Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - BONUS: Chattin' Indianapolis Colts vs. Philadelphia Eagles with Alexa Ross

Starting point is 00:00:01 I hope you like bonus content from a unique perspective on your Indianapolis Colts because we've got it for you today on Locked on Colts. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. This is Jake Arthur bringing you some bonus content for your Saturday morning. Hopefully your weekend is off to a nice start there. I wanted to share with you guys a chat I had with Alexa Ross.

Starting point is 00:00:30 She's a sports reporter from CBS and Fox here locally in Indy. She's actually from the Philadelphia area and is a huge Philly sports fan. So she can give us a great look at both sides of this Colts and Eagles matchup ahead of Sunday's game there at Lucas Oil Stadium. We'll also get you caught up to date on all the latest Colts news, injuries, things like that. They released the practice report on Friday. And then I'll give you my final thoughts on the game. So just a little housekeeping, of course, the injury report. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday announced that Quidipe and Jelani Woods would both be out for this game. Quidipe, of course, has already missed a few games and

Starting point is 00:01:12 then most of last game with that ankle injury that's been bothering him. That's rough because he's been the Colts' best defensive end throughout the season and he's really coming on strong. He played really well against the Patriots a couple weeks ago. With him gone, it looks like it'll probably be a lot of Dio Adengbo, though, so that's definitely good. That's a guy that needs those developmental snaps. Jelani Woods, this will be his second game out. He actually practiced on Wednesday, but then didn't practice Thursday and Friday.

Starting point is 00:01:40 That's tough because, again, that's another guy that needs those developmental snaps. You love to see him out there because he's a huge mismatch problem. But he will still be out. So, of course, Moelle Cox, Kylan Granson. What's really interesting is there's three guys that are questionable and they're all pretty important. Zaire Franklin, their starting Mike right now. Braden Smith, the starting right tackle.

Starting point is 00:02:03 And Isaiah Rogers Sr., one of the starting outside corners. Rogers and Franklin have an illness that's kind of worked its way through the defense this week. Kenny Moore missed a day or two with it, but he was back on Friday. So it's tough to say. Saturday just basically said, you know, it's that time of year. We just kind of got a bug going through the building right now. So that definitely bears monitoring because if Franklin can't go, then I think Bobby Okereke would probably step into his spot at Mike and then EJ Speed would be at will. And then probably Jojo Doman at Sam, if I had to guess. He's next up on the death chart

Starting point is 00:02:40 and I'd probably rather see him than Grant Stewart there. Braden Smith, I think we all fingers crossed that he's out there. But if he does miss the game, Dennis Kelly would be the ideal replacement. Kelly has throughout his career excelled as a backup right tackle. He's the guy who comes in and does a great job and then you say, hey, it'd be great if he was the starter, essentially. So the right side has always been kind of his home position. And then Isaiah Rogers Sr., he took over for Brandon Faison, you know, several weeks ago. So obviously, if Rogers can't go, it'll be Faison. It'll be tough against this receiving core of the Eagles with A.J. Brown and Devontae Smith if Rodgers can't go

Starting point is 00:03:25 because as you've heard us mention throughout the season especially lately Rodgers is been shutting guys down he's only been targeted like 10 times this year he's really putting up number like kind of eye-popping statistics or a lack thereof if you want to put it that way in terms of how little quarterbacks are targeting him so he's been really important lately as for the Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe will be out he was out last week as well with a hamstring their interesting injuries are bigger ones really Dallas Goddard shoulder injury and kn and knuckle corner, Avante Maddox. They both went on IR this week, so that's kind of, that's to the Colts' benefit. Goddard's one of the best tight ends in the league right now, top five, I would think most people would say.

