Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: Colts ROUT Raiders | Indianapolis Cruises Behind Daniel Jones and Stingy D to 4-1!

Episode Date: October 5, 2025

For the third time in five weeks, the Colts destroyed an inferior opponent, crushing the Raiders 40-6 to move to 4-1. We'll talk about how the Colts bounced back in a big way, the studs and duds from their Week 5 performance, and the decision to not give prominent reps to AD Mitchell. Find and follow Colts Squad Show and Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms: 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/ 📺 https://www.youtube.com/@LockedOnColts Give the squad a follow on X/Twitter @Schultz975, @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @allenpinkett, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.SquareTo learn more, go support your favorite neighborhood spot and see what Square has been up to in your neck of the woods. And then if you have extra time, check out https://square.com/go/lockedonnfl.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use codeLOCKEDONNFL 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 LOCKEDONNFLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.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)

Welcome to the Colts Squad Show. I'm your host Derek Schultz. And to borrow a term from the great Knicks legend, John Starks, did the Colts just done do this again? And I'm Zach Hicks. And the Colts are curing my anxiety on Sundays because I'm just relaxing on most of these Sundays, it seems. I'm Alan Pinkett.

Former Oiler is winning becoming boring? Colts Nation rise up. It's the Colts Squad. Everything in the Indie. 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 Squadjo starts now. Welcome to the Colts Squad Show and thanks as always for making us your first list of the day here on the Lockdown Colts Network. This episode brought you by Mazda. Like our players, we sweat every

detail because when you make every move count pulling off the unexpected is only the beginning. Stay tuned later for highlights in this week's moving the game forward. Mazda move and be moved. And the Colts certainly moves some things around in a 46 win over the Raiders. I'm Derek Schultz. I've been a sports soccer in Indianapolis for many years. I'm joined by Nour name legend former NFL running back Alan Pinkett. And you every day are no Zach Hicks, your resident film buff from Locked on Colts.

We hope to have Jake Arthur as well, but he is currently in the bowels of Lucas Loyal Stadium. If there is such thing is very happy balls. Lucas Loyal Stadium after the Colts route over the Raiders are going to be recapping yet another blowout win for Indianapolis and what it means going forward. Daniel Jones in the Colts defense. I know it doesn't necessarily look like it from the stat sheet. Man, Daniel Jones, impressive today. We'll talk about both that unit plus the QB, really bouncing back in a big way after some

disappointing aspects of last week's loss to the Rams. Week five studs and duds and the not so silent A.D. Mitchell discipline. Just kind of closing the book on what was probably one of the biggest storylines of the week because we did not see a lot of AD today in that win over the Raiders. But guys, kind of like you said, Zach, or I think actually, Alan, you said it, boring. Yeah, I mean, sure. I actually took some time to hang up some loose Halloween decorations because I knew that I only really had to have the game on the background. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

I mean, sometimes we like to come on here and talk about, oh, man, I can't believe they drop the ball at the goal line or, oh, man, I can't believe this or that, or they were playing for a 60-yard field goal. Sometimes it's nice just get on here and be like, man, it's not. to just cruise. And that's exactly what the Colts did today, Zach. Yeah, I mean, even in a game where they had another touchdown taken off the board for a penalty, another long touchdown, an Ashton dueling kick return touchdown wiped away for a bad penalty on that return. They still won by 34. So, yeah, we can still talk about touchdowns coming off the board, Derek. We can certainly get negative all we want. But yeah, as Alan said, winning's kind of getting a little boring here. The Colts might need to up the difficulty

here on some of the opponents and turn that Madden slider up a little bit. because, yeah, this is just another just absolute beatdown. And it's funny because I was sitting there at the end being like, I want the Colts to keep them out of the end zone. I want a non-touchdown against them in this game. I just don't want any touchdowns allowed. And I'm like, when's the last time a Colts defense has played this well? And I'm like, well, I guess week one.

They allowed only eight points in that week one game against the Dolphins. So, yeah, it's just been a fantastic showing all around today. And Derek, I kind of feel bad for you because we have that segment down the road here where we like to do what? We do overreactions and underreactions earlier in the week, and then we also do the positives and negatives. Studs and duds. Yeah, Studs and duds.

Do we have any duds in this one? Like Joe Batchie had a rough game, but outside of that, do we have any duds to talk about today? We're going to have to change that segment, Derek, to just studs, I think, with this Colts team. Well, what I saw was a very mature team. And I'll explain what I mean. When the Raiders took that drive and took 15 plays and ended up with a field goal, to me, that was like throwing cold water in the face of the Colts. And it sort of reminds me of, you know, I did the Notre Dame broadcast for a long time.

And every time we played Navy, you knew that with Navy, you would have reduced number of drives. You usually average 11 or 12 drives in a football game. But when you played Navy, you only average eight. So that put the urgency on you to take advantage of every single drive you had because they were going to be precious. And I say that because I think that after that Raiders 15 play drive, I think the Colts being a mature football team all of a sudden understood, okay, we can't waste a drive anymore. You know, the first drive, three and out, you know, just knocking off the cobwebs and everything. But after that, I saw, you know, more attention to detail, more urgency from the team. And just a systematic ass kicking of a Raiders defense that was really pretty good coming in.

I know they had lost three games. But, you know, besides the, you know, what, first quarter, never heard Max Crosby's name. ever again because the ball was coming out so fast. And I know it was driving the defensive coordinator crazy because you can't key on one guy. You can't double a guy. They are going to find the weak spot in the defense, whether it's man or zone.

They're going to find, Daniel Jones is going to find the open guy. He's going to make the quick throw. And he's keeping the defense honest because they are going downfield. a handful of times. So you can't just, you know, bring everybody and compress the defense and just try to stop to run, which, you know, the running wasn't as effective today. It was effective enough.

There was one 16-yard run by J.T that he was able to rattle off. But, you know, it keeps the defense honest. They can't really hone in on one thing the Colts do. And that's, you know, what makes it something. sometimes seem kind of boring. You know what they were eight of ten on third down, which I mean, should be celebrated. But we've gotten to expect, okay, third and it's always going to be third manageable. Third and eight, you feel good about the cold chances.

