Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts end their season in Buffalo on wildcard weekend, 27-24

Episode Date: January 12, 2021

On today's episode, Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue joins Evan to go over the Colts' 27-24 loss in Buffalo on wildcard weekend. As Indy's season ended in heartbreaking fashion, they go over their biggest takeaways.On the positive spectrum, Philip Rivers and Michael Pittman Jr. stood out a lot. Also, Indy's defense was able to do their best on Josh Allen, but the new prototype for QBs continues to be a thorn in their side. Is Allen the type of QB Indy should try to target for the eventual long-term franchise quarterback?Rodrigo Blankenship's missed chip shot left a sour taste in Evan and Stephen's mouths. Should competition be brought in for Hot Rod? Also, Frank Reich had some questionable play-calling on Saturday that we went in-depth on.Closing out the show, we discuss if this was the final game for Rivers as Indy's QB1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back into your latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's audience is your host, Evan Sider, and joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue to recap. Unfortunately, the end of the Annapolis Colts season, they lost in Buffalo in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday afternoon, 27-24. Stephen, I mean, what was your thoughts on this game?

We'll just go through chronological order here. We're just going to spend this whole podcast talking about the game. We're going to save the offseason and talk here throughout the rest of the offseason and you're on lockdown Colts. Let's talk about the end of the season here for this Colts team. An unfortunate way to end it, too, because I feel like, honestly, if you even look at the stats, you can look at the eye test, too. This Colts team outplayed the Bills on Sunday.

They just beat themselves. Yeah, and that's really what it comes down to is the Bills basically played a flawless game. They didn't have any turnovers. They didn't have any bad mental errors, any penalties that really cost them. They didn't have any drop passes, which for the Colts was the biggest downfall this weekend was their inability to catch the ball.

Yeah, and that's the bad thing about it. I think there was around seven drops and this came from the Colts just inexcusable on that end I think Jack Doyle was the most efficient target for the Colts on Saturday he had seven catch for 70 yards on nine targets at a touchdown that was like vintage Jack Doyle that we saw on Saturday but outside of that I mean it just crazy to say Steven I feel like honestly at the start of that game the Colts were up uh they were dominating the first portions of this game, at the start of that game, the Colts were up. They were dominating the first portions of this game. I know Buffalo went down and scored later on.

The Colts got up early 3-0. You really had to score six points to three points against this Bills team. But the value didn't come back at the end there. But I feel like the first half of this game, Stephen, was really controlled by this Colts team. And, unfortunately, for some reason, this stuff broke the other way. But the start of that game, just pounding the ball, Rivers was on fire to start this one. Michael Pippen Jr. had a great start to this game as well.

I mean, what was your thoughts watching the first 10 or 15 minutes of that game? Because to me, I felt like if the Colts kept this up for the next 30, 40 minutes, I mean, they were really close, honestly, before that fourth down conversion and getting near the goal line. This is going to be a two-score game before halftime. Yeah, the Colts, you know, aside from not putting in the end zone, the Colts did exactly what I think they were planning to do is, you know, play ball control offense, have these long drives,

keep the ball out of Josh Allen's hands. It just so happens that, you know, the Bills made some plays, you know, they, they made some plays on defense, kept the Colts out of the end zone. And then the Colts made mental mistakes. And I, my, my heart goes out to Kimoko Ture because at the end of the first half, they had the fourth and four when they were long field goal range with a, with a kicker that's inexperienced. And they got him to jump off sides with like one second left on the play clock and gave

him an automatic first down. That's four points right there. You know, assuming that even makes the kick. And that's, you know, you look at that, and obviously it changes everything else that happens in the game if those four points aren't there. But ultimately it was execution. The Colts didn't execute, and the Bills did. And that's really – I honestly think that either of these teams,

no matter how the outcome would have came, whether it was a Colts win or the Bills win, I think it wouldn't have surprised me because the Colts played their game plan. They played ball control offense. You know, they fed, you know, Jonathan Taylor. And it was very clear that the Bills' entire defense was predicated on trying to stop Jonathan Taylor.