Starting point is 00:04:16 Avante Maddox is really important to their defense, considering Josiah Scott, their backup, really struggled last week against the Commanders. So that's an area that kind of got circled that Paris Campbell could probably take advantage of in this matchup. The Eagles brought in a couple of big-time veteran defensive tackles this week in Lindvall Joseph and Ndamukong Su. How much they play, that's going to be up in the air because they, you know, just a couple days to get ready for this game. Probably on a snap count if I had to guess, but they're veterans. They've been in the in playbooks forever, so we'll see how that goes. Before we go on and talk about my interview with Alexa Ross, though, let's talk about our friends at Tommy John. Today's episode is brought to you by Tommy John. If you hate getting stuck in the Black Friday crowds, of course you do. It's super

Starting point is 00:05:10 uncomfortable. However, shopping Tommy John's Black Friday sale from your couch, that's super duper comfortable. Give the gift a brand new Tommy John underwear, loungewear, and pajamas. With over 18 million pairs sold, they've become a holiday tradition. 97% of women and men love getting a gift from Tommy John. That's why Tommy John doesn't have customers, they have fanatics. Shop Tommy John's Black Friday sale going on right now and get 30% off site-wide at TommyJohn.com slash LockedOn. 30% off everything now at Tommymmyjohn.com locked on tommyjohn.com locked on seasite for details without further ado here is my chat with alexa ross colts fans we are pleased to welcome sports reporter and anchor for cbs for indie and fox 59's alexa Alexa Ross to the show. What's up, girl? How you doing today?

Starting point is 00:06:07 I am living my life. It is a little chilly out, but you know what? We play football in a dome and I'm happy about it. Thank God. Thank God. I don't know what the weather is supposed to be like Sunday, but if it's like today, I'm pretty okay. I think it's supposed to be like today. I do think it's supposed to be like today. Yikes. Yikes. Okay. Alexa, of course, represents the Eagles side of things. She's a Philly sports fan. If you guys follow her on Twitter

Starting point is 00:06:33 before it dies, I guess, then you know her tweeting during Philly sports games. That's a lot like Zach's unhinged Colts tweet. So, very entertaining to follow. Listen, I could be a lot more unhinged on Twitter Colts tweet. So it's very entertaining to follow. Listen, I could be a lot more unhinged on Twitter, but I really keep it. I really try to keep it professional.

Starting point is 00:06:53 Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Um, so for those of you who aren't familiar, where do your Philly sports fans roots come from? Why are you such a big fan? Yes. So I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I grew up like 35 minutes northwest of the city. I went to Temple University, which is also in Philadelphia. My dad's been an Eagle season ticket holder since 1985, handpicked his seats in the vet, like the whole thing.

Starting point is 00:07:13 So I grew up basically going to the link when the link opened in 2003. Just, you know, and I think when you're born there, it's kind of like ingrained in you, even if you're not a sports person, like you are a fan of these teams. So, you know, I just got really lucky to be born into a super passionate fan base and have really enjoyed my time covering, you know, other teams. But like my like love of sports and like my passion for professional sports all can be traced back to that city. So thanks Philly. Yeah. And of course you were, you were just back there, back home for the world series did not quite go how you want it, but you got to experience it. That was fun. I guess.

Starting point is 00:07:52 I got to watch history for a no hitter against my team. Oh, that's not how you want it. And of course you, you couldn't escape the Carson Wentz stuff either. Cause he went from Philly to here. So as did around the same yeah well I came from up so I came from upstate New York my last job was in upstate New York I covered the bills for two years um but when the Carson news came out I was like oh I'm going to be another uh Philadelphia acquisition Philadelphia area acquisition to uh to be here and then matt ryan joined us too he was from who's from exton pennsylvania which is not too far from

Starting point is 00:08:32 where i grew up so there you go just a whole a whole gang going but uh no the carson wentz saga i'm glad it's over and that i don't have to pretend to hide my feelings about it. And I, what else was I going to say? Oh. And then when the Pacers getting Ben Simmons news was like being floated, like those trade rumors, I was like, I'm moving. Like if this happens, I'm out. I can't stay. Basketball's Carson Wentz basically. Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah so during one of those live tweet sessions i was i was watching on monday you made a very good point you know the eagles coming off their first loss colts fans should have wanted to root for the eagles because you know they were riding high eight no now they're eight and one seems unlikely that they go on a weird tailspin and

Starting point is 00:09:21 lose two in a row how do you expect nick Sirianni's group to respond after that first loss? Well, you know, Nick Sirianni obviously wants to come back and make a good impression in front of, you know, a place where he used to be a part of the staff and like a place where he really learned how to be a coach and be a part of the, you know, the main workings of a franchise. So, of course, he wants to do well here. He wants to do well here.

