Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts fire on all cylinders in 41-21 win over Lions
Episode Date: November 3, 2020On today's episode, Evan is joined by Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed as they go over another impressive Colts victory. The defense was awesome, while Philip Rivers remains on fire in terms of quarterbac...k efficiency.In what was a close game at first, Darius Leonard's strip sack changed the entire momentum as Indy closed on a 21-7 run. How has the defense looked as their positive trend continues upward? Tyquan Lewis is starting to ascend, while Bobby Okereke is becoming a bonafide Pro Bowl caliber linebacker as well.On offense, Rivers' effectiveness was helped by Nyheim Hines playing an explosive role with two touchdowns. How should Indy utilize Hines moving forward? Also, Jordan Wilkins and Jonathan Taylor should expect a more even split on carries as the struggles continue for the Wisconsin rookie.All of this, plus so much more, as it's Baltimore week in a very important matchup happening at Lucas Oil Stadium! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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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 to the next episode of Locked On Colts, probably Locked On Podcast Network.
Today's live is your host, Evan Seder, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue.
We're going to recap the Colts' 41-21 win in Detroit over the Lions on Sunday.
Stephen, how are you doing today?
I'm doing well, Evan. How are you?
Doing well, and I know, obviously, we're back on Monday to recap an impressive win for the Colts.
I know it was a little bit nip and tuck there in the second and third quarters, but
I think really impressed to me
what was the most impressed to me, Stephen, honestly,
was how the Colts blew it open in the fourth
quarter of that game, the second half really, the end of the third
quarter and on, where they outscored
the Lions 21-7, and really the
main pivotal point of that game was
Darius Leonard and that forced fumble he had
on a strip sack, where the Lions
dragged on the field, about to tie up the game there.
And then Leonard, the maniac, changed the game there.
I think the biggest impression to me from Sunday, outside of Leonard's play
and just that momentum shift ahead in that game, was just the defense itself here.
Continually, week in, week out, Stephen, this is starting to prove here
that they are very legit and we're going to really know the next three or four games
how good they truly are.
But to the first seven games of the season Stephen
it's a polar opposite what's been the last 10 plus years in Indianapolis.
Oh yeah absolutely and it's what's kind of crazy is how well this defense has played and they've
over the past handful of weeks they've been pretty consistent and especially in the second half of games where you saw this um with the previous regime that the second half they would just fall apart
the colts i think in in the chuck vagano era had the lead going into halftime
pretty frequently and and somehow had would consistently lose the game um this team and
this coaching staff has got these guys where, yeah, okay,
they seem to start out slow and everything to start the game.
But once halftime hits in that second half,
they really kind of turn up the energy and they turn up the intensity.
And they're able to make plays.
I mean, shoot, like you said,
the Colts defense really changed that game with the Darius Leonard forced
fumble, Colts score defense really changed that game with the Darius Leonard forced fumble,
Colts score, a touchdown on that drive, and then immediately, eight seconds later, it's a pick six for Kenny Moore, I believe. And so, I mean, that's 15 points in eight seconds for a team, which is
crazy in and of itself, but it really just shows how quickly a game can turn when you have a
defense that's really putting pressure.
And the Colts defense was able to get pressure with their front four.
Taequann Lewis played a heck of a game,
something that we've all been kind of waiting for, for him.
And he's shown in a limited number of stats,
snaps that he's gotten that he can really produce if given the opportunity.
It's kind of what we've said about Marcus Johnson is when they've given him
the opportunity, he's really kind of shown up and played.
And you've seen that this year.
I can't, you know, I'd be remiss to not bring up how big of an impact
DeForest Buckner has played in this defense and the return of Darius Leonard.
They're just a different defense with Darius Leonard on the field.
Yeah, it really does show a lot, too.
I know in the box score, it will show that DeForest Buckner didn't do much yesterday.
He just had one tackle in the box score, no QB hits, nothing else like that.
