Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: 2025 Colts AWARDS | We Pick Our Winners (and Losers) From the Colts Season

Episode Date: January 12, 2026

With the 2025 season unfortunately in the books for the Colts, we go back to pick our Team MVP, Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, Breakout Players, and more as we tie a bow on the season that was. Also, initial Wild Card Weekend reactions, including the AFC South champ going down early (again).Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms: 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/ 📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ Give the squad a follow on X/Twitter @Schultz975, @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @allenpinkett, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/lockedoncoltsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Rocket MoneyLet Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDONBetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON.DripDropRight now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to http://dripdrop.com and use promo code lockedonnfl.Ultimate QBUltimate QB is totally free to play, has no ads, and works 100% offline — perfect for when you want to sneak in a quick game or two on the go. Just head over to http://ULTIMATE-QB.COM.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So before tip-off, check the FanDuel app and see what’s dropping during NBA Happy Hour — every Friday from 6 to 7:30 PM Eastern. A little basketball, a little action, and a whole lot of Friday energy.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.ZocdocStop putting off your doctor’s appointments and get the care you need.Go to http://Zocdoc.com/lockedonnfl to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the Colts Squad Show. I'm your host, Derek Schultz, and add the Chicago Bears to the list of teams that have now won a playoff game since the Colts last did. And I'm Zach Hicks, and the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksville Jaguars won the same amount of playoff games this year. And I'm Al and Pinkett, former Euler. Happy for the playoffs to be here. But next year, the Colts will be in and we'll be talking about it. Colts Nation rise up. It's the Colts Squad. Everything Indianapolis Colts every week covering all the big hits and game changing plays from the Circle City the way only the locked on podcast network can. It's time to squad up. The Colt Squajo starts now. Welcome to the Colt Squad Show. Thanks for taking a break from NFL Wildcard Weekend to join us. Today's episode brought you by Fandool if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season. Visit fandul.com and place your

NFL live bets all season long. I'm Derek Schultz, Indie Sports Talker, columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal. I am joined by. a Notre Dame legend in longtime NFL running back with Houston Oilers, Alan Pinkett. Everyone's favorite film nerd, Zach Hicks is here too. He's one half of your locked on Colts daily duo. Our other guy, Jake Hicks, or excuse me, Jake Arthur on the all-important dad duty tonight.

So he's going to rejoin us coming up later on this week with a newborn in the house. Cold season, as we know, unfortunately ended last Sunday. But after all the talk about Carly or St. Gordon and Chris Bauer and Jane Stike, and I feel like we never really took the chance to officially tie a bow on the 2025 cold season. So we were talking earlier today as a squad because we're all besides being, you know, close-knit on the squad show, Zach Allen, Jake and I, we're all BFS in real life too.

And Zach said, hey, why don't we hand out awards today? And I thought, you know what, that's a great idea. It's something kind of like happy and optimistic, right? I mean, we will get into some like most disappointing and things like that coming up later on. But we'll start with team MVP, offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year in the first segment of the show because there were some standouts this year, as there are in every season, even playoffless ones. will go most improved, as I mentioned, most disappointing. And then the Ashton-Dulen Unsung Hero Award, who could, for all intents and purposes, be Ashton Doolin, I guess,

but we'll try to kind of change that up maybe a little bit. Also, we'll talk about our favorite moments from the 2025 season because there were some high highs. There were low lows, but some high highs as well, especially in the first half of the year. And, I mean, we have to, we can't exit without talking about this wild, wild, wild card weekend. And I felt going in that we were potentially going to have one of the best post seasons ever. And certainly it's played out that way with one of the best wildcard weekends we've ever seen in modern history.

So we'll talk about that to kind of tie this one up coming up later on the show. But 2025 Colts Award time, guys. And let's start with the biggest one of all. And I thought, and we'll open up the floor for this, I thought you could have gone with Jonathan Taylor here. But because he couldn't really impact the game when this teammate, was out of the lineup. I ended up going with Daniel Jones because I just felt like it sort of had to be, Zach. Yeah, I mean, look, the Colts were what, eight and four with Daniel Jones starting. And that was

what, I mean, two of those losses came when he had a broken fibula in there. So they were eight and two when he was fully healthy this season. He was playing the best football of his career. Look like the quarterback that Shane Stuyken was looking for these last couple seasons. And it seemed like the Colts are going to commit to him a pretty heftily, hefty this off season as well. So, yeah, I had Daniel Jones is my MVP as well. And you kind of see, again, why quarterbacks are just universally given that MVP award, because the second he went down, this Colts team went on a big losing streak. I know two of those losses came with him starting, but five straight losses to end the season. Now, part of that was because the drop off from Daniel Jones to a 44-year-old who hadn't played in a while. And then Riley Leonard also got some time in there who, you know, still a young rookie player who just isn't fully ready for the league yet. So that is part of it here. but I think Daniel Jones obviously is the team MVP. He was arguably, like you said, Derek, like back and forth with Taylor to start the year on team MVP,

but I think we really saw his value when he was out of the lineup. And the Colts offense, for the most part, being this near 30 points per game offense, and then without him, they were barely scraping 20, if even 20. So, yeah, I think Daniel Jones is the team MVP this year for sure. Well, it's going to sound like an echo because I had Daniel Jones as the MVP also, So mostly because of what you said, Zach, when he was gone, it was a damn near collapse. You know, not as many points scored. And the offense wasn't the same.

So he is the catalyst that makes that thing run, makes that offense run. So without a doubt, he was the MVP. Cool. When we go to, yeah, offensive player of the year, this could also be Daniel Jones. I think this is more of a fit for Jonathan Taylor, right? He didn't quite get to where we thought he was going to get to after that game in Berlin, where you thought, oh, my God, like, he might score 25 touchdowns and, you know, 2000, whatever yards.

And, you know, it didn't quite get there, but still just even slowing down the way that he did, just a monster, monster 2025 season. Yeah. Alan, did you have Taylor as your offense player of the year? If you want to go into that, I'll go with a slightly different answer. Okay. All right. here. Yeah. So, yeah, you know, you can't, you can't argue with the production that he had over

1,500 yards. It used to be, you know, a thousand years ago when I played, a thousand yards was the barrier that you wanted to eclipse to, you know, say if you had a meaningful year or not running the football. But to get a thousand yards in a 17-game season, I mean, you're rushing for like 60 yards a game. So it's no longer a good measure. But 1,500 yards, especially when he was the focal point of the rushing game, everybody knew he was going to run, although I'll say the Colts had a great job of, you know, throwing on first down and not necessarily running when you anticipated he would run.