You saw big boxes. They wanted to make Phillip Rivers beat him. And for the most part, Phillip Rivers was really good in this game. He just had a bunch of really bad drops from his wide receivers and, and his tight ends and his running backs. I mean, Jonathan Taylor dropped two just easy catches. Michael Pittman dropped the ball. You saw just, you saw so many drops um and like the one the one play i think philip rivers really kind of missed on was the the fourth down touchdown uh attempt to michael pitman in the

end zone where philip rivers was a foot too long and outside of that he didn't make a lot of just terrible terrible mistakes i think he was over for for like 300-something yards on the day, two touchdowns, no interceptions, had like a quarterback rating above 90. He played a really good game, and he had a really good season for the Colts. And so, you know, it's really frustrating as a Colts fan to really dominate the game, have 472 yards of offense, and somehow lose. It makes me feel obviously a little bit better because the Steelers lost and then Big Ben threw for like 500 yards.

And then Tennessee lost, which as a Colts fan always makes you feel a little bit better. Yeah, that game, just looking at the box score here, Stephen, the overall team stats, like I imagine you are as well, they outgained the Bills by almost 100 yards. They were able to be very efficient on third down, 9 of 17. Phil Burrus barely got touched in this game, zero sacks allowed. They ran for over 150 yards as well.

Naeem Hines helped out in that area, like you mentioned, Jonathan Taylor had 78 yards and 21 carries. Keep the defense honest a little bit. I think the biggest difference, honestly, we're going to have him play calling here in just a second here, but from the opposite side, we haven't seen Josh Allen since two years ago in his rookie season. And now this year, I mean, he looks like a completely different quarterback. We saw it on Saturday, 26-35 for 324 yards, two touchdowns,

almost 10 yards per attempt. He got sacked twice in this game, but he also for 324 yards, two touchdowns, almost 10 yards per attempt. He got sacked twice in this game, but he also ran for 54 yards and a touchdown. If you're a Colts fan, Steve, I mean, watching Josh Allen from the other sideline, you have to think that's what the Colts need at the quarterback position before. Like you mentioned, Phil Burrus was

great on Saturday. I imagine if he wants to come back next year, he will be the Colts starting quarterback. But I mean, in the longterm future, Steven, Josh Allen's like the prototype of what this Colts team needs. Yeah. And, and I agree with you. And that's more so where the NFL is just going in terms of their quarterback, what they're looking for with the athletes that you have on defense, you're seeing the, the Phillip rivers, like statue,

Peyton Manning statue, Tom Brady statue, those guys that can't move and extend plays with their legs. Those are more of a dying breed. You don't really see those much anymore. Nowadays. And even with the, the young quarterbacks that are coming out, I, all of the, the great young quarterbacks right now are all mobile quarterbacks. You know, Patrick Mahomes can extend plays. Deshaun Watson can extend plays. Even looking at the quarterbacks that are coming out, Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson

and Trey Lance, all four of the top quarterbacks are all guys that can extend plays. And that's exactly what Josh Allen does. And unfortunately, that's where the Colts struggle the most on defense is when a quarterback is able to get out of the pocket, extend the play or the Buffalo Bills really in that game recognized that they weren't going to be able to run the ball with the running backs. And so they had a ton of just called runs for Josh Allen, which for me, I look at that and I go, that's really maybe not the best idea to do with your quarterbacks.

Honestly, Josh Allen led the Bills. They had 21 carries. Josh Allen had 11 of those for 54 yards. And they had 10 running – 10 rushes from the running backs and those guys average got like 42 yards so like they weren't like terrible but at the same time the Colts rush defense is really good but you've got that one guy in Josh Allen that's able to extend plays and then when they started doing the design runs which they hadn't done all season, it really threw the Colts defense off guard. Yeah, and like you mentioned, it just goes to show you, honestly, just the way the NFL

quarterbacks are trending. I mean, I tweeted this out yesterday. You mentioned Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence, Trey Lynn, Zach Wilson, the 2021 quarterback class upcoming for the 2021 NFL draft. But guys even like Tua, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, you have also guys under 25, like you mentioned, Mahomes, Watson. All these guys are nowadays. Baker, like, yeah, all of them. Exactly.

Lamar Jackson even, too. Like, these guys are all mobile. They're all going to be in the AFC most likely. We want to include Trevor Lawrence in that mix. That's nine quarterbacks who are just under 25 and mobile. So, the Colts' time to get a new quarterback is going to be coming up very, very soon. We'll hit on that more, obviously, throughout the offseason here,

but let's talk about Phillip Rivers and the way he played on Saturday, Stephen, because he was 27-46 for 309 yards and two touchdowns and 91.9 QBR, just one of his best games of the year, honestly. And like you mentioned, drops really play a huge factor in this one. If this is Phillip Rivers' last game, we'll hit on Phillip Rivers more in the next few minutes after this, Stephen, but if this is the last game for Phillip Rivers, I mean, what a way to go out. I mean, in the end there, if Zach Paschal doesn't fumble the ball, I mean,

the Colts are right there in field goal range. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's, you had that Zach Paschal, you know, that he fumbled the ball and, and yeah, it's, you had a lot of things go wrong for the Colts there at the end that really was kind of frustrating. I mean, you had the Bills.

