Frank Reich explains why TE is so important in Colts offense

Frank Reich loves his TE position.

Every offensive coach has a certain position group they like to favor more than others around the league. For Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich, he is known as a coach who loves to feature the tight end position.

While the Colts offense will still find themselves in 11 personnel packages more often than not, the tight end position is crucial to the unit’s success both in the run game and the passing game.

Reich went into a little bit of detail as to why the tight end position is so important to him.

“I think part of the reason for that is just the great athleticism of tight ends, where they are almost like a receiver and you just get matchups that you like,” Reich told reporters Wednesday. “I really do think this is a game of – it’s a team game, but within the game there are these little matchups that you have to try and find and create and take advantage of. One of those, I think is at the tight end position.”

The tight end room for the Colts is pretty locked in entering the mid-way point of training camp. Veteran Jack Doyle will be the starter while Mo Alie-Cox and Trey Burton work in different roles as complementary pieces.

Having that dynamic tight end room gives Reich an advantage he feels, especially when it comes to staying multiple on the offensive side of the ball.

“Then the dynamic with that is – the reason you haven’t seen this in the past is because tight ends have been blockers,” Reich said. “So if we want to be a good running team, then how do you get a tight end who’s a great receiver and maybe just an average blocker and still have a dynamic run game? That’s the challenge of it as a coaching staff. You have to find ways to protect these tight ends and have schemes that can protect these tight ends. You can keep them on the field in the run game but not have them get the constant pounding. That’s really important and takes a lot of work, and our coaches do a great job of that.”

As the tight end position continues to evolve as a factor in the passing game, Reich doesn’t want the position to lose its edge when it comes to physicality.

“Thirdly, even those receiving tight ends, they know they are still tight ends. You still have to be physical. We’re going to ask you to stick your nose in there and block, and you have to do it,” Reich said. “It’s a combination of those things and a combination of switching up personnel. We can get Mo (Alie-Cox) and Jack (Doyle) on the field, and we can get Trey (Burton) on the field. We can just alternate that through – try to keep the defense off balance in that way. I could talk all day about that because it’s a really big dynamic. It’s a really, really important dynamic, how you use those tight ends.”

The Colts have a diverse tight end room and one that should have success with Philip Rivers leading the offense. There are some new pieces at wide receiver and running back joining the fold, but the tight end room will continue to be a point of emphasis in Reich’s offense.