Frank Reich's Colts offense to feature shotgun, no-huddle, run-pass options

INDIANAPOLIS – What will a Frank Reich offense look like?

It’s a question that seems simple enough, until you attempt an actual answer – and learn it’s not simple at all.

In looking for intel on the offensive scheme to be installed by the Indianapolis Colts’ new head coach, you might be inclined to base your answer on the offense of his most recent employer, the Philadelphia Eagles. Reich was their offensive coordinator, after all. That is, until you realize head coach Doug Pederson was the play caller and the lead architect of the scheme used by the Super Bowl champions.

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You might also be inclined to look for clues in Reich’s stint as offensive coordinator with the then-San Diego Chargers, who fired him after the 2015 season. Until you learn he wasn’t calling plays within his own scheme, but that of his head coach, Mike McCoy. Reich also was severely hamstrung as a play caller in 2014 and 2015 for myriad reasons ranging from personnel to injuries.

So, again, what kind of offense is Reich going to run in Indianapolis?

The answer is one that takes into account all of his experiences, perhaps even those he gained as a player in the vaunted Buffalo Bills offense of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The minute details will be revealed with time, but Reich outlined some of his offensive principles in his introductory news conference Tuesday.

“We will be a multiple attack, up-tempo offense,” he said. “We will be aggressive. We will change things up. What I mean by multiple is we’ll use multiple personnel groups and multiple formations. Being able to run the same things over and over again and disguise it so other teams don’t know what we’re doing. We’ll keep them off balance with run and pass. We’ll change the tempo. There will be a strong element of the no-huddle offense.”

While Reich has never been the point person in installing his own scheme, the picture emerging from Colts headquarters is that Reich’s proposed offensive system will most closely resemble the Eagles' scheme. While Reich was not the Eagles’ play caller, he said Pederson believed in a collaborative approach with his coaches. That gave Reich a major role in every facet, from installing the system to developing game plans. Reich said he would take a similar approach with his own coaches in Indianapolis.

In the search for clues, we cued up some film of the Eagles’ offense. Consider their first offensive series of a random game – Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers – as a prime example of what Reich outlined in his statement about what his offense will consist of.

>> First-and-10 from their 20-yard line: Quarterback Carson Wentz lines up, under center, with three receivers bunched to his right and a single running back. The Eagles hand the ball to LeGarrette Blount who runs behind the left guard for three yards.

>> Second-and-7 from the 23: The Eagles don’t huddle, Wentz lines up in the shotgun, with two receivers to his right and one to his left, with Blount being the single back. Blount runs for six yards.

>> Third-and-1 from the 29: No huddle, again. Wentz is back in the shotgun with two receivers to his right, another to his left. Blount runs up the middle for four yards.

>> First-and-10 from the 33: Wentz gets the offense lined up without a huddle again, lining up in the shotgun with two receivers to his left and one to his right. Wentz drops back and hits Nelson Agholor for a 17-yard gain down the seam.

You get the idea. Eventually, the Eagles were forced to punt. But during what was an eight-play drive, they never huddled and used a variety of formations and several personnel groupings. Those are some of the very things Reich outlined in his preview of the offense Tuesday. The no-huddle element is particularly intriguing for the Colts because quarterback Andrew Luck has a history of thriving in an up-tempo style. It’s the very reason he’s orchestrated so many magical two-minute moments in his career.

Another feature of the offense will be frequent run-pass options. RPOs are defined as called runs that enable to the quarterback to change to a passing play either right before or after the ball is snapped. The difference between them and a traditional audible is that the offensive line continues as if the play is a running play. It’s left to the quarterback and receivers to make a sight adjustment that typically results in a quick throw made on a three-step drop.

The Eagles used this tactic often in 2017 and the Colts seem intent on including it in their new scheme. General Manager Chris Ballard has watched RPOs gain a foothold in college football and expects them to trickle up to the NFL more and more. The Colts, along with the Eagles and Chiefs, could be the teams at the forefront of a trend.

In addition to specific elements of Reich’s scheme, another key question is what kind of play caller he will be? While he did not call the Eagles’ plays, he did call plays with the Chargers during his stint as their offensive coordinator in 2014-15. The results there were, at best, mixed. Reich was fired after the 2015 season, which the Chargers finished with a 4-12 record. San Diego ranked ninth in total yards but was 26th in scoring in Reich’s final season, and head coach Mike McCoy dismissed him and others on the staff.

But some mitigating factors need to be pointed out. For one, Reich wasn’t calling plays within in his own offense, meaning it’s difficult to make a direct correlation to how he’ll perform in Indianapolis. Additionally, offensive line struggles and injuries were a constant while Reich led the offense. In 2014, the Chargers started five centers.

Tellingly, after Reich’s dismissal, the Chargers enjoyed only marginal offensive improvement. They certainly scored more points, but their running game remained nonexistent and they dropped to 14th in total yards. Overall, they were terrible; they went 5-11 and McCoy was fired.

Reich’s intent to have his staff significantly involved in developing offensive game plans will also influence what his offense looks like. While Reich will be the driving force behind developing the scheme, you can certainly expect coaches such as offensive coordinator Nick Sarianni, characterized by many as a rising star in the coaching ranks, to play an important role. Coaches like Sarianni will undoubtedly add their own wrinkles, which we can’t yet anticipate.

“Our job as leaders is to get the most talent on the staff and to draw all of that out of them,” Reich said. “That’s what I believe.”

Follow Colts Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

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