After spending last evening watching Colts practice, I had many takeaways. One of them is that the Colts will run the ball much better this year.
The Colts are investing in the running game. They drafted two offensive lineman, as well as two running backs. They are making a commitment to the ground game. Indianapolis didn’t do that last year. But they will be much better at running the ball this time around.
There was one particular point in practice where all the Colts did was work on the running game and the run defense. After witnessing that, I came to this conclusion; either the Colts running game is much more improved, or the run defense is still really bad.
I tend to float more towards the running game being better. There were holes opening up for backs to run through. But the backs were also making moves to make defenders miss. The Colts didn’t have much of that shiftiness last year outside of Marlon Mack.
Now offense has more options Nyheim Hines was moved all over the field so he could get the ball. He runs hard too and can make quick cuts. Christine Michael got more reps than I expected and looked good with those reps as well. Jordan Wilkins needs some time to develop.
The run game will be a key part of the offense moving forward. While Andrew Luck and the passing game will be the focal point, the team will still need to run the ball effectively in order to maximize the new system.
Expect the Colts to be a halfway decent running team this season. They won’t be upper echelon, but they will be good enough to get the job done.