Max Protection Shot Concepts with Shane Steichen and the Colts
Make your offense more explosive with this 17-minute cutup
Designing an explosive play in the pass game is one of the qualities that separates the average from the great play callers.
Shane Steichen and the Colts carry a deep inventory of max protection downfield shot plays. With only three potential eligibles getting out in 7-man protection schemes, the design of the pass concept needs to be very specific to the expected coverage. Most of these 7-man protection schemes have the running back stay in vs secondary pressures on the front side as well. If executed properly, These protections give the quarterback the peace of mind he needs to focus his eyes downfield.
A great starting point for max protection downfield pass concepts are shown below. The Bench and Dagger concepts complement each other really well. The break point for the Bench and Dig are the same. On an NFL field, both will usually break on the outside edge of the numbers at about 18 yards. The Colts featured many variations of each of these.
The best part about taking shots downfield is it allows you to build off of your existing concepts. Take the Bench concept shown above, and design a double move off of it. Shorten the break point a bit, and bring a Hi Cross from the other side of the field to hi-low the flat if the deep defender doesn’t bite on the double move. A nice completion on this is found in the cutup.
The Colts get to their Pylon - Sail concept often out of 13 personnel. The version below creates a three level stretch into the boundary while keeping 7 in to protect.
Another way the colts got to 7-man protection was to slice across the second tight end. Here is a Cross variation they paired with this action
The Colts had a nice red zone design that opened up a touchdown for them. Double Cross concept, with the Z receiver selling a push crack initially. This concept is called off a Duo play fake.
The video below shows over 17 minutes of max protection play action concepts from Shane Steichen and the 2025 Colts.