It just seemed like, with the exception of the Zach Paschal fumble at the end, which, like, let's be real, that was probably a fumble. So I was kind of surprised that they said that it stands. But Phillip Rivers throughout the day everybody talked about how Phillip Rivers at the end would make the bad mistake and that he'd be the one that cost the team this game he played fantastic I hope it's not it's not his last but he played fantastic this game put the Colts in a position to win. You saw just how much better of a quarterback he was than Jacoby Brissett was last it in was a foot wide, and he put it right there where only they could get it, and it was just out of the fingertips of the defensive backs.

He was – Phillip Rivers was phenomenal this past weekend, and what people need to understand and hopefully appreciate is it wasn't his fault. You mentioned earlier about the play calling. I don't know if we're going to talk about that here in a bit. I'd like to. But, you know, I don't put the blame of this loss on Phillip Rivers. You know, it's just a lot of mental mistakes that happened with the Colts, and it really kind of stinks to go out like that as a team that I honestly think

if the Colts beat the Bills, they were likely going to the Super Bowl because they'd be facing a Kansas City Chiefs team as a seven seed. They'd go to Kansas City, which is a team that now has effectively had two weeks off. And you saw how much taking that extra week off in the middle had an effect on the Pittsburgh Steelers. You just think of how that would be on the Kansas City Chiefs as well, having two weeks off.

And it really is a missed opportunity for the Colts. I honestly think they could have gone all the way had they gotten past the Bills. But the Bills were a better – they were a – I don't know if it's necessarily better, but they were a more uniform, and they just played a better game. They didn't make the mistakes, and that's really what it comes down to

is in the playoffs, one or two plays really can turn a game. The Colts had about five or six where they just made bad mental mistakes, and you can't overcome that against a team like Buffalo. With the playoffs in full swing, BetOnline is here for you to help bet on some games, whether it's the NFL playoffs or maybe if you want to bet on a national title game or future bets on that. BetOnline.ag is the best place to go. You're able to do so much. I also, from time to time, love to look at these lines. As you guys know, I put them on the show a little bit. BetOnline is the place to go. Don't send out signs

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take advantage of the best bonuses in the business. Sign up for the free promo code LOCKEDON for your sign-up bonus. Hashtag BetOnline, Colts fans. Let's end with a great calling, Steven. Like you mentioned, a couple confusing calls. I mean, obviously the two-point conversion they may have for later on in that game, but playing catch-up, I just feel like, especially in a win-or-go-home situation, makes me a little uncomfortable when you're trailing by that much.

It's a nine-point game instead of an eight-point game or seven-point game, for example. Let's talk about that two-point conversion first. We'll go backwards here. We'll start with two-point conversion, and we'll go to the fourth down. Did you like that call after the score where the Colts went for it there in the fourth quarter early on? They don't get it.

And then Buffalo has a chance to go on the field and maybe end that game right away. And luckily for the Colts, that doesn't happen. But I feel like Frank Reich was playing with fire too much in this game. I know a lot of analytics guys. I'm an analytics guy myself. I mean, obviously, two points is worth more than one. But in a situation where you're down by a couple scores,

you go down and you have the possibility of making a seven-point game. Now you're going for two to make it a six point game. I understand the logic a little bit there, but just, I feel like honestly this game was not the best from Frank Wright playing calling wise. Let's start with two point conversion there, Stephen. What was your thoughts on the rationale there? So the two point conversion, I didn't mind them going for it because at that point you kind of know if

you're going for the two point conversion, if you don't get it, you know you're going for it the at that point you kind of know if you're going for the two-point conversion if you don't get it you know you're going for it the next time um and once they got that penalty that moved them from the two-yard line to the one-yard line like you said as analytics would tell you your percentage of getting that play and converting at that position uh increases quite a bit and especially with a running back like Jonathan Taylor. The fact is the bills were better on that play and they made, they made the play that they needed to make. And so unfortunately Colts didn't convert that two point conversion. So I wasn't as upset about that one. I think, yeah,

