Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Will Shane Steichen Revive Indianapolis Colts' Lifeless Run Game?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Colts are going to recapture some of the magic from their rushing attack, and we'll tell you how. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, good people? Thank you for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by Ultimate Football GM.

Starting point is 00:00:50 If you've ever dreamed of becoming an NFL GM, and who hasn't, and managing your own football franchise, then this game is definitely for you. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up on your app store. Our listeners also get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo code LOCKEDON in all caps inside the game. I'm Jake Arthur. He is Zach Hicks. We're reunited again. I know we've had a lot of off and on over the last couple weeks, but we're here with you today. And you know the two of us from horseshoehuddle.com. Of course, today we're going to get into why the Colts' clunky 2022 run game is hopefully a thing of the past, and they're about to more closely resemble what they had in 2021 rather than what it just was. Maybe a little bit back to run the damn ball and the sweeping trend that that was.

Starting point is 00:01:52 So first up, one reason why a new running back, well, new potential running backs coach in town, DeAndre Smith from the Giants, very experienced collegiate coach, Zach, but just one year in the NFL, just came from the Giants. Like I said, led a really good group. Saquon Barkley was the best he's looked since 2018. The Giants were fourth in rushing, 148.2 yards per game, and rushing touchdowns at 21. And they were tied for fifth in the league in yards per carry at 4.8. So to me, teams can have a high rushing number, but what's the yards per carry look like? That validates it for me, you know, just right there at fifth.

Starting point is 00:02:26 So they were a legit good rushing attack. It wasn't just Barkley either. Daniel Jones had 700 yards on his own. So that team knew how to construct a good run game. What did you think of this hire, Zach? Yeah, I mean, I think it's a pretty standard hire. You know, it's nothing to go absolutely crazy about. It's nothing to get upset about.

Starting point is 00:02:46 You know, we're not talking about some washed up coach that's like a nepotism baby or something like that. You know, this is a guy who's done the work, who's worked through the college level, worked through a lot of places at the college level and has now gotten up to the NFL level with the Giants this past season and with the Colts this year.

Starting point is 00:03:02 And honestly, you know, I'm not really looking too much at like, this is a guy who designed the entire run game there for the Giants this past season and with the Colts this year. And, and honestly, you know, I'm not really looking too much at like, this is a guy who designed the entire run game there for the Giants. And I'm not going to put all that credit on him, but he is a guy who won. I remember Brian Dabble, the biggest thing about him building that staff was he searched far and wide for the most capable staff that he could build, you know, and it wasn't guys he had connections with. It wasn't, you know, like Mike Kafka, his offensive coordinator, wasn't a guy that he had worked with in the past, but he wanted to bring in a smart, young offensive mind to be his offensive coordinator. And DeAndre Smith is a guy who made that cut and made it to his staff. So I think that speaks in

Starting point is 00:03:37 volumes to DeAndre Smith and what DeAndre Smith could bring to that group. And again, the results speak for themselves. The Giants rushing attack was very good. Saquon Barkley looked like his younger self again before the injury, and they had a really good season. Now, again, I'm not saying he crafted that whole thing, but it doesn't hurt to bring in a guy who's come from that success and who was handpicked by one of the smarter, brighter coaches in the NFL. Yeah, I don't think it's not going to be a huge stretch for him to have to find an equality right back because, I mean, Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor are pretty comparable in terms of their speed to power and their ability to break the long run. So it's not like he's going to have

Starting point is 00:04:16 to whip up some run game from scratch, basically. He's not got like three, four guys he's going to have to construct this thing out of. So I'm for it. Like you said, that's one thing I thought of with the Brian Dabble thing was Brian Dabble wasn't going with all the guys he's crossed paths with before and said, you know, if I ever get a job, I'm going to bring you on. He, he looked for guys who he thought were the absolute best for the job. And that does have to say something. So did you, you've been a little more plugged in lately.