But his presence out there really helped guys like I mentioned, like Taequann Lewis,
Grover Stewart, Danico Autry.
I think Autry and Lewis themselves had multiple sacks in this game on Sunday,
really helping open up that pressure, playing next to Buckner as well speaking of Lewis for a moment Stephen we talked about I think in
August when training camp was going on during the COVID-19 pandemic and still wondering whether
this was going to happen or not it's so impressive to finally see Tyquan Lewis really hit it off now
because you saw in Cincinnati last week limited snaps five tackles and a half sack this week he
starts over to Niko Autry he has even better production He has two and a half sacks in this game –
or excuse me, two sacks in this game.
He's gone with a couple of tackles, a couple of QB hits as well.
I think Tyquan Lewis, we're really starting to see the true breakout now,
Steven, for Tyquan Lewis.
So that's the case.
You add in Kamoba Ture here in a week or two.
That 2018 draft class, it was already historic in the first place
by Colt CM, Chris Ballard.
But if Tyquan Lewis has a hit now, Steven, I mean,
that's a nearly flawless, perfect draft class he had in 2018.
Yeah, when you
look back on it, and if Tyquan Lewis
does continue this ascension
like we're seeing, and
Kamoko Ture goes back
to the form that we saw at the beginning
of the season last, or the
beginning of last season, where
he was almost unblockable to start
the year before his ankle injury um and so if those two guys can really come up and play it
it literally could be one of the best draft classes in modern NFL history um and I I know
that sounds hyperbolic but that really is the the case. Like you'd have two all pros.
You would have a starting right tackle.
You have a, you've got a starting defensive end on both sides.
So two starting defensive ends, an elite pass rusher.
You've got all these other great players.
It's almost unheard of for a general manager to really hit in his first five picks in any draft.
And that just seems like what they're doing, like what he's done.
It's really, really crazy to see how well Chris Ballard has drafted over the years
and just to see how well that this team is really coming together.
Speaking of Matt Eberflewer on here, so defense overall,
we've seen after that week one debacle in Jacksonville,
where Gardner Minshew tore them up.
Now Gardner Minshew is probably on the outside looking in now
as the Jaguars started quarterback in 2021,
as he's now on the bench due to an injury.
But it seems like for now, they're going to start that developmental project,
Jake Luton, for the seventh round for the rest of the year,
it sounds like, over there in Jacksonville.
But I really think we've seen a lot more disguising coverages,
a lot more exotic looks from Eddie Rufluso over the last two-plus months
since that game.
What's been your impression of this defense so far?
It's really not just a vanilla cover two defense anymore, Stephen.
We've seen a lot of cover three, a lot of blitzing packages,
a lot of man coverage too as well.
A lot of mixing it up.
I mean, we've been asking for Rufluso to do this for years, honestly, Stephen,
and he's finally doing it. And I think this comes down to the personnel that he has um
back when he was playing with molly cooker molly cooker was limited in what he could
do like yeah he was an athletic freak um but he really wasn't a guy that you really trusted to go
up into the box and make a hit um now with the guys that they have in Julian Blackman, Corey Willis,
and the defensive backfield that they have, you know,
Kenny Moore, Xavier Rhodes, Rocky Steen,
they've got players that can really, that are versatile,
that can play in this defense and play anywhere. And Matt Eberflus,
I think that they feel more comfortable with Julian Blackman and giving him
more assignments. You see him on the field now often, and when you see him, he's always around the ball.
And so that, I think, is making such a huge impact on the way that they play this defense
and the way that they call their defense.
They're allowed to be more aggressive, and they feel more comfortable when, even if they're
not aggressive and they just stick with rushing the front four,
they still feel comfortable that they're going to be able to make a play.
And I think that has to do a lot with the personnel,
and they're finally getting the guys to really fit this defense.
And it's showing now, especially in the second half of games.
Like I said before, it's a night and day difference between how they start games.