there was a lot of other play calls that I was really kind of upset with Frank Reich for. Let's tell them the next one, the next big one. Then I'll give you the floor here for the other ones we're going to hit on as well, Stu. But that fourth down early on in the game, I mean, it wasn't that play call because, like, honestly, like you mentioned earlier on the show, and I agree with you, if Rivers and Pittman are in sync on that,

that's a touchdown. Rivers floated it a little too high for Pittman, a yard or two past, and Pittman had to play catch up there for a second. He was having a great game, by the way. We'll hit on MPJ more in a few minutes. But that fourth down wasn't really the issue. The issue was the play before that on third down, where you don't have it run behind Quentin Nelson. I know the Bills are stacking the box near the end zone,

but you have a Hall of Fame left guard. You have a Pro Bowl All-Pro center, second-team All-Pro Ryan Kelly. I know Jared Veldt here was only a second start, but he did pretty dang well for the two weeks he was starting for the Colts. I don't understand the logic of trying to do that kind of like a fake dive with Jonathan Taylor. Ashton Doolin didn't block his guy. Veldt here struggled on the outside as well.

It wasn't good in space on that play. I think that's the main gripe with me, Stephen, is that in that situation with your bruiser of a running back, I know you're trying to catch the Bills off guard running it outside a little bit, but I just didn't like the situational play call there. Yeah, for that one, I was going to say Jeff Schwartz on Twitter did a pretty good breakdown of this play on 31. Normally that play works because you've got a man on a man. And what happened in that play is the safety for the bills who at the time was

covering Zach Paschal as Paschal came across in motion, that safety was supposed to follow because they were in man. And so he got once Paschal ran to the tight end and philip rivers started to made that snap the safety didn't follow paschal at all he stopped ran back and now you didn't have that lane so it got shut down normally that's a pretty solid play call in that situation um and so that's that's where it gets frustrating i think at that point though with the when you get moved back those three yards i would rather have them go for the field goal there and take the points in the first half rather than try to chase points

in the first half because i think that that would have put them at least in a better situation for the rest of the game. Obviously, again, we sit here and we talk about it now in hindsight, and three points is a huge difference had they gone ahead and gone for it and just kicked the field goal. When it comes to the fourth down play on that, I would have preferred they kicked the field goal in the first half. I didn't hate the play call.

And so both of those things can be true. You want them to go for it. You don't hate the play call that they had. Phillip Rivers noted that this was the same play that he and Frank Reich ran in Green Bay, ran against Green Bay a couple years prior. And if you go back and watch the Green Bay play, it worked almost exactly the same way. Like Pittman was open on that play. It's just Rivers missed him.

And that's just part of it. That's just what happened. And so that's really the tough part in the play. I didn't hate the play call. Again, on third down. It's just Buffalo made the plays, and that's what it came down to in this game. Let me ask, give you the floor here for a minute, Stephen. I mean, was there any other play calls still out to you as far as Frank Reich on Saturday?

Because I know a lot of Colts fans, even myself included, at some points are kind of scratching their head a little bit. Honestly, maybe this is a little bit of a gripe with Frank Reich. He's a great head coach. He's a great play caller. But I feel like honestly at some points, Stephen, he kind of overthinks it. Maybe if you do the simple thing, it's going to work out. Instead, maybe try and be a little extravagant or wild

and try to do something else that catches the team off guard. I feel like if you just have a simple play, it's probably going to work more often than not. But, I mean, was there anything else to add to Frank Reich on Saturday? Yeah, the things that bothered me the most about Frank Reich this past weekend, and from 20 to 20, I thought he did great in terms of calling plays. But once he got into the red zone, he was really conservative, but also really aggressive.

Like, it was weird because he would have these really conservative play calls like on second and long third and long he'd be running the ball and you're going all right well this doesn't make a lot of sense but then he you know at the same time he'd then go for it on fourth down and you're going wait so you're not going to be aggressive but then you're going to be aggressive and quite honestly this has been one of my gripes with Frank Reich for the entire season is that I do think that he overthinks things. He wants to go and try to think of what's the defense going to do. And all right, so they're going to think that I'm going to do this. So then I'm going to do this instead.

And sometimes that works. But a lot of times if you've got something that you do really well, like, for example, the Colts ran the ball really well the last five, six weeks of the season, then that's what your focus should be. And so that's where I think you're right. I think Frank Reich really just kind of out-thought himself. You know, I said, you know, last week, if Jonathan Taylor is looking at 25 to 30 carries, the Colts probably win this game.

