How the Colts’ New Offense Will Benefit the Offensive Line
By Ryan Stano
The Colts had a coaching change in the off-season. With coaching changes comes system changes. And their offensive line stands to benefit from those changes.
The Colts are a young team who are trying to grow together. They have plenty of players who will be getting their first real shot at playing time next season. No unit on the offensive side of the ball needs to grow as one more than the offensive line.
Indianapolis hasn’t had a good offensive line in a long time. Part of that was personnel, but some of that is also the system. With a new offensive system coming in, the unit should improve and could eventually be one of the top units in the league.
This new system has a few unique quirks about it that will help improve offensive line play. First off, most passes will be quick strikes. This minimizes the pressure that the offensive line will feel to protect the quarterback. They just have to keep defensive lineman from batting down the throws.
They will also implement a new blocking scheme for the running game. They will do more simple blocking as opposed to complex zone schemes to simplify the offense. The less that the offensive lineman have to think, the easier it is to execute the play.
These feature should allow the unit to be more cohesive. It will allow the line to open more holes for running backs to go through, and more passing lanes for Andrew Luck to see. Ultimately, those are two great things to have.
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It will take some time for this to be perfected. Training camp will be a great time for the o-line to learn these concepts and use them in a game situation. But expect to see big returns by the end of the year, and the Colts might finally have a good offensive line again.