Colts' Offensive Line Struggles Against Bears
The Indianapolis Colts are looking forward to the 2023 NFL season regarding the offensive line. Last season, it was a blemish that allowed the second-most sacks in the league with 60. However, the first-team played well enough in Week 1 of the preseason against the Buffalo Bills to give Colts fans hope that names like Braden Smith, Quenton Nelson, and Ryan Kelly were on the rebound.
What wasn’t promising was the second and third-team backups that played with Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger, allowing constant pressure and defenders in the backfield to ruin the ground game. This issue continued against the Chicago Bears on Saturday in the Colts’ 24-17 win in the second preseason outing.
The depth offensive linemen will be the subject of this piece, and it’s well-deserved with how much they let down the quarterbacks and running backs in the Colts’ lone home game in the preseason.
The Colts wouldn’t play many of the starters in this contest, which is understandable after multiple joint practices were completed with the Bears this week. They can act almost as additional preseason games.
The Colts would start with Minshew, who went 13-of-15 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown. Minshew is a QB who will be a safe passer, but the blocking wasn’t optimal for him either, often forcing him to check down or throw short passes to get rid of the football.
Following Minshew was Ehlinger. This is where the floodgates would open to the Indianapolis backfield. Ehlinger played poised with all things considered, but he would start his first drive by getting sacked, which resulted in a fumble.
Rookie tackle Blake Freeland continued to struggle after having a rough debut in Buffalo, as he would allow the sack from Bears defender Terrell Lewis. However, Freeland would recover the fumble, but the drive would end with a punt.
Also, veteran protector Arlington Hambright would play decent at tackle against the Bills but would wain badly at right guard against the Bears. Hambright is a name that was given a shot at guard after the promise he showed at tackle, but didn’t prove much in this home game against the Bears.
Lastly, recently-signed tackle Dan Skipper was simply inefficient, often being put on a turnstile by more athletic edge rushers. The addition of the former Detroit Lion was seen as a solid depth piece initially but has not panned out yet.
Perhaps worse than the pressures allowed was the lack of run blocking. Yes, the Colts would post a nice-looking 31 carries for 123 rushing yards and two scores as a team, but eight carries, 60 rushing yards, and a score came from Ehlinger at QB running out of the pocket to escape pressure and sacks.
Remove him from the equation and the running backs (Jason Huntley, Jake Funk, Evan Hull, Deon Jackson, and Kenyan Drake) would accumulate 23 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. While none of these names is a dynamic playmaker like Jonathan Taylor, they’re also not bad players. This abysmal running performance from the RB committee could also be linked to bad blocking and a lack of lanes opening up.
Given how the Colts' offense operates, the run blocking being this bad from the backups is worrisome. As I mentioned in a previous piece, should one of the Colts’ starting offensive linemen go down with any type of injury, it will be a target for opposing defenses to attack. Until proven otherwise, there’s nearly no reason to fear any Colts offensive lineman that isn’t a starter.
Outlook
The Colts need to look inward with the offensive line depth, and now. No longer can general manager Chris Ballard be comfortable with such poor efficiency and the regular season fast approaching.
If Indy should need to turn to a backup on the line it’s not something to be confident in yet. New and exciting future QB of the franchise Anthony Richardson needs to be comfortable in that pocket. The best way to ensure this is to make a signing or two to bring both competition and potentially a starter to the protection, which is the most important aspect of the Colts’ offensive attack and Richardson’s success early in his career.
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