Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: Colts Can't Halt LOSING SKID | Jaguars Come From Behind to Beat Indianapolis 23-17
Episode Date: December 28, 2025Despite being mathematically eliminated from the postseason on Saturday, the Colts rushed out to a 10-0 lead in their home finale on Sunday, but they were unable to halt a Jaguars' rally that led to a... 23-17 defeat. The Squad convenes to talk about the now 8-8 Colts, perhaps the end of the Philip Rivers experiment, and analyze the performance on both sides of the ball.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 MoneyTake control of your finances and cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money.Go to https://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON today.Aura FramesFor a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting https://AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code LOCKEDON at checkout.FanDuelIf you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long.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.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.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Welcome to the Colts Squad Show.
I'm your host Derek Schultz,
and well, at least that loss wasn't in Jacksonville.
And I'm Zach Hicks,
and I'm just ready for this painful season
to finally end next weekend.
I'm Jake Arthur,
and if that was Philip River Swan Song,
then thank you, good sir,
and we bid you adieu.
Colts Nation, rise up.
It's the Colts Squad,
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and game-changing plays from the Circle City the way only the locked-on podcast network can.
It's time to squad up.
The Colts Squajo starts now.
Happy holidays and thanks for joining us here on the Locked-on Colts Network.
I'm Derek Schultz, Indie Sports Talker and Sportscomus for the Indianapolis Business Journal.
You every day are you know Zach Hicks and Jake Arthur from the wildly popular Locked-on
Colts podcast, your first listen every day.
Colts jumped out to a 10-0 lead.
looked like it was maybe actually going to be a Merry Christmas,
but similar to their start to the season,
that quickly evaporated.
They lose to the Jaguars 23 to 17.
On tonight's show,
we'll talk about the Colts falling short against the Jags.
We won't really spend too much time on a game recap,
because I'm pretty sure that's not what you guys want us to spend a lot of time on,
to be totally honest,
especially with the fact that they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday anyway.
So for all intents and purposes,
this afternoon's game at Lucaso Stadium was a meaningless one.
But we will talk about likely the end now of the,
Philip Rivers era. I think his worst performance as QB1 for the Colts, even though we're talking
about a small sample size here in the first three games and what could happen in the season
finale against Houston. We'll play week 17 studs and duds. There were some good standout performances
today from the Colts. Honestly, they played a competitive game. They were right there until the end.
I know we're talking moral victory stuff here, but there were some individual performances that
Zach Jake and I will highlight. And then finally, just another AFC South loss. And as I was walking
out of Lucas Loyal Stadium a couple of hours ago. I was thinking to myself how
normalized that's become. Like you feel like, oh yeah, of course they lost to the Jaguars or
of course they lost to the Texans. Maybe not the Titans because they still kind of dunk on
the Titans savagely. But those other two teams for sure, we've been seeing that a lot.
But Zach, like I said, I don't know if there is too much to kind of dive into with this one,
but just another one of those opportunities where the Colts were there, they were in the game.
if they just make a couple of more plays late here or there,
then they probably find a way to win,
but that's essentially been this second half of the season.
Their lack of finding a way to the win.
Outside of the Niners game, really a bunch of close games,
a bunch of close losses.
Yeah, and look, at the end of the day,
there's only so much you can do when you're down to this situation at quarterback.
I thought the fact that this was even a close game speaks to,
I know nobody wants to hear this right now,
but speaks to, I guess, the game plan early
where they surprised me by coming out playing understom.
center more often to start this game.
And I'm sure the Jaguars defense was like, what the heck?
We did not expect them to get under center as much as they did to start this game.
And the Colts were able to get a couple points on the board.
But ultimately, yeah, when you're down to this quarterback situation, it's just a matter
of time before you can't put up points, especially against the top defense like the
Jaguars have.
I think there are big conversations to have about this season for sure.
But we kind of have seen it the last couple weeks that there are limits to this thing.
There's limits to the defense.
being down some of their top players. There's limits to the offense being down to where they're at
with the quarterback situation. And you can only do so much. I am with you, though, Derek, a couple of
these games were close late. And, like, you've got to find a way to squeeze out some of these
wins in these ones, even before the Daniel Jones injury, going back to the Kansas City game,
going back to the Rams game early in the season, going back to the Houston game for sure.
Those are the ones that you do need to find a way to win. But these last couple ones, like ever since
Jones tour the Achilles. A lot of it's just kind of been, you know, like what it is at this
point. But yeah, I mean, I'm glad that our misery officially ended on Saturday with the Texans
getting their win and it ended all talks of potentially making the playoffs. Colts were officially
eliminated yesterday. So that was pretty much the biggest news of the weekend when it came to
the Colts. This game didn't really mean much, especially when they don't have a first round pick
coming up if I want to make that very happy talk right now for people. But yeah, these last
couple games are just glorified preseason games for the Colts and there were a couple guys that
stood out and we'll talk about it for sure. But at the end of the day, it's hard to go toe to
with a playoff team when you have the significant injuries the Colts have and the way they've
been playing lately. You know, I'm just, again, no moral victories, but I'm happy they came out
and fought like they did. I don't really care. I mean, again, we're in season nine of Chris Ballard
at this point, so I don't really care about moral victories, but happy for at least some of these
players that came out and played well and caught the Jaguars off guard early and took advantage of
the Jaguars almost doing their Jaguarsness of this game in this one. But, yeah, onto next season,
I guess, yet again for what feels like most of the Chris Ballard era, onto next season, I guess.
Yeah, we knew this experiment was kind of on borrowed time unless Phillips' presence was going to come in
and galvanize the team to, like, send them to some new level and finish our.
a four and oh but you know reality struck and they've got a tough schedule yes but at the same time
it just feels like the wind is out of everybody's sales like the competitiveness we saw in wins over
the broncos and chargers going toe to toe with the rams and stuff it's just a different team
of course the quarterback is is wildly different but yeah it's I think everyone's just kind
ready to pack this one in. Now, I will say I really wanted to see how the Colts were going to respond
in this one because we've seen just the unbelievable late season flops by them. Obviously, the Giants
last year is the biggest example of it. But I wanted to see, you know, coming into this game,
they know there's nothing to play for in terms of the standings and everything. They're out of the
playoffs. Are they going to roll over and die like we've seen them do before? Or are they going to go
ahead and fight. And the Jags were a better team, absolutely. But as we've seen in several of
these recent games, like the Colts put themselves in pretty good position to win. So I guess
if you're taking moral victories, once again, you know, hang the banner. The Colts almost won
this one. But yeah, I mean, what can you take away from this when you're down to like your
ninth and tenth corners, your third or fourth quarterback? Like, Sauce Gardner is back, but
nope now he's gone again to forrest buckner he's back but no he's gone again um it just it kind
is what it is like i all i'm really looking forward from today and then next sunday is
competitiveness and not giving up because we don't expect them to win you know just don't don't
get embarrassed out there because like get past the san francisco debacle that was the embarrassing one
hopefully uh because i mean houston is capable of embarrassing you next week look what they just did
the Chargers. It wasn't like a high flying game, but C.J. Stroud's in his bag now.
