was the starter in Week 1. Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Andrew Luck remains out of commission with no timetable to return. And unless Chuck Pagano is lying to the public Luck is not even throwing passes around the team yet.
It hasn’t been pretty. It’s been so ugly, in fact, that Colts fans who responded to a poll conducted by Kevin Bowen of 1070 TheFan are already clearly over Tolzien as the starter.
Well, more than 2,300 votes later, the support for Scott Tolzien is…lacking. pic.twitter.com/BHpaI5S2RF
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) September 12, 2017
The Wildcat isn’t exactly an effective offense in the NFL if used on a regular basis. But it’s easy to understand why fans are frustrated.
It’s not exactly fair to Tolzien that he’s been thrust into a spot he doesn’t belong. Throughout the preseason and during Week 1 he played poorly before being benched in favor of Jacoby Brissett, recently acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots.
Going up against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1, Indy’s offensive line was a train wreck and Tolzien suffered because of it. He also didn’t do himself any favors, throwing a pick-six on his first offensive possession that set the tone for the rest of the game.
He finished the game with 128 yards with no touchdowns and two pick-sixes, completing 50 percent of his passes.
But that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Tolzien has been below average his entire career, and the Rams had their way with the Colts at every level.
Fans should direct their ire at management, rather than Tolzien. New general manager Chris Ballard has botched things in a huge way from the get go as it pertains to the quarterback position. The team should have planned for Luck’s extended absence. It did not.
Instead, there’s been this dishonest refrain that everything’s okay. That Luck is better than ever and he’ll be back in no time. Except the team’s franchise quarterback, who was supposed to be ready for Week 1, has yet to do anything remotely close to showing he’ll be ready before the midway point of the 2017 campaign.