Starting point is 00:09:49 And also, like, he's going to be pissed off. Like he's going to be really, really angry. You don't want to be the team that faces the previously undefeated team after their first loss. Like nobody wants to be that because you're going to get the worst of them. And Sirianni, I mean, I think this game had a little bit of an edge for him anyway, just to be, you know, this was probably one that was circled from you know schedule release saying oh yeah we're we got to do this we have to have we we gotta we gotta make a statement here and we gotta do it big and you know coming off of a lot like a not just a loss like your first loss but a prime time loss to the commanders like you know how bad it feels to lose to the commanders you also lost to the commanders like i've covered the colts for a while i i know what rough losses are yeah but also like this

Starting point is 00:10:32 season too like colts lost the commanders too like the terry mclaurin you know which like we love cathedral zone we love an indian native doing good things at home fine whatever but like you know what that feels like to have a team that people have kind of just laughed at through this off season between it's like organizational failings, as well as like it's football issues and stuff. You know, you don't want to be that guy. So I think that they're going to come out angry. I think they're going to come out hungry. And I think that, you know, they've made the signings that they need to make I think they realized that their run defense was like really looking bad after Jordan Davis went out with injury which as an Eagles fan like I feel terrible I hate seeing a rookie hurt

Starting point is 00:11:15 I hate seeing anyone hurt anyway I hate even more seeing rookies get hurt and then when it's on your team it's just like oh it's like gut punch like at the heart. So like obviously wishing the best for him. But the goal or excuse me, the Eagles have been doing the things that they need to do to make those defensive line signings, things like that. Make sure that they can, you know, build it back and be ready against Jonathan Taylor, who is finally looking like Jonathan Taylor again because of the Parks Frazier play calling. Yeah. And you bring up what what actually was going to kind of be my next point. The Eagles run defense has been pretty shaky, and yes, they are going to be angry after their loss, but they have these injuries that you can't avoid that.

Starting point is 00:11:56 Dallas Goddard just went on IR. Avante Maddox, which could be an area Paris Campbell, continues his role. But yeah, they added Linval Joseph, and Ndamukong Su this week to make up for Jordan Davis and some other issues. That's pretty interesting. Given those specific injuries, how do you see some of that stuff kind of adapting, I guess? The guys they signed this week, the linemen, they were signed on Thursday. So I don't know if they practiced yesterday. Like, I don't know if they got even in I mean I'm sure they were at the facility I'm sure

Starting point is 00:12:29 they were at NovaCare I'm sure they were working with coaches and stuff but you might not have been working with your teammates you might not have been lining up and you might not have been in drills so that's a today thing that's a walkthrough before you leave thing but you know that could be the you know game time Sunday could be the first time that those pieces are actually like finally coming together so i think that if the colts kind of can exploit that or like maybe some missed assignments and like take advantage of like the gifts that they might be presented in that way i think that that's going to be really beneficial for the colts run game because like it it's been a really long time since the Eagles have had a bad

Starting point is 00:13:05 run defense like that's been like the one thing that they have prided themselves on for as long as I've been alive is like having a really solid run defense so I'm definitely interested to kind of see where that goes and I'm also interested to see what they do with their pass catchers if Devontae Smith takes that step up because Dallas Goddard has been such a big piece of their offense like think of Dallas Goddard Dallas Goddard has kind of done the work of both Kylan Grants and Angelani Woods like the way he's been utilized he's been utilized in those short little goal line situations as well as middle of the field short routes so you know I'm interested to see kind of who's assigned that if they decide to go along a little bit more if they're checking down with um Miles Sanders Boston Scott you know I'm just interested to kind of see where because

Starting point is 00:13:51 Dallas Goddard is such an integral piece of that offense so I think the Colts defense who obviously has been like the they're not what they looked like last year, but they have been the strength of this team for the most part. They, they need to be ready to just take advantage of like, maybe not really, you know, a team that's kind of trying to figure some things out and work things out as they, as they happen,

Starting point is 00:14:17 because they might, the Eagles might see themselves in situations that they might not have seen at all this season without Dallas Goddard. That's going to be a much bigger hit than a lot of people realize. Yeah. And both teams are kind of going through, I don't know if it's an identity thing or what have you, but the Colts, obviously this is week two with Jeff Saturday and Chris Frazier. There's a lot to learn there. How are they going to look moving forward? Eagles having to shuffle some things around because of injuries.

