Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts finding their groove, rookies ascending, Buckner's COVID case, plus a huge showdown vs. Titans

Episode Date: November 28, 2020

On today's episode, Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue joins Evan for a deep dive episode into all the latest Colts news. First up, let's recap the Colts' huge victory over Green Bay. What stood out most in a 34-31 overtime victory?The 2020 rookie class is shaping up to be another spectacular one from GM Chris Ballard. Michael Pittman Jr., Jonathan Taylor, Julian Blackmon, and Rodrigo Blankenship were all huge factors in last Sunday's win, plus how important they will be over the final stretch of the regular season. What's our assessments of MPJ, Taylor, and Blackmon recently?DeForest Buckner will be out against Tennessee due to contracting COVID-19. A huge loss for Indy's defense, so how will they respond? It makes Sunday's battle all the more difficult.Finally, we preview the important matchup versus Tennessee. What's the keys to the game? Also, who will come out on top at Lucas Oil Stadium?All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed episode! 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 Setter, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue. To go over the Colts' win last Sunday over the Green Bay Packers, but also go deep dive into a very important game here on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at home, and also some other news about DeForest Buckner as well, landing on the COVID-19 list.

Stephen, how are you doing today? I'm doing well today, Evan. How are you? Doing well, doing well. Appreciate the time as always. And let's start off here just going in chronological order with that Colts game on Sunday. I think that was the most exciting game I've seen. And it had to be since the Andrew Luck era, Stephen. I mean, the way that game ended up 34-31 in overtime over Green Bay, the Colts defense just stingied up in the second half,

only like three points in the second half, as well as Phillip Rivers was outstanding that entire game. Jonathan Taylor looked incredible too, getting his momentum going a little bit. And I think it's fair to say, Stephen, that Michael Pittman Jr. is the Colts WR1 the rest of the season, in my opinion. But what was your overall takeaways from that game on Sunday? Yeah, I was really excited about the way that the Colts played against a good opponent because we've seen them do this

against Cincinnati earlier in the year where they got down big and they were able to make it up and win the game. In the end, this week, this past week against Green Bay, they are a good team. They've got an all-time great quarterback. They had their number one wide receiver, Devontae Adams, back. They had Aaron Jones in there. And the Colts really were able to shut them down in the second half.

And so that really was huge for me to see the defense, especially the defensive line, shut down the Packers running game, ultimately making them one-dimensional, which going against Aaron Rodgers, you don't always want to make them one-dimensional because he really is so good. But when they were able to just kind of square away and go, the defensive line was able to get pressure just on their own. And I think one of the big things for me, again, is the offense was able to keep up and able to stay with Green Bay when they needed to. Phillip Rivers didn't have that Phillip Rivers-esque mistake

in the second half, which is kind of something that San Diego Chargers, LA Chargers fans have always warned us about as Colts fans, that Phillip Rivers will make that mistake, usually late in game, when it really matters. He didn't this week, which I thought was huge. And you got to see the two rookies really, well, really three rookies come out to play and play really, really well for the team. You had Michael Pittman. Obviously, you saw that 45-yard catch and run. He was reliable for the entire game. You saw Jonathan Taylor really start feeling it out and really looked like he was starting to gain a lot of confidence in that game, which is huge for the

team down the stretch because Jonathan Taylor and the running game is going to play massively into whether the Colts can make the playoffs. And if they do make the playoffs, how far they'll go. And the other rookie that everybody, he's been flying under the radar is Julian Blackman. He had another huge game. He had another huge turnover late in the game that ultimately led to the Colts win. And he's starting finally to get some defensive rookie of the year accolades from Mina Kimes and different people from around the NFL, starting to throw his name out there in that hat,

throw his hat in the ring, so to speak, for defensive rookie of the year. And I think that's well-deserved because he really has been playing great this entire season. Once he got into the lineup, he's really taken hold of that safety role that we really were hoping that Malik Hooker would end up coming in and fulfilling. Julian Blackman has been everything we wanted and more. So I'm really excited about this game and how the Colts played.

