Whatever the reason for the focus, the Colts' running game has been an issue each of the last two seasons. While the area improved last season, with RB Joseph Addai playing solidly much of the season after playing through injuries the season before, a Colts post-season loss each of the last two seasons turned at least in part because of a failure to convert a short-yardage situation.
In the post-season following the 2008 season, the Colts couldn't convert short-yardage in a Wild Card loss at San Diego, and in Super Bowl XLIV following the 2009 season, the Colts couldn't convert short-yardage on a momentum-changing series.
Thus, the Colts' focus:
Not necessarily to change their offensive philosophy and become an over-sized run-oriented team, but to be able to run more effectively in situations in which they want to run. That always is the Colts' approach to the running attack – with QB Peyton Manning it would be silly to build around the running offense – but it has been spoken about with urgency this off-season.
“I think we averaged somewhere near four (yards) a carry, or three point something a carry,” Colts center Jeff Saturday said. “You'd like it to be four something a carry. You probably want a half yard better a carry and that's always how we've been focused. We've never focused on what we averaged per game. It's always per carry for our team.
“What you try to reduce is your minus-yard plays and your zero yards pays. That kills an offense like ours. We like to stay in time, so those were the things we really focus on improving.”
The Colts, for the most part, have done that effectively during Manning's career. While they rarely push for the Top 10 in rushing offense, in most seasons they have run effectively enough to set up the play-action pass, an integral part of the offense and a key to the success of Manning and the Colts.
That has been less true the past two seasons, and it's clear the Colts want that to change this season. They've made moves to get a touch bigger and more physical on the inside, and while they want to see improvement throughout the season, when they need it most to improve is in the most critical of situations – with post-season games at stake.
For that reason, the Colts may not know how effective the change in focus will be until late in the season. And for that reason, the question may be one that keeps getting asked for the next several months, with the answer one capable of determining the team's success.
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