Yeah, no, it was a great bounce back game. And Derek, I want to throw this at you because you and I have been covering this team for a long time. And the whole Chris Ballard era, and obviously you go back further than I do. But when those first two drives happened in this game, the Raiders having that long 15 play drive, to get points on the board. Colts three and out where they looked a little rusty on offense. Did you get that feeling in the back of your mind where it's like, oh, man, here comes that Colts let down game. Here comes that let down game where they kind of revert back. Like, even though we were saying all week that this is a different Colts team, we think they're

going to respond well, it's hard to get that thought out of the back of your head. But I thought after that, like Alan said, after those first two drives of the game, it was, I mean, it was 40 to three the rest of the way for the Colts. It was an absolute beat down. And they showed that they're not the same whole Colts there. Yeah, absolutely. I thought that. You know, we had mentioned this game. I think when we were approving the Rams, we'd maybe mention this game. But the ultimate example of that is what I always called the Tavon-Austin game

because it felt like the only game that he was a great as a pro. And the Rams came in here. I think it was October. And it was 38 to 7 or something like that. And they had, you know, it was a one o'clock game. You weren't thinking anything out of it. And they came in here and they just shredded the Colts. And, yeah, four three and out of the season, right, to start the game.

And then you let up that long play. It was great that the defense stood up at the end and didn't allow a touchdown, but I'd be lying if I said that didn't creep in. I almost sent a tweet about, I hope this isn't a sleepwalk Sunday for the Colts because clearly it wasn't the way that the rest of the game played out. But, you know, what I thought, Zach,

when we're looking at the historically, what I was hearkening back to during this game was, when is the last time that I saw the Colts routinely bludgeon opponents like this? And I think you have to go back to like 2009, really, like the peak of the Peyton Manning era, right. And that's not hyperbole because obviously the Colts had success in 12 and 13 and 14. The 18 team was a good team, right? But like, but routinely doing this, you have to go back to like the Wayne Manning that, you know, those teams that were going 13 and 3 and 14 and 2.

I mean, again, we said it on Wednesday's show, but the biggest predictor to success is being competitive and or beating the good teams on your schedule and absolutely crushing the bad ones and so far so good for the Colts because that's exactly what they've done through five weeks. Yeah, it's crazy to see because like you said, you can't even go back to the 2018 team because that team had their issues. They started off really slow that season, went on a big winning streak, but even in that winning streak, they weren't doing this. And the 6-0 game to Jacksonville, right? You just airdropped in there, a game that they slept walked through. Right, right. So I agree with you. I think that this is, there's a maturity level

to this team. I love that Alan said that because there is this maturity level to this Colts team where they don't get too high, they don't get too low. And I think we even saw it last week against the Rams when the 80 Mitchell drop touchdown happens, they didn't just fall apart. They still were really competitive in that game. And honestly, one OPI away from winning that game against the Rams, I think that speaks to how mature and just well-oiled this Colts machine is right now. And today was just another example of that coming off a really brutal emotional road loss,

coming back home against a Raiders team that you know you're going to get a good punch from them to start the game. their season is on the line with them dropping all these games like this. So you knew you were going to get a good punch out the gate, but the Colts stayed ahead of it. They dealt with adversity of their own right in this game. Losing your kicker in the first quarter of a game, that's tough, man. They had to go for two multiple times.

And clearly that's something they need to work on going for, because those two-point conversions were a little all over the place for them here. But, yeah, I think they responded to adversity really well. And I think that we just see this maturity level. And also on top of that, just not only, just being this mature team, but they're also a team that just goes for the throat when it's there. We go back to the Titans game a couple weeks ago. Koltrow up by three scores in the fourth quarter, get a turnover against the Titans. What do we get afterwards? A.D. Mitchell,

gets them down to the one and they go up by four scores in that fourth quarter. We see it in this game as well where they're up by 30 at the near the end of the third quarter. They get that turnover on downs. What's the next play after that? A deep shot to Ashton Dooland to get them back inside the five and run for another touchdown. So you get this maturity that they never get too low during a game, but also they don't discount their opponent. They will keep stomping on you if they have to to make sure that you know where you stand next to them.

So yeah, this cold team just has this different air about them, this ability to not to get too low, but also this ability to we're going to put you away when we have a chance to. So that's the testament of a good team and they've been a really good team through five weeks so far. Another thing I'll say is when another. other team makes a mistake, you have to make them pay. And when the Colts blocked that punt, which was a total bust on the Raiders' punt protection team,

they were able to get in the end zone again. You have to make the team pay for those mistakes. And I think they did it. They did it twice. I guess the only one they didn't score on was the LATU interception. But you have to convert turnovers into points, which is just another example of a team being mature. A team knowing when to step on the gas pedal and when to ease off. And it was always good to see Anthony Richardson come in the game because we were able to see his athleticism once again by catching his own pass and getting some positive yards out of it.

You know, so it still keeps him interested, but can't say enough about Daniel Jones and his just efficient play and the receivers. You don't see a lot of drops, and the reason you don't see a lot of drops is because of the placement of the ball. You know, there was one play where they threw it to Ashton Duel, and it was a little behind, but Brady Quinn, who was on the broadcast, says that was behind on purpose, is behind. is behind so he wouldn't get his receiver killed from the safety coming across the middle. You know, so those little, those little nuance type things are separators, you know, that keep you from winning and losing. You know, would you rather him, you know, throw the ball and, you know, lead him so he can get knocked out?

And then you don't have him for the rest of the game. The other one was, I guess, in the first quarter, the pass that Tyler Warren caught where he actually sat down or slowed down on his seam route, you know, so that he could stay open, you know, because if he had gone full speed, he would have run right to the safety. Ball probably could have been intercepted. But he had enough upstairs to know I'm open right here, just get me the ball, and then I'll make something happen after that.

So, again, another sign of a mature football team, just knowing, you know, how to run this offense. and how to win. Yeah, and one note I want to add to your Ashton Doolin point there, it's actually funny because the play right before that one, he sailed it over Doolin's head and Dooling got crushed over the middle of the field. And then I was like, and like this is the thing too, because when it comes to Daniel Jones,

he hasn't been perfect this year. We're not going to sit here and say he's been perfect, but he's been a steady presence for this Colts team that has been efficient and effective in this offense. So even when you get a play like that where he throws over Doolin's head, Doolin gets crushed over the middle of the field. And it's like, he's getting dueling killed very next play almost the same concept there was a behind duel and

dula's able to go low scooped off the ground to get protected from that safety coming over the top so you've even seeing like jones is not a young quarterback in the state it's a veteran quarterback but he's still doing things like that where he's learning in the moment he's adjusting his play and he's it's just bouncing back from bad plays you know you can get so much in your head as a quarterback when you sail a pass and your quarterback gets laid out because you you tap him on the helmet in the huddle and say that's my bad like i will bring that with him down a little bit Very next play to come back to that same concept, get it low to them, protect him, move the sticks, go down and get a touchdown.