I mean, I think all of us were probably screaming at the TV in the beginning of the Cincinnati game.
And then finally they turned it on the second half.
And similarly, the defense now, I mean, shoot, I think the Dolphins had something like,
not Dolphins, but the Lions had something like 29 rushing yards on the day like the defensive line
really has come to play and they're really setting the tone for this entire defense
and now that they've got those pieces behind them that they feel comfortable with it's just
they're allowed to be more aggressive and they're allowed to go and just make plays and that really is just how they're
doing things in the Colts organization and how well Matty Rufus is putting those pieces together
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One more player on the
defensive side, Stephen,
before you jump over to
the offense, who, I mean,
obviously, the Bill
Burris had an impressive
day, as did Jordan
Wilkins, who we're
going to have in a
moment here.
But on defense, Bobby
Okereke, over the last
couple weeks, has really
started to ascend, in my
opinion.
He's really, like, a
star linebacker in this
league, and really, I
think, started to phase
Anthony Walker out a
little bit.
Walker did not have the
best game on Sunday,
really becoming just a two-down linebacker.
He only played 40% of the snaps on Sunday.
Okereke and Leonard near 100%.
It seemed to me, Steven, that right now I'd be surprised if Walker is back next year
because I just feel like Bobby Okereke, he's shown over the last three weeks
that he's becoming a true three-down linebacker, one that's very, very versatile,
one that really is at perfect with Darius Leonard.
Yeah, and that's what the Colts originally said when they drafted him,
is that they expected him to kind of grow into that position.
And that's what we had said, talking about the different position battles,
is Bobby Okereke is more likely than not going to overtake Anthony Walker.
Now, Anthony Walker is still – I don't know if I'd say that this might be his last year. I know he's going, this is his contract year. And so I think that
they might try to extend him. But Bobby Okereke has taken over a lot of his snaps. Now, in those
two games that Darius Leonard didn't play, Anthony Walker was playing a lion's share of the snaps,
not 100% of the snaps. he was playing the majority of them
so he still is a very valuable piece and he's still a very valuable player but yeah Darius
Leonard I think played 100% of snaps and then Bobby Okereke played something like upper 70s
lower 80s and I think Andy Walker played under 50% of snaps this week. And that might be that,
that honestly might be game specific because at that point the Colts were
ahead and the lions weren't able to rush the ball.
So they were passing constantly.
I think they threw for like 330 yards and like that.
And Anthony Walker, isn't the coverage linebacker in that group,
Bobby Okereke and Darius Leonard are your clear coverage linebackers.
And so based on the defense and what they were playing,
I wouldn't necessarily read so far into it that they're going to phase out
Anthony Walker because I do think he's an important part of this defense.
But his snaps are clearly being eaten up by Bobby Okereke in that nickel
and in that dime situations.
Let's move to the offense now, Stephen.
Phillip Rivers, back-to-back weeks now where he's had incredible games.
Rivers was 23 of 33 for three touchdowns and zero picks, 262 yards as well,
almost eight yards per attempt to add on to that.
I mean, after Phillip Rivers read those press clippings from where the Zach Heaper,
Kevin Bowen, Stephen Holt, the rest of that indie media group,
it seemed like he's really turned it on because I know a lot of us were even
mentioning like even outside the Browns game,
we can talk about the Bears game as well, a couple games before that too as well.
It seemed like he was kind of just fading off a little bit.
These last two games, granted it's against the Bengals, it's against the Lions,
but very impressed that the Bounce Out Phillip Rose has had six touchdowns
and one pick over that span. It's been really incredible throwing football down the Lions, but very impressed with the bounce that Phillip Rivers has had, six touchdowns and one pick over that span.
It's been really incredible throwing the football down the field,
being very smart with it as well.
What was your impression of Rivers on Sunday, Stephen,
especially that second quarter where, once again,
he had three touchdowns in the quarter?