Starting point is 00:04:49 Did they say yet whether it's going to be for running backs coach or is it kind of to be determined? Yeah, it's to be determined still. The Colts haven't even officially announced him as part of the staff. I think what the Colts are probably doing right now is they're gathering up guys for the staff and they're going to announce it all in one one giant report you know so I I anticipate by the end of this next week or middle of this next week we'll see like big announcement Roy Ysvan is this and DeAndre

Starting point is 00:05:16 Smith is this and you know whoever I'm not saying they already have Ysvan higher but I'm saying that we'll we'll see a lot of announcements all together instead of it being one by one by one by one. So I think we'll probably figure out what DeAndre Smith's role is here by the middle of next week, maybe this weekend, maybe the second we're done recording, we'll figure out what his staff will be with the Colts. But again, this is going to come off as kind of like a minor hire, but there were a lot of posts on social media and stuff from his time at UNLV and Texas Tech.

Starting point is 00:05:47 One of our colleagues, Destin Adams, did a good job of putting those back out to the to the Colts public. So you guys could see some of those videos and see some of his coaching styles. And and on top of that, this is kind of a return back to home for him. You know, I'm not saying he's an Indian native, but he worked at Indiana State from 1999 to 2000. He worked with Purdue in 2016. So I'm sure that kind of made it a little bit nicer for him to come back to an area that he's kind of familiar with. But yeah, you know, at the end of the day, I don't think that this is like a hire that drastically changes the direction of the run game, but it certainly doesn't hurt. You know,

Starting point is 00:06:21 if he can just bring in an ounce of what Brian Dable was doing and what the Giants were doing with their quarterback run game, with their overall rushing attack, then it's just another mind into that offense that Shane Steichen is building. So I can't complain about this hire. I'm not going to do jumping jacks for it or anything like that. But I think it's a solid hire to start this for Shane Steichen. Yeah, I don't feel like we heard much buzz about the rushing game coordinator, like running backs coordinator coming into it. I know Jamal Singleton

Starting point is 00:06:51 was a possibility because he was there with Steichen. He was here in Indy previously, but if this is the move, that's a-okay with me. So obviously it's not just running backs that have this hand in the run game. Before we talk about the role that the offensive line will play to spring the run game back forward, though, let's tell you about how you can live out your NFL GM fantasies. Today's episode is brought to you by Ultimate Football GM. You've heard us talk about this mobile game, and I can't tell you how much fun I actually had competing against our fellow locked on NFL hosts up until the ugly end. I guaranteed a Super Bowl, did not deliver.

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Starting point is 00:09:02 Ultimate Football GM, start your dynasty today. All right, Jake, so we're going to talk a little bit about this run game here and talk about how Shane Steichen can kind of revive the run game. But the one thing I want to start off and say, because I know we have a rabid minority of listeners that are very anti-run game, that are pass only analytics nerds. I love them. I'm an analytics nerd on top of being a football guy, so I totally get it. But at the end of the day, the running game still matters, even if it doesn't matter as much as the passing game. We saw this past season with the Colts where when that running game fell apart and when the offensive line was forced to pass protect more when they were clearly not good at that the whole Colts offense just corroded within itself so I do think

Starting point is 00:09:49 the running game is a major aspect of Shane Steichen's tenure here and and kind of what we could see in Philly is you know Jess Stoutland was a mastermind at creating that running game and drawing up that run game for for Philly and the Colts kind of need to land that higher that can help him draw up that rushing game here in Indy. It's not going to be Jess Stoutland. Jess Stoutland's never leaving Philly, so how can they best bring that style over here? I know Roy Espan is obviously part of that, and maybe he'll be coming over as well, but how the Colts just draw up this rushing attack, whether they have a mobile quarterback or not, is going to be a big part of their success this next season.

Starting point is 00:10:25 You know, they don't have to be a run the damn ball, only rushing attack type team. But running the ball is still important in the NFL, even if it's not as important as the rushing game or as the passing game. So I did just want to throw that out there, because I know there are people who are going to see the title of this podcast and see what we're talking about and be like, oh gosh, they want to run the ball. Running the ball is still important, even if it's not as important as passing the ball. And the Colts definitely need to fix their rushing game.

