Stampede Blue
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...