He had 21 carries. And so they didn't really, like, commit to the run totally. And when they did, like, Jonathan Taylor was able to make some plays when they were able to run him. You know, Neem Hines had a huge run um in there in there as well and so it's just it's really frustrating as coles fans because there's like i said there's a couple of them where there's real head scratchers like the um most of the calls in the red zone like that's that's what it comes down to and then the calls at the end of the game where you need a certain amount of yardage and they're throwing three yard outs um and so you just look

at it and say why why are you running those plays i understand you don't have a timeout i hated the challenge um that he put out there with the zach Moss fumble. Like, that was just beyond dumb to me to challenge that. And one thing to consider is at the stadium, a lot of opposing teams, if you're on the away team, the home team doesn't always show all the replays. Because if Frank Reich would have seen that replay of that fumble or that fumble that he challenged that was not a fumble uh he would have seen very clearly that the knee was down and it wasn't even worth throwing the flag out so i would honestly doubt that they even showed that replay there in buffalo or if they did they showed

a angle of it where it showed the ball coming out um but he should have had somebody in his ear from up top say no no do no, no, do not challenge that. But it looks like he got bad advice. And he went ahead and challenged it. And they lost a timeout, which was, again, really consequential there at the down at the end where they really needed a timeout so they could use the entire field. because all they needed was something like 13 you know 20 30 15 20 yards to get into field goal range um and they just they couldn't because the bills were playing smart defense and they were able to to keep all the the colts wide receivers in bounds so they weren't able to get to the edge and get out of bounds and had the colts caught a ball in

bounds um and not gone out of bounds, the game would have been over because they wouldn't have had enough time to get up and clock it. Everything is just from self-reflection for Frank Reich here in the offseason. I have to imagine red zone efficiency is going to be at the top of that list because I think, honestly, Stine, if they were a better red zone team this year, I think they're bottom half, bottom quarter in the league. I don't have the exact number on me as far as red zone efficiency goes.

But I feel like this Colts team, if they just did better in the red zone this year, probably are the two seed instead of the exact number on me as far as redstone efficiency goes, but I did this Colts team. They just did better in the reds in this year prior to the two seat instead of the seven seat. And they're probably playing Buffalo in this game at home instead of on the road at Buffalo. They probably are 13 and three team. They're just better in the reds in this year, missing a lot of points or on the first half of the season,

even on Saturday in Buffalo as well. I mean, is that the one big gripe you're looking forward to hopefully at Frank Rick change in 2021 is that this team just has to get better in the red zone. Yeah, I would say red zone efficiency is way high up on the list this year. They just weren't, weren't that great in the wet red zone. And like you said,

if they're a little bit better in the red zone and even marginally better, you're looking at maybe not a two seed, but you know, you're looking at a home playoff game because you definitely have beat out Tennessee. You're definitely beating out Pittsburgh. And in games like this, games where it really matters, you got to get seven, you can't take three. And that's really what it came down to in this game is the Colts, when they got down to the red zone, they couldn't push it in. They couldn't punch it in to get the touchdown. They went for it on

fourth down when they probably shouldn't have a couple of times and weren't able to get it. You know, it's, it's one of those things where it's a lot of little mistakes that just kind of snowballed and really put the Colts behind the eight ball. The crazy thing is that despite all of those mistakes, the Colts still had a good enough team to be in the game and potentially win it on the last drive with a team that you, you lost your starting left tackle two weeks prior. You're sitting there, you lost your, you're running back to start the season. You your running back to start the season.

You lost a safety to start the season. You lost your number two wide receiver to start the season. And yet the Colts are sitting here still in the hunt, still almost at a chance to knock off arguably the hottest team in the NFL at their place with one drive left to take the game. And, you know, even though the Colts lost, they've got a great, great future ahead of them. I mean, you saw that with how well Michael Pittman Jr. played,

with how Jonathan Taylor has played down the stretch. You saw you've got, you know, Chris Ballard has now acquired four first-team all pro players um from this just this season alone they were four of them were named the all pro team and i think all of them with the exception of buckner is under 25 um i i don't know george odom's age off the top of my head but they're all young guys who are really a core of this franchise. And so they've got a lot to look forward to. Um, and a lot of things to be positive about with Chris Ballard here at the helm. Built bar is the best tasting protein bar ever. I actually

