What can the Colts do to improve their offense?
The Indianapolis Colts finally got a win but they still haven’t solved their offensive struggles. What can Indy do to score more points?
On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts scored 20 points, enough to win against the Kansas City Chiefs. 20 is also the amount Indy scored in Week 1 against the Houston Texans. Add in the shutout from Week 2, and Indy is averaging 13.3 points a game. That’s dead last in the NFL.
Sure, Indy has an underwhelming group of pass catchers but they do have the promising Michael Pittman Jr., the best running back in the NFL in Jonathan Taylor, a versatile weapon in Nyheim Hines, and Frank Reich, an offensive coach that’s supposed to be a good play caller. Even with Indy’s shortcomings, the team should be better than 13.3 points a game right?
You would think but that hasn’t been the case. The Colts have looked bad offensively in the first three games. There were a couple of drives against Houston and the Chiefs where Indy’s offense had a spark but overall, it’s just been hard to watch. Chances are, there won’t be any new weapons added to the offense, so how can Indianapolis improve?
How will the Colts’ offense get better?
For as bad as things have been, there’s probably only one thing that really needs to change: the play of the offensive line. The pass-catchers can be more dynamic, the play-calling can be better, and even Matt Ryan can improve some things but everything starts up front with the linemen. Whether it be the run game or the passing game, the offensive line will determine how far this offense can go.
So far, the line has done a terrible job at communicating and that has resulted in the pass protection being slow and in the rushing attack also being dormant. Indianapolis needs to establish itself up front and productively run the football. That didn’t happen against the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Chiefs. If the run game can’t get rolling the offense might as well pack things up.
A good run game will help slow down opposing teams’ pass rush and that’s something Indy needs. If the Colts can get just marginally better in pass protection, Ryan will have a little more time to find receivers. Indianapolis may not have the most dynamic bunch of weapons, but the offensive line hasn’t even given many opportunities for these guys to build some type of rhythm.
So while the answer for offensive improvement is a better offensive line, the question then becomes how exactly can Indy improve the offensive line?
How can the Colts’ offensive line get better?
There’s not a simple answer there. With the season in full swing, Indianapolis can’t just find solutions in free agency or through trade. Indy is pretty much stuck with the guys it currently has on the offensive line. That means it’s up to the players to dig deep and figure things out.
An opponent being better is one thing, but blown responsibilities and miscommunication are unacceptable for an offensive line and quarterback with the level of experience the Colts have. The offensive front needs to check themselves and do whatever is necessary for them to turn things around or they will be responsible for holding Indy’s offense back.