But yeah, just get through this one last game. This is the last time we're going to see all
these guys together because, you know, we don't know front office coaching staff. What's going to
change, if anything? But as far as all the players go and everything, you know, it's a wrap for
the 2025 Colts next week. So just go out strong, put up a good effort. Big performance by Jonathan
to regain the rushing lead and lock it in, I guess.
I think that's what I'm going for.
Like 40 minutes, I guess, right, until James Cook goes crazy.
Yeah, like get Alec Pierce to 1,000 yards because he didn't do anything today.
So he needs like 129, I think, get Pierce to 1,000 yards, and then let Jonathan go for like 200.
So he gets back and locks in the rushing title.
Yeah, it would be nice.
A little bit of a different feeling than when the Colts used to do that when they were
like, you know, 13 and two or something in week 17, right?
And, you know, they're trying to get Reggie Wayne or Dallas Clark, like 25 more yards
for contract incentives and things like that.
But, you know, I will say this.
And Jake, I know you were at the game there.
I took my, my eight-year-old son.
And we had tickets that were probably five rows from the top of the building.
And it was so full in there that a guy in my row actually was sitting in the wrong
seat.
Somebody came up to him and was like, hey, man, row 24 in Section 10.
638. That's actually my seat. And I'm thinking to myself, good on Colts fans. I understand that a lot
of these tickets were bought previously, right, way, way beforehand. And maybe some people earlier
this season were like, oh, this could be a division clinching chance. I got to get the tickets for
the home finale, right? But Colts fans were cheering. They were loud. They were into the game.
Again, I know we're talking like moral victories and stuff that like makes us feel good at the end
of the day. But it's just kind of one of those things. I'm trying to be positive so I don't just like
drive my car off the cliff on the way home.
You know what I mean?
And that's, I thought the atmosphere today at Lucas Loyal Stadium was really strong
and I think it's a credit to Colts fans.
Well, and make this be the call to Carly Ursay, right?
That this fan base deserves better than this, right?
Of nine years of a general manager with a losing record.
And yes, there were, where there was some circumstances early
that made it very difficult for Chris Ballard.
But after 2022, after 2024, after 2024 last year in particular, like I know she didn't have
full control there, but those were perfect opportunities to change the general manager and make
this big switch and commit to being better than this as an organization. And the fans just don't
deserve this. Again, nine years of a general manager with a losing record. Like, that's just not
a thing. And it's not like we're talking about general manager that, oh, he won a Super Bowl in year one
and then hasn't been as great since then. This is a guy with two playoff appearances in nine years,
one playoff win. And Andrew Luck was the one who got them that playoff win back in
2018. They haven't won a playoff
games since 2018. They haven't been to
the playoffs in four years. This
fan base deserves, this fan base
five years. Sorry, five years. Thanks, Jake.
Appreciate that. This is
a culture of mediocrity
at best. This is a culture of
moral victories, like fans like
to say. And this should be the call to
Carly Urst say that this just needs to be better
than this. I mean, look, the fans
showed up. They were loud. They were
every single call the reps were
making. They were at the edge of their seat yelling and
booing and getting into it.
And I feel for these fans, man, they're used to greatness in the early 2000s with
Peyton Manning.
They got a Super Bowl win back then.
Like, this fan base really is ready for a champion.
They're excited.
I mean, I know the Pacers have been rough this year, but the Pacers just went to an NBA championship.
Indiana is in the college football playoff.
Like, feed on this energy that this, or that this city has, that this state has right now.
And just declare that we're not settling for this, just mediocrity anymore.
you know so i think look it's not going to be a great situation for a new general manager to step in here
but i just want to see that commitment to we're not going to stick by this this nine and eight
this eight and nine every single year type of thing and i'm not even saying 2025 is like the straw
that broke the camels back you know like because i think if any other general manager situation
any other coaching situation like yeah going from eight and two and losing out the rest of the way
when they had the injuries they had against all playoff teams down the stretch
I understand it.
You know, it happens.
But because this is year nine, because this has been so long of the same thing,
it's time to commit to better, you know?
So I think this should be the call to that where it's like, look,
this is a competitive team.
They can fight.
They can get their moral victories.
They can get to eight and nine and nine and eight no matter what.
But we need better than that.
And if you're going to at least swing for the fences,
if you end up lower, if you end up going all the way down to four wins or three wins,
at least it's something different.
Like we're all just tired of.
floating right there like just bobbing and staying afloat here either sink or swim like i'm tired of
just treading water and hoping that maybe one day will be able to swim uh it's time to to finally swing
for the fences with with the general manager and and i just think they need to make that change
regardless of what the situation looks like for the next general manager coming in here yeah i
here's the thing i i almost feel for ballard because he finally did make the moves that people
been screaming for for years and did what elite gms do but it just so happens all the wrong things
happened and everything blew up in his face however that happens in the NFL like you cannot add
this to the list of excuses or you're just going to yeah we can all three just sit here and probably
for 20 straight minutes look at each season that he's been here and come up with what the big excuses
were for why they didn't get to the promise line you know what I mean so there's going to be excuses
every year. You just can't do it anymore. Like Derek, we were just talking before we went live here.
How do you sell the fans on Hope if you run everything back without a first round pick
and knowing you're not going to spend heavily in free agency because you've already used a lot of
money or will be having it already kind of pegged in certain places? So you have to you have to sell
them hope based on we see you, we hear you. Thank you for your enthusiasm and sticking with us
through the craziest times of your fandom,
we are going to do what we can to get this in the right direction
because the stagnation of this 500 record or less,
you know, over the last decade is not good enough.
And we are here to make changes and try and get in the right direction.