That's what it's all about for Daniel Jones this year. So, yeah, Daniel Jones has just been awesome this season. Not perfect, but pretty darn close to it this season for the Colts. We'll talk 20 more, Danny Dimes. He bounced back in a big way, and so did a dominant Colts defense in a great performance against the Raiders. We're going to discuss as we continue here on the Colts Squad Show on the locked on Colts Network. This sports for the cold squad show brought to you by Square, your favorite neighborhood spots run on square.

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businesses around the world. Go to square.com slash go slash locked on NFL to learn more at square.com slash go slash locked on NFL to learn more. Before you do, go support your favorite neighborhood spot. You'll be happy you did. Square, see you in the neighborhood. And we're back on the Colts squad show, a happy addition. Thankfully, we've had, of the five shows that we've done, 80% of them have been happy because the Colts are four and one after routing the Raiders

40 to 6. I'm Derek Schultz alongside Alan Pinkett, former NFL or former Notre Dame legend. Well, still legend at Notre Dame, but former Nerdame running back in And Zach Hicks, as well from Locked on Colts, we hope to have Jake Arthur later today, but we don't know because, you know, after the game ends, he has other duties to take care of there at Lucas Loyal Stadium. Let's talk more about Jones and bouncing back because, again, and Zach, I think that I mentioned this sort of when, you know, we had to huddled together before the show. You look at it, 20 to 29, 212 and two touchdowns. You're like, yeah, okay, great, fine. Two months ago, you would have been thrilled with that, right?

But, you know, the bar of expectations for Daniel Jones has actually kind of gone up. And don't get me wrong. I think that's a very good day. I just don't think that that does proper justice to how command he was in command he was of the offense. And it's not just about the throws and the completions and the passing stats. It's about checking into plays. It's about just finding ways to exploit that don't even really show up in the box score. And I just think that he did that.

but it helps that I thought he had the throw of the year this year. I thought that dot that he threw to Pittman Jr. For the touchdown right before halftime was the best throw of the season that he's had. And to me, you know, I grew up a Giants fan. I've kind of mentally divorced myself from the Giants over the years, but I have friends that are very active Giants fans. I watched a decent amount of Daniel Jones. I check in on them, and I've never seen him make a throw like that.

And I've never seen him play at this level for an extended period of time. It just looks like a different player to me than what we've seen. And I'm not saying that to backtrack off our pre-examine. season takes and all of that. I just think sometimes dudes just come in and they're different and whatever's clicked has clicked for him. Yeah, for sure. And I think one thing that I really want to point out about him is last week, the Rams in a way, kind of put the recipe out there on how to slow down Daniel Jones and how to get after him a little bit. Win with four up front, play a little bit softer zone behind and make him have to dink and dunk down the field,

make him have to throw balls into tight zone windows, make it so the Colts can't just build these openings off of getting hot against the blitz or throwing these man beaters at you. Make them have to rip passes in the middle of these zones. And this Raiders front four is not bad by any means. Max Crosby is a 1A

pass rusher in this league, one of the best pass rushers in football. And they have a couple other decent pieces like Malcolm Coons and Jonah Lo Wallo, who the Colts drafted last year. So yeah, they do have some decent pieces up front. But I think Daniel Jones just did a really good job of bouncing back from some

of the struggles he had last week and just ripping these wide open not wide open but ripping these openings in the zone you know we saw so many throws to josh downs where downs was able to get his head around get that ball in a you know a little hitch route in the middle of of this cover two or cover three zone and get the ball up field and get a first down for the colts there was times where he ripped those seam shots to tyler warren like alan mentioned where he ripped overrout to duelin and pitman uh we just saw him just dissecting this this zone that the Raiders had out there, and that was just a great sign for me, because even though the Colts-O line kept the Raiders defensive line at bay for most of this game, it wasn't

constant pressure, I still wanted to see him be confident attacking zone coverage after last week being more of a up-and-down type of performance for him. So again, we get into this game where it's like, can Daniel Jones answer another question put in front of him? And it's a resounding yes. And honestly, to go to your point to start this, this Derek, I don't think this was his best game of the year. I think it was a good game from him. Don't get me wrong, but he missed a couple of throws. There were a couple high throws in this one.

There were a few times, again, leading dueling into some hits where it's like you want to have those throws back. But it was still a really solid showing for him. Like, this was before the season, if you told me Jones was going to have a game like this, I would have said this was his A plus game. Like, okay, great. This is like, you know, some of the best we're going to see from him.

But because the standard he set through the first month of the season was so high, it's like, okay, we got like a B game from Daniel, Jones and still won by 30 in this one. So it just speaks to how well he's played this year where he's able just to move the ball at such a high level. And I'm sitting here being like, well, I guess he could have had a little bit better of a game, but he was still a really strong game, you know, like Daniel Jones just playing some really good football for the Colts right now. Well, it brings into the question, does confidence lead to success or does success lead to confidence? Because I go back to the preseason.

And I remember, you know, you guys talking about how terrible they looked in the red zone. They couldn't get anything done in the red zone. And we were talking about, well, I hope they are able to run the ball effectively in the red zone because they can't throw it in the red zone. But I think over these five games, not only has Daniel Jones been precise with his throws and had a lot of success with putting the ball in the right place, but his confidence has grown. And, you know, it's one of those things.

I can stand a quarterback being a little arrogant or cocky because, you know, you can't be modest and throwing a tight coverage. You know, you've got to be sure for yourself. So it has gotten to this point where he has enough confidence in the red zone to make that throw through that small window. because, number one, he trusts his arm, but he also trusts his receivers, and his receivers have reciprocated, too. Don't get many drops, and you're not going to get many drops to where he's placing the ball. So, again, I don't know what the answer is.