Starting point is 00:14:49 You've obviously seen both teams play. Which areas on, you know, for the Eagles and the Colts, do you think they could take advantage against each other? Yeah. So like I was saying, I think that the Colts need to take advantage of the run defense situation and just kind of like any little like weird mismatches I also think that the Colts need to take advantage of the speed of the Eagles secondary like Darius is a top five corner regardless like he will but the thing is he

Starting point is 00:15:15 could match up with any one of these guys it wouldn't surprise me to see him on Paris Campbell because Paris Campbell is the fastest receiver that we have like Alec Pierce is a lot slower Michael Pittman's a lot bigger like I'm very interested to see how the secondary and the wideouts match up. Like, I think that it can go a lot of different ways, but I also think that if parks Frazier is smart and his play calling will kind of like switch them around between X, Y,

Starting point is 00:15:39 Z, like just kind of the way in which they have been doing, not necessarily under parks, but just kind of like moving the guys around, slotting them in different spots and seeing what happens to maybe just play with the speeds with the corners. Because like Bradbury, he's a good corner. He's fine.

Starting point is 00:15:53 But like he's not – like he's great in the secondary, but he's not super fast. Like he's not the fastest guy on the field. Kind of like how Stephon Gilmore is now not the fastest guy on the field anymore, but he'll probably be up with A.J. um because it's a guy he's seen before and he's an experienced receiver as opposed to just being like lightning fast down a sideline toe drag you know into the end zone kind of thing so i think they're really going to have to kind of take advantage of like little defensive things and i also think that if know, I think that the Colts offense,

Starting point is 00:16:28 because we haven't seen everything that it can do under parks Frazier. I think that if they keep like, not necessarily playing with things, but doing the situational football that they've been practicing and just kind of like building upon what they did last week and like a very aggressive balanced and diverse play style. I think that that's going to really serve them well. And now the moment of truth. You don't feel pressured to go either way, but do you have a score prediction for this one?

Starting point is 00:16:52 I don't have a score prediction for this one. I just think that it's going to be like, I think that it's either going to be really close or it's going to be like a 20 point. It'll be like a seven point game or a 20 point game. And like, there's no in between like i don't it's a game where the eagles take out their frustrations yeah it's gonna be an eagles take out their frustrations and win like you know like 40 like 40 to 21 or something like

Starting point is 00:17:18 that or it's gonna be like we're gonna see a matt Ryan virtuoso, like another fourth quarter, what he was hired to do kind of thing. So, and like quarterback down to the last minute, like the last seconds and make something happen. Because if the Colts don't struggle to start off slowly, like if they just like get out there and play, they can, they won't have to play catch up and they can just keep up with it. Because the Eagles will score points like that's not you know they have their quarterback is too good by himself and with his weapons like he's great weapons but like Jalen Hurts is mobile and he can run but we've seen that the Colts defense can like hold a mobile quarterback like they can do it they just have to do it that's just what has to happen. And obviously easier said than done. But, you know, it's one of those things where you just, you can't,

Starting point is 00:18:09 they can't be complacent and they just have to get out there and play. Yeah, this probably would have been a pretty big Shaquille Leonard game, honestly. So, Bobby Okereke and Zyra Franklin will have to be on it when it comes to Hurts. Because that's just such a problem in itself is when your quarterback is the team's best runner like that's just so hard to defend but I think that's all I got for you today I really appreciate you coming on and dropping some knowledge on everybody yeah thanks for having me yeah of course we'll see you Sunday thanks again to Alexa for joining us make sure to follow her on Twitter if you're not already. That's at AlexaRossTV.