So if you go back and look at Carly's press conference,
when the three of them took over,
she talked a strong game,
not just about like finding success,
but sustaining success and dominance almost
and getting back to like the glory days
when the Colts were at the top of the league, you know.
So certainly just settling for occasional playoff appearances
isn't good enough, but they can't even buy that right now.
No.
It's been five years since the playoffs,
two years in a row that they've been eliminated from contention
before they've even played their final game of the regular season.
And every other team in the division
has won the division at least twice since they've last one at one.
That's embarrassing for a franchise that went from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck.
That's insane.
And it's got to change.
Yeah.
And there's no.
Sorry.
Think about it too with those other organizations.
The Jaguars have rebuilt twice in that time span.
The Texans have hired wrong, like David Coley and Lovie Smith, like hired wrong coaches
and had Bill O'Brien as a GM slash head coach.
You know, the Titans have been whatever the Titans have been the last few years as well.
Like these have been embarrassing organizations as well.
but we've been, we have the most wins in the AFC South in the last nine years under Chris Ballard, right?
No divisional championships, only two playoff appearances.
That just speaks to these other teams have been tearing it down and rebuilding it back up and getting back to where they need to be.
The Colts have just been a perfectly fine treading water the entire time and just being that middle of the road team.
So average wise, we might win more games than you, but in individual season, it doesn't matter.
That's what I was going to say.
There's no Reed Mahomes chiefs.
There's no Brady Belichick Patriots, a team that has like,
a strangle hold on this division. It's been a revolving door. And the only team that hasn't gone
through the door is the Colts. Everybody else has been up there. And that's the ultimate
frustration. We'll save some of that divisional talk for coming up later on the show. But next,
did we see Philip Rivers take his last snap as an NFL quarterback for good this time?
We'll discuss when the squad show returns.
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lineup. Price bicks, it's good to be right. And we're back on the Locked on Colts squad
show. Thanks so much for joining us alongside Zach Hicks and Jake Arthur of Locked on Colts. I'm
Derek Schultz. Alan Pinkett will rejoin us on Wednesday's squad show. Colts fall to the Jaguars
2317, but a lot of that feels secondary, honestly, is we've kind of got at least one eye, if not both
sort of looking at the future, as I'm sure a lot of you Colts fans do as well.
But I think what we may have seen today is the end of the Philip Rivers re-entry.
I will say this, guys, I think he wholly deserved to start again today.
I know there was some talk yesterday when Houston won and people were saying, well, what's the point?
And what are we doing?
And look, they prepped him to start all week.
And you know what?
At the end of the day, Rivers did them a favor.
And I think that's a two-way street, right?
He's a very respected, even borderline revered figure in this organization,
certainly for Shane Steichen and the relationship they have.
I think it was right of them to allow him another start.
But it doesn't appear like that makes a lot of sense going into the season finale.
If we're to assume that that's the case, final line for Rivers, 58 of 92,
63% completion, 487 yards, four touchdowns, three interceptions.
I think largely, Zach, it went a lot better than it could have gone.
that said, I thought today was by far his worst of the three performances.
Yeah, and honestly, it's such a good team they played against two in Jaguars.
That Jaguars defense flies around that do a lot of things.
And you can only get so far with the limitations that Philip Rivers has.
I think we said it on the Wednesday squad show.
I kind of said it.
I hit it in like the 45 minute mark, so I don't know how many people heard it,
but it was more so being like, look, the wheels are going to fall off this river's thing eventually.
He can keep you a float-ish, and you can have games like he did against the 49ers.
but with his arm talent, with, when I say arm talent,
I mean like the lack of arm talent currently that he has,
with just the limitations he places on the running game,
it wasn't going to sustain itself.
And I was wholly surprised when they came out in this game
under center doing different things
and they were able to jump out to that 10 point lead.
But even then, it was like,
there's a way that this was going to sustain
unless the defense had some masterful performance
because that offense is just not sustainable whatsoever.
that they have like you can get some points against the 49ers you can get a couple surprise points
against the seahawks and the jaguars but it's not at a sustainable level at all you can't you can't
have a quarterback who can't move whatsoever back there in the NFL like we see it with we see the
limitations in Pittsburgh with Rogers the same way and Rogers is at least in football shape and
he's been prepping to play all off season for rivers to come off the couch uh after five years and
come in here and even do what he did I think is remarkable I
I really think that this is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in football
for him to even have the production he had the last three weeks.
Like honestly, if you would have asked me three weeks ago what his stat lines would
look like, I would have said maybe he gets out of the first quarter against Seattle
with a couple interceptions and then that's it for it.
So for him to go three games and really not like he wasn't a plus player for the Colts.
He just wasn't like a detriment either.
Like he was just fineish, you know.
He played like you like a typical like third.
third string option quarterback would probably a little bit better because of some of the
ways that he was able to negate some bad plays and and make some plays on third down.
So for all the possible situations that could have had here with their third quarterback,
I think he was certainly the best.
It's just, yeah, it wasn't going to last.
It wasn't going to be sustainable.
But I really do think I saw something like special with what he was able to do five years
away from the league, no, no football shape, no ability to prep, no anything.
for him to do what he did just speaks to the quality of player that he is.
And I don't think we're ever going to see something like this again.
Like imagine Peyton Manning five years after he retired coming out.
Like I don't think he could get the ball five yards, you know, let alone playing in an NFL game.
He could barely do that his final year in the NFL.
So the fact that he was able to even do this, I think is just phenomenal.
But I'm with you, Derek.
Like, he deserved to start this game.
I don't think it matters much either way anyway, like who starts a quarterback right now for the Colts.
So if he wanted to start the final game, I'd say, sure, get out there and do it.
But it seemed like that this is probably the end of it.
We'll get Riley Leonard in the final game with, I guess, some quarterback as the backup, right?
Because they don't have Brett Rippin anymore, and Richardson's not going to get cleared.
So, yeah, I think it'll be Leonard next week with Tyler Warren and Jake Arthur as the backup quarterback.
So we'll go from there.
Hey, I was a pretty successful adult flag football quarterback.
There we go.
And I mean, the Colts gambled and bet on the synergy between Rivers and Stuyken to get them where they wanted to go.
They kind of had to throw a Hail Mary in the final four games to, you know, hopefully win them all or go three in one and get into the playoffs.
They couldn't, number one, I don't think they were comfortable, obviously, with just Riley Leonard.
It's a six-round rookie.
That's not anything against him.