You obviously hope the defense can start off a little bit better, not put the offense in a big hole to start the game at halftime. But the way that Matt Eberth-Lewis and the defensive staff really made those changes at halftime was everything because they effectively stymied Aaron Rodgers. If not for the refs calling four holdings on that last drive or the Colts in the fourth quarter and then not calling the two massive holds by Green Bay in the end zone, Green Bay doesn't score the second half, period.

And they would, you know, the fact of the game, the game would have been over with a safety in the end zone like that. It's one of those things where you really like how the Colts played. And despite some adversity with the officiating, they were still able to pull out a win. And I think that's huge for this team going forward, especially against such a quality opponent in Green Bay. Yeah, a huge momentum booster for the Colts now moving to 7-3 on the season.

Let's kind of fill up Rivers a little bit more deep dive, Stephen, because over his last five games, Rivers is completing 67% of his passes for 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. And two of those interceptions were really just miscues. That tip at the line of scrimmage against Green Bay, that Cincinnati game as well, he had one that should have been caught and that went to an interception instead.

So really, really right now, River's getting to a rhythm at a perfect time, Stephen. What's been your thoughts on River, not only against Green Bay, but also over the last month plus? Because he only had four touchdowns in the first five games of the season. Now he's already doubled that number in the Colts' last five games. It seems like he's really starting to get a grip of this offense right now. It's not only just a grip on the offense, but a grip with his wide receivers and his tight ends and his running backs

and all of his pass catchers. That's familiarity. Without having training camp, that really set this team back a little bit. And you saw that to start the season. And now that they've had some practices under their belts they've had some real life game action you're starting to see them feel more comfortable with each other so Philip Rivers is throwing those balls in places that he knows that receiver is going to be and for Philip Rivers as a whole he's the past month month and a half he's been a top 10, top five quarterback in the NFL.

He's got less interceptions at this point in the season than Tom Brady. He's playing great. This is Phillip Rivers right now is playing better than we had hoped he would play when he came in. And I think that's huge. And he's playing markedly better than what Jacoby Brissett could have ever brought. And so you finally get that upgrade at the quarterback position

that this offense really needed, and he's able to take this offense to another level because before, as we all knew last year, defenses would just cram the box, and the Colts, thankfully, were able to still run out of that I still don't know what's happening what's happened this year with the running game thankfully they started going to get it going this week but Phillip Rivers as a whole has been a bit of a breath of fresh air and as long as he can continue to avoid those bad bad mistakes those bad, bad mistakes, those bad mental mistakes that he makes sometimes, he legitimately, the Colts, if they're healthy, going into the playoffs, could compete with Kansas City

for that top spot. Not the top spot in terms of seeding, but they could go anywhere. They've got the defense and the gameplay style to go anywhere in the NFL and be able to win. And so going into Kansas City in January, I would say the Colts have a shot there. And I mean, if you look at the winning percentages of teams this year, prior to this year, the home teams won like 59%, 60% of games. This year, when you don't have any fans in the stadium, it's like under 50% of the game. And so it's much more of a coin toss that the fans not being in the stadium.

I like the Colts' chances with Phillip Rivers leading this offense going into the playoffs if they can continue to get this thing – keep this thing going. Speaking of taking his game to another level, Stephen, Michael Pittman Jr., also known as MPJ to all of us Colts fans, he's really taken his game up to another level the last three weeks over the last three games in chronological order here. Four receptions for 56 yards, seven receptions for 122 yards, including a 21-yard rush against Tennessee, and then against Green Bay, three receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. And he also leads the team in total

targets over that three-game span with 18. Doesn't seem like right now, Stephen, that if Michael Pittman Jr. really starts to emerge, which he really has over the last couple weeks, that this offense really is going to go up another level even more. And we really haven't even seen them test Pittman deep yet, which I think is another element we're going to see later on in December. Yeah, Michael Pittman Jr., what they've been doing is getting him in space a lot and getting him an opportunity to make plays. They, one of the big things that,

