October 24, 2024 • 10 mins
Indianapolis Colts radio analyst Rick Venturi joins The A-Team to talk about their upcoming trip to Houston and facing the Texans for a second time this season. He talks about how the Colts have looked since the season opening game against the Texans. Plus, his time working with Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. He's also glad to see that a "Colts Killer" is not going to be playing this Sunday.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time to visit Indianapolis. Texans have already been there this year.
Now Indianapolis is coming to Houston for the return trip.
Texans trying to beat the Colts twice in one season
for only the second time in franchise history. To that end,
from the Cults Radio Network, Rick Venturi, who spent a
lot of time with the Colts, both on the field
coaching and now in the booth on the radio side
(00:21):
and with Colts dot Com. Rick, we certainly appreciate the
time you're spending with us and our listeners this afternoon.
And maybe I'll just start from the top. We obviously
here in Houston introduced to the Demico Ryans air at
the beginning of last season, and it's been a pretty
good one. How does Indianapolis feel about the Shane Steichen
era began at the same time and in this division
(00:41):
a game over five hundred and Shane's first year a
game over five hundred currently, what's the thought about the
job that he and his staff have done thus far?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Oh, I think I think Shane is really highly respected.
We certainly respect tomko. I do you know I had
a defensive background as a co I think he's done
a fantastic job. The record speaks for itself with a
division championship. Shane took this over really at Low Ebb
two years ago, both of them did, and he's done
(01:11):
a terrific job, particularly offensively. You know, he was the
OC at Philadelphia, had a great effect you know back
there on Hurts in that offense. And yet he's coached
a lot of different quarterbacks, so you know, he's proven
to be what the doctor ordered here. You guys watched
(01:32):
that game. That game and in January could have gone
either way. You know, we were eighteen yards away and
you guys held on, made the plays and got it done.
But Shane has done a terrific job. He's really good
at the game. He stole the time out the other
day that proved to be really valuable. He does some
innovative substitution things and gets people off track, you know,
(01:58):
did it. I think one of his best jobs so
far has been he has gone from Richardson to Flacco
to Richardson seamlessly. And that's not easy. You're talking about
two quarterbacks that are, you know, diametrically opposed. And I've
been really impressed because I know that's really hard, you know,
It's one thing to draw up the places. It's another
(02:18):
thing to call the game when you have two different
type of quarterbacks. So, you know, really, as imperfect as
it's been for us, we somehow have managed to four
and three and you know, come down there against you know,
the league leading five and two Texans, and all of
a sudden, it's a kind of a mid season classic here.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Interesting that you brought up kind of the smarts of
your head coach. He's aware of game situations, he's taking
advantage of certain things. He's doing as good a job
as he can as a coach to put his team
in the right position. I'm curious what it sounded like
in your radio booth as the first half of their
first meeting came to a close, with all that absurdity
from the officials and Shane calling a time out, not
(03:00):
calling a timeout, not being granted a timeout, and essentially
the Texans ran to play with eighteen seconds left and
then nothing else happened.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
We couldn't believe it, and I, you know, I still
can't believe it, and I guess, I guess in the end,
the officials did not communicate with Tamiko in terms of
what happened really because you know, we just expected, you know,
the Texans would throw it out of bounds and kick
the field goal. I mean, that's in the mooth. That's
(03:30):
what I was talking about. And then all of a sudden,
you know, we run a play, it's over, we go in,
and it's just like anti climactic. So yeah, it was
really that was a really crazy sequence right there. There's
no doubt about it. But you know, I think the
most underrated thing in pro football. I think, you know,
we talked so much about strategies and different things, and
(03:53):
you know, when you talk basketball, you talk about you know,
guys that coach that last four minutes. I just think
game management, Sunday management is really the you know, if
not the most important thing. Game management on Sunday and
game adjustments. You know, anybody in the NFL can draw
off a playbook, but it's you know, it's the guys
that adapt, you know, adapt to injuries, adapt to liabilities,
(04:18):
you know, and somehow cover them up. That's you know,
I worked for Belichick and I learned that from him.
You know, you got to be able to you know,
you know, take what your assets are, protect your liabilities,
and attack that guy. What was Belichick like early in
the morning, Well, you know there was no I mean
early in the morning, late at night. They ran into
(04:39):
one another. When I worked with him in the early
days at Cleveland, it was Nick Saban was the defensive
coordinator and Boll Belichick was the head coach and I
was a secondary coach. And I'll tell you those nights
just ran into the morning. You weren't sure which one
was which. But you know what a great experience. Nineteen
ninety four to me, the greatest greatest year in coaching.
(05:00):
I mean, can you imagine sitting in and you know,
being in between those guys. And I always say it
was a kind of b I before they were icons.
