Vick Ballard

“(Trent Richardson is) one of the guys who has benefited tremendously from the classroom time,” said Colts OC Pep Hamilton. “It was ambitious to think he could come in in week three last year, pick it up and hit the ground running.

“It was one of those situations where the defense knew when we put him in the game, more than likely we were running the ball. They were packing the box, and he was faced with some tremendously tough looks.”

Hamilton speaks from experience for the need to have multiple backs. A pecking order and delineation of duty is not something for the moment.

“The guys we have are very capable of making the big plays. Trent is plenty explosive enough, as well as (Ahmad Bradshaw) and (Vick Ballard),” said Hamilton. “Those guys are versatile enough to play on first, second and third down.

“We know how long the season is. We’re going to need all our guys at some point during the season. We’re not at the point where we have to decide on a rotation or a specific role for anybody in our offense. We’re just working to make sure we continue to grow and put a winning product on the field.”

Richardson averaged a woeful 2.9 YPC after joining the Colts, but he blames the learning curve he faced after joining a new offense midseason. Since they gave up a first round pick for him, he’ll have the backing of this Colts regime, but Hamilton wasn’t afraid to give more work to Donald Brown given the disparity in the quality of play between the two backs. The offseason has gone pretty well for T-Rich — Brown is now out of the way, but the Colts did re-sign Ahmad Bradshaw while Vick Ballard is working his way back from a knee injury.