that he was great at, at USC was those 50, 50 jump balls. And they haven't even done that yet. And like you had said there, they haven't really sent him deep down the field. I, they've got a lot more bags in Michael Pittman,

juniors box that they could go to. And, you know, they've got, he's got a lot more tools there that, that the Colts just haven't used. more bags in Michael Pittman Jr.'s box that they could go to. You know, he's got a lot more tools there that the Colts just haven't used. And I don't know whether it's a matter of them going and trying to slow him in and trying to get him, you know, get him more involved in the game to kind of figure that out. But now you start to see him making plays. You start to see him get the ball in his hands and just do everything that you hoped he did he would do and everything you saw him do at USC he's starting to do now in the last three games with the Colts and you're right it is a breath of fresh air and

it's one of those things where he could be the number one wide receiver and he's a legitimate wide receiver one in the NFL he was one of my one of the NFL. He was one of my favorite draft picks, one of my favorite wide receivers in the last draft because he can do it all and you never have to take him off the field. And you're seeing that right now, now that he's gotten some playing time, you're seeing the team not take him off the field

and I think that's great for him and his development. This football season will be different and Pepsi's here to get you ready for game day no matter how you watch this season. Pepsi's a refreshment that you need to power through game day and become a member of the League of Football Watchers. These passionate fans are the real generational talent that Pepsi fuels because Pepsi isn't made for those who play the game, it's made for those who watch it. Pepsi, made for football watching. Go to madeforfootballwatching.com, check out the latest football watching content from Pepsi. Now, another rookie here, Stephen Ford Dever to the defense,

and then going to our Titans preview. Jonathan Taylor had arguably, I think, his best game of the season. I know he had a lot of volume against Minnesota for his first and only 100-yard game, but 22 carries for 96 yards. Really took over in that second half as well, and really was a lot more patient than we've seen him in weeks past. And I think that bodes very well for this stretch, heading into the playoffs in December and January.

What was your assessment of Taylor on Sunday against Green Bay? And do you think this is something they can build off of? Yeah, I really do. I think that he had a great game against Green Bay. And even if you looked at the end of the game, he was the running back that they had in there on that last drive in the fourth quarter. And there were several times where he was getting hit at the line of

scrimmage and still getting four or five, six, seven yards in the play. What three of those were wiped out by kind of questionable holding calls. So he would have had an even bigger day if not for the officiating in the game. And you look at the way that he ran, he's starting to feed into the contact. He's more of a contact runner, as it were, that's got that downfield burst, but he likes contact. And you're starting to see that in the past two weeks, especially that he is the one that is initiating the contact with the defenders and just bowling over people. And he's able to make that quick cut now.

And he's starting to get more familiar and more comfortable with the offense. And that's huge for the Colts going down the stretch because having a legitimate and viable running game, it takes all the pressure off of Phillip Rivers because it opens up the play-action pass, and you're going to have a whole lot of options for this Colts offense if they can start to effectively utilize the play-action pass.

It's going to be a completely different team. Let's hit on the defense now, Stephen. And another rookie, really the theme of today's show, just these rookies really starting to break out. And this one really has broken out since game one of his career against Minnesota. It's Julian Blackman, who another game-setting turnover in the fourth quarter. All three of his turnovers this year have been in the fourth quarter

over time. Gets that forced fumble against Marquez Valdes, scaling it over time. Helps the Colts win with another rookie, Rodrigo Blankenship, hitting that game winner in overtime. What's just been your overall thoughts on Julian Blackman's team? Because he's been just, I think, a godsend to this defense. I know Malik Hooker was a talent that the Colts had, and he's obviously out for the earth, he's like torn Achilles.