But to me, he was the best player on the offense in terms of getting great yards, coming out of the backfield, even his blocking. And it was just, he was so reliable. And I know that a lot of times with running backs, you hit that sixth year, your talent starts to diminish just a little bit. But for Jonathan Taylor, I felt like he ran better than he ever has.

Yeah, no, for sure. He had a fantastic year. And he's, I think, one of the two Colts players that deserved all-pro notice this year. Unfortunately, he didn't get all-pro. he finished third, I think, out of running backs. And then with that all-purpose, weird thing or whatever, he kind of fell off with that.

But, yeah, I think he was an all-pro candidate this year. 20 total touchdowns is absolutely insane. And that's with that second half of the year not really being great for him. I'm going to go with the other all-pro candidate, though, I think, from this offense. And look, because this is our personal awards, I'm going to give credit to a position that never gets credit when it comes to awards. And that is offensive line. I think Quentin Nelson,

was the offensive player of the year for the Colts. I thought he was just phenomenal all season long. And we kind of overlook his greatness because he is so great. He's going to be a Hall of Famer one day. I think this is like his six or seventh, all pro nod, since being in the NFL. I think he's been all pro basically every single year. He's been in the league.

Fantastic football player. And if you look at a lot of Jonathan Taylor's long runs, like if you look at his, I want to say, is like 70-yard touchdown run against the Titans in that second matchup, who's out leading the way on the sideline right in front of that running back as he's breaking free, Quentin Nelson, the guard pulling out in front and just driving a player out of the play. You look at several other big moments in this season, Quentin Nelson is the guy leading the way and doing the hard work up front. So because offensive linemen never get the

credit they actually deserve, I wanted to give a little shout out to Quentin Nelson because I thought he was just phenomenal this year. And even when the team was struggling and even when they had multiple backups in the lineup, he toughened out. He played pretty much every single snap this season and he helped this offensive line even when Luke Tanuda was out there, even when, you know, Jaylon Travis was out there and Danny Pinter was out there. They were still a pretty formidable offensive line because they had quitting Nelson at left guard. So I think Nelson was by far, well, not by far away, but I thought he was just phenomenal yet again, always a great player. And he proved it yet again this past season. Well, he wasn't close. He wasn't close second on my list.

and to let you know how bad this dude is, they don't even list a backup to him on the death chart. They know he's not coming out. He's not coming out. Yeah, he's their rock. I mean, that's just really all there is to it. For as much instability as the Colts have seemingly had in the 2020s, he's been kind of the one stable thing that you never really have to worry about.

Outside of, you know, sometimes little injuries and Nixon, stuff like that, kind of coming in post-surgery's and things like that. defensive player of the year, this one felt a lot more wide open to me. And rather than tip my hand, I just wanted to throw it out there to you guys. Do either of you feel very strongly about a defensive player of the year? I was between two players. And I ultimately picked the more experienced one, but I could see two players. But honestly, we might all have different players here.

The player I went with was safety Cameron Bynum. That's who I went with two. Alan, did you have someone different or did you have Bynum as well? I went with Nick Kroft. Oh, okay. Okay. So I'll get my case here. I think they were interchangeable. You know, in a defensive backfield that had no consistency,

they were the two consistent players. But I probably favored Nick Cross more because he wears number 20. And that's number. No bias there. But, you know, but he was second on the team in tackles. You know, to me it seemed like he was, you know, making tackles in the backfield a lot, five tackles for loss on the air from the safety position is pretty good. One force fumble, one interception. His stats actually were pretty good.

And, you know, he just was one of those guys that, you know, it was like a, what do you call him, a Hamilton Jr. Kyle Hamilton, Jr. sort of the way he played. And that's why I picked him as my defensive player to you. Yeah, they moved him all over the place. He had a lot of snaps in the box, over top, and in the middle of the field. I think he was a big part of just what they wanted to do schematically on defense. But for me, Bynum was such a forced player in terms of taking the football away, led the team interceptions. I think he had a forced fumble in there against Atlanta as well. And even when the defense was struggling, he felt like a consistent piece on the back end of this defense. So Cameron Bynum, I think, was just the most complete and consistent player for the Colts

were cross. I think overall had some really great moments, but I think there were some lapses and coverage every now and then. But his run defense was really good for the Colts by and large. I will say the other player that I was torn with. And it's tough because he didn't really meet super high expectations, but just if we're talking about impact players on the defense, I think Laiatu Latu deserves a bit of a shout. Yeah. Again, this defense struggled to stay healthy this season, and they didn't have a lot of playmakers outside of Bynum in Latu, where Latu had, what three interceptions this season, plus I think of course fumble in there, eight and a half sacks. So again, you wanted him to be more of that 10 plus sack guy, but eight and a half

sacked is very solid. I had a lot of tackles for a loss and plays where he like sniffed out screenplays and did some things. So I really went back and forth between Latu and Cameron Bynum. Ultimately, I think Bynum was just a little bit more consistent than Latu. But even Lattu, again, didn't live up to our high, high expectations that we needed him to be this year to be this next level defense still provided a lot of splash plays. And splash plays are so vital in today's NFL. And him being able to create those splash plays did push the Colts over the hump in a lot of these games.

One thing a lot of too did is he got better as the season went along. And he keeps getting so close. I mean, I know the eight, eight and a half sacks is pretty good because we weren't getting sacks from Quixie pay. But you can tell that he still has some growing to do, and he's only going to get better. And he got close so many times. I didn't look at the number of quarterback hurries, but he had a boatload of quarterback hurries, I'm sure.

