Colts QB Rivers on RB Taylor: ‘He got off to a heck of a start’
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A rookie and a 17-year NFL veteran will headline the Colts offense this weekend.
Quarterback Philip Rivers remains confident in the Horseshoe’s young running back room ahead of Week 2, and the rookie is now prepping for his first career start.
“I’m still aggravated about last week to be honest with you,” Rivers said Wednesday. “I have moved on but still a little bit aggravated, which hopefully a little bit of that saltiness can carry over into us playing better this week.”
On Sunday, Philip Rivers will sprinkle a little of that salt on his 226th consecutive start in the NFL. The seasoned vet has seen it all, so when it comes to handing the ball off to his new running back Jonathan Taylor, he had plenty of tips to share for the rookie set to make his first career start in Indy.
“I think, like every position, the more and more experience you have and the more and more you play, and I thought he got off to a heck of a start last week,” Rivers said. “He’s prepared and he has a good running back room.”
Taylor has been a star and a starter all his life. For him to step into this role is a pretty easy transition for the mindset and the person that he is, said head coach Frank Reich.
Rewind to three years ago, Taylor, the true freshman, is named the starter at Wisconsin.
“This saying, and I used it in college; don’t count the reps. Make the reps count,” Taylor said. “So, when or if they called my number, there wouldn’t be a drop off.”
Now, rewind to this offseason when the Colts traded up in the draft to steal the Badger’s all time leading rusher, a move they are extra grateful for as Taylor takes over for Week 2.
“There’s no question we’re glad we drafted Jonathan (Taylor), but we were saying that before this happened to Marlon (Mack),” Reich added, “I mean just from what we’ve seen from Jonathan in training camp and then obviously the first game with some flashes that we saw. He was the right player for us. That’s been confirmed.”
Last Sunday, Taylor tallied 89 yards after the catch, while no other rookie in the NFL had more than 60 total receiving yards!
Indy, get ready for Taylor time.