Yeah, I think Phillip Rivers is doing exactly what they're asking him to do,
and that is opening it up when they want to open him up
and now you're seeing Frank Reich feel a little bit more comfortable with with his play calling
it feels like they're starting to open up the game for Phillip Rivers and that really plays into his
his mentality so we started the season and everybody was really, really, I think at one point he had more interceptions to touchdowns.
And so we were all kind of saying, you know, is he done?
You know, and I, people were thinking that.
I said, you know, give it some time.
You know, it's a new offense, new guys.
They didn't have training camp.
They didn't get an opportunity to really get some game action or some live action with each other and practices now that they've gotten some of those
under their belt it's good to see philip river is really clicking and he's not making he still
sometimes will make that what are you thinking throw where you just kind of put your hands up
and go what are you doing are you throwing that? But for the most part, even those balls are in positions
where only his receiver can catch it.
And so you're seeing him get more comfortable with the offense.
You're seeing him get more comfortable with the wide receivers
that he's working with, getting more time,
getting to use those tight ends, use the running backs
the way that Phillip Rivers really likes to.
And so I think the arrow is certainly going up for Phillip Rivers. And this is the quarterback
that I expected him to be from the start of the season. And I'm glad that he's kind of showing up
now because this is the stretch of games coming up that really are going to make or break the
Colts season and whether they make the playoffs.
Yeah, I was about to mention, Stephen,
is how good of a sign is it that Rivers is doing this right now
when they're heading into this four-game stretch against the Ravens, Titans,
Packers, where he's really finding a group,
even without a consistent running game right now.
We're going to have Jordan Wilkins in a moment here,
and John Taylor as well, that overall situation of running back.
But Rivers even doing so without a ground game is even more impressive than that.
Yeah, and he's getting time to throw from Rivers.
I know he took two sacks this week,
but he's able to get time to throw for the most part.
And it really is impressive that he's doing this
without having a consistent running game
because you're seeing some little runs here and there,
and you're seeing the running game start to hopefully start to pick up here
soon. But yeah,
it really is impressive that he's able to make this happen. You know,
we really kind of would like to see Jordan Wilkins, you know,
get the starting nod coming up because he he's been more consistent this year
and maybe it's the familiarity with the offense and the offensive line
and just with the speed of the game that you don't have with Jonathan Taylor.
I know that Frank Reich and Phillip Rivers had mentioned
that Taylor might be a little nicked up.
And so that might be going on.
But I'm excited to see once they start really getting that running game going.
And I think they will.
Because they ran for 120 yards this past week, which was good for them.
But you still don't have a consistent running back one,
really, after the Marlon Mack injury.
You hope Jonathan Taylor would step into that role, but so far he hasn't.
And so I'll be very excited to see what Phillip Rivers can do
with a legitimate play action because that's going to be a bread and butter
play right there for them once they really get that running game
and get teams to fear that running game a little bit.
Jordan Wilkins on Sunday had a career game, 20 carries,
a career high for 89 yards and a touchdown,
all over four and a5 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Taylor, who did not play much in the second half,
like I mentioned, possibly did an injury, 11 carries for 22 yards,
only two yards per carry.
What was your impression of the rushing attack on Sunday's team?
Where did you feel like they were starting to slowly build it up
and Jordan Wilkins kind of getting that momentum punch they needed over there?
Yeah, Jordan Wilkins is, I might have said it on
this podcast earlier in the season, he's one of those guys that whenever he gets an opportunity
to play, he really, he finds his holes, he does his job, he gets positive yardage, he's got great
vision, and he had great vision come out of college, and that was one of the biggest things
for him, and one of the things that I was really
excited about about him as a prospect was his vision and just ability to find the hole and hit
the hole and you're seeing that here in the NFL the one of the plays that I remember is he had
hit behind the line of scrimmage should have been a three-yard loss he turned it into a 12-yard game um because he was able to
dot get get out of that that tackle and then saw the hole and just hit it and that's one of those things where i i think that jonathan taylor will learn that because his vision was never a problem
at wisconsin and you see him just kind of hesitating a little bit and it might be a
lack of familiarity with the offense.