And I think that next year will be the year that he probably steps out and becomes a fearsome type of pass rush. If we completely ignore film with Laotilachi, which is crazy for me to say, the film nerd of the Colts media here. But if we completely ignore film, we look at his first year, it was what, like four or five sacks, middle of the league and pass rush win rate, and kind of an average player. But, you know, it's still fine for his first year. Then you look at his second year. Now he's eight and a half sacks. It took a big step forward. You look at the pass rush wind rate was like top 30 or top 25, I think, in the NFL on Pro Football Focus.

you look at the hurries taking a big jump forward. If you just look at his profile of statistical statistical profile and growth, he looks like a player poised for a big season next year. Now, I think on film there are some things he needs to do better to get there, but you are seeing the growth from him as a player. So typically with defensive ends, we see year three as the big breakout season. I'm hoping, I'm really hoping next year can be the year that we get that like 12 sacks from Laotu Latsu.

We get that top 15 in pressures across the league. We get that top 15, top 10 and past rush win rate for him to be that good of a player. So he fit really well in Luana Rumo's system. I think there were some really good moments, a lot of splash plays. I still want, again, I still went with Cameron Bynum as defense player of the year, but I think he was a close second for me. Nick Cross would probably be in that top four or five as well. I think he did a lot of good things throughout the year as well.

Yeah, and this isn't necessarily Latu's fault, but I think the skepticism just around edge rushers in the Bauer era, I think bleeds into Latu because we've kind of been down this road before where it's a lot of hope. Like you see little flashes of Ture or Pai or any of these other guys and you think, okay, well, if they could just do this and then they never quite get there, but maybe Latu is the guy finally to kind of blow the lid off of the glass ceiling when it comes to the Colts young edge rushers in the past here. We'll move on to some of the Tougher to the Cypher Awards, most improved, most disappointing.

and will someone other than Ashton Doolin win our Ashton Doolin Award? That's next when the Colt Squad Show returns. This portion of the Colts Squad Show brought to you by prize picks. Whether you're starting a new routine or jumping into player projections for the first time, trying something new can feel like a challenge. But with Price Picks, it always feels good to be right. With high pressure football matchups every weekend and Elite Hoops action almost every night, the action never slows down.

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That's code Locked on NFL, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-F-L to get $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, it's good to be right. Welcome back to the Colts Squad Show. Thanks so much for joining us alongside former NFL or Alan Pinkett, locked on Colts daily co-host Zach Hicks. I'm Derek Schultz.

I really appreciate you being here as we continue our Colts 2025 awards. And let's go, you know, I think most improved. I think you could go in a couple of different directions. I want to explain one that I didn't go in. I think some people might put Alec Pierce for this award, but that almost implies that you didn't think Pierce had this in his bag. I think we would all agree that we felt like Pierce could be an 1,000-yard receiver and right this level of playmaker.

And so to see him do that, I almost feel like it's almost demeaning to Alec Pierce to make him most improved, you know what I mean? But I did want to give him a shout-up because we didn't make him offensive player of the year. But, you know, Alec Pierce, if you're listing the Colts that had the best individual seasons this year. There's no way that he wouldn't be on your short list. Yeah, he was the guy. I put his name a couple times, but like you, Derek, again, I was such a big Alec Pierce believer since day one. He was a dude. I was doing lapsar on my house when they drafted him. I was so excited.

He was a guy I really wanted an indie. So I always knew that he was capable of doing this, which is why I ultimately took him off my list. I am curious to see what you guys had for this, though, because I think we might have three different names, but I went with Atatatamiwa Adabore on the defensive line. To me, this was a guy where, again, you could always believe in the in the athletic traits the potential everything was always there but he just rarely saw the field he was more of a special teamer his first two years lou and rumo comes in there's injuries to de force buckner but even before the injuries to de force buckner at atamiwa was was getting run with the pass rushing unit on this team on defense he was getting run with their

grisly fronts their five-man grizzly fronts uh and he was producing i i think he was the this is the best we've ever seen him as a run defender this year i think we saw the pass rushing flash throughout the season. And as a result, he hit career highs in tackles, snaps, tackles for a loss, sacks, stops. Like literally every single number you can hit career highs in at Tom and Wada, Atabori hit that this year. So I think he was most improved for me.

I think he went from a player where before the season, it's like, does he have a future in the NFL? Does he have a future with the Colts? And now after the season, you're saying, hey, does he have another step in him? Because right now he's a really good role player. Does he have another step to be a starter in this league? but that's such a great step forward for him as a young player in year three.

Now he's going into that contract season. And Alan, we know what the contract season does the players. He got five sacks this year, next year. Maybe he's sniffing closer to 10 and he's going to get paid a huge bit of money on the open market or with the Colts. So, yeah, I would give Atatamiwa the most improved player of the year award. So I went in a different direction. And I'll preface my answer on the fact that this is my first year with the Colts. So I picked Daniel Jones as the most improved player.

Just based on what happened with him and the Giants being run out of New York and getting some counseling in Minnesota. But to come in here and take over, to me, you know, that performance warranted most improved. I mean, he actually shocked the entire football. all world because a lot of people didn't have a lot of confidence in him. And after about week four or five, folks were singing his praises and he had regained, you know, sort of the, the, the, the, luster that he had when he was a first round pick and first went to the Giants. Yeah, I would say I was looking at a quarterback ranking thing for like a debate I was having with a friend earlier of before the season. And he was ranked the 32nd overall starting quarterback in the,

the NFL by NFL.com. So for where he is now, where I think most people put him in like that middleish range, maybe a little bit below average, but still, that's such a huge improvement. I agree with you, Alan, that's a great call. I went a little bit off the beaten path. You wanted, you wanted to throw out the offensive line with Quentin Nelson. I went with Bordolini as most improved, you know, held down a spot that Ryan Kelly had for almost a decade, right? And just to kind of step in and be a, I think he missed one game, right? 16 games started, but essentially a full season starter for them. Great as a run. blocker. I liked a lot of what

Bordolini, I thought, brought to the table and making that leap in year number two, just becoming a reliable starter that for the most part, you didn't have to worry about. He had warts just like any linemen has wards. They blow plays or whatever else, but I think overall he had a really nice sophomore season.

Yeah, if you're talking Colts players who had the biggest jump from year to year, so not counting Daniel Jones because he wasn't here the year before. I think the two young offensive linemen, Bordellini, can saw this and then add a Tommy well. And then I guess this guy doesn't count he's in the same Daniel Jones thing but Neville Gallimore also deserves a shout out for this too.

Career highs across the board this year. You know what? His, he has, I think like seven sacks in his career coming into the season, but three and a half of them came in the playoffs last year. Parleyed that into three and a half sacks this year, which was his most in a regular season.

