Colts mailbag: How to fix the o-line? Should the o-line change? About the o-line?

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The Colts have won a game. They beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs 20-17 on Sunday to improve to 1-1-1 and to keep the sky from seemingly falling, for now. But certain narratives continue to evolve.

The first quarter of an NFL season is ripe for overreaction, and that compiles by the week as concerns become issues and then become problems, or so it seems. The Colts showed this past week that so many of their issues were correctable, and in the process showed the type of team they can be in many respects. Yet one part of the team didn't make that jump, and that's the one that sparked about 80% of the questions this week.

(If you'd like to submit a question, either follow me on Twitter, where I put out the call each Monday; or feel free to email natkins@indystar.com.)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan and center Ryan Kelly have to get on the same page to limit the pressure that has gotten Ryan sacked 12 times in his first three games with the team.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan and center Ryan Kelly have to get on the same page to limit the pressure that has gotten Ryan sacked 12 times in his first three games with the team.

"How do you think the o line should be fixed?" -- @nrenard1110 on Twitter

Answer: I received more than a dozen questions about the Colts offensive line, which is the one area of the team that did not make a leap this week. Although the win over the Chiefs contained many encouraging signs -- young targets making their first plays, Matt Ryan's first game-winning drive, the return of the special teams splash, Pro Bowl defenders looking like Pro Bowl defenders -- the fact that it took a Herculean effort from the rest of the team to survive Mahomes is a good starting place.

Frank Reich was confident after reviewing the film that he's found the tweak to eliminate so many of the free rushers we've seen through three weeks. He won't announce that fix before a game, but in reading between the lines, it seems like a miscommunication issue between Ryan and his center, Ryan Kelly, that teams are spotting and bringing late pressure in order to expose on obvious passing downs.

The Colts have not protected Ryan at all. In three games, they've allowed 2, 5 and 5 sacks, respectively. That puts Ryan on pace to take 68 sacks this season, or 20 more than his career high of 48 in 2019, which led the league that year. He's 37 years old. Not only can the offense not thrive with these kinds of numbers, Ryan might not survive. Add in the inability to block for Jonathan Taylor, who has a long run of just 21 yards this season, the offensive line poses the threat of undoing everything we thought could make this team special.

Given how successfully this coaching staff identified and made corrections in a billion different areas last week, I'm going to reserve some judgment and give Reich the chance to fix it. Ever since he took Andrew Luck from the most sacked quarterback to the least, this has been Reich's strongest area in his track record, which makes these issues so shocking to begin with. He's putting it on himself, and he knows that means he'll be praised if it works and ripped if it doesn't, and he's comfortable in that world.

That said, I have questions about whether protection assignments can fix all of these issues.

"Will the Colts move some guys around on the O-Line to get better pass protection?" -- L. Rob on Twitter

Answer: Even if these schematic and communication changes work, the Colts might not be out of the woods. They have personnel questions to answer, too.

Right guard Danny Pinter has had a tough start to his new life as a right guard, as bull rushes in 1-on-1 pass blocking situations have gotten to him from training camp to the preseason to the regular season now. He's getting the toughest interior matchup, as teams aren't going to go through Quenton Nelson to get to the quarterback, but it's on him to hold up. Perhaps fixing communication issues can add comfort and confidence, but he will still have to meet the physical challenges along the way, and Ryan must have interior protection above all else.

At left tackle, Matt Pryor had a much better day against the Chiefs than he did against the Jaguars. Part of it was an easier matchup, not going up against Josh Allen's speed, but I believe Pryor is also built to make strides in his confidence, comfort and attack game by game. He is 343 pounds, which makes it hard to play backward consistently. But if edge speed off the left side is the occasional problem, the Colts can game plan around it if the rest of the line is secure.

Texas heat, boxing and Yannick Ngakoue: How Matt Pryor's turning himself into a left tackle

So, the questions start primarily at right guard right now, as part of the solution is getting the players to the left and right, Kelly and Braden Smith, to play like they used to. If Pinter doesn't improve, the Colts could go to Will Fries, who looks a good step better at pass protection than run blocking in his second season.

They could move Pryor over, though it could undermine the strides he's taking as a tackle. They could move Smith inside, where his body projects more naturally, and play Pryor at right tackle, where he's a little more comfortable. Both of those fixes depend on where the Colts are with third-round rookie left tackle Bernhard Raimann, who missed last week with an ankle injury.

Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue recorded his first sack with his new team in Sunday's 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue recorded his first sack with his new team in Sunday's 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

"The season could be divided into roughly quarters. Which position group is about to take off in the second quarter? D-line? Secondary? Receivers?" -- Petiles on Twitter

Answer: It's easy to get consumed with offensive line questions and forget about how many parts of this team balled on on Sunday, inspiring confidence in what they can be moving forward.

The one that caught my eye the most was the defensive line. In Jacksonville, where they made zero impact in a 24-0 loss, the feeling was that they didn't have much of a chance with the three-step-drop passes and with the health of their two best players. DeForest Buckner looked as if his hip injury had zapped all of his explosion. Yannick Ngakoue was playing through a chronic back issue that needed attention. And as a group, they became demoralized knowing that they didn't have many chances to get to the quarterback with how quick the throws were.