But the level of play from Hooker to Blackman is pretty immense to me. I mean, what's been your thoughts on Blackman so far this year and just the way he's still continuing to make these plays? It really does remind me of Darius Leonard in 2018, the way he's playing right now. Yeah, he's been amazing. Just flat out been amazing. He hasn't had those rookie mental mistakes,

and this goes to his coaching at Utah. They do a great job where they're with their defensive backs. He comes in and he came in as a professional and was able to film study. You don't see him take those small steps. You see him, and this is something that I thought was interesting, Green Bay in the first half on at least one of their touchdowns in another big game, it might've been two of their touchdowns in the first half, but they were running bubble screens, uh, on either side and they would flare back the wide receiver and then have the

two blockers come up. And it was just a quick bubble screen that they would go and Devante Adams got a touchdown on one in overtime. That's that bubble screen. It was the same thing that they ran in the first half. Julian Blackman sniffed that out and recognized that that's what they were running and cut that and was able to make a play on Marquis Valdez's scandaling that obviously forced the turnover and ended up helping the Colts win the game. It's not only that he gets into the classroom and he doesn't take a false step when he when the game starts it's as the game's going on he's learning he's recognizing he's absorbing

the information that that green bay is giving him and what his coaches are telling him on the sideline and it's that adaptability that i think makes julian blackman a very special player in this defense and something that is like you said it's been a breath of fresh air at the safety position because you've got some really good young players there with Kyrie Willis and Julian Blackman that you feel comfortable with like if you told me going into the season that you were going to be having a third round rookie coming off a torn ACL nine months after nine ten months after torn ACL and he's going to be having a third round rookie coming off a torn ACL nine months after nine ten months after torn ACL and he's going to be your starting safety I'm going to be a little

bit on edge about that now seeing him play for the past seven weeks weeks or so I feel really comfortable with him back there it's one of those situations you you felt comfortable with Antoine Vissay back there you felt comfortable with Bob Sanders back there. It's one of those situations you felt comfortable with Antoine Vissay back there. You felt comfortable with Bob Sanders back there. You feel comfortable with Julian Blackman back there. And for the Colts and for this defense, that's a huge thing, especially in a cover two, because you need safeties that aren't going to screw up. And Julian Blackman doesn't take false steps. He doesn't make bad reads on most situations. And he's got the quickness and speed to be able to make up if he does make those mistakes. And so he has been just an absolute godsend for this defense.

And I'm really excited for the defense going forward. Looking at these rookies just for a second before we go back to the defense, Stephen, just Michael Poon Jr., Jonathan Taylor, if he starts to really ascend this last month of the year. Julian Blackman's been a star all throughout this year. He could be the defense rookie, their favorite. Add in Danny Penter as kind of your new Joe Hegg now. He's playing a lot of snaps to your sixth offensive lineman.

Rodrigo Blankenship is the undrafted rookie. He's your kicker for the next decade plus, I imagine, unless something drastic happens. And also just the wild card, Jacob Eason. If he could be your franchise quarterback in the next year or two, that could really change things. But this 2020 draft class, Stephen, looks like another home run from Chris Ballard, doesn't it?

Yeah, and honestly, all the young guys that Chris Ballard has really brought in, ever since the Quentin Nelson draft, when they had a new coach in place, when they had what they were going for with the system that he wanted to draft for what Chris Ballard wanted to draft for in the 4-3 Tampa 2 style every single like there hasn't been just a bad draft or a really terrible signing from Chris Ballard and it goes to just how refreshing it is to have somebody that knows what they're talking about and knows what they're doing and knows how to evaluate players as the GM because for five years you squandered arguably one of the best you know coming out one of the best quarterbacks of all time coming from college and you squandered his career to where obviously he retired and now you've got a GM that really

understands football and building a team and building a culture. And for the Colts going forward, this franchise is on the rise and people should probably recognize that and take that into account whenever they're trying to project the top teams in the AFC here in the next couple of years. Now let's overall hit on this defense, Stephen, because I think it's fair to say the last two games against Tennessee and Green Bay we've seen the Colts outscore the Packers and the Titans in the second half by a combined score of 38 to 3 which is so impressive to me we'll head on to Forrest Buckner's COVID stuff in a second but with the way this defense has played over the last month really the last two months of the season ever since that Jacksville game what's been your overall