Might be the speed of the game where he's just got to get himself used to it.
Because again, these rookies didn't have training camp.
They didn't have an opportunity to really acclimate to the speed of the NFL and to the speed of these professional football players.
Before just being kind of tossed into the sharks.
And so Jonathan Wilkins has been kind of a breath of fresh air for the
Colts offense because he is so able to do everything that they ask.
He can pass block.
He can catch out of the backfield if he needs to.
He's a very patient runner, but has good vision and can hit the hole.
So he's an ideal backup running back for this Colts offense with Marlon Mack
going down and with Jonathan Taylor kind of struggling thus far.
So I don't feel that there's such a huge drop off going to Jordan Wilkins.
And I'm excited for him to get an opportunity.
And I hope the coaching staff gives him an opportunity after going and playing as well as he did this past week. Moving ahead now, I mean, let's say Taylor
is okay and he's good to go fully on Sunday or even in a limited role. The rest of the year,
I mean, honestly, what you mentioned, Jordan Wilkins, he always does very well when given
opportunity. He showed again this past Sunday, really helping get this momentum going for the
rushing attack. Do you feel like the rest of the year we should see more of a 50-50,
maybe 60-40 split between Taylor and Wilkins in the running game?
I hope so.
Because unless if Jonathan Taylor really kind of picks it up
and all of a sudden everything clicks,
then I think that you'll see him get more carries.
But I do hope that there's going to be a little bit more of a 50-50 split.
They go with the hot hand.
And obviously this past week, that hot hand was clearly Jordan Wilkins.
So I'm glad that they didn't try to force Taylor in there
and take away time from Wilkins when he was really playing well.
But I do think that you're probably going to see more of a 50-50,
50-60-40 split between the two going forward.
Let's tell Naheem Hines before we go into the last part of our show,
talk about this Ravens game and also the stretch coming from the Colts.
Incredible game from Naheem Hines again.
Almost reminded me of the Panthers game last year.
I mean, of course, that was a special teams game from Hines,
but this one in the receiving game, three receptions, 54 yards,
two touchdowns, two super impressive touchdowns to fact there.
That's been at the end of the first one. There's the pure lead gymnastics in the end zone for both two touchdowns, two super impressive touchdowns to fact there. That's been at the end of the first one.
There's the pure lead gymnastics in the end zone for both those touchdowns
that went viral on Twitter, as you all know.
But Naeem Hines, I feel like, should be used more often as offense,
and it kind of should on Sunday.
He can be that sort of Paris Campbell-esque guy in their offense,
and I even tweeted out on Twitter on Sunday during the game that
why not use Naeem Hines more in that Paris Campbell role,
use him as a gadget guy
in the slot or outside of the running back,
just like flare it out to him a little bit.
I really think if Hines could be that player that they're missing
in this offense as far as that speed goes,
they didn't use the Michael Harris history at all.
Number 12, as you guys all know, that played really well against the Bengals.
I really think that Hines could be that guy for them, Stephen,
until Paris Kimmel returns.
What do you think about Hines' game on Sunday and also his role moving forward?
Yeah, I think that they used Hines similar to how they used him
at the beginning of the year against Jacksonville.
And that was – it's good for Naheem Hines.
It's really his forte is catching the ball out of the backfield
and being a little bit shifty, making guys miss,
versus what they did for a handful of games
in there is they try to run in between the tackles which just wasn't working so I'm glad to see that
they've adjusted their game plan with Naeem Hines and are using him more in space because that's
where he is lethal and like you said that's where Paris Campbell was lethal as you get him in space
and he's able to make a play he He makes one guy miss and he's gone.
And that's how it was with Liam Hines this past week.