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Pittman had a great game on Saturday. I know people will say he had a drop or two here and there, but five catches for 90 yards. He had 10 total targets to lead the team. He also had a great run on a reverse. I love the cool season when he has run plays. He's very aggressive in that sense as well. When Pittman has these types of games,

I know he's very inconsistent down the stretch, and he was also battling an injury during the season with that. It's really hard to describe the injury because it was such a freak injury that he had. He had to miss a month for it. But you see the compartment leg syndrome they had, battled through that, inconsistencies with a rookie wall, he battled through that. But when he has these types of games on Saturday, Stephen,

I feel like the future is so bright for Pittman because I think next year hopefully the Colts, Chris Bauer and Frank Rick realize that this guy needs to be back in the more moderate receiver. He needs to see around seven, Chris Bowden, Frank Rick realize that this guy needs to be back in the more diverse series to see around seven, eight, nine, 10 targets per game. Cause when he's throwing the ball, he does a lot of good stuff. I feel like even next year, they should expand his, his game more with some more deep shots,

which is bread and butter. USC. We just didn't see it this year. Yeah. And I think you're exactly right on that is the, they really do need to open the up, up the offense for Michael Pittman. What what's really going to play a role in that is who the quarterback is next year. You know, as we've said before, Phillip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett are both free agents. Jacob Beeson has a huge arm.

So if they're looking to go deep, you've got the guy on the roster already that could put the ball out there. But, yeah, I think that they need to make Michael Pittman more of a focus of the offense, at least in the receiving game. You've got a great weapon there with Michael Pittman, and then you've got the compliment with Jonathan Taylor. So teams can't just focus all their effort on Pittman. What's really going to be interesting this offseason is the Colts have a lot of free agents.

They obviously have a lot of salary cap space as well, but they have a lot of free agents. They obviously have a lot of salary cap space as well, but they have a lot of free agents, T.Y. Hilton, chief among them, at least in the receiving core. And so I'll be interested to see what they do to try to short that position in the offseason because if they don't re-sign T.Y. Hilton, which I honestly think that they will, but we'll get into that in a future episode, I think they're really saying

ty hilton to like a two-year deal but they really do need to focus on michael pitman more he's he's got that ability he's got that demeanor to be a number one receiver when he didn't have the mental mistakes he was able to generally make the catch like even in traffic he's he's got strong hands he's great after the catch and you you saw that on a number of plays. If they get him to him in space, get him moving. And for a guy his size to be that good in space, it's really a unique trait. And he just has such a unique set of traits as a wide receiver that he really should be the focus of the offense,

at least from the receiving standpoint from here on out for the Colts. One more defensive question here, Stephen, on this game. How did you feel like a defended Stephon Diggs, who had six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown? He broke free a couple times. Honestly, the Colts, I know they'll probably flounder the rare a little bit when you look back on this game, but they were really battling some injuries in the corner spot.

Xavier Rhodes missed a couple plays. T.J. Carey, who I think was out a couple series in this game as well due to injury. I just feel like the lack of bodies there at corner really hurt them. Rock just was out of this game of concussion as well. With the amount of injuries they had at corner, I think Stephon Diggs only having six catches for 128 yards is honestly pretty good. I was going to say, I thought they did, for the most part, a pretty good job on Stephon Diggs, especially in the first half. He really kind of opened it up in the second half, if I remember correctly.

But it was, I think from the Colts defensive standpoint, the lack of cornerbacks really hurt them when it came to guys like Gabriel Davis and Cole Beasley. Because they were able to generally, once those guys started getting going, you had to start paying attention to those guys. It drew attention away from Stephon Diggs, and that's really when he started to make plays. And so that's really, that's the frustrating part from it is, you know, if you watch the game, you just were screaming at the TV going,

somebody guard Beasley because he kept catching these little, little passes for five, six, seven yards. And it was on, you know, third and four, third and five or second and four, second and five, second six. So he would just get, it's like how Julian Edelman used to be for the Colts. It's, he would just get one yard pass where heian edelman used to be for the colts it's he would just get one yard pass where he needed to be and then get tackled um but stephon diggs the fact that he didn't go for like 200 yards against such a depleted secondary is really a testament to how

the colts defenders were able to play and how they were able to just kind of contain him for the most part and it's crazy to say that because he still had, like you said, six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. What was frustrating is that first touchdown that he got shouldn't have even really been a touchdown because I believe that was the one he got at the end of the first half. TJ Carey got spun around, and the Colts had just gotten called for the offside penalty