But, like, what team out there is rolling the dice with a sixth-round rookie?
like maybe they like him long term but they're not going to they were still in playoff contention
they weren't going to throw everything at him you're not going to go out bad brosmer has looked
with minnesota if you want to see what it can look like with a young quarterback out there like
he threw for like 40 yards in their last game against the lions and had like seven sacks
against uh Seattle he had like three or four interceptions like that's what the colts wanted
to avoid by getting rivers out there yeah and like with rivers you're obviously limited but
you're going to play mostly clean and physically that's never why he succeeded he succeeded
because he was smarter than everybody else he was playing uh so you get the connection with him and
stuyken you run this half court offense basically and see where it gets you and i mean they went
oh and three it kind of failed like i thought he played decent football you know i never thought
like he was a big issue holding them back in these three games definitely thought he
look better against the 49ers than today.
But it just, you know, they had to take a chance to try and salvage the season and it failed.
Now, with that being said, look at next week and Leonard's maybe the way to go, only because
the wins and losses don't matter.
And I mean, you want to give the rest of the guys in the locker room the best chance to win,
but like, what's the point?
like you brought rivers in for a mission and the mission is now obsolete so with that being said
i think that's a there's a strong support system for leonard because like rivers is leonard's
quarterback trainer in the off season already like i asked rivers today after the game i was like
so you're used to having your eyes on him in the off season how is your perception of him
changed now that you've been in a locker room with him for a few weeks and and he's like you know
he's not going to be outworked and he wants this so bad, you know,
and I think he's going to be a 10-plus year player in the NFL,
whether that is as a backup or a start or whatever,
but he thinks that Linderd's got the makeup to stick around for a while.
And, I mean, the matchup sucks.
I don't want to put any young player against Houston.
Like, I don't want to put anybody who's not a top 10 quarterback in the NFL
against Houston.
It does feel a little bit like throwing Sam Ellinger to the New England.
and Patriot Wolves back in 2022.
But I will say for Leonard, he's got grit, poise, he's tough.
Like, it may not be pretty, but if you stand any chance at winning against a pass rush
like that, you got a guy that can move around, he's got more arms, he's not got great
arm strength, but it's better than Phillips.
That's why they came in and had him throw the Hail Mary at the end of today.
But yeah, I mean, let's get weird.
Let's have a weird fun time.
on next Sunday if it is of course Leonard i mean we're we're already speaking as if shane's made
the decision which maybe he has uh but we'll know i think in the next 48 hours who's starting
against the texans on sunday or saturday whenever they choose to make the game i'm putting you guys
on the spot a little bit but zach i know you alluded to this you don't think he's going to be
clear to do we think that there's no chance minimal chance it's richard i mean i i hate that that
that report came out that he was like cleared for physical activity because like if they just
opened his 21 day window and like for like hey we're getting him working out because that's
only thing he's cleared for then it would have been fine but when they reported it like that he was
fully cleared to go uh that's not at all what he was he was cleared to work out he broke a part
of his eye guys like it's a very difficult injury to come back from a lot of doctors out there saying
that this is like a five to six month recovery window for this injury so yeah he was never going
to get cleared to play the culture trying to get him some scout team reps and stuff with this 21
day window but he wasn't going to get clear to go i i highly highly doubt it and if he does he's not
going to be clear to play he might just be you know the emergency third quarterback and in that
situation you just haven't taken knees maybe i think at this point so um yeah he's he's not going to
be clear to go and one of the comments saying richardson says he's good to go all players say they're
good to go guys they all say they're good to go at all times and we've seen what happens when you give
them a little bit too much control for sure, like when Sauce Gardner says he's good to go today
and he only lasts half a game. And we say DeForest Buckner says he's good to go and then he
reagravates his neck injury. So players always think they're good to go. But no, Richardson's not
going to be good to go. Riley Leonard will be the starter next week. Yeah, you can't put a quarterback
out there who has compromised vision still. Like they're hopeful that will like be 100%
regained at some point. But until it is, like he's a quarterback. You can't put him out there.
in that scenario so i would be floored if richardson was available sunday i haven't even been
considering it it's going to be leonard and i guess philip will be back up and you hope to not
have to see him but yeah yeah so so i'll lie down if he if anyone's about to get free hit on him
we don't want backups in the game in that one so all medical for you guys it's not maybe that
Stuyken doesn't want to put him out there or is it just?
Well, I think if he was, so Shane has a doghouse and one of the only ways to get out
of it is if your replacements aren't healthy enough to play.
We saw it with A.D. Mitchell, I firmly believe he would have had A.D. Mitchell
buried in the doghouse for as long as he probably could have let that ride as long as
there weren't injuries ahead of him. I don't know that Anthony was necessarily in the dog
house with Shane. But I think Shane has probably seen enough to know what types of players he can
trust to go out there and execute what he wants to be executed and who he can't. And that's
kind of how I see it. I think if they had to play Anthony and Anthony was healthy enough to play,
they would, but they would have to be forced to do it, I think. There was never a single point
this entire year or in the offseason at any point whatsoever that Leonard was above Richardson
on the depth chart. And I don't, and I don't think that's just an optics thing. I think that's
genuinely, uh, with the cold. So I think if Richardson were healthy, he would certainly be out
there over Leonard. Now, again, there's some politics that be involved. Like if you're
Richardson's agent, for instance, and say that, say that Richardson was 100% healthy for this
game, right? Would you want to throw him out there with Jalen Travis on the right side and a very
injured Bernhardt Ryman on the left side against the best past Russian football in a,
pointless game at the end of the year you if you're a r's agent you probably say like we probably
don't want him out there for that game which that's where the politics of football kind of come in
place so um i don't know if he would start regardless uh i i think all things consider all things
like considered and if he were fully healthy he would be starting the final game um if the colts
and stuyken had the choice but i don't think he's going to be cleared at all in a loss there
were plenty of dud performances but some studs stood stood out as well including the
return of the most underrated Colts.
We'll talk about next when the Colts Squad Show returns.
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Thanks so much for joining us. Hope you are enjoying your holidays as we continue here.
The Colts season technically continues. One more game left to play. And that will be in Houston
next week. But the Colts fall to the Jaguars 2317. That means a Jacksonville season sweep,
which even though the Colts have not fared well in Duval County,
they have largely avoided Jacksonville sweeps for the most part
over the last couple of years,
or I should say last couple of years over the last 10 years or so.
But we'll talk more about the division coming up here later on in the Colts squad show.
