Big things are expected from second-year tight end Coby Fleener in 2013.
His 2012 season underwhelmed with only 26 catches for 286 yards and 2 TDs. This season, he's reunited with his former college offensive coordinator, Pep Hamilton. Hamilton is using the team's Organized Team Activities (OTAs) to install his "No Coast" offense, which is coach speak for, We want to install a West Coast Offense but not call it a West Coast Offense.
One thing we've harped on many times this offseason - because I'm just obsessive that way - is that fact that Hamilton's offense is NOT the same scheme that one-time O.C. Bruce Arians installed last season. Head coach Chuck Pagano seems to go out of his way to tell people that the scheme will adopt elements of Arians' system, but at the end of the day, this is indeed a new offense with its core foundation resting on the Bill Walsh West Coast offensive scheme, which is about 180 degrees different than what Arians ran in 2012.
Both Andrew Luck and Anthony Castonzo have already told media it's new. Now, add Coby Fleener:
"We’re installing a whole new offense. Every day is a step in the right direction," said Fleener. "We pick up more and more and remember more and more from those days at Stanford.
"Our guys had no idea coming in what to expect. To try to get as much of the basics down as possible before we head into (training) camp is a big step. I think the mental aspect of the game this time of year is huge."
The positive aspects of this new system are that they could benefit Fleener. He did not fit Bruce Arians' vision of the offense in 2012, which made it curious as to why Fleener was drafted No. 34 overall by the Colts last year. Clemson tight end Dwayne Allen was much better suited for Arians' scheme, and it showed. Allen had 45 catches, 451 yards, and 3 touchdowns in 2012.
In 2013, it's probably a safe bet to assume that Hamilton will utilize more two-tight end sets in the passing game and fewer three-wide formations. So far in OTAs, Fleener has reportedly looked good. He seems fully recovered from a shoulder injury that hindered him some last season.
Good news for a key player for the 2013 Colts.