But you know, going through twenty twenty one game plans
with those two guys, one went on to be the
greatest college coach ever and one goes on to be
the greatest pro coach ever. So yeah, that was that
was a hell of a year in nineteen ninety four.
(05:21):
But we didn't we couldn't tell morning from night. I
will tell you that it sounds like a film room
full of cheer at all times between those two guys.
Well you know what, really and truly, you know, when
it got to football. I mean they were ego lests.
When it got to football and we put things together,
everybody had to say. We were always curious, We are
(05:42):
always looking for a better way to you know, to
do something. Everybody had inputs, so you know it. You know,
the perception sometimes is not the reality. You know, did
those did those two guys drive people beyond what they
expected they could get? Yeah, they did, But you know,
in reality, we had a lot of success there in
(06:03):
ninety four, and then Nick went on to be the
head coach at Michigan State. We all went different ways,
but yeah, it's one of the best coaching staff ever assemble.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Back then, if I'm not mistaken, the longest tenured current
college coach was also on your staff, Kirk Ferrence.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
You're exactly right. Kurt's desk was two steps away from
me and Nick was two steps the other way. So yeah,
it was a great experience. You know, they did that special.
It was a thirty for thirty on the ninety five
and I was in there ninety four to ninety five
Browns and that was the year of the move and
so they but we had six guys, six interns, on
(06:42):
that staff, four of which became gms and two of
which became head coaches in the NFL. Just to tell
you the kind of talent that Bill had assembled back then, we'll.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Talk with Rick Venturia, the Culture Radio Network and the
member of the greatest coaching staff ever assembled, as you
heard right here on the show. Already, let's get to
Shane's work, the real work that I know he's focused
on and everybody in the organization is focused on. You
already mentioned the really nice job he did with quarterback
Joe Flacco and quarterback Gardner Minshew, and I know Anthony
Richardson is all in on becoming the quarterback everybody wants
(07:15):
him to be. What needs to happen, what can be
done from an improvement standpoint as this season continues, when
he's just clearly not throwing the ball very well.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, you know, when you look at him right now,
the things that he's doing well is the one hundred
and ninety seven yards rushing. You know, he's seven point
eight per rush. And you know when he puts the
ball in the air, when he puts it deep, you know,
he's seven point eight in terms of yards per So
what you're seeing right now is the guy that puts
(07:46):
tremendous run pressure on you. I mean he is like
the twelfth Man at times he is really a running
back when he gets his hands on the ball, and
he does throw an exceptionally good deep ball, and so
there have been explosive plays. We had three in the
first Texan game. If you guys, remember what has to
improve is everything in between that the the intermediate game, Uh,
(08:11):
the accuracy, UH, staying away from the turnovers. Uh. Tho,
those are the issues that had to straighten out. Now.
Last week he played without an interception, which we were
all encouraged by. Past percentage way too low. It's not sustainable.
You can't be ten for twenty five and you know
it's not going to be sustainable for winning. But again,
(08:34):
the things that he does is they're just there. Their unicorn.
I mean, he when he when he's got the ball
in his hands, he's different. He can throw the deep
ball and he can throw everything. I've been at every practice,
every training game, practice. It's but it's you know, it's
just putting it all together. And the only way he's
going to get it, really, guys, the only way he's
going to get it is to play. I mean, he
(08:55):
has to play, and he has to learn game speed
on all those tight windows inside third down, red zone,
all those NFL tight windows. And you're only going to
get that bye bye bye bye, you know, by working
in by by playing. How happy is that defense that
they're not gonna have to line up against Nico Collins. Well,
you know, he's been a Colts killer. There's no question
(09:17):
about it. He's just absolutely destroyed US. I mean, you know,
I think he got I think last year, I think
I did a study. I think he had one third
of his whole production in two games against US. I
mean absolutely. You know, the touchdown on the opening drive
last week last in January, which you know kind of
set the tone for the whole game. There's no question
(09:39):
about it. I mean, you know, I'm really happy not
to see him out there. Terrific player. You know, he
suffered last week without him. I mean you know, he
gives them that just that home run threat every down
on that week side, and you know with Dell and
you know and Digs and of course the other guy
that really killed us in the opener and is killing
(10:01):
everybody is Mixing. I mean, he has really played great
for the Texans. I mean it's you know, they become
run centric in a way. And if you let him
get going like we did in the first game one
hundred and fifty nine five point three, if we let
that happen, then Stroud can play in a rocking chair.
And so you know, you got to stop mixing. You
(10:23):
cannot let him destroy you like he did in game one,
you know, and then you got a chance to put
some pressure on the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Certainly would be nice if all parties were fully healthy.
We'll see what shakes down.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Really.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Appreciate you, Sara, and some insight with our listeners here
and hopefully you'll get a chance to say hello on Sunday.
Appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Rick, all right, looking forward to it, guys, Thanks for
having me on.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You got it. Three hundred and forty one yards by
the way, for Nico Collins against the Colts last season.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Is that good?