Let's get to Studs and Duds like we do with every postgame recap show.
And guys, I wanted to start with, you know,
I call them the most underrated Colts.
I don't think that he's underrated by the fan base at all.
It was awesome to see Ashton Doolin back out there.
250 plus yard kick returns, each of them set up scores.
And, you know, as much as we have sort of decried the core of this team as they're not winners or whatever else,
you know, here's a guy in Doolin who, like everyone else, right, the Colts have not won while he's been on the team.
But, man, he makes winning plays all the time.
Like, I don't even care if they win or lose the game, I'm not keeping track.
I just feel like Ashton Doolan is a guy that any team would be lucky.
to have, and the Colts have been fortunate to be able to keep him around now for whatever it's
been seven years. Yeah, I'm glad we're starting with studs here because it's been too much
duds lately. Yeah, I agree. Segments filled with duds. So let's just say Ashton, for my money,
is the best special teamer in football. Like all around from returning kicks to, I think he's the
best gunner in football by far in a way. The difference in the punt game today than what it's been
without him when he was on IR is night and day. I mean, oh my gosh, his ability as a gunner today was
incredible. Parker Washington is arguably the best punt returner in football. He's two
return, uh, punt returns for touchdowns this season. And he got lit up by, by Doolin on one of
them. And I, I remember seeing afterwards, all the puns afterwards, he was looking for Doolin.
There was one where he was running around and he was scanning for Doolin, saw Doolin closing in and
just kind of went forward instead of trying to reverse field because Doolin is that good of a gunner.
So yeah, I love starting with studs here because like Ash and Doolin today was arguably the best
Colt on the field, and he's one of the biggest reasons why they were even close in this
game. His two long kick returns led to, I believe, a touchdown of field goal, so 10 of their
17 points came on duel in giving them very short fields to operate from. And he was, again,
he just changed field position with his ability as a gunner and forced a couple of fair
catches from Washington, tackled him a couple times, like, man, what a great game from him.
And it's such an underrated player. Like, he is a winner. He is a great player who just gets it
gets it done. He deserves better than this for sure. I'm sure Colts fans aren't going crazy
about us talking about a special teams player here after a loss. But Ashton Duleman, all game long,
I was like, man, like this is such a good player. And I just wish he was, I just wish he was
on a better situation or in a better team. Because, like, he deserves, like, credit. Like,
there's a reason why he's a Pro Bowl alternate right now when he missed like six games this year,
seven games. And I think that's well deserved. He's been just awesome all season long in that
third phase. And he's a big, like, I got to do the on-off splits with him on special
teams because it feels like when he's out there, the special teams is like one of the best
in football. And without him, it's probably towards the bottom. No, it was so, so noticeable.
And of course, like, I don't think he registered any stats offensively. But when Pittman
went out briefly, Doolin came in. But special teams was just, it was incredible. Obviously,
250-yard pickoff returns in a game is outstanding. A lot of guys start as
returners and don't necessarily get that in his season.
He got it twice today.
And he's averaging well over 30 yards for return for the season.
He's got 12 or 13 returns now.
So like this is a pattern of a guy that just is excellent every time he goes out there.
And for Tyler Goodson to not be out there for them to have that gunner on the other side
that's super valuable.
And again, you mentioned Parker Washington, Zach.
There was one I noticed after he basically speared him on that play.
Rigo got really good hang time on one of the punts
and it felt like for three straight seconds
Ashton was just standing there a yard away from Washington
in his face waiting for him to field the punt.
So yeah, he's, like you mentioned, Derek,
Colts fans know exactly how valuable he is,
but, you know, I just wish the Colts were more successful
so that he could be considered among the Matthew Slaters
of the world and all those guys
because Axton really is like an all-pro level special teamer year in and year out.
And I thought he was going to be an all-pro before his stint on IR.
Yeah, no, and I want to give a couple more studs here before we get into Duds.
A couple of players on defense, I think a trio of players here out of Tommy Bowl, out of Bore.
I thought had a really impactful game, a really impressive sack.
I think he got the tackle on the fourth and one stop as well on Trevor Lawrence.
he's been very good this year, like one of the Colts brightest spots in a young player
to boot to on defense this year.
It's just been a problem where there's a lot of games where, like, he doesn't have Buckner
next to him, so he gets the double teams and the tougher assignments, and he's not ready for
that yet, but I think when called upon, he's been a good player for the Colts this season.
Cameron Mitchell, I thought, had a very solid game on defense, a couple past breakups,
a couple nice tackles.
They were trying to pick on him, weren't they?
Yeah, trying to pick on him, and I thought he played some really good football.
And then Jermaine Pratt with the interception of the year for the Colts,
where the heck did that come from?
Gary and Parker, Washington, up the sideline and making an outstanding play.
I think he had another pass breakup too down the sideline.
Like, Dermaine Pratt actually had a pretty good game out there.
And then on offense, Tyler Warren, I thought, had a really good bounce back game as well.
For us talking a lot about that rookie wall with him in recent weeks and him looking a little bit slower
and how he's coming off of such a productive season last year and productive early part
this season that rookie wall was going to hit him harder than most. It was nice to see him look
like Tyler Warren again today, despite again, the offense being very different than the one that
he started the year in. He had some good chemistry with Rivers, had a really good game. And I think
he set the Colts rookie tight end record as well for catches in the season for a rookie. So
congrats to him, and I really like seeing him bounce back. And I still firmly believe that he is
like an impact player going forward. Like he's a good impact player for the Colts. I know
production hasn't been great recently, but I still fully believe in him.
And today was like a little bit of a glimpse into, hey, this guy is still a pretty good
player for the Colts.
And shout out all the tight ends.
Will Mallory, a juggling catch, only a second game.
He was active all year.
And Molly Cox grabbed the touchdown as well.
I think as much as we've aligned the tight ends in the 2024 season, now that they've settled
back into their rows because Warren has allowed them to do that, I think that's been a pretty
decent room this year, all things considered.
Yeah.