And I'm glad you mentioned his celebration.
That was maybe the most impressive thing that I saw during Sunday's game. And there were a lot of impressive things from the Colts.
But to get an impressive quote tweet from Simone Biles about how impressive his acrobatic work was
in his gymnastics work. That's always fun to see. But as a whole, I think Neem Hines is
one of those players that he should be used more. It's the same thing with Jordan Wilkins.
I wouldn't be upset if they started to push carries, push touches to Neal Hines and Jordan Wilkins.
Because those guys have really shown that when given an opportunity, they perform well.
And you just got to keep going with your hot hand.
And I just think that's a smart way to coach.
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Moving on now to the Ravens game on Sunday, a huge one for the Colts, who, by the way,
the Ravens are going to be missing some key players. Marlon Humphrey test positive for
COVID-19 earlier today. He's going to be out on Sunday. Ronnie Stanley, of course, is going
to be out on Sunday. He had a big injury last Sunday against
the Steelers. So they're missing their left tackle
and their star cornerback, Mark Ingram.
They're back up running back to J.K. Dobbins, the star
rookie running back behind Lamar Jackson.
He's out as well.
So the Braves come in a little bit battered and bruised after
that Pittsburgh game. The Colts could be
coming around the Perk opportunity here, Stephen.
They're 3.5 underdogs per draft
kinks. They're not the favorites in this one,
but I have a hard time thinking
why the Colts can't be favorites
because Lamar Jackson has not been good at all
so far this year.
He's been very up and down.
This Colts defense has the recipe
to go against Lamar Jackson.
They have that front four of Buckner.
They have the Spies and Okereke and Leonard,
a good discipline secondary as well.
The Ravens really don't have much outside weapons
except Hollywood Brown.
I just feel like the Colts match up very, very well against this Ravens team.
What do you think is going to happen here on Sunday, Stephen?
Yeah, I think that the – I'm a little surprised that the line is as big
as it is being a three-and-a-half.
I think it should be closer.
I think it probably should be a pick-em game because the Colts defensively
really match up well against the Ravens.
Like you said, they've got that front four.
They've got the speed at the linebacker position.
And Lamar Jackson has some faults.
And the Tennessee Titans last year really kind of highlighted those
in that he really can't throw the ball more than like 15 to 30 yards
really accurately.
And if you can contain him in the pocket and force him to make those throws
and,
and are able to keep that spy on him and not let him get out,
he can be kind of neutralized to a point.
The Colts run defense is the top in the league.
If not the top in the league, if not the top in the league, the top three run defense.
And that's really Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens spread and putup for the Colts and to hit them when Ronnie Stanley is now out.
So they're going to be down their left tackle, which you never like to see that from having a player get hurt.
Same thing with Marlon Humphrey. You never like to see a player contract the virus that will keep them out.
But it does happen to be at an opportune time for the Colts.
So Ravens as a whole are not a super disciplined team.
And so they've been penalized a lot.
I could see the Colts taking advantage of that.
I don't see the Ravens, I don't see this being a blowout.
And obviously neither does Vegas for
that matter but I think the Colts match up better against the Ravens than they do against
some of the other teams other top teams just because of the speed on defense their discipline
that they show they're able to take advantage of weaknesses the opponents have,
and it happens to fall right into the Colts' strength.
So, again, the Colts' run defense is top of the league.
The Ravens focus on the run.
So the Colts could effectively neutralize the run defense,
put the onus on Lamar Jackson to make passes.
You bracket coverage Hollywood Brown, so then he can't get over top of you. And then you put the, you can either put Leonard or Riki on Mark Andrews, who is the tight end. It's a Lamar Jackson's biggest safety valve.
And those guys can cover him. You could also put Kyrie Willis on him and feel comfortable
having coverage on that tight end. After that, the Ravens don't have a lot. It's Willie Sneed.