Speaker 1 (10:50):
We'll just have to check on that. We've got a
research department on that. We'll come back with an answer.
Time to visit Indianapolis. Texans have already been there this year.
Now Indianapolis is coming to Houston for the return trip.
Texans trying to beat the Colts twice in one season
for only the second time in franchise history. To that end,
from the Cults Radio Network, Rick Venturi, who spent a
lot of time with the Colts, both on the field
coaching and now in the booth on the radio side
(00:21):
and with Colts dot Com. Rick, we certainly appreciate the
time you're spending with us and our listeners this afternoon.
And maybe I'll just start from the top. We obviously
here in Houston introduced to the Demico Ryans air at
the beginning of last season, and it's been a pretty
good one. How does Indianapolis feel about the Shane Steichen
era began at the same time and in this division
(00:41):
a game over five hundred and Shane's first year a
game over five hundred currently, what's the thought about the
job that he and his staff have done thus far?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Oh, I think I think Shane is really highly respected.
We certainly respect tomko. I do you know I had
a defensive background as a co I think he's done
a fantastic job. The record speaks for itself with a
division championship. Shane took this over really at Low Ebb
two years ago, both of them did, and he's done
(01:11):
a terrific job, particularly offensively. You know, he was the
OC at Philadelphia, had a great effect you know back
there on Hurts in that offense. And yet he's coached
a lot of different quarterbacks, so you know, he's proven
to be what the doctor ordered here. You guys watched
(01:32):
that game. That game and in January could have gone
either way. You know, we were eighteen yards away and
you guys held on, made the plays and got it done.
But Shane has done a terrific job. He's really good
at the game. He stole the time out the other
day that proved to be really valuable. He does some
innovative substitution things and gets people off track, you know,
(01:58):
did it. I think one of his best jobs so
far has been he has gone from Richardson to Flacco
to Richardson seamlessly. And that's not easy. You're talking about
two quarterbacks that are, you know, diametrically opposed. And I've
been really impressed because I know that's really hard, you know,
It's one thing to draw up the places. It's another
(02:18):
thing to call the game when you have two different
type of quarterbacks. So, you know, really, as imperfect as
it's been for us, we somehow have managed to four
and three and you know, come down there against you know,
the league leading five and two Texans, and all of
a sudden, it's a kind of a mid season classic here.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Interesting that you brought up kind of the smarts of
your head coach. He's aware of game situations, he's taking
advantage of certain things. He's doing as good a job
as he can as a coach to put his team
in the right position. I'm curious what it sounded like
in your radio booth as the first half of their
first meeting came to a close, with all that absurdity
from the officials and Shane calling a time out, not
(03:00):
calling a timeout, not being granted a timeout, and essentially
the Texans ran to play with eighteen seconds left and
then nothing else happened.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
We couldn't believe it, and I, you know, I still
can't believe it, and I guess, I guess in the end,
the officials did not communicate with Tamiko in terms of
what happened really because you know, we just expected, you know,
the Texans would throw it out of bounds and kick
the field goal. I mean, that's in the mooth. That's
(03:30):
what I was talking about. And then all of a sudden,
you know, we run a play, it's over, we go in,
and it's just like anti climactic. So yeah, it was
really that was a really crazy sequence right there. There's
no doubt about it. But you know, I think the
most underrated thing in pro football. I think, you know,
we talked so much about strategies and different things, and
(03:53):
you know, when you talk basketball, you talk about you know,
guys that coach that last four minutes. I just think
game management, Sunday management is really the you know, if
not the most important thing. Game management on Sunday and
game adjustments. You know, anybody in the NFL can draw
off a playbook, but it's you know, it's the guys
that adapt, you know, adapt to injuries, adapt to liabilities,
(04:18):
you know, and somehow cover them up. That's you know,
I worked for Belichick and I learned that from him.
You know, you got to be able to you know,
you know, take what your assets are, protect your liabilities,
and attack that guy. What was Belichick like early in
the morning, Well, you know there was no I mean
early in the morning, late at night. They ran into
(04:39):
one another. When I worked with him in the early
days at Cleveland, it was Nick Saban was the defensive
coordinator and Boll Belichick was the head coach and I
was a secondary coach. And I'll tell you those nights
just ran into the morning. You weren't sure which one
was which. But you know what a great experience. Nineteen
ninety four to me, the greatest greatest year in coaching.
(05:00):
I mean, can you imagine sitting in and you know,
being in between those guys. And I always say it
was a kind of b I before they were icons.
But you know, going through twenty twenty one game plans
with those two guys, one went on to be the
greatest college coach ever and one goes on to be
the greatest pro coach ever. So yeah, that was that
was a hell of a year in nineteen ninety four.
