Andrew Luck retired and it basically put Frank Reich in the role of the Director of the Secret Service for the president of the Indianapolis Colts offense. He is in charge of protecting Jacoby Brissett. He is protecting the new starting quarterback from the defense and protecting him some from himself.
The good news for Reich is he has the mind and the weapons to do it. There are basically four ways he can help Brissett and the Colts offense succeed.
1. Play Action Passes, quick ones and deep, along with RPOs.
2. Great Play Design
3. Throws to running backs out of the backfield
4. Run the Ball
It helps that the offensive line is better for sure. And it helps the Colts have tight ends and wide receivers that can get open, win one on ones, and run after the catch. All of those are improvements on what Brissett had the last time as the Indianapolis starter in 2017. Potentially the biggest upgrade is Reich and what he can scheme up to make life easier on the quarterback.
Play-Action
Play 1
Let's begin with play-action passes. There are many ways to use it. One way it can used is for quick plays that occupy the linebackers to widen the lanes to throw in quickly. On this play, Luck faked the run to Marlon Mack who continued into a short route. That held both inside linebackers and made it an easier throw for the quarterback to his tight end. I timed this throw and its under 2.1 seconds from snap to throw. That limits the opportunity for pressure while it still creates a high-quality throwing opportunity. The drop wasn't meant to be as deep as it ended up but Luck felt pressure up the middle.
Play 2
On this play, it is great play design for a quick pass and some play-action to buy the receiver a little more room to run after the catch. Play-action to the tight end can create some great open opportunities. Reich has the outside receiver come inside to set a sort of pick and also to be there quick if the corner sits outside. It's a quick throw to the Jack Doyle and then it's just seeing what happens.
Play 3
This type of play-action is simply to buy time for the quarterback, which Reich needs to do for Brissett. It's also well designed. There is a clearing route for the receiver on the left side while the receiver on the right crosses deep behind linebackers and is wide open to the left. The play takes time but it is a chunk play that is an easy throw and catch.
Play 4
This play-action is designed to bring the safety up and run the wide receiver behind him so it is easy to get inside the corner. It also, of course, slows down the pass rush as the defensive linemen have to hesitate to play the run. With T.Y. Hilton‘s speed, it's an easy touchdown.
Running Back Passes
Play 1
Next is throwing the ball to the running backs. Reich uses crossing routes by the receivers and then shoots the running back out to one side. The wide receiver going inside draws the eyes of the defender responsible for the outside and again, another easy throw and catch cleared for a huge opening down the sideline.
Great Play Design
One of Reich's clear strengths is his ability to draw up a great play. That helped get Luck settled in throughout the 2018 season and will be key to making life easier on Brissett.
Play 1
Sprinting the quarterback out of the pocket is something that worked for Luck and can be easily transferred to Brissett. You only have to block one guy effectively to be able to do so as you can see here:
Play 2
This play is an awesome design. Here is a 3×1 set with a fake screen to the outside (good acting job by the WR). The inside two simply attack the safety vertically and put the defender in conflict horizontally with one being inside and one outside. Luck could have hit either one. Even with the fake handoff and throw, it still took under 2.5 seconds to get the ball off. And it opened the throwing lanes as well.
Play 3
A bunch set always draws heavy focus from the defenders playing pass because of the possibilities of crossers, deep routes, and so much room outside. Using that here and then simply crossing the single receiver makes for another easy throw and catch without the quarterback having to hold the ball.
Effective Run Game
The Colts and Mack were quite effective running the ball as he averaged 4.7 YPC last year. They were quite good at running off tackle. How the offensive line moves together similar to play-action can eventually help increase big plays on the ground and through the air.
This type of inside run helps set up the quick play-action throws that we showed earlier. They make the linebackers play downhill and open the passing behind them. The misdirection between the tight end and fake end-around helps move the defenders and helps set up potential passing plays later on.
Coach Reich showed all that last year in hopes to protect Andrew Luck and it was much better than in years past. He needs to do the same exact things but much more of it this year if Jacoby Brissett will be protected from the defense, and himself.