After a heartbreaking loss to the Rams, the Colts got back on track in a big way on Sunday. When you look at the box score you’re almost surprised it was 40-6, but it was as convincing a win as you can have in the National Football League.
The Colts were decisively better in all three phases and it wasn’t close. There’s a lot of very good football being played right now, and if everyone stays healthy, it’s very hard to see how that will change.
The first couple drives for the Colts did not go as smoothly as the following three quarters did, so lets start there. Chip Kelly had a surgical opening script that marched the Raiders down the field early in this game.
This is the first pass of the game, so you know that the Raiders have been practicing this all week. As soon as Geno sees the Colts align in man coverage, he checks to to a very popular downfield pick play.
This is a really nice throw from Geno under pressure, but the details of the play are what make it tough on a defense.
You can see Jakobi Myers line up on the outside edge of the numbers. That is extremely important on this concept. The reason for that is because Ward will be head-up or inside leverage from that split. If you line up any tighter to the numbers you’re risking that DB playing off and outside, which would let him make a play on the Rail.
When Myers goes to set the pick on Bachie, watch him track his near shoulder which makes him go underneath. That’s huge because it makes it really hard for Bachie to recover.
DeForest Buckner wins his 1-on-1 and gets a hit on the QB, but even when you get blown out, you’re bound to make a few plays.
When Lou Anarumo was hired, some struggles early in the season were to be expected. The Colts went from one of the league’s most basic systems, to a much more complex system that was in line with the league’s current trends.
Learning, communicating, and practicing that system takes time. It doesn’t happen right away, especially with how the CBA limits practice time in the offseason.
The Colts fit the run completely different than how they did with Gus Bradley. With Gus, it was a gap control system where each player had a gap in the run game and flew off the ball to fit that gap. With Lou it’s more about block control. It takes a level of discipline that is easier said than done.
Here the Colts are in a Bear look. Bear just means both the center and the guards are covered.
The reason I know this is a missed assignment is because Zaire Franklin and Grover Stewart end up in the same gap. My guess is that this is a run stunt, and one of the two did not get the call correct. Someone has to be in the frontside A gap, whether that’s Zaire or Grover. So either Zaire pressured the wrong gap or Grover is supposed work into that frontside A.
These mistakes happen, but you expect over time that they will pop up less and less.
Ok now let’s get into the good stuff. Here the Colts are getting Josh Downs into the boundary to run what I am going to assume is a choice route. The Colts have a “Swap” tag onto their formation which just tells Pittman and Downs to switch spots from where they normally line up.
That’s really important because the Raiders are in Cover 2 and Josh Downs is now matched up on Devin White. That is a big win for the Colts. Watch Downs stick his foot in the ground to really influence White before breaking inside.
Most LB’s just cannot cover that. Pretty simple, but wanted to point it out because Josh Downs does not often line up in this spot.
Josh Downs had a great day working the underneath zones of the field. The Colts thought they could lift the coverage by running verticals, it could create space underneath for Downs to move the chains.
This is a play called Duo Wrap. Like a WWE wrestler, this has been the Colts finishing move. They wait until your defense is tired in the fourth quarter and your corners no longer want to tackle. If you remember the 2023 Steelers game, this is the same call to close that one out.
Here the Colts called it in a down and distance I’ve never seen them use before. Running this play by the goalline is tough because the DL is covering more horizontal space with the natural roof behind them. That can make it difficult because your guard has no room for error. He has to go.
Duo Wrap is a counter to the traditional Duo run. I’ve broken the play down on the website before, but for those who are new, I’ll run through it again.
Duo is downhill run that tries to maximize double teams at the point of attack. The way the blocking scheme is set up, there’s always going to be one unblocked corner. As a counter, instead of a downhill penetrating run, coaches wanted to create a wrinkle that forced that corner to have to make a play in the run game.
A lot of teams motion a WR and run this play, but when you have one of the best guards to ever play the position, you can run this play with ease. The idea is that the backside guard will “wrap” for that playside corner, while the RB has automatic bounce read. Meaning that his job is to just follow that puller.
Michigan, Ohio State, and the Detroit Lions are some of the teams that I’ve seen run this as often as the Colts.
We’re working backwards here, but this is typical Duo. The Colts needed to have a plan for Maxx Crosby. Here they motioned Tyler Warren into the formation in order to get an extra body on Maxx. The Raiders are light in the box which makes this easy. It’s just good football, man.
Let’s talk about trap coverage. 2-Trap is an aggressive form of Cover 2 that punishes teams for trying to get anything quick into the flat. Mekhi Blackmon’s job is to key the #2 WR. If there’s anything quick, his job is to jump it fast. He can do that because he knows the safety will be over the top to cover anything deep from the #1 WR.
This is a really nice coverage to pair with slot pressure because some teams will run something quick vs. slot pressure to attack the void the slot CB is leaving by pressuring. It’s a good call and good execution.
This is my fifth film breakdown and I’m really struggling to find negative plays that aren’t nitpicking or just small details. The Colts are playing really good football right now, which I feel like I just keep saying over and over again. It’s been incredible to watch this team.
Everyone deserves credit. Shane Steichen, who many wanted fired a month ago, Chris Ballard, Carly Irsay-Gordon, Daniel Jones, the list just goes on and on. There’s a long way to go, and the “Super Bowl contender” tag is very ambitious for a team that doesn’t have a ton of playoff pedigree, but as I’m typing this article out today… how can you not be impressed, excited, and optimistic?
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