assessment Matt Eberkcluse's defense? And it feels like finally adding in guys like Buckner, like Blackman, has really taken them to another level on this defensive side with Ibercluse. Yeah, the defense itself, like when the season first started and you kind of questioned, you know, all right, he got a lot of – got some head coaching, you know, buzz last year. You know, was it a little too soon for him? Start of the season, you were really kind of questioning that a lot. Now, you see that in the first half of games, the Colts still are a little

shaky on defense, but those adjustments they make at halftime, they might be the best defense. They are probably the best defensive team after the half. And I don't think that that's really questionable at all. They've had multiple games where, with the exception of maybe Baltimore, they held almost every opponent to next to nothing on offense. Less than 10 points, I'd guess, for the majority of teams that they played. And if they ever scored more than that, it was a give-up touchdown when the game was already over late in the fourth quarter. The defense as a whole, though, is really coming together, and you really like to see the direction that it's moving under Matt Eberflus. They've got the pieces now, and this is what Chris Ballard's plan was all along.

This is the style of defense. These are the types of players that he really wanted. And so it's really good to see them come together, and they're able to make a great defense. It's so weird to say as a Colts fan, to talk about them being a great defense. It's refreshing, but it's still weird. Yeah, that's the thing is that you have to imagine, Stephen, maybe just with the offense evolution in the NFL, we don't see it,

but what are the odds you expect that Ibercluse takes at least to one or two interviews this offseason? Oh, I think he should get interviews. I think he'll take them, and I think that Chris Ballard and Frank Reich will tell him to take them because even if he doesn't want to go out and become a head coach this year or after this season, it's important to get in the room and really get an idea of how these interviews go, get yourself a little bit more comfortable. So when the job does come along that you really do want, that you're prepared for it and you're not kind of flying in blind to an interview that really matters. There's only 32 coaching positions, head coaching positions in the NFL and only five or six maybe come up on any given year. And so it's a really select crew and you don't want to go in flying blind. So I think that he would, that Chris Ballard would push him to take some interviews. They would hate to lose

him and they probably pay him more money to keep him there in Indianapolis if they could. But I think he'll get some interviews this year just based on how well this defense is playing, especially in the second half of the game. Let's sound to Forrest Buckner now, the big news for this game on Sunday and possibly the week after against Houston, Deshaun Watson, by the way, has been on fire for the last month of the year. If not for the Texans being awful defensively, this team would be a really a legit threat, I think for the division,

but with the way Watson's playing, but DeForest Buckner on Wednesday, we heard the big news from Ian Rappaport saying that DeForest Buckner did test positive for COVID-19. It's not as a contact tracing thing. He had legitimately got a positive test as did Danico Autry before. So Autry is out on Sunday. DeForest Buckner is also out on Sunday. Could be out next week in Houston as well.

How big of a loss is it, Stephen, if Buckner misses, of course, this game on Sunday against Tennessee with Derrick Henry, but also the week after with Deshaun Watson? It's a huge loss. It really depends on the timing of the test and whether DeForest Buckner was symptomatic versus asymptomatic. Because he had a positive test, he's out at least 10 days if he's asymptomatic. He's out at least 14 days if he showed symptoms. And so I don't know if we'll find that out. But my guess is he's obviously out this week,

and they're probably going to prepare for him to potentially be out against Houston as well. The one bright spot is the way that Chris Ballard has built this roster and that they have defensive line is arguably the deepest position on this roster. And so they've got guys that can come in and and play that role they're not anywhere near the level of player that DeForest Buckner is and they won't make the same impact that the that DeForest Buckner will and so his loss is going to be felt pretty large I think the bigger loss this week that could be felt is Bobby Okereke at the linebacker position

because he's been such a good run defender and being able to track down Derrick Henry in past games. But the loss of DeForest Buckner, it's going to be challenging for the Colts, especially against a run-first team like Tennessee. DeForest Buckner is such an elite player at the defensive tackle position. To have him miss this game is really going to be tough for the defense. But again, they've got a lot of depth in the position, so the step down is less than it would have been in any other regime or any other year for the Colts for that matter. Yeah, Tyquan Lewis I imagine that will be the starting three tech alongside Grover Stewart on Sunday.

