Breaking down Andrew Luck’s Game Pass Film Room Session. Part: 2 tight ends, Frank Reich and tight splits

Yesterday, we took a look at part one of Andrew Luck’s sit down with Brian Baldinger and Ron Jaworski for the NFL’s Game Pass Film Room Session. If you missed it, I suggest you go back and take a look at that one before moving on to part two. Also if you have questions about this program, or why I’m writing all of this information when you could just pay for Game Pass and watch the video, well, that’s answered in part one, also.

For everyone else, let’s jump into the next chapter of this video and look at what Andrew Luck has to say about using tight ends.

Baldinger: “Frank’s always liked his tight ends. He liked them in Philadelphia, he liked them in San Diego. You know, you’ve always liked tight ends, going back to Stanford.”

Luck: “Uh-huh”

Baldinger: “But I thought overall, Eric Ebron had an unbelievable renaissance. It seemed like he came in and, he’s just like a big body, almost like a big wide receiver.”

Luck: “Yeah.”

Baldinger: “And his ability to run, I mean, it complimented you guys so well.”

Luck: “He very much did. He bought in and he runs fast, and he runs hard. I’m proud of Eric, this year he really did a great job,”

Now watching tape.

Baldinger: “...switch route right here, very similar concept but against a different look. You’ve got your y, y combination on top (two tight ends).”

Luck: “We caught split safety, which we were lookin’ for with this concept, now it’s using Ebron’s speed and the attention that he sort of demands to allow Eric Swoope a chance to get underneath the safety. A little play fake to try and keep those linebackers where they are, another well schemed up play.”

Luck: “I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for tight ends. They’re big bodies and when you scheme up big bodies and guys who can run and create mismatches... We had five tight ends catch touchdowns this year: Eric Ebron, Mo Ally-Cox came on incredibly well, this is really his first year of football, Jack Doyle had a tough injury this year but [he’s] a stud, and Eric Swoope had a really positive [year] and Ryan Hewitt.”

Talking about Frank Reich

Jaworski: “Frank Reich played the position at a very high level in the NFL, what does that mean to you, to have a guy that is a head coach that saw the game and played the game the same way you do?”

Luck: “I’ve been fortunate to have some great coaches, and now to have Frank Reich as our head coach and the experience that he brings, I think he does a great job of seeing the same things from many different perspectives. He empowers the quarterback, I think, to trust your instincts. As a head coach, he was at 99.9% of our meetings this year, position meetings, unit meetings everything, and we talked. More than anything this year, we just talked football, we talked through plays. Say, ‘hey what about this, do we like this?’. I mean, go through it and spend ten minutes on a play, and lookin’ at the different looks and the minutia, and I look back and towards the end it’s like man... It starts workin’, the plays start slowin’ down a little, these things work. The theme of the year and the theme always with Frank, get 1% better with whatever you’re doing, and wherever you are and uh, just keep improving.”

Tight Splits

Jaworski: “As I watch a game, just as a fan the minute I see that tight split, I’m thinkin’ crosser. That’s kind of a staple, innit? When a guy (inaudible) you’re goin’ to get a crosser?”

Luck: “Uh, there’s a good chance, it’s a big run formation as well. You’ve gotta be able to do other things off of it.”

Baldinger: “This is another play action concept right here where you get T.Y. free.”

Luck: “Yeah, just running across the field and we catch them in a little bit of a blitz and T.Y. he’s always been great in space and finding the right thing.”

Baldinger: “So this is just post dig against a cover three?”

Luck: “Yeah, we got one high safety, if the safety jumps and bites you’re gonna get a chance to go over the top, Certainly confirming that the corner on the backside isn’t replacing the safety, in this case they both went outta there, T.Y. did a good job of getting over the numbers and Ryan Grant does a great job of blowin’ two out of there. Again, another really well schemed up play.”

In the third and final installment looking this episode of Game Pass Film Room Session, we’ll get to hear what Andrew Luck thinks of his pass protection from a year ago and T.Y. Hilton.