Starting point is 00:10:51 Yeah, even if the Colts had an elite quarterback back there, they still would need the run game to take some pressure off. They're going to have a rookie. So as good and efficient as the run game can be, that's going to make the rookie's life a million times easier. And I think we both probably think this rookie quarterback is probably going to contribute to it at least a little bit. But you wrote a piece the other day about a few guys who are going to probably see their

Starting point is 00:11:17 stock boost up with Shane Steichen there. And Ryan Kelly was one of them, has had a couple down years um but we're pretty sure that regardless of who the the O-line coach is this group is going to be moving around a little bit more right which kind of is is better suited to Ryan Kelly's style yeah yeah I think if you look at the Colts offensive line look at what uh Chris Ballard's been able to build he loves athletic freaks up front you know obviously if you look at the starting groupard has been able to build, he loves athletic freaks up front. Obviously, if you look at the starting group right now, there's only one guy that's below a 9.0 RAS,

Starting point is 00:11:51 which is relative athletic score, for how they tested the combine and stuff like that. And that's Will Fries, who was a seventh-round pick who wasn't supposed to be starting. All the guys who are supposed to be starting are athletic freaks up in the trenches for the Colts, from Bernard Ryman, Quinton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Braden Smith. They're all athletic freaks up in the trenches for the Colts from Bernard Ryman, Quinton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Braden Smith. They're all athletic freaks who can get out in

Starting point is 00:12:09 space, who can move, who are also strong enough to move guys in the run game up front. But I think they're going to excel pretty well in this type of scheme that allows them to move a lot more and get out in space. You know, under Frank Reich, it was a lot more gap, a lot more inside zone, a lot more of those duo-type runs to kind of get that vertical displacement and then move on, get to that second level, create that first initial push and have the running back kind of create after that. Well, with Ryan Kelly kind of regressing and not really having the strength and power that he used to have, with Quentin Nelson kind of having a down season. They weren't able to get that vertical displacement. And Bernard Ryman's not that type of guy either. He's not someone who's going to blow a defensive end off the ball and kind of create that. So they had to go more to their counter game, more to their inside trap stuff. And when you don't have blocking tight ends, you kind of struggle that way too.

Starting point is 00:12:59 So the Colts rushing offense was just a train wreck last year. It just could not get anything going. The running backs lost confidence early in the season and it just became really ugly with Shane Steichen. You know, he's really good at just tailoring the offense to what defenses are weak at, you know? So with Frank Reich, it was a lot of gaps, a gap and duo and inside zone regardless. And, and, you know, trap plays obviously regardless.

Starting point is 00:13:22 Shane Steichen changes up every single week. I was looking at two of his games this past year where I think it was against the Houston Texans. They ran like 80% gap runs or something or 85% gap runs. And then the Tennessee Titans, like two weeks later, three weeks later, whatever it was, they ran like 90% zone runs. You know, it's very, very different. He adapts to what the defense is not good at, whether that's with quarterback runs or without quarterback runs. And I think that's going to aid this offensive line a little bit more, where he's going to look at this offensive line and say,

Starting point is 00:13:49 hey, look, they can get out in space. They can move. They can do a couple different things for them. I can't just keep asking them to win on their duo blocks or win their one-on-ones up front, because they're just not going to be able to do that. So, yeah, I think Shane Sagan is going to bring a little bit more variety and a little bit more diversity to the run game if he lands the run game coordinator higher.

Starting point is 00:14:08 And that's going to aid someone like Ryan Kelly or someone like a Braden Smith or Bernard Ryman, where they can get out more in space, they can move a little bit, you could showcase these guys as phenomenal athletes and not just have them be bullies up front. Because honestly, right now with with some of the regression and some of the other things I don't know if this Colts offensive line is that bully ball guy like type of line that we saw a couple years ago they're probably more suited to get out in space and kind of you know reach linebackers and you know stuff like that which I think the Colts can do this next season under Shane Steichen yeah I think you're right like these guys a lot and they're getting a little older

Starting point is 00:14:45 and you know that just wears on you so being able to get them out that's just what they're they're built for how many highlights have we seen of you know braden smith getting out and and taylor just cruising outside of the right of him we obviously know what quentin can do when he's out on the run you know he has built a he's a social media guard if you want to throw that out there he became that right away um but no these guys i think it'll be great to get them out on the move and then another thing is the tight end can play a big role in that obviously as well especially when you can move around pre-snap motion they can pull as well so i've got to think that's going to be something of a priority.

