1. Will the second unit offensive line be better?
The most disappointing thing In Indy’s preseason game against the Bills was the second unit offensive line. Once Gardner Minshew and the backups came in, the pass protection didn’t even go downhill, it fell off a cliff. Minshew could barely get a pass off, and the offense had to resort to a quick-game offense to complete passes.
Now, this is the second unit, so it would be easy to pay the group no mind, and say they won’t be seeing the field anyway. However, in the NFL, a physical league that tests teams’ depth weekly, the Colts can’t afford to have that kind of drop off from their first to second offensive line.
Many of those linemen are just one play from being thrown into the starting lineup. Everything on offense starts with the offensive line, and if there are any weakness along the starting unit, the offense won’t do much, especially since Indianapolis has a rookie quarterback.
The reserve offensive linemen need to be significantly better, and they’ll have the opportunity to be better on Saturday against the Bears.