You know, do you feel confident if you're a Ravens fan that Willie Sneed's going to be the
guy that leads your team to victory over the Colts? I wouldn't. And if the Colts coaching
staff can really put those things together, I think they've got an opportunity to put the
Colts in a great position to win this week. And I wouldn't be surprised if the Colts pull out a
victory.
Let's have our predictions here for this game real quick before we just dive
into our general thoughts of this stretch coming up here in November.
It's really going to make or break the Colts season.
I'm going to go with an upset here.
It's based off the Vegas odds.
I'm going to go 24-16.
The Colts win over the Ravens.
I think we're going to see a slugfest game.
If Phillip Bruce keeps the ball clean,
if the Colts defense comes out to play well against the run,
I just don't see how the Ravens match up well against this colts team if they do just play discipline and strong football so i'll go 24 16 a touchdown win for the colts over the ravens to
move them ahead of them in the standings steve what is going to happen here on sunday
oh that's a great great question um so i'm going to say that it is, you said 24-16, so you're putting it at like a 40 point.
They spread over under is anywhere from 49 to 51.
So I'm going to say, I'm going to put it at like 27-21 Colts. I say they win by six. And so that's where I'm going to put it at.
I feel confident in the Colts being able to shut down the Ravens, but I don't think they're going
to keep them completely bottled up. I feel like the Ravens are going to get a little bit of a lead
to start the game because that's been the Colts' MO the past couple weeks
is to give up a couple early touchdowns.
And I think the defense is going to really shut them down the second half.
Yeah, I agree.
I think it's going to be a really fun game on Sunday.
Arguably the most important game of the year for the Colts.
They've got to start out this stretch here strong.
They really show they're either contenders or pretenders this year in the AFC,
which is really loaded across the board right now. But let's hit on that schedule just throughout the month of November
they have of course the Ravens in a short week at Tennessee you have to also go to home against
Green Bay and you have to also go again and play Tennessee the week after that so Titans twice in
four weeks you have the Packers and Ravens between there just how important is the stretch for the
Colts I mean it's incredibly important right now they're tied for the top of the division at five and two
at Tennessee Tennessee doesn't have an easy schedule coming up either so if the Colts can
come out of this at three and one I think that's a fantastic I think they are elated to come out of this quarter, this four-game stretch here at
three and one. I think the one loss could potentially be at Tennessee, that Thursday
night game. Thursday night games as a whole are very difficult for teams, especially for the
traveling team, and now especially during the age of COVID in terms of trying to travel. The only good part about that is it is a five-hour drive to Tennessee.
And so it's maybe an hour flight down there. So it's not as much air travel time. So if they flew
down day of the game, day before the game, there's not as much of a jet lag situation as it would if
they were flying across the country for Thursday night game.
I think that the Packers are incredibly inconsistent at this point. You saw Tampa Bay just kind of lay a licking on them. Packers struggled, I think, against Minnesota this week.
And I'm not as convinced that they are this juggernaut that they look like to start the season.
And then you've got Tennessee.
I think the Colts will win this week against Baltimore.
And then we'll get a win against or lose to Tennessee, win against Green Bay.
And then they'll come back home and they'll beat Tennessee here at Lucas Oil Stadium. Yeah, it's going to
be such a big stretch for this team to see whether
they are truly a top contender in the
AFC or not. Of course, you play against
the Packers, too. Of course, you have Aaron Rodgers, you have
Lamar Jackson, you have Ryan Tannehill this
month on the schedule where the Colts got to capitalize
not only on defense, but also for the Brewers to really
play his best ball of the year throughout this
stretch. So, really appreciate everyone listening on today's
podcast. We'll be back with you guys, of course, tomorrow for next episode.
You guys can go follow Stephen on Twitter if you're not already at NiceReads.
Stephen, go read his work and listen to his work over at Stampede Blue.
Stephen, appreciate your time, man.
Thanks, Evan. Have a great one.