Film Room: Matt Ryan's Arrival Could Signal the Return of Mesh to Indy's Offense
Indianapolis Colts' Head Coach Frank Reich has been around the NFL for nearly 30 years, as he spent 14 seasons as a player and is now heading into his 16th season as a coach. In his time spent around the league, he has picked up certain play designs and staples to add to his offensive playbook for the Colts.
The best way to describe Reich's passing offense is that it is like if Ken Whisenhunt, Andy Reid/Doug Pederson, and Tom Moore's philosophies were smashed altogether. One of the major staples of each of those offenses is/are mesh concepts.
Due to Reich adapting his playbook to best fit his quarterback's skill set, mesh concepts were called sparingly in 2021. With the addition of veteran QB Matt Ryan, it is certainly time for this once-staple to return to the Colts' offense.
In today's film room, I dive into what a mesh concept is, how the Colts have used it in the past, and why this should fit perfectly with what Matt Ryan likes to do as a quarterback.
What is a Mesh Concept?
Simply put, a mesh concept is a simple crossing pattern between two pass catchers over the middle of the field. This is typically a shorter passing play (roughly 5-8 yards down the field), but it can certainly extend to the intermediate area of the field in some calls. Offenses can utilize other route concepts on top of the two crossing patterns to further confuse defenses.
Here is a fairly basic example of a mesh route that I pulled from the Inside The Pylon Glossary of the route concept (the article from ITP is hyperlinked above).
The appeal of mesh concepts is that they are man coverage beaters at their core, but can be effectively run against either coverage to success. Looking at the play above, there are different route adjustments/landmarks for receivers against man or zone.
This concept excels against man coverage because the crossing routes create a natural pick play on the defenders trailing in man. It works against zone because it gives receivers the leeway to adjust their routes to find open space underneath.
Mesh concepts are typically viewed as an easy way to create yardage in the NFL (really at all levels of football). They were just sparingly used last season due to the preferences of last year's quarterback.
How Frank Reich Gets Creative With It
Frank Reich has found ways to utilize this fairly simple concept in successful ways in his time with the Colts. While I couldn't find many examples from last season, there were plenty of excellent play designs from the 2020 season (with Philip Rivers at quarterback).
This first clip shows the Colts running a pretty basic form of mesh. Reich has the receivers to the left of the quarterback in a bunched set to create more confusion for the defense. Zach Pascal and Mo Alie-Cox are the crossing pass catchers and Michael Pittman Jr runs a vertical crossing route to create a nice little high-low action.
The result is Alie-Cox uncovering underneath for a solid gain on the play.
The beauty of mesh is that the intended target doesn't always have to be the crossing receivers. Sometimes the havoc over the middle causes enough congestion to give a speedy running back a mismatch to the outside.
That is exactly what happened on this play below. The Colts time up this mesh concept perfectly with the Bengals' blitz, and Jonathan Taylor is left all alone on the wheel route amidst the confusion over the middle. Mesh may be just a quick hitting play, but it has major upside if one defender loses their man at the snap.
In typical Frank Reich fashion, he can get a bit creative with his mesh calls. This one against the Tennessee Titans was a thing of beauty. To add stress to the defense, the Colts motion Pittman Jr to the weakside of the formation pre-snap.
Instead of Pittman Jr being involved in the mesh, he actually runs a drag route underneath the mesh point. Alie-Cox and Pascal cross paths further down the field, and the defense completely loses Pittman Jr in the chaos. The result is Pittman Jr getting the ball in space with a ton of room to work.
Matt Ryan Should Thrive with Mesh
At this stage of his career, Matt Ryan isn't a gunslinging quarterback that needs to take constant downfield shots. He is perfectly capable of knowing where to attack defenses in mesh, and he understands why it is important for these plays to hit.
Even in a down season a year ago, Ryan was able to hit mesh routes consistently for solid gains with Atlanta Falcons. With Ryan's football IQ and willingness to hit the underneath route, the Colts should be able to return this staple of their offense in 2022.
The Bottom Line
There may be nothing prettier in football than a well-designed, and well executed, mesh concept. It is a simple, yet effective, play design that has been around the league for a long time.
Due to quarterback preference, among other factors, this once-staple of the Colts' offense was sparingly used in 2021. With veteran quarterback like Matt Ryan coming to the team in 2022, the Colts should finally be able to get back to their roots in the passing game. That means a lot more mesh should be on the table for this upcoming season.
Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.