So Neville Gallimore, I think also deserves a little bit of a shout for the Colts. Oh, this one. Most disappointing. Anyone have an obvious one? Because I think there are, sadly, there are a couple of vets.

who could you could put here, I think. Yeah, the one I had to go with, and it's not even really the player's fault, it's just when you pay him the kind of money, the Colts paid him in free agency and to get the limited amount of games. Mooney Ward, unfortunately, I think it's more of a disappointment of contract

than it is a disappointment of play. Because when he was out there, even those last couple games that he was out there, like the Jaguars game, for instance, he had like four pass breakups in that game. Like, he was easily the best corner of the Colts had all season, played some really good football,

and made a lot of great plays this year. It's just he couldn't stay on the field. And you go from this guy who you think you're going to have him for two to three years to be your cornerback one. And now we're kind of all leaning that retirement seems likely for him. It's just that kind of year that he had, really, really tough season for him. And unfortunately, it looks like that contract is not going to work out for him or the Colts. So I think it's more of just a disappointed, like, return on investment more so than like a disappointing performance from him. because performance was good when he was out there.

It's just to get, what, seven games, six games out of him and him be injured as often as he was, and now you're probably not going to get year two or year three out of him. I think that's the biggest disappointment of the season for the Colts. I am in complete agreement with you. I had Tarvarius Ward as my pick for most disappointing, but it was because of the injury and the lack of availability. You know, and I thought he would be a guy who would, you know,

sort of change the culture, bring more winning attitude, winning ways to that Colts defense, sort of boost them. The way I said that Reggie White boosted the Packers, I thought it was going to be that type of impact. But, you know, with the concussions. And, you know, fortunately, we're at an age now where they don't mess around with concussions anymore. If it's, if you legitimately have a concussion, they go through all the protocols. and things. So I think that's better for the player. But yeah, just real disappointed in the fact that he couldn't be on the field. Yeah, I was disappointed too, but I couldn't knock him for something that was not in his control. Like Ogletree running into him is not in his control, right? Whereas there were

a lot of things in Zaire Franklin's control this year that did not go well. And really, you know, like I still am somewhat of a Zaire Franklin defender in the fact that I still think he's a good football player. It's just that the lows were very low this year. When he was bad, he was awful. Like, it's one thing, you know, Zach, you always say there's one good coverage linebacker in the league, right? But there's a difference between being like, even an adequate cover guy or a mediocre cover guy and what Zaire Franklin was for the better part of this year. And I just thought it was, you know, I thought the bad was really bad. I almost put Kenny Moore here because I just thought the bad was bad. I mean, Jalen Jones is another one too, but, but my,

my expectations for James Jones are not what they are for Franklin or for more for the guys that are like core pieces of this locker room really. And I just thought this was a tough year for Zaire Franklin. I thought the lows were much lower than the highs were high, if that makes sense. Yeah, then dishonorable mentions, I guess you could say technically sauce Gardner post-trade. Yeah, I mean, I thought about that. I thought about that, but he wasn't here long enough. I didn't expect him to really come in here, you know, at the time he came in and be able to make a splash. And then, of course, him getting injured was not a surprise because, you know, you're in a totally different system.

And you have to get used to the way they do their things. And I'm not saying that the way the Colts practice made him his injury. But he just wasn't here long enough, although he was on the list. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I couldn't really think of anybody. The only person that I even considered offensively was, and I don't think it was the most disappointing season, but I was a little disappointed.

I thought Josh Downs was going to have a better season than he did. I don't think he was bad this season by any means, so I didn't want to throw him under the bus there, but that was somebody else that I considered. Ashton Doolin Unsung Hero. First off, did anybody pick Ashton Doolin for this? You could argue Ashton Doolin for this. So here's my thing.

I know he didn't play a ton of games this year, but I think Ashton Doolin is the easy, answer if we picked him. If we were picking him, he played two snaps on defense, was their best kick returner on the team this year. Every time he got a call on offense, he was great. He was one of the best gunners in football this season. Ash and Doolan deserves this award every year if we were giving it to him, but I didn't give it to Ash and Doolan because it's like when you get the award named after you, get it retired. You don't get it to be part of the award anymore. So I didn't ultimately pick him, but I think we can all say that the award is aptly named after Ashton Duel

after what he did this season. Well, this is going to be a surprise to you, but I actually picked Josh Downs for the award. Because the only time he really made news was when he dropped a pass. I think what? He only dropped one pass this year. If it was over his head or anything, if it was uncatchable, he wouldn't blame for that. But just him being reliable and always being someone you could count.

on to get the first down. And to me, like I said, what really stuck out is the only time he got a lot of mentions is when he did drop to one pass. Yeah, the Houston pass was rough, man. If you would have made that play, I would agree with you in a big way, Alan, because we forget with that Houston game, too, how many big catches he made in that game. It's just that one drop, like, arguably ended their season. Like, not ended, but it was part of the bigger crux of the issue.

that ended their season. But that drop, I mean, they arguably win that game and who knows what happens after that. But I agree, Alan, he statistically, it wasn't the best season for him and maybe a disappointment in terms of that. But there were a lot of good moments from Downs this year. For me, I actually went with the guy I picked in the preseason. He kind of had the year I expected Moe Wally Cox, you know, I think he just slid in perfectly behind Tyler Warren.

If you look at pro football focus year, I think he was top, he was like top 25 and run blocking grade. number two in pass blocking grade among tight ends this year. And he had a good chunk of pass blocking reps because the Colts did a lot of play action where they kept the tight end in and they would do like these 12 and 13 personnel stuff. And they would keep him in the block. There was actually a clip in the final game of the year where he was one-on-one on an island with Will Anderson on the throw to Michael Pittman Jr. in the corner of the end zone that Pittman just barely missed.

And he held his own against Will Anderson. I'm like, this is just Moe Alley Cox. And then if we look at how he did at the end of the season, the Colts still love using him in these high leverage situations. You know, the one pass that Philip Rivers had from under center with the Colts this year was that little pop pass against the Jaguars in the back of the end zone for him to get his only touchdown of the year. And then you look at the fourth down attempt in the final game of the season when Rigoberto Sanchez steps up. He's not looking at anybody else, but Moe Alley Cox on that play.