Yeah, I was actually going to shout out.
round out that tight-in room as well because i mean if you remember rewinded a little bit back in
2020 when philip was here originally he and mo alley cox had a nice little stretch there in the
beginning of that season where mo was having some big performances and i feel like mo has come on a little
more recently so was ogle tree before he got hurt but rivers is really utilizing those multiple
tight-in sets but yeah the whole tight-in room today and mallory was just great it's it's just a shame that
he's buried on the depth chart because he doesn't block because he's capable of some really
nice things in the passing game which we obviously saw and then you guys shout out the detackles
which was great but i'd like to shout out neville gallimore as well this is just like most seasons
you couldn't fathom losing to forrest buckner and the impact that it would have and not not
to say that it hasn't hurt them immensely but this is the best this is the best situation that
their interior has been in under Chris Ballard, I would say, because Gallimore and Tommy have just
been so, so good. This is the best, this is finally like the biggest sign of life that Tommy has
shown in his few years. And then Gallimore, I think, is giving you exactly what you would hope to see
from your backup three tech. He's affecting it in multiple ways. He's not the strongest run defender,
but I think he's been better than I thought he would be coming into this because that's never really been
his how his bread is buttered throughout his career but he's given you some pass rush he's getting
his hands in the passing lanes and knocking down balls as well so i am super pleased with
how the interior line has stepped up without buckner yeah no i mean the run defense this year
without buckner has been fantastic and the games that he has played it's been kind of middle
of the road so weird which is the we i've never i would put money on that coming into the season
but credit to the defenders for flying around in those games getting to duds though
I think on defense there's a good chunk of duds.
But I think the trio that I have to go to,
and this is bad because it's like either a highly paid trio
or guys that are going to get paid soon.
But Nick Cross, I thought, didn't have a great game today.
I really boneheaded penalty on special teams,
grabbing the face mask and fighting with a guy that limited,
you know, Jaguar was going to start the 20
and they got to the 35 before halftime
because of just a boneheaded penalty.
A couple missed tackles here and there.
His coverage was brutal in this game as well.
Speaking of brutal,
coverage, though, Kenny Moore.
Yeah, he's been a bad fit in this system.
Louis Anirot just plays too much man coverage for him, and he's just, he, he's a bad
fit in the system because of the lack of zone, because they play so much man.
The Colts really got to get another slot guy in there, and I think next year, Justin
Wally in there, and I think it's going to be a tough decision for the Colts's
off season.
I firmly, if it were me, I would shop Kenny and then potentially release him, because I just
don't think the fit is there in this system.
Good run defender still, but it's just he can't play man in this system.
And then Zaire Franklin, man, it's, yeah.
And I've usually been one of his defenders, I guess, too, when it comes to the Colts.
But, yeah, it's just the coverage isn't there, the mistackles.
It's all splash play or nothing with Franklin right now.
And that's just not consistently good enough.
And then also, if we're talking duds, too, just the defensive ends are just
just so bad.
We talk about how good the interior defensive line
has been for the Colts this year with Atatomi
Walker where Stewart had like four QB hits today
it felt like. It was really weird how much
he was. Neville Gallimore is
like the Energizer Bunny on defense
but I mean, outside of
Latu getting a couple pressures, which I thought was the
funniest thing ever that he jumped off sides and still
couldn't get the quarterback to the ground on that play
was just hilarious. Quidipay,
Tyquan, Louis, Sandsenabucom,
you just get no,
you just don't get any pressure
from them at all.
So you see what Louana, and I see this complaint, but from a lot of people, it's like,
why is Louana Rumo keep dropping defense vends in the coverage?
And it's like, you have to manufacture a free rushers because those guys can't win one-on-one.
So dropping one of them and blitzing a backside corner might get you a free pressure,
you know, because those guys aren't going to give you anything rushing the pastor.
So it's the only thing they can do because these defensive ends just have no juice whatsoever.
I think Latu's a fine player.
Like, he's perfectly fine.
But the other guys in that room right now, especially with J.C.2M.
out who was showing a little bit. Oh my gosh, they're just dreadful. Like they are dreadful,
dreadful pass rushers. And they had to blitz a lot to generate pressure. And then you're leaving
your Cameron Mitchells and your Zire Franklin's and Kenny Moore's on an island and man
coverage as a result, which wasn't good enough. So, yeah, a lot of duds on defense, despite
the pretty good day. On offense, I think Rivers was a dud for most today. I think the Colts have
a pretty tough conversation coming with Michael Pittman Jr.'s contract.
Dare I say, I think it's a very difficult conversation.
And I don't want Chris Ballard to be the one making it because I know which way he would go.
And it's probably not the correct decision where they should go with that.
And yeah, I think Taylor's kind of regressed a little bit as a runner in recent weeks too.
He's trying too much to get the big play when it's not there and kind of losing yards as a result.
So a good chunk of duds in this one in a game you lose.
Obviously there's a lot of duds.
but I do think on defense those big ones like Kenny Franklin and then Pittman on
offense I think we're really talking about you know we're talking about those contracts after
the season in a big way here in the next couple weeks can I throw Josh Downs on that pile I
thought you know he had a drop today and maybe it's because I had unrealistic expectations for him
I think the season overall has been fairly disappointing from Josh Downs I know he's dealt with
some injury stuff but you know for a guy that seemingly you know when the Colts needed a big
play he was kind of like that security blanket and guy and i feel like in 2025 we have largely not
seen that and maybe that's just a different level of connection with the quarterback i i'm not sure
but um you know another one today was a third down play and it wasn't a great throw from rivers
because rivers didn't have any great throws today right but i thought downs could have made a
play on that ball and um didn't end up making it yeah yeah downs i think you got to include that
like you said for the whole season and i mean he was he was returning punch and
today. And I, like, he's back there because, like, he's the safe option, but I feel like the
closer you get to your own end zone, I think he makes some questionable decisions with the
ball on whether to take it out or not, to call for fair catch or not. He had a really risky
punt return earlier that he didn't call for fair catch and he got corralled immediately deep
in their own territory. One more stud for me, though. Wasn't in there long, but I thought
Saskartner played pretty well, since we're not going to see him again this season.
almost certainly, I thought he had a nice little performance.
I don't think Trevor Lawrence really tried to test the Colts on the outside much
with Gardner out there.
We saw more blitzing, I thought, today, which may have been a byproduct of Sauce being
back.
So it was a nice little, God, I don't know, four games or whatever that,
parts of four games that we got from Sauce.
Yeah, I think they have some decent pieces that are not, like, old yet on defense.
Like, I know Grover and Buckner are pretty old, and they're getting up there,
But, I mean, defensive tackles usually last a little bit longer than other positions.
But I thought Sauce played some pretty good football.
I think Bynum's been good all year.
I think they, you know, Atatomiwa is a rotational rusher.
I think Latu's fine.
You know, I think they have some pieces on defense.