(05:21):
But we didn't we couldn't tell morning from night. I
will tell you that it sounds like a film room
full of cheer at all times between those two guys.
Well you know what, really and truly, you know, when
it got to football. I mean they were ego lests.
When it got to football and we put things together,
everybody had to say. We were always curious, We are
(05:42):
always looking for a better way to you know, to
do something. Everybody had inputs, so you know it. You know,
the perception sometimes is not the reality. You know, did
those did those two guys drive people beyond what they
expected they could get? Yeah, they did, But you know,
in reality, we had a lot of success there in
(06:03):
ninety four, and then Nick went on to be the
head coach at Michigan State. We all went different ways,
but yeah, it's one of the best coaching staff ever assemble.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Back then, if I'm not mistaken, the longest tenured current
college coach was also on your staff, Kirk Ferrence.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
You're exactly right. Kurt's desk was two steps away from
me and Nick was two steps the other way. So yeah,
it was a great experience. You know, they did that special.
It was a thirty for thirty on the ninety five
and I was in there ninety four to ninety five
Browns and that was the year of the move and
so they but we had six guys, six interns, on
(06:42):
that staff, four of which became gms and two of
which became head coaches in the NFL. Just to tell
you the kind of talent that Bill had assembled back then, we'll.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Talk with Rick Venturia, the Culture Radio Network and the
member of the greatest coaching staff ever assembled, as you
heard right here on the show. Already, let's get to
Shane's work, the real work that I know he's focused
on and everybody in the organization is focused on. You
already mentioned the really nice job he did with quarterback
Joe Flacco and quarterback Gardner Minshew, and I know Anthony
Richardson is all in on becoming the quarterback everybody wants
(07:15):
him to be. What needs to happen, what can be
done from an improvement standpoint as this season continues, when
he's just clearly not throwing the ball very well.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, you know, when you look at him right now,
the things that he's doing well is the one hundred
and ninety seven yards rushing. You know, he's seven point
eight per rush. And you know when he puts the
ball in the air, when he puts it deep, you know,
he's seven point eight in terms of yards per So
what you're seeing right now is the guy that puts
(07:46):
tremendous run pressure on you. I mean he is like
the twelfth Man at times he is really a running
back when he gets his hands on the ball, and
he does throw an exceptionally good deep ball, and so
there have been explosive plays. We had three in the
first Texan game. If you guys, remember what has to
improve is everything in between that the the intermediate game, Uh,
(08:11):
the accuracy, UH, staying away from the turnovers. Uh. Tho,
those are the issues that had to straighten out. Now.
Last week he played without an interception, which we were
all encouraged by. Past percentage way too low. It's not sustainable.
You can't be ten for twenty five and you know
it's not going to be sustainable for winning. But again,
(08:34):
the things that he does is they're just there. Their unicorn.
I mean, he when he when he's got the ball
in his hands, he's different. He can throw the deep
ball and he can throw everything. I've been at every practice,
every training game, practice. It's but it's you know, it's
just putting it all together. And the only way he's
going to get it, really, guys, the only way he's
going to get it is to play. I mean, he
(08:55):
has to play, and he has to learn game speed
on all those tight windows inside third down, red zone,
all those NFL tight windows. And you're only going to
get that bye bye bye bye, you know, by working
in by by playing. How happy is that defense that
they're not gonna have to line up against Nico Collins. Well,
you know, he's been a Colts killer. There's no question
(09:17):
about it. He's just absolutely destroyed US. I mean, you know,
I think he got I think last year, I think
I did a study. I think he had one third
of his whole production in two games against US. I
mean absolutely. You know, the touchdown on the opening drive
last week last in January, which you know kind of
set the tone for the whole game. There's no question
(09:39):
about it. I mean, you know, I'm really happy not
to see him out there. Terrific player. You know, he
suffered last week without him. I mean you know, he
gives them that just that home run threat every down
on that week side, and you know with Dell and
you know and Digs and of course the other guy
that really killed us in the opener and is killing
(10:01):
everybody is Mixing. I mean, he has really played great
for the Texans. I mean it's you know, they become
run centric in a way. And if you let him
get going like we did in the first game one
hundred and fifty nine five point three, if we let
that happen, then Stroud can play in a rocking chair.
And so you know, you got to stop mixing. You
(10:23):
cannot let him destroy you like he did in game one,
you know, and then you got a chance to put
some pressure on the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Certainly would be nice if all parties were fully healthy.
We'll see what shakes down.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Really.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Appreciate you, Sara, and some insight with our listeners here
and hopefully you'll get a chance to say hello on Sunday.
Appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Rick, all right, looking forward to it, guys, Thanks for
having me on.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You got it. Three hundred and forty one yards by
the way, for Nico Collins against the Colts last season.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Is that good?
Speaker 1 (10:50):
We'll just have to check on that. We've got a
research department on that. We'll come back with an answer.
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