I just think he's a guy who you want to have him on your team. You don't want him to be your number one tight end, but as tight end too, as a high leverage catch guy who can make some things happen after the catch with his rumble and tumble type of ability, and then as a blocker, he's just been so good the last couple years.

For him to make the transition from college basketball to pro football and become this unsung hero of a team like he has been, I'll always love Molly Cox as a player for that. So he had the season I expected, and that season was pretty darn good for his role. Yeah, Alan knows this, but any guy that can,

can grind it out basically 10 years, which is what Molly Cox has done. I mean, you know, you're doing pretty well for yourself. You can grind it out 10 years. No football. Yeah. That's pretty crazy. Without a doubt, because look, you get close to that, that fourth year, they're looking to replace you because now they have to make a pension contribution.

And they'd rather than not do that. They'd rather save the money and keep that revolving door going and bringing in young, fresh talent. So Moa Alley Cox definitely, you know, established his value to the organization, to anybody to stay around 10 years because, like I said, the average is three. For most guys that make it pass three, the average is seven. So he's even surpassed the average of those that have generated value for themselves. And he's still got a couple good years left. Yeah, and all, I mean, all eight with one team, which is, you know, kind of unheard of, right? in this era. And, you know, back up tight end, going into Westfield, we thought that was going to be

kind of a bad. He had to rewin that job, essentially. He was in the catbird seat. I think we would all agree that, you know, we expected Molly Cox to make the team and all that, but that was not some sort of a fait accompli, and he was not handed that job. He had to go out and win it, and he did and had a nice season. So good for Mo. When we come back here on the next Colt Squad show, next segment, the thrilling win over Denver, Jonathan Taylor's German walkoff. We'll talk about our favorite moments from the 2025 Colts season next. This portion of the Colts squad show brought you by Fanduel. The wild card round is here and Fandul is officially in playoff mode.

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and grab your profit boost pack every playoff game day this postseason. And we're back on the Lockdown Cold Squad Show alongside our name legend and former NFL running back Alan Pinkett, Locked on Colts host, Zach Hicks. I'm Derek Schultz talking Colts 2025 awards and just kind of tying a bow on the season instead of spending all this time talking about ownership and Bauerd and Stuyken and all the things that we really spent the first week of the offseason discussing over the last few days. Let's keep it happy and optimistic.

Favorite memories from this season. I do think that there were a couple of standout ones. And I know that I mentioned some of those in the T's, but honestly, I think maybe the most fun that I had watching the Colts this year was the first game. Because I just, it was so unexpected to just see them come out and, and pound Miami the way that they did. It's not the fact that they won the game and they ended that ridiculous winless streak and season openers, which dated all the way back to the very early Andrew Luck years,

but just the way that they just absolutely eviscerated Miami and McDaniel and two and all those guys, like they look shell shot. Like they had no idea what they were doing in that game. And it was, it was 338, Zach, and it was a game. that felt like it was 83-3. Yeah, well, it was 33-0, I believe, and the only way the Dolphins scored was like on a fourth and, like, 12 screen pass

where the defender just barely missed tackling the running back. Yeah, it was 8-10, right? Yeah, and he barely got into the end zone, so it could have easily been a shutout to start the season. And I'm with you, Derek. I think that was one of the biggest highlights of the season was the way it started, was like, oh, this might be a different Colts team.

And for most of the year, it was. It's just, you know, the second half of the season. season happened. But I do think that opening weekend and then also falling it up with that just dramatic win over the Denver Broncos with that with that walk off kick was such an exclamation point to start the year that that it was, you were like, where is this ride going to go? Is it going to keep carrying or maybe Denver and Miami aren't that good? But it did keep carrying for at least the first 10 games of the year. But yeah, those first two games to start the season at home in front of the home crowd.

I thought those were, those were such a great way to kick off the season, easily, like, biggest highlights of the season. My highlight actually came in week seven when they went out to Los Angeles and whooped that ass with the chargers. I mean, because up to that point, people really weren't believing in the Colts. You know, they thought, you know, maybe it's just a short heater that they're on. but the way that they demoralized that team, I know the score ended up being 3824,

but it wasn't even that close. Just the total domination, just an offense that just did everything they wanted to do, and to do it in their house, you know, made it even more special. So I think when I look back, that's the moment that I cherish the most was the win against the charges.

Yeah, no, for sure. And I think the biggest win for me in terms of like, and it sucks because it was like the last one because they didn't win another game after this. But just everything about that Berlin game, you know, sauce gardener's debut game with the Colts. And he had a really solid game for them. The way that they were able to pull it off in dramatic fashion and overtime with a

couple of defensive stops, Jonathan Taylor with that crazy long run, probably the highlight of the, like the individual player highlight of the season was Jonathan Taylor's run on that one. And I just think that game was. and then what John or uh Daniel Jones or whatever the fourth down conversion to Tyler Warren after getting punched in the mouth and having the blood pouring down his face like there were so many great moments in that one game and it felt like okay we're in the middle of something great we just got soss gardner and mooney ward is coming back or eight and two going into the buy and yeah we have a tough after the buy schedule but if we went a couple of those we can get in the playoffs and keep

rolling like that was the highest point of the season I think even though Atlanta wasn't some great team uh just being able to pull off that emotion win overseas, getting into the bi-week and knowing you were coming out of it healthy, it felt like something was changing with this Colts team. Unfortunately, nothing did. They just, you know, but I think that was like the height of the season, you know. It's like, that's right before it came crashing down. They got to the top of the mountain and then they fell off the top of it after that.

But that was such a really, like, just a fun overall game. And one of the most fun games I think I've ever covered with this Colts team, just from all the marquee moments in it, from the turnover. to the long runs and clutch plays, definitely one of the best games I've ever covered with the Colts. Yeah, there were only really, if we take like the Bowerd era, there are kind of three moments that jump out to me as when I thought, oh, wow, like, they're really, they're really good.

And this might turn into something. And it was, you know, 2018, when they shut out the Cowboys late in the season in Indy during that, Matt, that huge, like, hair on fire, wind streak to get into the playoffs. I thought, that Dallas team was good. I think they won the division that year. And then the Jonathan Taylor walkoff against New England in that Saturday night game just before Christmas

when they were, you know, nine and five or whatever they were at that point in the season. And you thought, okay, they're a lock for the playoffs and they're going to contend. And then as you mentioned, that game in Berlin, not because the opponent was great, just because like it just felt like they overcame a lot of, you know, bad stuff happened in them.