Does confidence lead to success or to success lead to confidence? Yeah, and one thing I want to add, too, is to talk about that throw that you guys have both alluded to, the one in the end zone of Michael Pittman, Jr., I'm not even sure Jones attempts that throw three weeks ago, four weeks ago, you know, but when you are having the season that he's having right now, this comfortability in this offense where he just, he knows it like the back of his hand right now. He's got the checks right.

He's got the ability to diagnose what the defense is given. You can be a little bit arrogant, you know? You can be, and that's what I really wanted those first like two or three weeks when it's like he's putting these great statistical numbers out there. But I want to see what happens when the zones get tighter, when you're in the red zone because the colds red zone offense struggled the first two games of the season this year.

but these last two weeks these last three weeks really we've seen a resurgence from the colts red zone offense where they're not getting to the red zone as much as they well today they did today they got to the red zone whenever they wanted but you know against the the rams and even the titans they didn't get to the red zone as often as they did in the first two weeks but they were converting at a higher rate now they're I mean if they have games like this they're going to put up 40 every single week but yeah I think he's just playing confident and like you said Alan is it because of just the new environment is it because the Confidence is leading to success or the early success this year is leading to confidence. I don't know if we're going to have a firm answer on that. But all we can really say is he's been successful and confident this season with the Colts. Well, and it does help when you have a tight end like Tyler Warren, which we have to say congratulations because he got his first career touchdown reception. And it's weird because he's been making so many plays, but he hadn't gotten into the end zone. And the play that the touchdown was scored on was like a no-brainer for Daniel Jones against a smaller defensive back. You know, even if the defensive back comes up and tries to tackle them, that's what, 260 pounds of man that you've got to try to bring down when you're weighing less than 200 pounds, I think.

And so, and even I felt bad for him because sometimes you big like that, it's like having a big kid in a classroom where they, you know, might not shove somebody, but gently push him. But it looks like a big old shove. He got the penalty later in the game. And he didn't really stretch his arm out all the way. But he's so strong that a smaller DB on him, just in his natural motion of just pushing to create separation. Dude looked like he was shoved, you know, by four or five people. So it's just, that's another added piece.

that can give Daniel Jones confidence when he throws the football. Yeah, I didn't want to go too much into refs in this. I mean, when you would 40 to 6, you don't go too much of rest. But, like, look, if we're going to get this call against Warren all season, they've got to take all of Jason Whitten's yards away from him in his career because Jason Whitten was like picking defenders up and throwing them on the ground and not getting calls against him. If we're going to call little extended arms every time Warren moves out there,

like, come on. I say Warren, just keep doing it. Dare them to keep calling it on you because you're the bigger strong. younger man in all these situations yeah i'm going to save my war and opi take for studs and duds because we needed to fill out duds as you said zach but um there are some and allan you know this there are some letter of the law rules in the NFL that if you really wanted to call it letter of the law we could have six and a half hour games if people wanted that you know if you if you want to call that and say letter of the law okay yeah but you can call that four dozen times a game and

uh i i yeah i'll leave it again i'll leave it for the studs and duds segment let's talk about the defense as well, you guys. On paper, you know, I think it was 298 yards. Some of that came in garbage time. Really, the staff that stuck out to me, Alan, was the fact that 0 for 4 in the red zone. I mean, you know, you want a recipe for a blowout, Colts for 6 for 6 on offense, and then defensively, oh for four. As far as touchdowns are concerned, obviously. I mean, that's a big bounce back on both sides because we talked about maybe one of the limitations of this offense being the red zone offense. They were terrific today. And then when push came to shove, when the Raiders did, and they occasionally moved the ball.

It's not like they were completely dominated on that side. The Colts were able to buck up and keep them out of the end zone. It's sort of like Lou Anaruma who said, welcome back to the NFL, Chip Kelly. You didn't do well when you were here before. What makes you think you're going to have success now? But, yeah, it was definitely a high point for the defense because early in the game, Ashton Genti looked like he might have a good day. And, you know, there was just no panic in the defense.

And they had confidence also that when their back got up against the wall, you know, they were going to be able to make a play. And, you know, I always say to myself, when my team is on defense and the other team is the opposing team is driving down, I'm like, okay, all right, just hold him to a field goal. You know, I don't even ask. for a turnover. Just hold them to a field goal, you know, but again, a sign of a mature team that they realize that, okay, they may get points out of it, but they're not going to get a touchdown,

you know, and it has to be a collective belief within the defense, you know, it's the defensive line is saying, okay, I've got to, you know, try to rush just a teeny bit harder to help out the back end, so they may have a chance to maybe get a pick or something like that but it's just they rise up at the right time and it's been evident all year long at least they've they've got to be what 60 70 yards away from the red zones for somebody to fall down i guess right right yeah we studs and duds in this one duds are mottie blackman's cleats the last two weeks we got to fix those up a little bit but i i'll be quick with this i i threw this at the end of our wednesday show when we were doing our overreactions under under reactions but i thought

people are overreacting a little bit to the Colts past defense against the Rams because Matthew Stafford and Pooka Nakua are just on a different level when it comes to what they're doing right now. I really think that this Colts defense is on the right track. There are still some holes. There are still some gaffs out there. But the communication is getting a lot better. What Lou Anurmo is doing is really good stuff at defensive coordinator.

It's not like last year with Gus Bradley where, you know, teams can dink and dunk up the field and the Colts are just going to still run their same thing. even if the Colts are like this Ben Don't Break this year, the same way this year, it's not Ben Don't Break with little resistance. It's Ben Don't Break, but we're going to give you a lot of resistance with pressure looks, with trap coverages, with man coverage mixed in. We're just tackling well enough to where it's Ben Don't Break because we're not allowing these big plays after the catch.

So I think it's just a really well-coached unit. And I think, again, by November, by December, this Colts defense is going to be really good. And this was certainly like a step in that right direction. I know Geno Smith struggling this year. don't want to take these huge victory laps because you shut down a bad offense, but holding any NFL offense to six points is a major win. Coming away with, what, three turnovers in this game. If you count the block punt, I know that's the special teams won, but two turnovers for

the defense, one for special teams. They just played some really good football. And I've got to give a big shout out to that trap coverage call on Blackmun's interception. That was all day long, they were peppering those hitches and peppering those quick hitters in the middle of that Tampa 2 zone, the cover 2 zone to call. palms there and just have your corner sell like he's getting depth in that cover too and then crashing down on that on that inside route to get that interception a fantastic mix up and that's how

that's how you trap quarterbacks when they're trying to do the quick game so yeah lou and rumo and this defensive staff are really good I think this defense is going to be in a good place by the end of the season they just really need to get a couple of areas cleaned up on there like second linebacker outside corner still probably need some work there with the young guys they have I think this is, this defense is going in the right direction. These last couple weeks, I think have been a good step forward for them. Yeah, it's a defense that only really needs two linebackers. And unfortunately, they have one right now.

