INDIANAPOLIS – Chuck Pagano calls him his "right-hand man."

So, in a time for needed answers, Pagano has turned to Rob Chudzinski to take the reigns of a Colts offense littered with proven talent, yet marred in repeated mistakes.

For Colts players unfamiliar with Chud leading an offense, they've taken note of the early message.

"He's coming in ready," Donte Moncrief says.

"You can tell by the way he's coming in with a swagger---poke your chest out, it's time to play ball."

What is "ball" to Chudzinski?

An aggressive offense that prides itself on balance and accentuates the talent provided at the skill positions.

"The biggest thing in this league is it's a personnel-driven league and finding what the guys do the best and trying to put them in positions where they can succeed and be successful for you is what I've always tried to do," Chud said, laying out for his offensive philosophy on Thursday afternoon.

For those curious of Chud's offensive reputation, some Colts in the locker room can fill you in.

Frank Gore and Andre Johnson listened to Chud call the shots on their 2001 National Championship team at the University of Miami as the offensive coordinator.

At Miami, Chud coached a trio of future first-round picks at the tight end position (Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow and Greg Olsen).

Tight end success for Chud didn't cease at the collegiate level.

Antonio Gates' two 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL have come with Chud as his position coach (2005, 2009 with San Diego).

Chud offenses have catered to revivals at the quarterback position.

In 2007, the Cleveland Browns went 10-6 with Chud as their offensive coordinator. Quarterback Derek Anderson was a Pro Bowler that year after entering 2007 with just three career NFL starts.

With Carolina in 2011-2012, Chud helped a rookie quarterback named Cam Newton take the Panthers from the basement of NFL offenses to a top-10 unit.

Now, called out of the bullpen with Indianapolis, Chud is faced with another quarterback dilemma, albeit one far different from prior stops in Cleveland and Carolina.

"Andrew wants to win," Chud says of his newest quarterback. "That's what I get out of any conversation with him.

"I see that there's been times where he's on fire, and there's been times where not so much. Again, he knows and he's worked on and talked about being consistent. Hopefully again, by design, there's some things you can do to put him in that position where he is. Ultimately he has to go make those plays, and I'm confident he will."

On Thursday, Chud spoke of a Colts offense that he feels can win in the trenches. Chud said he's challenged the Colts offensive line to become one of the top units in the NFL after they've improved in recent weeks.

Tired of seeing the same mistakes continue from week-to-week, Pagano has looked to a friend he's known for some 20 years with the Colts season at a 3-5 crossroad.

"We've strung together a quarter here, a quarter there, a half here and a half there, but it has to be 60 minutes," Pagano says. "Our mission is to start like we finish.

"We're just going to try to clean things up that need to be cleaned up, fine-tune some things, simplify and give these guys a chance to go out there and execute at a high level and not think and just play."