Indianapolis Colts Must Give Up on Trent Richardson, Let Daniel Herron Take over

The excuses have always been there for Indianapolis Colts running back Trent Richardson since the team traded a first-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for him.

But Richardson has now played 25 career games with the Colts and had plenty of time to learn the playbook. It's no longer an issue of him being uncomfortable with the offense, it's a matter of being able to play the game.

Since coming to Indianapolis, Richardson has averaged just 3.1 yards per carry, racking up just 903 total yards in what amounts to more than a season and a half of playing time. The apologists have been quick to credit his struggles with the offensive line, but over the past two seasons, other Colts running backs have looked just fine running the ball.

Player	Carries	Yards	YPC	TD
Trent Richardson	292	903	3.1	6
Ahmad Bradshaw	131	611	4.7	4
Donald Brown	102	537	5.3	6
Daniel Herron	42	227	5.4	1

Despite all of his struggles, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and the rest of the coaching staff have clung to the idea that Richardson can turn things around.

The Colts were especially hoping Richardson could break out after Ahmad Bradshaw's season-ending injury, but including the game when the veteran running back went down, Richardson has carried the ball 27 times for just 54 yards and a touchdown, averaging just 2.0 yards per carry.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Fans have started to see that Richardson just isn't the running back he was at Alabama, and that became as clear as ever this week. With the Colts pinned near their own end zone to start a drive, they began by running twice in a row with Richardson, going all of one yard, killing a potential drive and drawing boos from the crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Now, the Colts may have found a running back who can bring some sort of balance to the offense in Daniel Herron, or "Boom." In the past two games, he's run just 20 times but picked up 153 yards along with this explosive 49-yard touchdown (h/t FanSided GIF).

To put things in perspective, Richardson's longest career run in Indianapolis has been 27 yards.

Is Herron the next Pro Bowl running back in Indianapolis? Probably not. However, he has at least proved that he can be a decisive runner at the line of scrimmage with the ability to accelerate and actually outrun defenders, all things Richardson has yet to prove during his time with the Colts.

Bob Kravitz from WTHR.com wasn't afraid to express his opinion about the running back situation.

Fans and media alike may agree that it's time for a change to be made, but the only people that have any power to actually do something about it are within the organization. However, it seems like none of them want to admit that trading a first-round pick for Richardson was a mistake, and they seem determined in giving him as many chances as possible.

Herron hasn't helped himself, either, due to the fumble issues in the past two weeks, turning the ball over twice. However, his ability to actually make plays in the running game should outweigh the ball-security issues if it's something he continues to work on.

Chances are that Richardson will continue to split the carries with Herron, but that could be a problem once the postseason begins. The offense needs to find some kind of balance to keep playoff-caliber defenses from forcing the Colts to become one-dimensional, and while Herron isn't a superstar, he appears to be a significantly better option to maintain an effective running game.

Herron's 49-yard run should have ended the Richardson era in Indianapolis, but now it's up to the Colts organization to actually realize it.

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