COLTS

Colts find success with moving pockets, quick throws

Stephen Holder
IndyStar
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) runs across the backfield as he looks for an open receiver upfield during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

All along, Andre Johnson has preached patience, even when it sounded a lot like an excuse.

All along, Frank Gore asked everyone to give it time, even when it appeared he lacked legitimate answers.

Maybe they were right. Maybe the patience is paying off. And maybe the time has allowed solutions to surface.

Maybe, just maybe, the Indianapolis Colts are starting to figure out who and what they are on offense.

“Every year, teams change, you bring in some guys, some guys leave,” Johnson said. “You just have to find what works and what fits. That’s why I’ve said the whole time, you just have to be patient and keep fighting through it. Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned a lot about our offense.”

The latest lesson came in Thursday’s 27-20 road win over the Houston Texans, the Colts’ second straight win without starting quarterback Andrew Luck (shoulder) in the lineup.

It was the Colts’ most crisp, most efficient and most fluid offensive performance of the season. Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton pushed all the right buttons, putting backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in perfect position by playing to the 40-year-old’s strengths.

The Colts’ offensive line had its most complete performance of the season, supplying both adequate time for Hasselbeck – the gravely ill, bacterial-infection-fighting Hasselbeck – to work the pocket and room for Gore to slither his way through running lanes.

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With Luck nearing a return from his injury, possibly as early as next Sunday against the New England Patriots, the Colts might be well served to adapt the successful tactics of Thursday night to their starting quarterback.

Coach Chuck Pagano would welcome that.

“Being able to go up against the defenses we’re going to face and have faced, moving the quarterback is smart football,” Pagano said, referencing the moving passing pockets used by Hasselbeck on Thursday. “Great play calls and design by our offensive coordinator. Pep and those guys did a great job. You just look across the league, everybody says, ‘You’ve got no pass rush, pass rush, pass rush.’ But when the ball is (being released) at the rate it’s coming out now, it’s hard to get home.”

Hasselbeck, as he usually does, was content to take what the defense allowed him, whether that meant a 43-yard strike to ice the game in the closing moments or a check-down pass to a tight end in the flat. Employing that strategy, he has avoided any interceptions in his two starts, despite throwing 76 passes. This style also seems to have helped Johnson get involved, the former All-Pro having his best game as a Colt with six catches for 77 yards on his home field for the past 12 seasons, NRG Stadium. And it definitely helped the offensive line mitigate the Texans’ pass rush with J.J. Watt and company lined up across the line of scrimmage.

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Some of what the Colts did on Thursday – the quicker passing game, the rollout throws – seem fundamentally opposed to what Luck appears to like most. He and Hamilton have had their most success when using the deep pass drops and downfield passes that highlighted the 2014 season. So far in 2015, that approach has failed the Colts.

But there’s a middle ground here, and the Colts exhibited it on Thursday. When they got their running game going – welcome to Indianapolis, Frank Gore – it opened things up in other areas.

If the Colts can run successfully, they can still enjoy success with their deep passing game because of the play-action passing opportunities that will arise. Pagano emphasized that Friday after reviewing the film of Thursday night.

“It’s hard to methodically move the ball down the field and have 12-, 14-, 10-play, sustained drives,” Pagano said. “You’ve got to hit chunk plays. If the run game is working and you’ve got linebackers that are having to flow and get downhill, there are going to be some windows open in (the secondary).”

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Said receiver T.Y. Hilton: “Frank is a beast. And he’s running hard. He’s getting us ahead of schedule when it comes to the chains and we’re starting to see a lot of second-and-3, third-and-3, and that really, really opens up the playbook.”

The first of Johnson’s two touchdown receptions came on a hard play-action pass near the goal line, leaving Johnson wide open in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard score. There’s potentially more where that came from if the Colts can continue to make defenses respect their run game.

The Colts are still far from the offensive juggernaut they were projected to be. But five games into the season, they’re showing signs that maybe that still is within reach.

“We’re starting to get more comfortable with what guys can do,” Hilton said, “and we’re putting guys in the right positions to make plays.”

Looks like all they needed was a little time.

Follow Star reporter Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.