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Greg Cosell's Week 7 Review: The Colts' adjustments, and Andrew Luck's execution

The Indianapolis Colts had some offensive obstacles to overcome last week.

Their offensive line had to be reshuffled because starting guard Jack Mewhort was inactive. The Colts had to rethink their personnel groupings because receivers Phillip Dorsett and Donte Moncrief were out.

The Colts still had quarterback Andrew Luck, and he was excellent. He got some help too.

On the offensive line, the Colts played pretty well. They often featured six- and seven-man protection concepts to keep Luck protected. Luck was rarely under pressure, which was huge for their offensive success. The Colts use more “12” personnel (one back, two tight ends) than any other team in the league, and we saw a lot of that and even nine snaps of “13” personnel with three tight ends. Luck was 11-of-15 for 163 yards out of multiple tight end sets.

It was a good example of a coaching staff adjusting to the personnel on hand and making it work.

Andrew Luck threw three touchdowns in a Colts win over the Titans (AP)
Andrew Luck threw three touchdowns in a Colts win over the Titans. (AP)

On Indianapolis’ third possession, Luck made a couple fantastic throws on back-to-back plays. On first-and-10 against a Titans “man free” blitz, the Colts had a three-man vertical route concept. There was a post-cross concept on the front side and a complementary dig route on the back side. Tight end Erik Swoope beat Titans linebacker Sean Spence on the crossing route and Luck put the ball right on him for a 34-yard gain.

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On the next play, the Titans were again in “Cover 1” (man coverage) with Spence as the free defender. The Colts used the same vertical post-cross route concept with Devin Street on the crossing route and T.Y. Hilton on the post route. The single-high safety sat on the crossing route and Luck went over the top to Hilton on the post. And it was another pass right on the receiver’s hands.

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On the second play of the game, Luck made a nice back-shoulder throw to Hilton for 24 yards. In the third quarter the Colts used the same personnel and formation and Luck made the same throw to Hilton. Against the Titans’ blitz, Luck threw to Hilton’s back shoulder for 20 yards. It’s a nice example of a receiver and quarterback being on the same page and executing.

And it’s important to note how well Luck is protected against the blitz here. He has a clean pocket to throw this pass. If Luck gets that kind of protection, he’s tough to beat.

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The Colts trailed late, and they called a great concept to get tight end Jack Doyle in an advantageous matchup.

On third-and-goal with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Colts had an empty backfield. The two-man concept had Hilton vertically releasing to attack safety Kevin Byard, then Doyle ran a sluggo concept (slant-and-go) against linebacker Avery Williamson with the middle wide open. The throw was another nice back-shoulder pass, though the key here was the two-man route concept dictating the matchup of Doyle on a linebacker in the middle.

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The Colts pulled out a win Sunday, with Luck throwing for 353 yards and three touchdowns. He played well, but a lot of factors went into an important victory.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.