Starting point is 00:18:48 At A-L-E-X-A-R-O-S-S-T-V. Now before we move on and I bring you my final thoughts on this matchup, I want to tell you guys about one of our favorite sponsors. You've heard us talk about him for months and months, BetOnline. BetOnline.net is your number one source for sports betting info, stats, news, and analysis. Get the latest odds and trends from every professional and amateur league out there. From football and basketball to soccer and esports, they've got it all at BetOnline.net. And if you love sports podcasts, like this one, you can find those at BetOnline as well.

Starting point is 00:19:24 We're always the fastest and easiest way to get your betting fix. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more. BetOnline, where the game starts. All right, so if you heard our crossover episode on Thursday with Locked On Eagles, I gave my final score prediction of 24 to 20 Eagles. Basically, it's just hard for me to picture the Eagles losing two in a row. Number one, they're a really good team. The Colts, they got a jolt of lightning last week. I think Frank Reich being fired and Jeff Saturday coming in was a real kind of dose of reality. I do think they'll be better moving forward this season. I don't think

Starting point is 00:20:03 we're going to see them lifeless as often, hopefully not at all the rest of the season. I think they'll be competitive in most games, but that doesn't mean that they're going to win all these tough matchups. They're going to lose some games against good teams, and I think that's what will happen here. Again, on the surface, it looks like an easy Eagles win for most people on the outside, and it should be

Starting point is 00:20:26 considered as such, but I'll tell you why I think the Colts could win this game. First off, at their best, the offensive line is getting push up front. Jonathan Taylor, it looks like Jonathan Taylor. We've only seen it twice this year, once in week one, but the most recent example was last week. Now the Raiders defensive line is butt, like they're bad. The offensive line rightfully took advantage of that matchup. Philly's defense is going to be much better, especially guys like Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh. If they're out there, they're not going to get pushed around in the run game. But we can only go off of what we've seen from Philly's defense and that is kind of a bad run defense they're ranked 20th overall in the league despite being a really good defense overall

Starting point is 00:21:14 the last three weeks alone they've averaged over 150 yards surrendered on the ground so that definitely kind of points advantage Colts if their offensive line can get some push. I think we know they've got the right five out there. Finally, you know, we don't know what Braden Smith's availability is. He's one of their better run blockers, of course. So we'll see how that goes. But I like the Colts chances of at least getting something going on the ground in this one. And if not, like Matt Ryan will will be fine.

Starting point is 00:21:44 Like we they're a good run uh pass rushing team so i do think matt ryan's gonna have a tougher time getting rid of the ball than he did last week so that's definitely something to watch out for but i do think if the colts can get some some movement up front in the run game it definitely bodes well for their chances of actually winning. So with Taylor keeping the Eagles defense on their toes, I think Paris Campbell versus Josiah Scott is a really important matchup to watch because Darius Slay and James Bradbury should be able to have some nice moments against Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce. But Paris Campbell's been rolling lately. In these last four games, I think it's like 30 touches,

Starting point is 00:22:26 290 yards and a few touchdowns. Like he's starting to look like Ohio state Paris Campbell lately. And this is another great matchup in his favor. I really like it for him. So in the end, again, I'll give it 24 to 20 Eagles, but I'm not going to be surprised if the Colts win. I mean, we've seen, we've seen a much worse version of them beat a team like the Chiefs earlier this

Starting point is 00:22:48 year. So I won't be shocked. I don't think it happens, but we can all hope, right? So that's it for us on this bonus episode. We'll be back with you guys after the game on Sunday. So stick with us. Follow at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to our show on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:23:08 Of course, we're getting really close to 2,000 subscribers. You guys have been awesome there. And of course, wherever you listen to podcasts. We also love your ratings and reviews, especially on Apple. That is how we move up the charts. And as you guys know in the world and on the internet, it's not always the nice people that are the ones that leave reviews. So if you like our show, if you're digging it, we would love to hear from you.

Starting point is 00:23:31 Please leave a nice review. And with that, we will see you guys on game day.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - BONUS: Chattin' Indianapolis Colts vs. Philadelphia Eagles with Alexa Ross

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