Starting point is 00:15:29 Get, you know, getting their tight end in the right spot to at least be able to block, or if they want to stick with Mo Alleycox, put him in more advantageous situations, whatever they think that may look like for him. But yeah, I've, I've got to think moving to this new style would suit them pretty well. We've, we've just seen it work before. Yeah. I don't know. I'm ready for it. Cause the, the, just all the running up the middle. And like you said, all the, all the predetermined gap stuff,

Starting point is 00:15:53 it just doesn't, I don't know. It's easy to sniff out. We saw more stuffs and negative runs for the Colts. I feel like last year that we've seen since before they could find a running back to even reach 100 yards. Yeah. And, you know, there's a lot of different factors that go into this, because if you look at Shane Steichen's offense with Justin Herbert in, in, uh, with the Chargers in Los Angeles, you know, they were under center, like 35% of the time or 40% of the time, you know,

Starting point is 00:16:20 in the shotgun, the 60 to 65% of the time, which is a fairly normal discrepancy between the two. So they were able to do more ice, you know, ISO stuff, fullback stuff, single back stuff. And, and you would see more of the running up the middle or outside stretch zones and stuff like that. And it was a very, you know, it was still a good variety in the run game, but it was more of your standard prototypical type running. And then you get him to Philadelphia with Jalen Hurts and they're running shotgun 85 to 90 percent of the time they're almost exclusively in shotgun and every single run is inside zone read uh quarterback you know read option and stuff like that to just stress the the edge of the of the defensive line and really just make that defense kind of really have to play tighter but also have to defend the edges like Like it was a very, very diverse

Starting point is 00:17:05 and attacking rushing attack. And a lot of that depends on what kind of quarterback he's going to get. You know, if he gets a Justin Herbert level quarterback or, or a Phillip Rivers type of quarterback, you're not going to have that plus one rusher in the running game. You know, you're not going to have that added rushing effect, but if you have someone who's like Jalen Hurts, who can also run, you know,e. Will Levis or Anthony Richardson then you could have that plus one rusher and it can open up things again so it's hard to really say which direction this rushing attack is going to go in without knowing who the quarterback is going to be and that's going to be a lot of our offseason here on this podcast guys a lot of it's

Starting point is 00:17:37 going to be hey they could do this but we don't know the quarterback yet so we don't really know exactly how Shane Steichen is going to draw it up. But the one thing I can feel confident enough in saying is Shane Steichen is such a chameleon and how he calls plays from not only season to season, but from game to game to half to half within the games that he's going to put these guys in better situations, even than Frank Reich did. I think Frank Reich did a good job at putting these guys in situations. It's just, he's not so married to any type of scheme or any type of flavor that he is going to put these guys in whatever works if if they have to go to a full shanahan outside zone running scheme he will do that you know he's he's shown the ability to

Starting point is 00:18:16 change up his scheme uh throughout the season and throughout games so i'm not really too too worried about this offensive line fitting with shane steichen because he will fit his scheme to the offensive line, if that makes sense. Yeah, no doubt. And that's obviously one of the best parts about him is that things will probably look different week to week. It's just, you know, you and I throughout the season when we were talking about certain matchups the Colts could take advantage of, we knew that they were just going to run what they were comfortable with

Starting point is 00:18:48 and run what they liked rather than do whatever was based on the defense. And that's going to be a big change this year, I think, something to look out for. So Roy István, talking about O-line coaches still, Roy István is reportedly the frontrunner. That's your favorite guy. You've been talking about O-line coaches still. Roy István is reportedly the front runner. That's your favorite guy. You've been talking about him for a bit. So what's a staple of his work under Jeff Stoutland? And are there any other names anyone should keep an eye out for, just in case things fall through there? Yeah, I feel like it's going to be like the fourth

