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Shane Steichen Staples: Wham/Trap Install

Originally posted on FanNation All Colts | By Zach Hicks | Last updated 1/16/24

The Indianapolis Colts just completed a fairly successful season in 2023, as the team finished with a winning record at 9-8. Rookie Head Coach Shane Steichen took a positive first step with this roster in his debut season, and the next step is continuing this progress going forward.

One of the major wins for Steichen's first season in Indy was the return of the run game. The Colts finished 22nd in the NFL in total rushing yards in 2022 and ranked 23rd in the league in yards per carry. Under Steichen, and new Offensive Line Coach Tony Sparano Jr., those numbers improved to 10th and 9th overall respectively.

The Colts' return to form in the ground game happened for a multitude of reasons, and this series will highlight the schematic impact on the overall productivity rushing the football. Steichen's scheme is built on a few core concepts but those calls helped get this run game back to the dominance we once knew.

The next installment of this series will dive into wham/trap runs and how they were an excellent change-up added to the playbook against aggressive defensive fronts.

Anatomy of a Run

A wham/trap design is a change-up style of run play created to take advantage of aggressive defensive fronts. If an offense is facing a one-gap team that wants their defensive tackles to fire up field and disrupt gaps, then mixing in a few whams/traps can lead to massive gains on the ground.

A trap run design is a call where an interior defensive lineman is essentially targeted by the offense in the ground game. The offense leaves that player unblocked for a guard/tackle (trap) or a tight end (wham) pulling across the formation to take that player out of the play with a block from the side.

Here is a play diagram of a trap call:

As mentioned above, this run design cannot be the basis for an offensive scheme (mainly because it becomes a negative play once the trapped defensive lineman starts expecting the crack block), but it is an excellent change-up to mix into an offense (especially with how the Colts use split zone runs).

The Colts called wham/trap on just 18 occasions last year but they certainly made those calls count. The team ran for 123 yards on those calls (6.83 yards per carry) with an explosive run rate at an astounding 38.89%. Another interesting point with this run design is that the Colts called a total of 11 of these runs in the final two weeks of the season (against the Las Vegas Raiders and the Houston Texans).

Here are all seven of the Colts' explosive runs on wham/trap calls in 2023:

The Colts averaged 6.35 yards per carry on wham/trap calls this past season. They had an explosive run rate of 35% on such calls last year.

Super fun run design that the Colts loved to use as a change-up to their normal gameplan pic.twitter.com/QZ9CijydKM
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) January 15, 2024

Types of Wham/Trap Calls

WHAM

The Colts had a little bit of variety in these change-up runs this past season. The most effective of these calls was wham, the run design where the sniffer tight end is the one cracking down on the trapped defensive tackle. The Colts averaged 9.5 yards per carry on the season with wham on eight total calls.

(Suspended) tight end Drew Ogletree and veteran Mo Alie-Cox were crucial pieces of this wham design during the season. The two players were superb with their timing and they delivered key blocks on the trapped defensive tackles inside to spring several massive runs on the season.

Wham is the best play design in football pic.twitter.com/SDdMb6mb9K
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) January 15, 2024

Tackle Trap

Tackle trap may have been the Colts most versatile call of the bunch here, as they utilized this run call out of the gun, in the wishbone formation, and from under center. It may not have been as effective as wham calls on the year, but it did get the job done on several occasions.

Right tackle Braden Smith was a menace to opposing defensive tackles on this run design. His natural strength along with his great leverage led to some skull-crushing blocks on the inside from the veteran.

Colts Tackle Trap Run Call in 2023: pic.twitter.com/HN07YTearP
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) January 15, 2024

Trap

The Colts rarely mixed in standard trap calls in 2023, but they did call it twice in the season finale against the Texans. The Colts' deployed a run-heavy gameplan against an aggressive Houston front, so these trap calls did their job on the two occasions that they were called.

The Colts could stand to mix this design in a tad bit more in 2024, as they will likely be facing even more aggressive fronts next season with a tougher schedule overall.

Only two calls on the season for Colts with guard trap calls in 2023. Could be a wrinkle added in to the run game next year: pic.twitter.com/uUUmxV5VVT
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) January 15, 2024

The Bottom Line

The Colts were primarily an inside zone/split zone team in 2023, but key change-ups such as wham/trap did allow for the team to stay diverse in the ground game. The team was fairly efficient on these calls, so it wouldn't hurt to see the Colts mix them in a bit more in 2024 and beyond.

Jonathan Taylor's return to form late in the 2023 season could also be a sign of things to come in 2024. If he continues to play like he did in the final two weeks of the season, I'd expect the Colts to have an even bigger output on these calls, and every other run call, next season.

Need your fill on daily Colts' content? Head over to the Locked On Colts' YouTube channel where Jake Arthur and I hit on all the major topics surrounding this team. Hit that subscribe button while you are there!