Ryan Kelly is Colts O-Line ‘Alpha Dog’ Anchor that Coach Frank Reich Desired
INDIANAPOLIS — When hired in 2018, one of the first players Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich met was center Ryan Kelly.
After enjoying that initial chat, Reich recalls telling general manager Chris Ballard how important Kelly needed to be as the Colts offensive line anchor.
“I remember saying to Chris, ‘If we are going to go where we want to go as an offense, then Ryan Kelly is going to have to step up and be an alpha dog,’” Reich said on a Monday Zoom video conference call.
Kelly, who turns 27 in 10 days, is coming off his first Pro Bowl in 2019. He’s been an all-important leader, and then some.
“Man, I didn’t realize how much of an alpha dog he is,” Reich said. “He has been top-notch. I mean this guy has taken complete control of the offensive line room as far as the calls – what we do in the protection world and the run game. He is a really, really smart football player. He prepares very hard. He is tough. He’s got that personality. You guys know what I am talking about, he’s got that deep voice and he talks with a lot of authority. He’s not one for much small talk, right? He just calls, barking out the signals.
“I just think Ryan breeds confidence. I just think when you hear him make the calls you hear it with authority, you hear it with conviction. I think the offensive line feeds off of that. Everyone talks about Quenton (Nelson), and Quenton, he is our inspirational leader in many respects but don’t underestimate the kind of leadership Ryan is bringing. It is really several of those guys bringing that kind of leadership that is going to take us where we want to go.”
The Colts offensive line of Kelly, two-time All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson, 10th-year left tackle Anthony Castonzo, right tackle Braden Smith and right guard Mark Glowinski didn’t miss a start last year. That was the only O-line in the NFL with that distinction. The blockers paved the way for the Colts to finish seventh in total rushing, their best run ranking since 2001.
Kelly asserted his bottom-line demeanor when asked on Wednesday to assess why the Colts finished 7-9 with seven losses in their last nine games in 2019.
“I felt like sometimes we were playing to not lose and that’s easy to say as you look back at the season because the NFL season is hard, man,” he said in a Zoom video conference call. “It’s a grind for every single person – coaches, players, families. It’s all really tough. That’s kind of been Frank’s message the past couple weeks, it’s how you look at the game. It wasn’t that we weren’t giving an incredible effort or that we didn’t play with technique or we weren’t finishing. It’s just in certain situations I felt like we were just playing to not lose as to playing to win.
“I don’t know what the case is. I don’t know what brings that or what breeds that, but I think that we have a special locker room. I think we have some really special guys in there. I think the seeds that we planted last year, especially on the offensive side and as a whole team – just the character that we have, will really propel us into this season. Every year is different. We had a tough season (last) year and just going to take it day by one and just play as hard as we can.”
He’s adjusting to a new starting quarterback in 17-year veteran Philip Rivers, who signed a one-year, $25-million deal in the offseason. But figuring out change even in a virtual offseason is what the job requires.
“Obviously, Phil has a very different verbal cadence than what I’m used to, but that’s football, man,” Kelly said. “We’re getting paid as professionals to figure it out. There are going to be some learning curves for sure, but as soon as we can get out on the field or even if it’s just Phil and I sitting down and running through a few things, I think it’s really going to help out.”
Kelly said he’s been working out with Smith and Glowinski.
“We did borrow a few things from the complex. We had to pull some strings to get those – to let us have them, some bags and stuff like that,” Kelly said. “It’s just crazy to think about how fast you get out of football shape. Being in workout shape and being in football shape are totally different. Getting in your stance and hitting combos together and just being able to punch and do those things, I just think it’s going to give us a leg up. Calling the guys, just calling and checking in and making sure that we’re all working out. From what I see on Zoom, everybody has been grinding and that’s obviously a good sign.”
Kelly has been trying to make the most of virtual reps with Rivers.
“Yeah, basically what we do is we go through – so they basically give Phil the play call, and he’ll just say, ‘All right, we’re in the huddle. Here’s the formation. Here’s the play. Here’s the cadence,’ and we go to the line of scrimmage and we’ll cut to a play,” Kelly said. “We’ll kind of run through it the best that we can. We’re doing everything that we can to get live reps. If you visualize it enough, it will come over time to get used to it. As far as down to the cadence and his presence in the huddle, it’s obviously going to be paramount that we get that down. I think we’re doing a good job.”
As far as the remote offseason routine being unusual due to NFL facilities being closed by the coronavirus pandemic, Kelly has actually enjoyed the process.
“Honestly, I really love having it,” he said. “Obviously, if I had the preference, I’d rather be in the complex every day just being around the guys. That’s the hardest part is just missing those guys. It’s honestly a mental test to get up every single day and workout by yourself. How far can you push it just by yourself and how good do you want to be? I really like that we have the certain set meetings that we have. I know a lot of teams aren’t doing it. They’re just saying, ‘Hey we’ll see you at training camp.’ For me, this gives me a routine. I feel like NFL players and football players in general, our whole schedules have been routine our entire life up to the minute. So I feel like we really need this.
“Just because we’re doing virtual install doesn’t mean you can’t get better, you can’t ask questions, you can’t learn something new. Just seeing old film from last year and cut-ups that we have, it just really brings out some certain flaws in people’s games – especially mine. There are certain things I need to get better at. I think it reimplements those into our games. I know there are not a lot of guys here in Indianapolis right now but (we’re) trying to get together with guys, trying to do what we can, and making no excuses about it.”
(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