We'll probably see more reps as well for guys like Al-Khani Mohamed, Kamoko Ture as well. He had made his season debut last week. I imagine he'll get a lot more snaps with Buckner being on the edge as well. But let's dive in now, Stephen, to our last portion of the show, which is our quick preview of the Titans game on Sunday. A huge one for the Colts because if they win this one, they're going to move to 8-3 and really have a pseudo-two-game advantage

or the Titans sweep them for this year. If they lose this game, the Titans really control their own destiny in this one to go win the AFC South the rest of the way. But let's hit on this, Stephen. What do you think is going to happen here on Sunday? Because I feel like if not for those special teams miscues in Nashville, I think the Titans might have won that game. It was a lot closer than the scoreboard imagined.

According to the Drag Kings as well, the Colts are only three-point favorites against Tennessee. What's your expectations here on Sunday for arguably – they keep saying this every single week now, but it really rings true with the stretch they have right now, their biggest game of the year on Sunday against the Titans. Yeah, I think that it's going to be a tough game. Any division game is going to be a tough

especially against a team like tennessee who is a more of a backyard brawler style of team they the loss of deforest buckner and janico audrey and then bobby okariki all three of them being out is huge for the colts it's i not going to kind of cherry pick this and say that it's not a big deal. It is. I'm not going to sugarcoat this. It really is going to be tough for the Colts defensively. I do think that if the Colts offense can get out in front of Tennessee and score a couple touchdowns and give themselves

a little bit of a cushion and force Tennessee into needing to rely on Ryan Tannehill I think the Colts really do have an opportunity to take over this game because they can effectively take the ball out of Derrick Henry's hand and if they can do that the loss of DeForest Buckner maybe isn't as big I think what you'll see with with Ibraflux this week is without having DeForest Buckner and Nick Wattry you're going to see probably more blitzing from the Colts to try to gum up those lanes and the Colts as we know their defense is one of the best in terms of tackling percentage or missed tackles. They just don't miss tackles too often. And so you've got to hope that they're able to gum up those lanes, make those tackles, bring Derrick Henry down,

get a couple three and outs early. And if they can do that, they can really take hold of this game and keep the ball away from Tennessee. And so I think that they've got a pretty good opportunity to win. I wonder what the line's going to be now with – if maybe the line's moved with DeForest Buckner news, with him being out. I don't know. I know at the beginning of the week it was a three-point game.

I don't know whether they kept it still at three. But I think the Colts have a great opportunity to win this game, but it's going to be a lot more difficult now with those guys that are going to be out. It's prediction time, Steven. What do you think is going to happen here on Sunday? I predicted earlier this week on our crossover with Locked on Titans. They're going to go 24-23.

That's where I knew about the divorce Buckner news. I'm a little gun shy about it right now just because I don't know how big of an impact Buckner's going to be missing him with his defense. But I'll stick my prediction of 24-23 with a Rodrigo Blankenship game winner on Sunday once more back-to-back weeks. But it's going to be a dogfight on Sunday, Steve. What's your prediction? I think it's going to be 27-24 Colts,

and I think you're going to see a big game from Michael Pittman, Michael Pittman Jr., and Trey Burton because with Jalen Brown being out for the Titans on their defensive front, it's going to open up their secondary, and he is their best defender. So I'm going to go 27-24 Colts in this game. I'm not super confident on it, but that's where I think it's going to go. Steven, always enjoy talking with you, man. He's always on every week or two on the podcast.

Go follow him on Twitter if you're not already, at NiceReadSteven. Go read and listen to his work, as always, over with you, man. He's always on every week or two on the podcast. Go follow him on Twitter if you're not already at Nice Read. Steven, go read and listen to his work as always over on Stampede Blue. Steven, appreciate the time. All right. Thanks, Evan. Have a great one.