Shane Steichen Staples: The Split Zone Series

The "Y" tight end or sniffer is responsible for cracking down on the backside defensive end to free up the offensive linemen in their zone-blocking responsibilities. This call is useful against aggressive defensive fronts that like to fire that backside rusher off of the line. Split zone essentially protects against potential negative yardage plays from the free rusher on a typical inside zone call. 

The Colts utilized split zone to great success in 2023, as they called this run 86 times on the season. They generally ran it out of 11 personnel (one tight end and one running back) but did use 12 personnel on roughly 18.6% of their split zone run calls. The final tally for the Colts' run success on split zone was 86 carries for 421 yards (4.89 yards per carry) and two touchdowns.

The Colts were also quite explosive out of split zone this past season, totaling 13 rushes of over 10 yards on this run call for an explosive run rate of 15.12%. Three of those rushes went for over 20 yards on the ground, including Jonathan Taylor's insane 49-yard rushing touchdown against the Houston Texans in week 18.

Split zone was one of the core foundational calls in the Colts' run game in 2023 and they utilized it to great success on the season.

Building The RPO Game off Split Zone

One of the best attributes of the split zone run game is the ability to build the RPO/play-action game off of the back of it. When defenses are constantly being barraged with the sniffer tight end cracking back against the backside end, it leaves open the opportunity to slip that player out into the flats.

This play against the Jacksonville Jaguars is a good example. The Colts are facing a third and short situation and it appears as though they are going to rely on their split zone staple once Kylen Granson motions into the sniffer position.

Rather than running the ball on this play, the Colts actually fake the split zone action and slip Granson out into the flat. This frees up the tight end beautifully, as the linebacker expected to take him is filling against the run and the backside defensive end can't pursue because he was expecting the crackback block.

Split zone RPOs became the Colts' go-to short-yardage play in 2023 and it helped considerably to shrink the field and provide open options for the Colts' quarterbacks in these situations.

Run Variations of Split Zone

The NFL is an adapt-or-die style of league, so constantly running the exact same thing without any variations will get an offense killed. While the Colts do believe that simplicity is key in the run game, they did mix in a few variations to keep defenses honest in 2023.

The number one variation was wham. Wham is similar to a split zone run look but instead of the sniffer tight end cracking back against the unblocked edge rusher, the tight end is instead crashing inside against a trapped defensive tackle. The guard that is faced up with the defensive tackle being trapped is taking a zone read step before letting the DT go in order to climb to the next assignment.

Mixing in an occasional wham call with a team known for running split zone is pure torment for a defense. That initial zone read step freezes both the backside defensive end and the defensive tackle that are expecting split zone, and it makes the wham block from the tight end so much easier to make.

Here are a few examples of the Colts' wham calls from this season:

The Colts also played around a little with a tight end insert run design late in the season. It wasn't super effective (by this time Drew Ogletree was suspended), but the design itself is respectable and looks interesting for the future.

This play design features the sniffer tight end serving as a lead blocker in the hole for the running back on inside zone/duo runs. The tight end ideally climbs to the second level to locate the linebacker and clear space up the middle for the running back to run behind them.

The Bottom Line

The Colts' run game mostly lived in inside zone/split zone in 2023, and that overall simplicity led to a return to dominance in the trenches. Shane Steichen and the offensive staff did a good job of adding variation to these designs, and it was enough to keep defenses off balance on the ground.

This run game, even split zone in particular, should see a massive boost if quarterback Anthony Richardson is able to put together a full season in 2024. His added athleticism, and just the threat of his mobility, should open things up even more for an already strong Colts' rushing attack. 

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