So that's, that's a bit of an issue. Not sure how many duds there were in a 40 to six win, but there were certainly a lot of studs. We're talking studs and duds when we come back on the cold squad show. This portion of the locked on Colt Squad show brought you by Mazda. Mazda is moving the game forward for those who believe it's not just about playing the game, it's about redefining it.

There are moments that do more than put points on the board. They move crowds, move culture, and keep moving the game forward. This week's moment, heck, you can pick anything from the first four quarters of this game. But I'm going to choose the Colts really slamming their foot on the gas after that opening three and out with six straight touchdown drives. According to Matt Conti of the Colts communication team,

it's the first time since the 2005 season. You've got to go back 20 years that the Colts had five. or more straight touchdown drives in a single game. And that's Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne and Edron James and the peak of the peak Colts there in 2005. That's how good they played today. When you follow what moves you, the unexpected is only the beginning. And just like there's more to every highlight, there's more to a Mazda vehicle.

Mazda, move and be moved. And we're back on the Colts Squad Show. Thanks so much for joining us. We are your place to be every post game. right after for game reactions of every Colts game this season. Keep it locked right here on Locked on Colts alongside Alan Pinkin and Zach Hicks. I'm Derek Schultz. We hope to have Jake Arthur later, but we don't know because he's over at Lucas Loyal Stadium

still gathering audio and doing interviews and everything like that from the Colts 40 to 6 win over the Raiders. Let's get the duds out of the way because I think that'll be easier because there are some stud performances that I think we all want to touch on. You know, you had mentioned Mackay Blackman's legs slash cleats. think we need to throw that on the list. OPI flags on Taylor Warren. I don't know if somebody like clued the legal office and said, hey, you got to watch this guy or something.

It seems abnormal to me to get two of the weakest OPIs that I've ever seen in back to back weeks, but certainly something to keep an eye on. But, Zach, I mean, if we really want to legitimately say, okay, this person had a bad game, I think it was pretty obvious, maybe because everybody else was so good that Joe Bachi really struggled today. Yeah, penalties are such a way to highlight yourself in a bad way. as a player when you get clear penalty especially when the play is such a positive for your team so not even just his play on on defense where he had that one play with two penalties with the face mask

and the tripping which i had never seen before until later in the game with mackay blackman he got two penalties on one play as well uh that was that was an interesting little thing there uh but on the special team's return i mean ashton dulin had what he i don't think he has a kicker i think he has one kick return touchdown his career and maybe not even one to get that wiped off the board there uh it's it's unfortunate and in a closer game that's one where you're looking at saying like we just can't have these things happen you know especially when again it's another one of those holds too for the colts where it's like that guy wasn't making a play on the ball he wasn't going to come close to dueling on that return it was just something that didn't need to happen so yeah if you're

if you're really going to put just one player in this spotlight here uh joe bachi's play on defense uh he got taken off the field after that two penalty play and i don't think i saw him the rest of the game on defense it was a lot of austin ajake and chad mooma the rest of the way there at defense. So, yeah, for people saying that, like, oh, we want to see accountability for Joe Batchi, like, again, I don't think I saw him on defense the rest of the game. So that was your accountability right there.

And, yeah, I think that that's probably the biggest dud. I can't think of anyone else, really. That was a judge for the Colts team. Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you. It's hard to really pick out a dud. The one thing I will say, though, is I can tolerate physical mistakes. But mental mistakes are the ones that really, you know, give me pause. Because you're on that level because you have the intellect to be able to play this game and play it fast.

Mistakes are going to happen physically. And, you know, it's not often that you, it's just a physical reaction to try to trip somebody. Only because you got beat, you know, you physically got beat. So you're going to resort to doing whatever you can. to stop somebody. That's what caused a trip. I know that Joe Fazzi is not looking every week to try and trip somebody. But sometimes you get so frustrated that you just, I'm going to stop him anyway, I can. And the penalty, you know, he was doing his job, just trying to get hands on a guy. But it's tougher than it looks. Now, would you prefer he not go block the guy

at all, or make sure he does his job and go get the guy, but unfortunately, get holding. So I'm willing to give a pass on the physical mistakes. Didn't see a lot of mental breakdowns. Yeah, and if we're going to start off the studs real quick, I want to go to something that's really weird for me, and then you guys can go to our normal subjects when it comes to studs because everyone on offense, everyone else on defense. But something that's been building in recent weeks with the Colts is just their special teams play overall has just been fantastic. I mean, going back to the Titans game, the last

three weeks, let's just do the last three weeks here. They've got two block kicks, block punt, and a blocked field goal against the Titans. They've had their return yardage on kick returns and punt returns increasing each week. We've seen the return yardage for other teams decreasing each week. Nearly had a kick return touchdown in this one. Spencer Schrader was the special teams player of the month to start off the month as well. Now, unfortunately, he suffered that injury today. And then also, I think just a coaching thing to throw out there that I really want to highlight to give more credit to Brian Mason, his team is the Colts knew more than the refs when it came to kicking that ball out of bounds after that roughing penalty against Spencer Schrader where

apparently the rule states that it's a certain amount of yardage from where the ball is kicked off and not yardage, like not exactly to the 40 yard line every single time. So the Colts were on top of that. They had their guys up in the booth along with Brian Mason. calling that down saying just kick it out of balance because they'll get up the 25, force the Raiders to kick a 59-yard kick before the half, and they ended up missing it. And again, like, this was a blowout win, but you never know when those little moments early in games where you're stealing points from opponents can lead to a game just going completely the other way. So just the coaching all around, I think, for the Colts today was fantastic.

