INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is on his third offensive coordinator in five years in the NFL.
The Colts have run 469 offensive plays this season. And of those 469 plays, Luck has lined up in the shotgun on 260 of those plays, run and pass.
Andrew Luck has lined up in the shotgun on 260 of the Colts' 469 offensive plays this season. Jim Brown/USA TODAY Sports
Not counting 2015, when Luck missed nine games and the Colts switched coordinators after Week 9, the quarterback has attempted a career-high 74.2 percent of his passes out of the shotgun this season. Luck is 136-of-205 for 1,518 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions while operating out of the shotgun.
“Andrew is very comfortable in the shotgun a lot, so that’s something that plays into it as well," Chudzinski said. "Your run game, certain things you’re going to do in the shotgun, certain things you do under center.”
Chudzinski mentioned how the game has changed from when quarterbacks ran the offense predominantly under center earlier in his career.
Being in the shotgun, according to Chudzinski, allows the quarterback to see the field better and still run the offense the same. It’s not uncommon for quarterbacks to enter the NFL being more familiar with running the offense out of the shotgun than under center.
“You can do the run game and do so many things more that you didn’t used to do,” Chudzinski said. “You can do them in the gun. That’s how you’re seeing the game move.”
One of the biggest disadvantages of not having Luck under center is that the Colts can’t use his 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame to run quarterback sneaks. But Chudzinski believes they can do everything else in the run game. Running back Frank Gore is averaging 4.1 yards on the 30 carries he has made when the Colts were in the shotgun.
“When you’re in the gun or under center, the exchange point is going to happen,” Chudzinski said. “You’re still taking the ball back to the running back. It’s not like you’re under center and you’re stepping and the guy is coming up to take the ball at the line of scrimmage.
“Defenses will give you different looks based on if you’re in the gun or under center. If you’re under center they’re all crowding up in there, especially something up the middle. Sometimes in the gun they loosen up because there’s more of a pass threat, more of a threat on the edge and those types of things. You can get different things out of your different alignments, particularly if you’re talking about in short-yardage situations.”
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