More Colts news: Yannick Ngakoue addressed 'chronic' back injury to spark breakout game vs. Chiefs

Fast forward to last week, when the secondary employed different coverages and challenged receivers off the line, and it was a different unit. Ngakoue and Buckner healed up and showed flashes of what I think could make them a truly special tandem in this "attack" scheme. Ngakoue was built in a lab to play Gus Bradley's "LEO" position, where he rushes from the wide-nine stance and uses sheer speed with an extended arm to force the tackle into the quarterback. Buckner posted 12.5 sacks and nearly wrecked a Super Bowl in this scheme with the 49ers, as it's about using his length and explosion to create plays rather than absorb bodies.

Playing them next to each other can be lethal. Because Buckner likes to rush through the B-gap rather than the A, he closes the space between him and Ngakoue, forcing lines to double-team one or the other. In Ngakoue's stance, an explosive rush will almost certainly affect the quarterback. Buckner's length is too great for a guard to handle 1-on-1 moving backward. So you add in Grover Stewart's ascending ability to destroy interior blockers and Kwity Paye's evolving repertoire of moves, and this unit has the potential to be one of the very best in football.

It has to stay healthy, as the Colts have depth questions at all four spots and don't blitz in order to compensate for the rush. They're banking on it. But holding Mahomes and the Chiefs to 17 points was all about a coordinated rush plan throwing an elite offense out of rhythm, and that'll play against anyone.

Indianapolis Colts second-round rookie tight end Jelani Woods caught his first two touchdown passes in Sunday's 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Indianapolis Colts second-round rookie tight end Jelani Woods caught his first two touchdown passes in Sunday's 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Do you think the team benefits if we just divert to a 2-TE set? with Mo Alie-Cox and Jelani Woods?" -- @TheTylerLemon on Twitter

Answer: The more an offense can add to its bag, the better, and I think the Colts would love to get into 12 personnel more than they have to limit the pressure on young wide receivers. But this illustrates the difference in those positions.

Tight end is one of the hardest spots on either side of the ball for a rookie to play consistently and confidently. They have to win physically in the run game and athletically in the passing game. They have to know all the protections and run designs. And they have to be able to read moving defenders in the middle of the field, as opposed to more obvious 1-on-1 matchups on the outside.

It's hard to go from Jack Doyle, who might be the most mentally advanced tight end in all of football, to any rookie. It remains one of Chris Ballard's most puzzling offseason decisions, given the makeup of his team and how it has succeeded under Reich, plus how affordable so many veteran tight ends were in free agency.

Indianapolis Colts news:Why rookie Colts safety Nick Cross only played 1 snap against Chiefs

Sunday was a great moment for Jelani Woods to gain confidence as a red-zone target, as he was able to win with speed and trust his body positioning and hands to reel in two touchdown passes, including the game-winner. His jubilation in the locker room was through the roof, and I think the Colts can trust that part of his game a little more now. But he still played just 16 total snaps, bringing him to 32 on the season. They got the most out of him on Sunday by simplifying the responsibility, and expanding it too quickly can shift his confidence in the other direction.

This is where Kylen Granson will need to show some growth. He's still a young tight end battling these same questions, but he's in his second season and has an easier role mentally as the "F" tight end, or essentially an in-line wide receiver. He's getting some chances with 11 targets, but his 3.9 yards per target must improve. Some of this is on Ryan to build the trust to throw it to him earlier in the rep. It's also on Granson to build the confidence to catch those passes before he's perfectly ready.

Bit by bit, the Colts need to expand the tight end receiving game through these two. Granson has to become more efficient, and Woods has to continue to deliver in the red zone. The front office de-emphasized the position, so the pressure will remain on the rest of the team to make up for their limited experiences.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Parris Campbell is seeing lots of playing time but has only produced five catches through the first three games.
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Parris Campbell is seeing lots of playing time but has only produced five catches through the first three games.

"Parris Campbell leads the wide receivers in snaps with 172, but only has 5 catches for 47 yds. He seemed to have a good rapport with Ryan in camp. Besides the bad OL play, what is playing into this?" -- Jason Sanders on Twitter

Answer: The Colts desperately want to get Parris Campbell going, and he's dialed in on trying to get there. I've heard rave reviews of the focus and performance he's bringing to practice, but at some point that has to translate to game day, and the responsibility is on all of them.

In watching the film, Campbell has moments where he's open but doesn't seem to be the primary read, and this offense isn't getting to secondary reads much with all the protection issues. On some plays, the Colts use his long speed to clear out parts of the middle of the field, so his job isn't always to produce with catches. And then there are times when he and Ryan aren't connecting with their eyes, or Campbell isn't open when the play with the current state of blocking needs him to be.

I'm curious to see how this all looks if the basic protection issues can go away and Ryan can trust more of the secondary options and deeper routes. More targets to Campbell will tell us what he really has. The Colts have to figure that out in his contract year, and I know he's hungry to find out, too.

Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts news: Fixing Indianapolis' O-Line and Jelani Woods playing time