That drive before the half to have it, what, 15 seconds left on the clock and score a touchdown. That's exactly how you draw it up. They got it with like 3.30 left. got down and scored with 15 seconds and kicked the ball down to the 25 for the other team. So the coaching overall, I thought was great, but Brian Mason and the special teams unit, I think especially these last couple weeks, but today as well, I mean, a block punt changes an entire game. You know, a block pun is how you turn a regular win into a blowout because you're adding

extra points and stealing points from opponents. So, yeah, I think just the coaching overall in Brian Mason's unit on special teams have just been fantastic today. So there are three ways you win in the NFL. Number one is confidence. And you can tell teams that know they're good that go out and they perform with confidence. And that confidence leads to success. The other, the third, the second reason is turnovers. Got to win the turnover battle. Usually teams that win win the turnover battle. The third aspect of winning special teams. Yep. Can we get a play or two on special teams? If you get, if you have those three things working for you,

you're usually going to end up winning most of the time. And Zach, you're right to give credit to the coaching because a lot of times in the NFL, the special teams coach is a buddy of the head coaches. It might not know a damn thing about coaching. And listen, I remember when I was with the Oilers, you know, the first couple of years, I don't even remember the coach's name he was so bad. But the special teams coach, it was a lesson in how not to do it. He had a one-page, like kickoff return, one-page presentation.

He read off of the presentation. There was no insight or anything like that. And as a result, we go what? Four and twelve. The next special teams coach we have, I mean, he would spend ten minutes watching the center on the punt team, you know, duck his head to make sure, hey, look, if we're going to go offside, we're going to go offside all together. When he ducks his head, if we all go at the same time, you know, and that's insight.

And he didn't have one page reports or scouting reports on the other team. And we stayed in that meeting an hour instead of 15 minutes. So, yes, the coaching in that area is crucial. So good job on Shane Steichen hiring somebody that's confident. Yeah, and Brian Mason, again, to give him one last bit of credit here before we talk about other players here, Brian Mason is the guy, whenever he has his positional coach or his presser things throughout the week, he starts off with an opening statement that, if I get the emails, guys, it is 3,000 words long on the trajectory of kicks, on what they could have done better on certain coverages.

He is just an encyclopedia of knowledge. And you're seeing it play out this year for the Colts. So big credit to the special teams coach. But to get to other players that were great here. I mean, where do we want to start? Jonathan Taylor, three touchdowns. Daniel Jones, great. The force buckler.

Josh Downs. But, okay, you know what? I know where I need to go with this. Ashton Doolin, stepping into the starting role. We literally had the Ashton Doolin Award prior to the season on a guy who's going to do the little things and step up when called upon. Ashton Doolan took some big hits in this game. game had a touchdown taken off the board for him still bounced back for what two big

catches in this game like 50 yards receiving everything you want out of a wide receiver five wide receiver six you're starting gunner out there as well but yeah i mean everyone was great downs was great dueling was great uh jones taylor offensive line the first time the raiders haven't had a sack in 40 in the last 40 games uh the colts held them without a sack in this one so man just i mean just a beat when you win 46 everyone's great you know for your team. Everyone looks good. The film session is fun on Monday for that one. Yeah, I wanted to, I wanted to really single out, uh, Ashton Doolin because he didn't look like someone who was replacing somebody. He looked like a starter, a full-fledged starter. And there's, there's a mentality

behind a starter. Sometimes when you're getting a chance to start for the first time, you press a little bit, you know, you're a little bit nervous, but you're a little high strong too. And you're so afraid of making a mistake that you can't play free. Ashton Gulen didn't look like that. He looked like he was playing free and loose and just out there to make plays. And so I was happy to see that. To me, he was the number one stud. But I've got to tell you, that Josh Downs, he might fake you out in the phone booth. He shakes you so bad. Just what a weapon to have. And so all the weapons that Daniel Jones has, it drives the defensive coordinator crazy because you can have the perfect defense. But Josh Downs on a couple of occasions probably should have been stopped and he spun out of something or he made a quick move or he gave up some yards, which is a Cardinal sin.

You know, you don't ever want to give up yards, but he gave up yards so he could double that back when he did reverse field. So those are my two studs, the whole receiving core, really, because Tyler Warren continues to show his prowess and just you need to have that big strong tight end that can knock around defensive backs in the defensive backfield. He's that enforcer that can, you know, let the defense know that this is what we're going to be bringing at your ass all day. Yeah, I didn't think about Alec Pierce once. I mean, that's how good the receiving room was. that's not a knock on Alec Pierce. It's just that that's how good they were. But Josh Downs made a play.

I want to say it was on the first touchdown drive. And it was a third and 12th. And it was he caught the ball, five, six yards maybe and spun out of a tackle and just kind of squirt it through there. And Alan, you played, you know how deflating that is, right? For a defense where you've got them, like, or you think you've got them. And then suddenly you don't have them. And it just first down and it's, it suddenly kind of recycles all over again where you

have to get back out there and do it again. I guess the biggest compliment sometimes is sometimes the defender will admit that, yeah, you got me on that one. But when you really know you got them is when they cush you out and start talking about your mother or something, right after you burn their ass, they got something bad to say. And then you just know in the back of your head, you're just mad because I just made you look like a fool. I made you drop your drawers on national TV. no I would think like aside from the block pun I think that play was the defining play of the game for the Colts because that's the difference between going up 7 to 3 against an inferior opponent or being tied 3 to 3 you know early in the game where you know the Raiders are probably feeling good they held you do a tie

throughout the first quarter and a half of play but Downs essentially stole points for the Colts with that move and talk about demoralizing it's not only demoralizing when you have plays like that but just any time that you can force to throw short of the sticks on third down and they still convert on you even though it's like again when you're playing these zone coverages you want them throwing short of the sticks the whole goal of zone defense is we'll dare you to throw it at the sticks but if you throw it short we're going to rally tackle tackle you short whenever they went to josh downs it was either right in between the tightest part of the zone where him and him and uh jones were just on the same page or was short of the zone, and he just made a linebacker missing space, made a corner missing space,

made a safety missing space, and got to that first down. So Josh Downs, I think, was the most crucial player in this game for the Colts because the amount of times the Colts were able to convert, as Alan said, eight to 10 on third downs in this game. What was it? Five of those probably went to Josh Downs, five or six of those. Oh, yeah, I bet. He was a huge, huge part. And it's why we have called him first downs ever since he was drafted here. He's been called first downs because, look, even if he'll have some weeks where he gets two catches, three catches, four catches, whatever it is, right? We know that those catches are going to be on third down for a first.

