Colts Rolling With Revamped Offensive Line Against Jaguars

According to head coach Chuck Pagano, the Indianapolis Colts will be starting largely the same offensive line unit against the Jacksonville Jaguars that started in this past Sunday’s win.

Sep 27, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, the Colts moved 2nd-year offensive lineman Jack Mewhort from starting right tackle to left guard and inserted backup offensive lineman Joe Reitz at starting right tackle to shore up the unit.

The only difference is, this week the team may elect to return Lance Louis back to starting right guard, where Hugh Thornton started in his absence last week because of injury and may have set an NFL record for holding penalties.

Overall, the initial results were positive, and Pagano has already taken notice of his revamped offensive line’s improved play against the Tennessee Titans last week:

"“Absolutely,” said Pagano Wednesday. “By no means was it a perfect performance, but it was good. It was better. Had our moments like every position’s going to have their moments. So you watch tape, make the corrections, and you come out here and go back to work.”"

The shifting of the team’s starting offensive lineman paid dividends for the ground game, as starting running back Frank Gore was a huge beneficiary with his best game as a Colt.

The 11-year veteran rushed for 86 rushing yards on 14 carries for an impressive 6.14 yards per carry average and 2 rushing touchdowns:

"“They did a great job,” said Gore Wednesday. “That’s the good thing that we’ve got a bunch of guys, even the guys who they shuffled around. That’s a good thing that lets us know that if it does come down to it, we can move guys around.”“When it came down to it, and we had to run the ball, they did a great job,” added Gore. “We had to protect in clutch situations, and they did it. We’ve got to keep growing.”"

He wasn’t alone in his high praise of the re-tooled offensive line jumpstarting the Colts rushing game, as Pagano was equally impressed with their performance:

"“It was excellent and the guys did a great job,” added Pagano regarding the team’s improved ground game. “The offensive line and tight ends opened up some holes and runners ran well and good vision, good cuts and all of those things, so it was impressive. We just need to keep building on that.”"

Next: Colts vs Jaguars Injury Report: Andrew Luck Limited

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