And that's what winning teams do, right? When you don't play at your best necessarily and you still find a way to overcome it. And it's sad to think that pretty much in all of those cases, I mean, I guess, you know, 2018, they went to Houston. They won a playoff game, which is kind of a high water mark for Bauer. So they did, they won something tangible that year. But it is kind of sad to think that the last two moments that you felt that way about the Colts,

like, oh, man, this could be something special is when just everything just kind of crashed and burned right afterwards. And I'll add that in the NFL, and you've heard me say this numerous times, there's no bad teams. There's just teams with bad records. They all have skill. Any team can rise up on any Sunday and play a great game. And that's what makes the game so great.

That's what I enjoyed mostly is the competition, week in, week out. And I remember when I played, I guess the team that everybody thought was sorry, was Tampa Bay. And I remember looking at the scouting report. And I'm like, damn, They got this dude and this dude and this dude.

And it's like, how to hell have they lost most of their games? You know, but it's winning in the NFL is hard. And yes, sometimes you don't have your best stuff and your ability to overcome yourself a lot of times. And it gives you that winning DNA that you need to have. being able to overcome adversity is just one of those things that, you know, the special teams have. And, you know, they repeat it. And after that game in Berlin, I did think that, you know, this was, you know, I was booking the reservations for the playoffs. You know, I really felt very good about the Colts after that went over the Falcons. Yeah, no, for sure. And then after that, it was just kind of hoping for cool,

moments and cool accolades for players because the playoffs certainly wouldn't happen. I will say a really cool moment, and I know we've talked about this enough, so I don't, I don't really know how much more we can go into it, but just Philip Rivers coming out of retirement and doing what you did. It wasn't the prettiest football to watch. I'm not trying to make the argument that it was, but I think, you know, the fact that they were able to take Seattle down to the wire, the number one seed in the NFL, basically, the number one seed in the NFC, take them all the way down to the wire and force them to play a full

60 minutes against the Colts. And then the offensive performance he had against the 49ers. I know the Colts laid an egg on defense in that one, but it was really cool to see what we saw from Phillip Rivers. And I think people will overlook it because like it wasn't pretty and it wasn't like great football, but you ask any quarterback to come off the couch after five years at 40-something years old to do what he did. And I don't think, I think that's like a 1% chance that what we got out there from Phillip Rivers. So I thought that was. was really cool, even if it didn't result in wins. I thought Riley Leonard's final game was kind of fun and just, you know, gave some hope. Now, I'm not on the same train that some people

are on. We're saying, this is the next Tom Brady, six round picks coming out here and doing this, but I did like what I saw from him. I thought it was fun. And then Alec Pierce getting his thousand yards, you know, doing something that we haven't seen what since Deshawn Jackson, I think is what it was, where a thousand yards on under 50 catches, like absolutely insane season from Alec Pierce. And you know, it's funny, we were going into that final game against the best defense in football. Alec Pierce needing like 150 yards. And it's like, oh, shoot, you're going to come just close, like, just under that 1,000 yard mark. And he goes out there with like, what, four catches for like 160 yards and two touchdowns. He was just doing his Alec Pierce thing there. But yeah,

I thought those were some cool moments down the stretch, even if the wins weren't happening. I know that might feel like a loser mentality to some people. But, you know, I cover this team from multiple angles. It's not just wins all the time. I wish it would always be wins, but there are other things you get to look at every now and then. Well, I'll say this. The Philip Rivers thing was very impressive, just because I remember how fast these guys are. You know, how you have one, once you set up to throw, you got 1.8 seconds to make a decision. And just, you know, him just showing, imparting his knowledge, you know, where you weren't going to use tempo, but he was going to wait for that defense to declare and figure out what the defense

they were going to run. It's going to be a man, zone, a mixture of it. But once he identified it and then ran to play, I mean, it was like a clinic. And that's where I started to rethink this athleticism at quarterback thing because he just was really, he knew where to go with the football. One last sort of honorable mention. And, you know, obviously, you know, starting the season, there was the dark cloud of Jim Mersey's passing, right? But even when Jim Mersey was still here, the attention that Colts ownership did get,

and certainly from a national standpoint, much more so than locally, was not positive, right? Where, you know, we all know about Jim Merce's struggles and substance abuse and things like that. and these demons that he had to deal with, really up until his dying day. And when the Colts were really cooking and the national media and national audiences were understanding how immersed in the day-to-day operations that Carly Ursaid Gordon was and that she was on the sidelines and that she's, you know, in the wait room and that she's taking such a hands-on approach, it was just kind of a fun, refreshing, like it was almost like a pride type story for Indianapolis to be like, yeah, like that's our owner.

There's the designer suits and everything else that she's got on. And guess what? She also knows football. And, you know, for those couple of weeks when the coverage was really positive about the Ursa family, and I'm saying this after, you know, writing a column in the IBJ, which wasn't so positive about the decision to retain Chris Bauer. But, you know, just in general, it was nice to see. It was refreshing.

And especially in the wake of her father's passing. Yeah. I think that was a positive thing that stood out to me about this season. This being the first season that the daughters took the. reigns of the franchise. And I think there was a lot more good than bad in that first season. Yeah. And I even think, you know, a lot of it's getting clouded because of the end of the season decision she made. And while I still disagree with the ultimate decision she made, I don't think it came from a place of ineptitude. And gosh, so many people saying that it came

from her just not being in over her head and what and not knowing what she's doing. And I'm not trying to excuse what happened this year with the Colts. But they went eight and nine and missed the playoffs by what, two games, right? Two games. Two games. down the stretch here. When they didn't have their starting quarterback for five, they had a plus, they had a positive point differential. They played, I think, nine teams that won 10 plus games this year. They didn't play a single backup quarterback this season. It's understandable to look at this and say, like, hey, next year we might have a better chance. And again, I still disagree with the ultimate decision she made, but I don't think that she made the decision from a place of ignorance and

lack of knowledge. I think she's really involved in this. She just views this. She just views this. team's closer than what I did, and that's fine. But I think I still feel very comfortable with her and everything she did this year. And I think she was a net positive on the season. We'll just see where it leads with the Colts going forward. To me, her ownership style was refreshing. And the amount of interest she took, I mean, the copious notes she was taken. It was a departure from the good old boy owner sitting up in the box drinking martinis. I know that when I played with the Oilers, Bud Adams, I don't think ever took a note whatsoever.

