Colts are saving a secret offensive weapon for when they need it most
Frank Reich revealed the Indianapolis Colts have another element to their offense that they will use only when they feel it’s necessary.
The Indianapolis Colts had a weird offensive game in Week 1 against the Houston Texans. Indy only had three points entering the fourth quarter along with a fumble, an interception, and a turnover on downs. However, the Colts finished the game with 20 points, 517 total yards, 33 first downs, and possessed the ball for nearly 40 minutes.
Despite Matt Ryan throwing for 352 yards, Jonathan Taylor running for 161 yards, and Michael Pittman Jr. having 121 receiving yards, it was an underwhelming day for the offense. That’s because the yards didn’t necessarily translate to points and the reason for that was a few costly mistakes.
So, it’s obvious that there’s more to this offense than what fans saw against the Texans. However, besides playing more mistake-free football, head coach, Frank Reich, revealed there’s another level this offense can go when they utilize a weapon that’s kept in the tool belt. That weapon is tempo.
Reich admitted that playing with tempo is an element of the offense that Matt Ryan is really good at but something the Colts only want to bring out when necessary.
Tempo "will remain in the toolbelt" for the #Colts offense. It's an element in the scheme Reich wants to break out when it's needed. Ryan obviously excels in that situation.
— George Bremer (@gmbremer) September 14, 2022
Colts will use tempo on offense when necessary
This comment by Reich could rub some fans the wrong way because in some peoples’ eyes, doing something you’re good at that can increase your chances of winning is always necessary when you’re competing in the NFL every week. Especially when you’re getting dominated by an inferior divisional opponent.
That was the case for Indy in Week 1 and that’s why they went to their up-tempo offense in the fourth quarter. It resulted in Indy storming back into the game and scoring 17 points in the quarter to force overtime. If the tempo offense works so well, why wait and only employ it when the Colts are on the ropes?
If Reich had not kept it on the tool belt for so long on Sunday, maybe Indianapolis would be 1-0 instead of 0-0-1. This is the NFL, and it’s understood that it’s not ideal to just put everything you have on film each week, but you also can’t be reserved and lose games— or tie.
If Indianapolis is going to selectively utilize something it’s very good at, the Colts better make sure their B-game is better than whatever the opponent is bringing each week. If not, Indianapolis will find itself in many games like the one against the Texans, doing too little, too late.