It's just they got to get faster at linebacker and they got to get more aggressive at linebacker.
And they just need, like, defensive end overhaul this entire offseason.
And I think they can do something with this defense, especially if Lou is able to return.
But who knows what's in store this off season?
Another AFC South Loss for the Colts and another year where the division got away from them.
We'll talk about the stain of that on Chris Bauer's regime when we return for a final time here on the squad show.
Back for a final time.
Thanks so much for joining us here on Locked on Colts alongside the incredibly talented and handsome Locked-on Colts duo of Zach Hicks and Jake Arthur.
I am the lowly Derek Schultz.
Alan Pickett will rejoin us in the middle of this week for our one.
Wednesday squad shows. The Colts fall to the Jaguars, 2317. So season sweep for
Jacksonville. Somebody in the comments mentioned this, but because the Jags won both games in
2023, that dropped Shane Steichen to one in five against Jacksonville. We all know the Colts
history against the Jags in Jacksonville and you sprinkle in a couple of home losses
there. Obviously, things with Houston have been a little bit up and down, but much more down
and up lately for the Colts.
And while Tennessee historically has been a team that the Colts have just owned,
there was that stretch from what, 2019 or maybe not even 20, yeah,
late 2019 into 21 where the Titans had a brief glimpse of being able to get the upper hand
in that matchup before the Colts kind of wrestled it back starting in 2023.
But overall, guys, this is completely anecdotal here.
but I was walking out of Lucas Oil Stadium
and I was thinking to myself
how, you know, angry and really mystified
I used to be when the Colts would lose an AFC South game
particularly at home, like that was a cause for real panic.
Like it was one thing to lose to the Steelers or the Chargers
and the Patriots, like those were games that for the most part,
you know, you knew were kind of coin flip games.
But when the Colts would lose the division home game,
you would feel it on the way out onto Capitol Street.
And I just think fans have become kind of numb to it now where not only the Colts not winning the division, but you know, you look at Jacksonville and Jake, you said it, it didn't take a rocket scientist or a football expert to figure it out.
Like, that was a better team.
You know, Colts were up 10-0 and I thought to myself, man, if Jacksonville isn't lateraling to themselves and doing all this stupid crap when they get into the red zone, they'd be winning this game running away.
or you look at Houston and the way that they're playing right now
and that game from a couple weeks ago
and they're a better team and it's just kind of a stark,
you know, slap in the face, really to Colts fans
to think that you can point to the division,
you can point to the standings and it's obvious
and it's right in front of you,
but there's just something disheartening about the fact
that the teams in this division have just passed them by.
Yeah, and this doesn't happen either.
Like unless it's a team like the Patriots of the 2000s
that absolutely ran the AFC East,
normally teams within the division beat each other up and come out somewhat even and they act
like they faced each other before and know what's coming and it's like how do the Colts only have
the Titans number that they do not have success against the Jaguars they don't have success
against the Texans it crosses head coaching regimes it crosses GM regimes I just don't
really get it. And the standard, you know, we kind of talked about it with offseason changes
that probably need to be made. But like, the standard can't just be all talk. Like, we know how
important these games are, blah, blah, blah. It's like, okay, well, you're either not built
well enough to win these games against opponents, you know, quite well, or just the enthusiasm
and competitive level isn't where it needs to be. And again, the home losses are just, they're
inexcusable you know what I mean like even though the Jaguars are clearly the better team this
season like if you take out what looked like the first half of the year and look at it now like
the Jaguars have been relatively steady throughout the season and I still felt like the Colts
probably should have come out in this one because it was a division game without pressure at
home and it's like the Colts have been good enough in most of their games to probably win but
just have come up short and then when you know it
that, like, they just found a way down the stretch again,
multi-score lead that they could not hold on to.
And it's like they don't know how to play with leads.
They don't really know how to play from behind much either
because then things get out of hand.
So it's like they can only win these very close back and forth affairs
unless they're facing the doldrums of the league.
And it's, I just don't understand how it gets to be this difficult
against opponents you play twice a year.
it's funny there that they can't hold a lead and they can't get the lead so clearly they're
not winning games i get a jig i will actually make a slight addendum i think that they were
pretty good against the uh the division in the grigson era for the most part now that's when
when luck was when luck was healthy right the change kind of happened starting in 2017 when a little
known man named chris ballard was hired to be the general manager uh now obviously they had some
some wins there with luck in the river seasons for sure against the division but it's been tough and
here's the thing like yes this year houston and jacksville are good football teams they are good
football like end of the day those are good football teams and the colts are battered and they're
not good right now like that's that's for sure but in some of these past years they have one or
both of those teams have not been very good and the colts have still struggled against them i mean
we don't have to go back too far to the 2021 season again a win in situation against jacks
and they can't get it done when jackson was one of the worst teams in football even go back to
the good philip river season in 2020 and they start out that season with a loss against jacksonville
when jack that was jacks was only win of the whole season they're one and 15 urban buyer like you know so
and then obviously we don't have to get into all the houston stuff coming up short against houston
happened so much uh so i think a lot of this is chris ballard just again the culture that's been
built the stagnation culture of of his tenure but also i think you also do need to hang a lot of this on
Shane Steichen as well. He's he's two and nine right now against Houston and Jacksonville in his
tenure. And it's not like the Colts have been bottom feeders throughout this. They've been like
fringe playoff teams through all three years with him. And it's not like those two teams have
been juggernaut football teams. Like we could say that Jacksonville and Houston are good teams this
year. Last year, Jacksonville was a bad football team. And the Colts split those two games when they
were trying to make it in the playoffs last year. Houston the last two years like they've been
up it like they've been a good team. Like I'm not saying Houston's been a bad team whatsoever.
But to be a team that when you're 9 and 8 and they're like 10 and 7, 11 and 5, like come on, like 11 and 6, like you can't win those games against them, they had a winning in in 2023 against Houston and couldn't get it done.
So at the end of the day, like Shane Stuygens 2 and 9 against these two teams, he's going to move to 2 and 10 next week when Houston's playing for something and the Colts aren't.
They're going to get smacked around in that game in Houston as well.
So 2 and 10 is just not good enough against your two biggest competitors in the division.
So, yeah, I think a lot of this is Chris Bowler.
Like, we got to make that move there.
But look, Shane, you got to get your guys ready for games like this.
You got to get them up for games like this.
Like, that's your whole job as a head coach.
You can be an offensive whiz all you won.
