By Nick Brinkerhoff
Behind every great starter is a great backup. There’s examples like Drew Bledsoe to Tom Brady and Steve Jobs to Tim Cook. Or there are other examples, like the Queen of Christmas music, Mariah Carey, who also started her career as a backup.
Could you even imagine what life would be like without hearing “All I want for Christmas is You” on the radio every five minutes in December? I shudder to even think about the possibility.
Even Bill Belichick didn’t start out as a head coach from the beginning.
So while sports teams and people continue to seek instant gratification, both in sports and life, it’s important to remember that success is not guaranteed and setbacks do happen.
There are detours in every road which require you to change the intended route. Most of that is due to continuous construction which is seemingly done all year long, making for an endless traffic nightmare. But this is BetBasics and this is an article about the Indianapolis Colts, so until we get a “Life Advice and Opinions on Everything, with Nick” column, this will have to be the sounding board.
You can do your part by taking that traffic on the roads and making it a reality for our website as well. How’s that sound?
In the meantime, let’s get down to business and see what this Colts backup quarterback plan is for 2022-23 NFL season.
Who is the Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback?
After trading for former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan earlier in the offseason, the Colts solidified the position by adding Super Bowl Champion and former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles.
Serving as the backup to Carson Wentz in 2017, Foles took the reins after a devastating late season injury to Wentz, leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots.
Foles is noted for his lack of success outside Philadelphia, something that still confuses any person associated with the NFL still to this day. But this isn’t your average Foles destination outside of South Philly.
This is Indianapolis. Home of the Colts and head coach Frank Reich. The same Frank Reich that helped lead the Eagles to that Super Bowl LII victory. Isn’t it incredible when things come full circle?
Despite the accolades, the former Super Bowl MVP has only played at least 10 games twice in his career. But that is not the point.
Foles is not going to impress you with his statistics over a career, but he will show that with a capable team, he is a good quarterback to have. The last three years have been underwhelming for him, with just a 3-9 record in games started.
However, you won’t be able to confuse the 2022 Colts with the Jaguars and Bears anytime soon. There’s a talented defense that compliments a solid offensive line and good skill position players. And how could anyone forget the NFL’s leading rusher in 2021, Jonathan Taylor?
When Foles started for an injured Wentz during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, he finished with a 6-2 record in eight starts, with 12 touchdowns to only six interceptions. In the playoffs his record was 4-1 with nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
If you look at backup quarterbacks across the league, it’ll be difficult to find many better than Foles, especially for this team and this coach. A perfect marriage. One that the Colts and their fans won’t have to worry about.
Although Matt Ryan is known to be durable, missing only three games in his long career, it never hurts to have a good backup around. You never know when that pesky detour sign will show up along the wild ride that is an NFL season.