on Trey. I think that's, I might be off on that, but anyway, TJ Carey got turned around on that play. You saw him kind of turning his head, like, where am I? Where is he? Where is the ball? Which as a cornerback, if you're saying any one of those three things, you're probably not in a great position. And it looked like he was saying all three of those at the same time. And so that was really, that was tough. But other than that, other than that big play, you know, he had, you know, five catches for 90 yards, something like that, outside of that big, big one. And, you know, for the most part,

holding a guy like Stefan Diggs to that kind of yardage, that kind of game, you'd be really happy about that as a defense. Let's hit on Rodrigo Blankenship, Stephen. Three more questions left for you. This is the last one about the game, and the last two are just general questions about QB1 and just the Colts' 2020-2021 season. But Rodrigo Blankenship was 1-of-2.

He missed a chip shot, 33-yard field goalhip was 1-of-2. He missed a chip shot, 33-yard field goal. Was 1-of-2 in this game. Go back to Jacksonville the week prior in our winner-go-home game. He was 2-of-4. He missed two field goals in that game as well. So 3-of-6 in winner-go-home games for Rodrigo Blankenship the last two weeks. I got a lot of flag for this when I mentioned this, but I just feel like I know Blankenship was great this year.

He was great when it mattered in the regular season. But in winner-go-home scenarios and the clutch factor, But I just feel like – I know Blankenship was great this year. He was great when it mattered in the regular season. But in winner-go-home scenarios and the clutch factor, I know he made a game-winner against Green Bay earlier this year. But, I mean, I just feel like that kind of left a sour taste in my mouth for the way Rodrigo finished his season out of the last two games, and especially on Saturday in Buffalo, where if he does make that kick, they're probably going overtime. Who knows what happens in that scenario.

Even the Colts maybe dread on the field and get in field goal range and he makes a kick there. Who knows what happens in that scenario? Even the Colts maybe dread on the field and get in field goal range, and he makes a kick there. Who knows what happens in that scenario? But, Stephen, I know a lot of Colts fans are going to be flack for saying this, but I honestly think that it's more likely than not that he'll be the kicker next year and beyond. But I just think knowing Chris Bauer, knowing how he loves competition, I imagine he has a sour taste in his mouth about this as well.

Whether it's a veteran off the street or it's an undirected free agent, I'm making sure it's the king competition in 2021. Yeah, and I agree with you. He went, I think, three for six in the final couple games and obviously missed that 33-yard chip shot, which really set the Colts back. And the fact that when you got over 50 yards, it was questionable, not whether he was accurate, but whether he had the leg to get it there. And for an NFL kicker to be able to stay in the league, you've got to be able to, you know, at least be able to put the ball, you know, above the crossbar from 55. Whether you are wide right, wide left, it's great if you can make it,

but you've got to at least be able to get it there. And for the Colts, it was really tough because you got to that situation where he was in field goal range for most kickers, and then it felt like Frank Wright wanted to be more aggressive because he didn't necessarily have faith in, in Blankenship to really knock those down. So I think you're absolutely right that Chris Ballard is going to bring in a kicker to compete with them here in the off season.

And I think that's a smart thing to do because realistically he needs to get stronger. He needs to have a bigger leg in order to be able to bigger leg um in order to be able to make those kicks in order to be able to um you know have the coach have confidence that he might be able to make those kicks and so yeah i think you're right i think that they'll bring somebody in you know i was really happy with how he played for the most part throughout the entire season um you know he had a little struggle early um but through the middle of the season into the end of the season, he was great. And then the past couple games,

it's just seems like things kind of fell apart a little bit and I don't know why. Let's tell him Phillip Rivers worked without the show, Stephen. He was very emotional after the game started. None of the competitors he has is not surprising, but one quote to me stood out just as far as being able to walk out of here with his head held high. He had no regrets about coming to Indianapolis, almost speaking in a past tense, so to say, about his tenure. Hopefully that's not the case. I think Rivers deserves another year if he wants to come back. But even Rivers admitted

a couple weeks ago and also admitted last week that retirement has creeped in his mind more often over the last couple of weeks. And if you're saying that's the ending, there's a legit chance, especially the way he reacted after the game on Saturday, this could be the swan song for Phillip Rivers. This could have been his last game. Where are you leaning on that? Because honestly, I was more so like 80-20s coming back or 85-15. But after the way he reacted after Saturday's game, speaking like the way he did,