That is what he does for this offense. So Josh Downs, it might not be the greatest, like, statistical season for him to start the year. He's not going to, he's not on pace for a thousand yards like I predicted prior to the season, but his overall impact on the team is irreplaceable. He is so important to what the Colts do on offense, much like how Tyler Warren is, much like how Michael Pittman Jr. is, all these guys are vitally important because they are just fantastic role players. And Downs's role is just to get those first downs, even if he has to give up some yards, as Alan says. But like when a guy does it, like, you know, it's like what you say in

basketball, it's like, we don't really encourage like fade away jumpers for two or something. It's an inefficient shot. But if Michael Jordan's doing it, like, it's not that inefficient, you know, and so it's like that, downs is retreating here. We know he's going to get the first down. It's cool. He can do it. Get us those first downs. And I think Josh Downs' play is just a reflection of the Colts' offensive system and that it's not a lot of stats, not a lot of flash, but you look up and there's 40 points on the board. Right, right.

I'm going to make it. So I was going to say, when everybody eats, nobody complains. You know, when everybody, it's always you're winning. Like, if everyone eats, nobody complains. I was trying to think of, I was racking my brain. I'm like, who do the Colts kind of remind, that receiving remort? What does it remind me of, like, in Colts history, which is hard to do. because they've had, you know, Hall of Fame level receivers

and they probably don't have that one in that room. I have a comp that has some connective tissue to Indianapolis, but not necessarily the Colts. And we're going to come back with that when we return. It's the Colts Squad Show on the locked on Colts Network. Stick around. This portion of the Colts Squad Show brought to you by our friends at Fandul. The NFL season is here,

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time here on the locked on Colts squad show alongside Zach Hicks of locked on Colts Alan Pinkett former NFL or Notre Dame legendary running back I'm Derek Schultz thanks so much for joining us so I said I was trying to come up with a connection or a comp if you will and I and I found a connection now I understand Zach you are firmly kind of a football watcher I think you like NHL as well. Alan, I'm not sure how much NBA you watch, but I know we have a lot of cross-pollinization here between Colts fans who are also Pacer's fans. And to me, like, what that room does, like you mentioned Josh Downs and how critical he is, or you mentioned Ashton and how critical he is, or Michael Pittman Jr., how critically. Alex Pierce, it's, it's Aaron

Needsmith, it's T.J. McConnell. Like, it's that OB Top and it's that level of guys. Like, individually, you wouldn't look at Obitop and it'd be like, oh, my God, we really got to worry about that guy or Andrew Nemhart and be like, oh, my God, we really got to. But collectively, they just enhance all of each other's skills, it feels like. And they're working schematically now in a way that we have never seen them work together before. And I think in large part, it's because you have a competent and accurate quarterback, which is something that just the Colts have not had over the past couple of years.

And Stuyken is able to, you know, No one has ever questioned, as much as we have, certainly Shane Steichen has been questioned in this town in the last two and a half years, I don't think anybody has questioned that the guy knows offense, right? And he knows buttons to press and things like that. And I just think that he is maximizing all of their talents right now. And it reminds me of watching the Pacers a little bit, just how on the same page and how good they are in situations. I'm going to go to this guy and that guy. And you can rely on all of them seemingly. Yeah. No, it's a great comp because that's kind of what the Pacers.

were last year this very deep team that made a run to the finals because yes they had the star talent in haliburton and then siakum is also just this long time star michael pitman junior is kind of like the siacum i guess in this thing where it's like he's still like you know a pro bowl level player and stuff and he's a guy that you can run the offense through if you need but it's so much about the pieces you know this thing doesn't work if one of the pieces is missing and also we saw it against the rams a little bit when alec pierce wasn't out there that it was like oh okay it drops off a little bit but this week they they went to a different guy and and Ashton Doolin, who's just a pro, a guy who's been doing this for a long time,

and it just got right back on pace. So, yeah, it's just a group that is so good together. And Alan and I, you know, from the Washington area, you know, looking back in the day, I wasn't alive then, but the fun bunch, you know, the fun bunch was that unit in the NFL where it's like, yeah, you have Art Monk. Art Monk is, you know, elite, one-of-one type player. But it's a group that was so defined by everybody around them. and that's why they won all those Super Bowls with different quarterbacks back then with Washington.

And this isn't even to say, again, like, I never want to say anything bad about Daniel Jones because he is the point guard in this situation. He's the Hall of Burton and the Pacers thing, and he's the Thaisman and all of them and the Fun Bunch one. But it makes your life so easy when you have such a good play caller in Shane Stike, and who knows how to get these guys and knows how to isolate these guys in situations that work for them. And also these guys can just do their job so well. Josh Downs knows he doesn't have to go out here. and run vertical balls.

You know, he's not going to be, you know, catching seam shots vertically down the field. Alec Pierce knows that he's not going to be one-on-one in the slot against a linebacker running, you know, these little ins and outs that downs runs. These guys know what they have to do on offense, and they're operating in those roles at a high level. And honestly, you have to give these guys credit,

much like to your point here, Derek, about the Pacers, where it's like, you don't get this unless everyone buys into their role. There you go. That is the biggest part of this equation here is guys have to buy, into, hey, Josh Down, you might not be a thousand-yard receiver this year, but you are our most crucial player on third down. You know, Michael Pittman, Jr., you might not hit those thousand yards that you've hit the last couple of years, but you're our go-to guy in the red zone, you're our go-to guy

in a lot of situations, and there will be games you hit 100 yards. Alec Pierce, you might get 50 targets total this year, but you might get 900 yards because you're just not everything's vertical. So it's like these guys have to buy into that and buy into doing the dirty work, like we saw Ashton Doolin today, taking big hits, blocking. at a high level, running off safeties on a lot of plays. They have to buy into all this stuff. And, I mean, gosh, they've, what, a plus 74 point differential this year?

I think guys are buying into the things that work in this year. Well, I like the comp that you came up with the Pacers. That was spot on because I know when I watched the playoffs this year, I didn't know who any of these guys were, but damn it they could make some plays. And at the end of the day, what did they do? When? You know, and if it wasn't for the Achilles' tear, you might have a trophy in Indianapolis. You might have been going to another parade.

