New Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is about to begin working with Andrew Luck for the second time, having previously served as the offensive coordinator at Stanford during Luck’s final season there. But when Hamilton talked to reporters today about his plans for the Colts’ offense, he talked about a lot more than just using Luck as a pocket passer.
“We’ll do a great job of mixing in some power runs, mixing in the downfield passing game, maybe even mixing in some wildcat plays, mix in some read-option, pistol-type schemes. Just really try and present once again a lot of conflicts for our opponents,” Hamilton said, in comments distributed by the Colts’ PR staff.
Luck, who ran 62 times for 255 yards and five touchdowns last season, has the athletic talent to get outside the pocket and make plays with his feet, and Hamilton obviously knows that. But Hamilton also knows he doesn’t want Luck taking too many hits, which is why Hamilton also made a point of talking about the importance of the offensive line.
“You start upfront with the offensive line,” Hamilton said. “We’ll continue to work and develop that continuity. I mean that’s where it all starts. I think it’s important that we have balance in our offense. We’re not just a one-dimensional football team. We want to create conflicts for our opponents. We want to have the ability to not only push the ball downfield and hit the big play in the passing game but we’ve got to be able to run the football.”
A credible threat to run the football may help Luck do what he does best, which is operate as a pocket passer.