And his big thing was just entertaining his boys up in the press box. So to see somebody that was as diligent as she was and eager to learn and wanting to make the organization better, I think that it was not only refreshing, but I think it sent a message to other owners that you know what, you know, she maybe has a different perspective, but it's a good one in terms of how we should run our program. Stepping away from the Colts in the final segment,

are we seeing one of the most wide open and entertaining NFL post seasons unfold in front of our very eyes? We'll conclude the squad show by talking about that next. This portion of the show brought you by our friends at Robin Hood. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you could put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market.

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play-by-play, you decide. Trade every play with Robin Hood. Now available across the U.S. download the Robin Hood app to begin. And we're back on the locked on Colts squad show. Thanks so much for joining us on a final segment. I'm Derek Schultz. Alan Pinkett here as well. So is Zach Hicks. And guys, unfortunately, we're not talking about Colts football during Wild Card weekend. But man, what a wild card weekend that we have seen so far with all of these games coming down to the wire. Now, you know, full disclosure, we haven't been watching for the last hours we do this show, but a 6-3 game, kind of a, not the highest level, maybe, Chargers, Patriots, a little bit more of a defensive struggle.

No, Drake May's particularly struggling so far in this game, a six three game at halftime, New England holding onto that one against the Chargers. But I don't know. We all have these people on our live. I know, Alan, you're in the part of the state that's mostly Bears fans. I have a very good buddy of mine who is a mentally unstable Bears fan, as most Bears fans are. And to watch that game unfold last night. see him ride the the roller coaster of emotions, man, that was one of those games.

I never once considered that the Bears were going to win that game until it was all zeros. And that's the fun of the NFL playoffs, right, where sometimes you just get those outcomes that you're like, did that really happen? And it certainly happened at Soldier Field. Well, I think the best game I saw all year was when they beat the Packers in the regular season. Yeah, good point. You know, where they had an onside kick that they recovered. And then they ended up winning in overtime. And yes, I have. a few buddies that, oh, they were cussing the bear something awful in the first half in the third quarter. And, you know, after I saw the performance in week 18 versus the Packers,

I was just waiting patiently. I knew they were going to hit their stride at some point. Now all the bear fans are acting like, well, that's what we expected out of them. You know, we thought they would win and they're all happy and everything. And I even, you know, texted a few buddies. And I'm like, how old were you in 2011? Because that's the last time they won a play off game. And one guy, I guess it goes all the way back to the year his son was born. And his son is now 14.

Yeah, that's crazy. But yeah, they feel like this weird team of like destiny this year, the Bears. Where like, when you look at this thing, they shouldn't be winning football. games. Like they're winning on this insanely crazy turnover like difference, right? Where they are forcing so many turnovers that are just not sustainable whatsoever. And they're having such a wide margin and turnover differential that it's like eventually the shoe has to drop. And it felt like it was going to drop in that in that game, right? There were multiple fumbles. They didn't recover. Caleb was throwing some interceptions. And it was like, okay, now it's finally dropping. But

they also had that fourth quarter magic where like for some reason when the game gets in the fourth quarter. The team against them forgets how to play football, but they become perfect across the board. I don't know how long it's going to last with this team. You have to think that you can't keep BSing your way all the way to the Super Bowl, but who knows? You know, like, it's kind of the way it's going. But yeah, that was a fantastic game. I think the game with the Rams and Panthers, like that was such a way to kick off the playoffs. Like that throw and catch from the Rams to win that game, to Parkinson's. down the right sideline, that catch by that tight end.

Incredible. And that's how you win in the playoffs, right? You need players to make big-time plays. And that catch by Parkinson was great. I will have a quick quip at you here, though, Derek, that you made this outline before the 4 o'clock game and the 8 o'clock game tonight that are both like the most boring duds ever of football game. Fair.

Like the first three games when you made this outline, we are having like the best wild card weekend. But then the Eagles had to blow it for us. and whatever the heck is happening with these these two quarterbacks. It was still dramatic, right? Even though the level of play wasn't great, I mean, Eagles and Niners was still dramatic. And I do think that there's something to look,

you know, the Bill's and Josh Allen are still there, right? The Niners are there. I mean, the Niners have been there a whole heck of a lot, but no more Eagles. I was suffering a lot from Eagles fatigue. No chiefs, no Ravens. You know what I mean? Like I do think that there's a level of freshness as well here.

And look, like the, the, the bears do I think that they're going to go to the Super Bowl? No, but if you told me they were going to go to the Super Bowl, would I be shocked? No. And I think you'd say that about just about anybody that's left here. Like you could talk me into any of these teams winning, not only going to the Super Bowl, but winning the whole thing. And I think that's kind of the fun of this postseason compared to the last couple of years where it almost felt like, yeah, it's my homes and the chiefs and nobody's going to touch them. You know what I mean? Like it's been such a dynasty sport for a lot of its modern history. And this feels almost more like those late 2000s like, the Eli's Giants and that that weird Steelers team in 05 and like flacko and the Ravens. You know what I mean? Like it feels like that's what we're maybe going to get this. And just watch it be Bill's Niners in the Super Bowl or something. But as I say that, I would love the bills honestly getting there just because it feels like every great

quarterback has to get there one. And it feels like a great disservice when that one quarterback doesn't get it. Like the Dan Marino's of the world. Like how did Dan Marino not get a Super Bowl? You know, like this all time great. And that's why like doing John. John Elway got his at such an older, like, place in his career that it was like such a beautiful thing to watch.

I think Josh Allen's in that tier of quarterback all time already where it's like he's got to get his at some point, right? And seeing him the way that he played that game today where his team, this is not the most talented team he's had in the playoffs. And that Jacksonville team is talented. They're well coached. They are talented, especially on defense. And they were beating the hell out of him in that game.

And just for him, like, for the way that game to end with him pushing. through the pile for multiple runs, like, on just throwing his body at a defense. He's such a fun quarterback to watch. I think one of my takeaways, though, with that game, and maybe it's, like, a good thing for this division is, like, Trevor Lawrence was on such a heater down the stretch where it was like, oh, gosh, do we have a top five, top 10 quarterback in our division? Is he finally realizing his potential? And he kind of just became that up and down Trevor Lawrence that we know him to be, you know?

