When it was all said and done in the Week 8 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Indianapolis Colts had thrown 51 times while the running backs combine for 17 carries.
With so many opportunities to move the ball through the run game, it left many wondering why budding star Jonathan Taylor hadn’t been used more. The Colts continue to say they want to establish the run but when it mattered, they put the ball in Carson Wentz’s hands far more than they should have. That’s what many fans were thinking Sunday night after the divisional loss.
But in speaking to reporters on Monday, head coach Frank Reich alluded to the fact that there were several run calls that Wentz changed at the line of scrimmage. Whether it was the look the defense showed or Wentz simply trying to play hero ball, Reich said more run plays were called to Taylor than what showed on paper following the game.
“Believe me, I want to get him as many rushing attempts as we can, but the flow of that game as I look back on it, three times now, like I said there were six more runs that were called to him that ended up being passes or else Carson (Wentz) keeping that are called runs to him,” Reich said. “So, I feel pretty comfortable with the way the game was called as far as that was concerned yesterday, just evaluating.”
This wasn’t Reich calling Wentz out or anything of the sort. But it does add a bit of context to why the pass-run ratio so heavily favored the former. Even in a game that held a neutral script, the calls can change depending on the look from the defense or the flow of the game.
Even with the large disparity between the pass and run calls, Reich told the media that he was comfortable with the split given all the context surrounding the calls.
“I was probably fine with all that. I was probably fine with how the calls came out towards the end of the game with the flow of the game and the way it was and the things that there were available and thought there were opportunities,” Reich said. “I’m pretty hard on myself, as you guys know in that regard. I looked back on it three or four times and I feel like the way the flow was, what was there, what wasn’t there, I’m comfortable with it.”
So while Reich was comfortable with the calls and Wentz’s decisions to kill a run play in favor of a pass, it does seem as though more rushes were called for Taylor before being changed at the line of scrimmage.
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