Establish the Running Game
Andrew Luck cannot throw the ball 53 times again. He just can’t. Performances like the last one cannot become a norm for this team. Against a vaunted Bengals’ defensive front seven, the Colts only ran the ball 21 times which equates to 28 percent of the play-calls. Most pass-happy NFL teams sit between a 55-60 percent ranges of passing plays to running ones, so I expect this number to return to the mean.
The Redskins’ defense is an aggressive one. What’s the best way to counter aggressive play? Make them think. It is much easier for a defense to be aggressive if they know what’s coming. If they can guess that there is going to be a pass play on 70 percent of play-calls, they don’t have to think. They can just do. Establishing the running game is going to be crucial in this game if the Colts have even an inkling of trying to steal one away from a favored Washington side.
It does not matter who is carrying the ball; Marlon Mack, Christine Michael, Jordan Wilkins, or Nyheim Hines. The only thing that matters is that Luck is kept off of his back and that the defense can’t play downhill on every play. Sure, there are going to be times where the defense guesses a play correctly. But, that’s the beauty of football; it’s like a chess match. If you can keep your opponent off-balance, your chances of winning go up. The best way to do is that the play-action, which has the ability to freeze linebackers and the secondary. This will then open up holes in either the running game or the passing attack. The Colts then need to capitalize on those opportunities.