Starting point is 00:19:22 rant I've gone on about Roy István and Jeff St on this on this podcast. But I mean, it's for good reason. I think it's that important. You know, I don't know how many times I have to reiterate this where, you know, the most important hire for Shane Steichen in this offseason is not offensive coordinator. It's not retaining Gus Bradley, which I think is a good move regardless. But it's bringing in an offensive line coach slash run game coordinator to help with that aspect of it. Shane Steichen, like I said, he's a chameleon. He can change a lot of things about what he does, but he still needs qualified and just strong minds to help him rein in some of the ideas that he has.

Starting point is 00:19:55 And Jeff Stoutland was that in Philadelphia. Jeff Stoutland is a phenomenal coach. He is huge when it comes to development of the offensive line out there. I mean, Philly's offensive line was nine guys deep, you know, for most of the last two seasons. And that's because Jeff Stoutland is an elite developer of talent. And then on top of that, he helped draw up the run game where, you know, again, it's just so varied and so different.

Starting point is 00:20:17 You would have like veer runs and just outside zone runs. You'd have inside zone. You'd have duo. You'd have so many different aspects every single week. And a lot of that was just out when is in the film room and with his assistants, obviously, seeing how to attack different defenses, and then coming to Shane Steichen and helping them install that run game week to week or, you know, season month to month, season to season, stuff like that. So having a guy who is, again, Roy István is not the next Jess Stoutman. I feel

Starting point is 00:20:45 comfortable saying that. Jess Stoutman is going to be a Hall of Fame offensive line coach if they were to let him in. Roy István is probably not going to be that, but if he can be 50 or 60% of the help that Jess Stoutman was there in Philly, you have to make this higher already. From everything I've been told, both sides are pretty interested in getting a deal done. Shane Steichen wants Roy István with him. István is interested in leaving Philly because Jeff Stoutland just got another contract extension, so he knows he's never going to be an O-line coach there in Philly. I don't know what the holdup is right now. It's probably money related or something like that. We'll see if Jim Irsay can give him what he wants in terms of

Starting point is 00:21:24 contract, but I think this is the hire they need to make. I don't really care about many other names. There are other guys I could throw out there for it, but I feel like they have to make this hire. Roy István is the easy choice. He's the best way that you can just bring a Jess Stoutland type of mind to Indy, and the best way you can keep that cohesivity that Shane Steichen had in Philly. So yeah, I really think this is a hire they need to make and i don't know how many rants i have to go on this but like they they need to get this done like i don't you can put all of your coaching staff money just into istvan and then i don't care who you can go bare bones with the rest but like get roy ispon here in indy and and just have that added help to shane steichen coaching staff. So the search begins and ends there.

Starting point is 00:22:05 Yes, that's it. I don't want any other O-line coach. You know, I don't care. I don't care. Roy Estvand is the guy they need, I think. That's it. All right, so that's it for us, everyone. We'll be back tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:22:19 Zach's working on a project that features Steichen and his blend with each of these top four quarterbacks in the draft. Bryce Young, Will Levis, CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson. First up is Bryce Young. That's a guy that I think has been written off a lot, just the size and he'll probably be picked before the Colts, but it's starting to feel a little more realistic now that we know that it is Steichen here in town. Yeah, for sure. Make sure you guys are following us on social media at lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL, and at Zach Hicks too.

Starting point is 00:22:50 If you guys want to see that article tomorrow morning, before we talk about it, you know, for, I guess, two days from now show. So you guys will be able to read the article before we talk about it here on the show. Also subscribe to lockdown Colts podcast on YouTube, wherever you listen to your podcast. We'd love your ratings and reviews or any comments you guys would leave us. So make sure you are diving in there and talking with us.

Starting point is 00:23:09 Outside of that, though, we will see you guys tomorrow.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Will Shane Steichen Revive Indianapolis Colts' Lifeless Run Game?

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