Like, the first half of that game, he was really bad, had a decent third quarter. And then the fourth quarter, like, yeah, he scored a couple of touchdowns with some wide open players. But then through the interception, a high ball over the middle that you just can't throw in that situation. It was like, man, it was like five or six interceptable balls he threw in that game. And it kind of just comes down again to me where it's like, look at these games, right? At the end of the day, the better quarterback is typically going to win. It doesn't always end up that way. but even when you have these like beautiful, like fun, exciting games,

who won between Matthew Stafford and Bryce Young? Matthew Stafford won that game. Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen won that game. I think Caleb Williams and Jordan Love are kind of like an even quarterback. They're kind of like the same type of quarterback where they're just such highs and such lows. You have no clue what you're getting. But yeah, Brock Purdy and Jordan Love and Jalen Hertz, I probably put Purdy over him as of right now. I think at the end of the day, when your quarterback makes the plays, that's such a valuable position.

And I think at the end of the day, like, you need your quarterback to be able to make that play. The Colts think they have something in Daniel Jones, and hopefully he can be that guy. You can go toe to the toe with these guys in the future. It's weird not seeing the Chiefs, but I feel like all the new kids on the block, it's good because there's other fan bases who get to participate in the playoffs. now take some ownership with their teams doing good, but I don't really have a sense of which one is the dominant team. I think any of them could make the Super Bowl. The thing I will tell you, having participated in the playoffs, the thing that sucks about the playoffs is just the abruptness of it. I mean, because when you get into the playoffs,

you do have visions of going all the way to the Super Bowl, and you lose. that one playoff game is like, bam, season's over. And it's like, damn, the routine I've been on for 18, 19, 25 weeks, now it has changed. And, you know, it's kind of depressing, you know, when you lose that playoff game because it's that last trip to the locker room is when you're packing all your junk up to go home. And hopefully, hopefully you're not injured so you don't have to stick around. and go to the training room to get treatment and stuff like that. But it's always, there's only one team that ends up being happy throughout all this.

And that's a team that wins it all because everybody else ends up being pissed off. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, think about the Jags, man. They won, they basically had a two-month winning streak. They win the division and they're feeling themselves right. And then, you know, you have a home game and it's over. just like that. It's not that I'm crying any tears for them.

Don't get me wrong. I thought it was great to see them fall in their face. But like that's that's the NFL playoffs, right? So, and we've seen that happen before. I mean, I remember the Colts in 08. The Colts started three and four that season. And they won out. They won nine straight games.

And then they went to San Diego because the Chargers won the division at 8 and 8 and Cyphreys and sprals. And they, you know, they had a punter go off. It was wild. And the Colts ended up losing that game. And just like that, you know, for two months, you're riding that eye. And then it's just over.

You have a bad afternoon and that's it. Yeah, even the Colts in 2018, right? They won like 11 straight games technically or something by the end of that year. Or like 11 of 12 or something is what it was. But then they lost to the Chiefs. Chiefs end up going against the Patriots next week and losing that one, I believe. Yeah, I think that was the year the Chiefs lost to the Patriots. And it's just done like that, you know, where it's like you're riding this high.

You're not losing ever. Then it's over. You know, but that's the beauty of the one and done. sport where any given Sunday somebody can can win. Ultimately, you want to be the team with the better quarterback that can make that difference as tight as possible. But I think something cool with this playoffs that we're still looking forward to is going on to the next round. Like we're getting like, I'm assuming Drake May is going to win his game. Josh Allen's going on the next round. Matthew Stafford's going next round. We're getting all these best quarterbacks in football

moving to the next round. And what's waiting for them, all these super defenses like these great defenses of the last 10 years. But like again, I'm assuming that. Texans are going to beat the Steelers. You'll have the Texans. You'll have the Broncos that are waiting for whatever team with that defense, the Seahawks. And then you're going to get this beautiful, like, bashing of heads between great quarterback, great defense, who's going to come out on top? And that's what you love while the NFL playoffs is just there's so many different ways to win.

Typically, again, typically it's the better quarterback. But we've seen, you know, when Peyton Manning won his last Super Bowl, it wasn't a Peyton Manning Super Bowl. That was that all-time great defense that won that Super Bowl. that was the corpse of Peyton Manning leading the way. So sometimes just having that great one side of the ball, like on defense, can carry you all the way to victory. So I'm really excited to see, like, this next round where we get,

again, Stafford versus a great defense. Allen versus a great defense should be a really fun time to watch. Hey, after dragging some bad defenses to the finish line, Peyton deserved a Professor Emeritus Super Bowl ring. He did. He deserved it. No, and I think that, you know, the fact that, you know, the fact that we get to see these legacy moments

and again like, you know, Alan and former players probably roll their eyes and stuff like this, but this is the stuff that we live for, right? Zach, the nerds talk about Drake May and his legacy. You know, a lot of stuff is built in what they do from here on out, right? Not what they do in September and October and November or even December.

So I'm interested to see how that one all plays out, but I would eventually like to see the Colts regularly participating in these games. That would be nice. That's something that I think a lot of people in this town took for granted all those years when they rolled out of bed. And, you know, it was a fate of complete that the Colts would be in the playoffs and, you know, about five straight years being outside of the playoffs.

But really appreciate you guys joining us here on the Colts Squad Show. We are your go-to place for Colts off-season coverage because to us it's never truly the off-season on the Locked on Colts Network. We're going to try starting this week a Tuesday Thursday, Caden. So you are used to in-season Wednesday, Sunday. We're going to try Tuesday, Thursday here moving forward. so no more Sunday shows, but they're not being any more Colts football. So we'll be back with you for our next squad show on Tuesday night at 9 o'clock.

So make that adjustment in your iPhone alarms and calendars. I know you guys have your watches set to all of that when we're here on the Locked on Colts show. And as always during the week, keep it locked on Jake and Zach on Locked on Colts. And be sure to follow at Locked On Colts on socials. And check out our other great content on YouTube and TikTok. And we'll see you next time again Tuesday, 9 p.m. right here on the Colts Squad show.