I think it's more so like 60-40 right now. I think that Rivers – here's how I think that they'll approach the offseason is they're not going to make an immediate decision on Phillip Rivers whether to bring him back or not. I think what they're going to do is feel out free agency, feel out the trade market to see if a guy a guy like a sam darnold can be had for cheap you know i jokingly talked about on twitter about the potential of trying to get a deshaun watson but as colts fans please recognize that the texans are not trading deshaun watson intra-division um this is not going to happen the only way he would be able to come to the Colts is if it's through another

way, which is even more farfetched, um, you know, or, or trade for a guy like Matt Stafford, or if a Dak Prescott's for whatever reason that the Cowboys decided to let him walk,

do that. I would say with the Doug Peterson firing there in Philadelphia, it significantly increases the chance that Carson Wentz is not available to the Colts, which for me, he was probably my least favorite available to the Colts, which for me, he was probably my least favorite option for the Colts going forward. You know, he's, he's a turnover machine, but I think what they're going to do is they're going to weigh out their

options going into the off season, see what the first couple of days of the league year bring, what they're able to look at, you know, take a look at the draft. And if they don't get the guy that they want, then I think they're going to bring back Phillip Rivers. And I think they're going to make that decision probably within two weeks of the league year. So they're not letting him kind of twist in the wind.

And they're not going to go into the draft with no quarterback aside from Jacob Eason on the roster. And that's kind of where I think it's going to happen with the Colts and with this team with regards to Phillip Rivers. I think that they absolutely want to bring him back, but only under the right circumstances. And I'm not sure that he's going to get 25 million again. I think they're going to try to bring him back at a lower cap number. I don't know if he'll want to come back and play for less. And so that's kind of where I'm at and where I think that the Colts organization in the front office is really thinking when it comes to Phillip Rivers and how they're going to approach the offseason at the quarterback position.

Steven, with this being the end of the season for the Colts, 11-6, lost on wild card weekend, looking back on how they wore the year prior, 7-9, they improved their core position by a lot. They got the four-spoken on board that changes defense entirely. Honestly, from expectations-wise, as a seven-seam AFC, this is probably where they probably were going to finish anyways, looking back on it.

But so many missed opportunities that could have gone deep in the playoffs, as I mentioned earlier in the show, Stephen. But what's your thoughts wrapping up the season for the Colts 2021-2020 11 and 6 and uh honestly a good year on paper yeah you know I'm I'm pleasantly surprised but also disappointed um with how they were able to integrate all these new guys to the roster uh with no training camp no off-season programs, no pre-season, instituting huge pieces with Phillip Rivers and Jonathan Taylor and having the injuries that they had,

you know that they were going to be limited in terms of what they could do, especially once Anthony Costanza went down in the playoffs. That was a huge blow to the Colts and to this team. And to the future of the left tackle position, that's a huge blow to the colts into this team and you know to the future of the left tackle position it's a huge question mark um but to see how michael pitman developed to see how um jonathan taylor developed to see deforest buckner being all pro in his first year here to see the development of julian blackman uh you see the guys start to step up and start to make plays. The continued success of Quentin Nelson and Darius Leonard.

You see all these guys, you know, Kyrie Willis, you've got so much young talent, and Bobby Okereke, and Kamoko Ture, once he started to come along there at the end of the season. You've got a lot of talent on this team, and it's just a shame that they weren't able to secure a home field game this past weekend and get an opportunity to showcase themselves a little bit better and play a little bit longer in this postseason. So I really think they could have done big things. It's still, to me, whenever you make the playoffs, it's a good season.

And it becomes a great season if you can make the Super Bowl. And that's kind of where I'm at is they they had a good season and they'll be picking 21st in the draft and they're going to have a lot of options available to them there at 21st overall and I think that this team's got a lot of promise going forward and with Chris Ballard at the helm Colts fans should be excited about where this team is headed. Even though they don't have the quarterback position quite figured out long-term, you know, aside from Jacob Eason on the roster,

they don't really have anybody. But I trust Chris Ballard to make the right decision for this franchise because he's been able to do it every step of the way, despite having crazy circumstances. Pretty much literally every year year he's been the general manager steven always appreciate talking to me and you guys can follow him on twitter if you're not already at nice read steve and go read a list to his work as always over on stampede

we appreciate the time man all right thanks evan