And I still think, like, he's one of the better offensive coaches in football.
Again, what he was able to do with Philip Rivers is remarkable.
But we can't be losing these divisional games.
These are the most important games on the schedule every single year.
Like, odds are if you're going to go above 500 in the division,
you have a very good chance to make in the playoffs.
You go below 500.
you're not going to make the playoffs.
It's a very common thing in the NFL and to constantly go two and four in this division.
In a division that's had one or two bottom feeders every single year, you know, since he's been here.
That's just not good enough.
That's not good enough.
So to me, I think that's one of the biggest, I think that's one of the biggest things against Shane Steichen, honestly, is how he's performed in the division.
Obviously, it's one of the biggest things against Chris Ballard and one of many reasons why he shouldn't be here next year.
But if you're making the case against Shane Steichen, I think that's one of the bigger one.
is like, we're not getting any traction in this division.
And Houston and Jacksonville, I mean,
their quarterback in Jacksonville,
who's on an absolute heater right now is 26 years old.
CJ Stroud so on his rookie contract,
and he's what, 23, 24 years old at like 23, I think?
These guys aren't going away, you know?
These guys aren't going away.
You know, it's not like they went like all in on one season
and they're going to crash and burn.
They're going to be good teams going forward.
So what's the solution here?
Because clearly what we've been doing is not working, like, so we're just going to run it back and hope that maybe next time it will work.
Like, what's the solution here?
Because it hasn't been good enough.
I also, I kind of have a problem with, I don't want to say they don't take things personally, because they probably do.
But it's the inability to act on it at all because there are some things I've seen in this building or in these divisional losses that like leaves such a bad taste in your mouth.
Like, I remember in 2023, the fourth and one game for Houston won and it gave them the division title.
When I saw D'Amico Ryan's and C.J. Stroudan them celebrating in the locker room in this building, I felt disgusted.
You know what I mean?
And you want the people with the Colts to feel that same way and say, I will not let this happen again, at least not in this building.
And then they lost the first opening game in that same building next year.
That was just one example of many across the division over the years.
It's like, where is the pride and the refusal to let these things happen again?
Yeah, and that's the thing, too.
It's not like, I'm not saying that to be a successful organization,
you have to hold the threat of release and fire and, like, stakes over every single situation, right?
Like, that's not a healthy work environment.
But if you don't have any stakes whatsoever in anything, right?
if you can if you're just going to be back next year regardless right and you're going to make
your couple million dollars and and you're going to get your extension you're going to get you know
all these things like what's the what's the threat what's the stakes you know and this is this is
the culture that you know rest of soul like jim ursay built with with chris ballard who's
been here in the losing record this is just what has been built here in indy where there's
complacency from top to bottom and and no matter who you bring in under ballard like
like Shane Steichen, Frank Reich, Jeff Saturday,
whoever you're bringing in, right?
That complacency is going to be there
because there's never any stakes for the GM
and there's never stakes for these players outside of quarterback.
Quarterback has stakes every single year.
Those guys get benched and replaced every year.
But if you're one of the starters on defense,
you never go away.
If you're the general manager, you never go away.
Like, there's just no stakes whatsoever.
So these guys don't have to feel that fire.
I'm not trying to call these players for being lazy or anything like that.
Like, I know that these guys,
guys when they get out there on Sunday, these things are not in their mind.
But complacency seeps in when there's never an expectation that, like, this could be
the final moment for me.
This is good.
There's desperation involved.
There's been no desperation from anybody with this Colts team for nine years at this point,
or at least since 2022, you know, at least from 2022 with this team.
Yeah.
I mean, there was a, I was having a discussion on Twitter with Mike Chappell, who obviously has
covered the Colts forever, right?
And he's a friend and all that.
And he mentioned about, you know, he thought that they were going to maybe run.
it back and under the pretense of this is an or else season.
And I responded and I said, you know, how many or else seasons does Chris Bauer get?
And at what point is that just an empty threat?
Because we've had several of those, no, where he's come back and you're like, well,
if you don't make the playoffs or else.
And then there's always, yeah, but they got injured or yeah, but there's something else.
And I just think it all goes back to these guys are comfortable in their situations.
Because if you're Zaire Franklin, and I'm not trying to use him as a punching bag,
but I'm just using him as an example.
He looks around that linebacker room and he's like,
you got nobody else, guys.
What are you going to do?
You know what I mean?
And they're comfortable and they know that they can screw up or whatever else.
And I'm not saying that they don't want to compete and play.
Well, of course, these guys are professionals.
They want to do that at the end of the day.
But there is something to that fact that there are no consequences for anybody.
They see what happens with the GM so they know.
Yeah, I always go back to 2022, right, where 2022 happens.
And it was just an embarrassing season.
absolutely embarrassing season.
Down the stretch, they're losing by 30 and 40 in games.
They had the biggest blown lead in the history of football,
a record that still stands.
You know, record, great job, guys, still have that record.
And what's their big change that they make is they just grab a quarterback
and they run it back with what?
It was like 19 of the 22 starters of a team that won four games, right?
That was terrible.
They were a terrible football team, right?
I mean, credit for them to getting back to their awesome nine and eight
the year after that. But I think when your whole team survives that, it's like, what are the
stakes here? Right. So all of this is 2020. It all goes back to 2022 for me. Like this should have,
none of this should, we should not be here still. You know, like, like, I don't know how they all
survived 2022. But when you have something like that, like it just tells everybody that all stakes are
off. Like, it's fine. You know, it's all good and dandy that that we lost all these games. And it's been like
that since like the whole shan stuyken era now essentially has had that cloud over it because
nobody was held accountable after that disgraceful embarrassing season and since that season the
colts 25 and 25 so that is there sitting on that record all right this next game is the most
important game can we get to a winning record since 2022 come on dip just below 500 hang the
banner they're going to tie they're going to
a tie so they could stay at 25, 25, and 1. That's what they're going to do.
We'll end on that one. Thanks for joining us on the Colts Squad Show. We are your place for
live game recastowing each and every Colts game this season. We have one more to go next
week, but we'll have a Wednesday show two at 9 o'clock. We'll be back with you New Year's Eve,
which is unfortunately your only chance to pop champagne this year if you're a Colts fan.
We're going to talk Colts Texans, but continue to look forward towards a critical offseason
and all the decisions that await. Until then, follow us on socials at Locked on Colts.
check out our other great content on YouTube and TikTok, and we will see you next time right here on the cold squad.