But the buy-in is so crucial. And it brings up a question in my head. Would A.J. Brown like being in this offense? I mean, I think anybody would at this one. But I think, you know, it kind of reminds me of all the things we used to say about, like, the 49ers offense when they went to the Super Bowl with Jimmy Garoppolo. and they had just this outstanding receiver core. They had the George Kittal. They had running backs that could just get big, big plays.

Now, their defense was probably a little bit better than what the Colts defense is right now when they had all those studs up front. But just in terms of just like having so many weapons to throw at you at all times, like it is, it's fantastic, man. So yeah, it's really fun to see. These guys are all bought in, the offensive lines playing well. You have the superstar running back as well,

which makes life so much easier having him back. there. And then, I mean, even if we want to do mention the Colts defense here, I think this is a different Colts defense as well, just in terms of their aggressiveness, their opportunistic nature that they have this year. What are the Colts turnover differential this year? I know they were, they took a step back last week, but they went back plus two or three this week. So they're probably back to being like plus seven on the year, plus six on the year, which is how you win football games. So yeah, this Colts team is just a well-old machine. And again, like, they'll run into is some backstep, some issues like they did against the Rams where they don't win every

game this year. But I think they're just a comfortable team where you say like, if they're playing an inferior opponent, they're going to win. And then they're going to give you your best shot each and every Sunday, no matter who you are. So it's a good football team. It's a different Colts team. There's a different air about this Colts team this year. What the Colts I end up what today? Two turnovers? If you count the block kick as a third one, but yeah, two or three. Three would put them at plus six. Yeah. six for the season. That's how you win football games. It's how you do it. Yep. And winning, like I said, early, early in the year, winning solves a lot of problems. And, you know,

when you figure out how to win, it's infectious, it's contagious, and you want to keep doing whatever it is. Sometimes you get a little superstitious when you win so many in a row, But it's such a great feeling of accomplishment because the amount of work that goes into one football game, the amount of study, the amount of blitz pickup you have to do as a player, just for, and they may, the opposing team may run that blitz one time, but you spent two days on how to block the blitz. just the amount of consumption of information you have to have just to try to win a game. It's so satisfying. But the way the Colts are doing it in such a way where everybody eats, it's even more satisfying. You know, it sort of supports that, you know, it's not me. It's the team, this type of thing.

And, you know, 11 is greater than one, you know, in basketball for the pay. There's five is greater than one. You know, so that whole team concept has definitely come into play and is helping this team out. But you also, when you win, some of those personal accolades come about because they don't want to give it to somebody who's losing. So if you take care of the team, you'll take care of yourself. Guys, let's close with this because I have it as the last bullet here. And it was a storyline today, even though obviously it was completely overshadowed by a positive one in the 40. the six win. But Shane Stike and Zach alluded to the fact that A.D. Mitchell was going to be

handled and clearly he was handled. He was active today. There was some question whether that was going to happen, but just one target. I don't know how many snaps he played, but it wouldn't have been many. Do we now see things return to normalcy? Or did he maybe lose his spot here with Doolan playing so well as his replacement? I'm sure he'll eventually get back into his isolation man coverage role. Doolan will get back into his role where blocking receiver that can do a little bit with a wall in his hands, do a lot of the little things. So I think things will normalize, but I will say we've seen with this Colts team all year. And again, this is a testament to how mature of a team they are.

They've held guys accountable all season long. It's not just A.D. Mitchell, it's Cameron McGrone, a guy who got starter snaps in the first week or two of the year is no longer on the team because he struggled in those snaps. Joe Botchy today pulled out of the game when he had that big mistake on defense. This Colts team is not playing around when it comes to accountability. and we saw it today. And I like that the Colts did this because it's not really about punishing A.D. Mitchell.

It's about them saying, you know what? Ashton Doolin has been a pro's pro ever since he stepped foot in this league. And we need to win games right now. And we can't really deal with the volatility right now with A.D. Mitchell in this starting role. And a guy like Ashton Doolin, yeah, you might lose a little bit when it turns to winning against man coverage.

But it's not like Doolin is some slouch back there. you know he's a good player um and i think that this is just kind of it's like when the colts went to daniel jones over anthony richardson it's like we can't live with your highs and lows right now we need a guy who's ready to go out there and help us win and they went with dulin over mitchell and dulin did what jones did to richardson where he got in there showed what he can do and uh did some good things out there so i like it i like it i like the accountability of it i like showing that nobody else is above the team and again it's not necessarily a punishment to A. D. Mitchell. It's more so dueling gives us the baseline of what we need to win this game.

So we got to get Doolin out there. And that's the way I saw it. And it obviously led to some good things with Doolin having a fantastic game out there. Yeah. So I was in Dollar General this week. And there happened to be a guy with an Indianapolis Colts shirt on. So I went up and spoke to him talking about the podcast. And the first thing out of his mouth, we need to fire A.D. Mitchell. I mean, the fans are still hot over that. But, you know, what I saw out of him was he's taken account. I understand that he stood up before the team and explained or asked for forgiveness. And it's just like a kid, when you punish a kid, you can't change your mind the next day and say,

okay, you can watch TV now. You know, I said a week, it's going to be a week. and he understands accountability. And this is just something that has to be done. But I think what it's going to do is teach him how to be a better pro. And when he becomes a better pro, then he'll start doing those ancillary things that you see Alex Pearce doing. Yeah, and if he doesn't, then he won't last long as a pro, right?

Exactly. Not for long. 15 people get cut for less. Yeah. Yeah. But I think it was a good message to be like, look, Doolen has earned this. He's earned this his entire career, a guy who can go out there and do these things for us. So sit back and watch what Doolin does. You know, you are ahead of Doolin

when it comes to winning against man coverage. We know that. But look what he does each and every play out there, learn from him and be better going forward. But until you're better, until you have shown and earned that trust back, Ashton has earned this every single day, his entire career. So I kind of like the message that sends, you know? And I think that's good when you're a winning team to be able to do that and still win games like this. And it'll still be something to obviously keep an eye on moving forward here. But the Colts are moving on to the Cardinals next week after a 40 to 6 win over the Raiders. Thanks so much for joining us to the Colts Squad Show.

We are your place for live game recaps following each and every Colts game this season. We'll have a Wednesday show to a standing Wednesday show 9 p.m. So join us for that. We'll be back with you middle of this week to recap the injury report and the first practice of the week and get you set for a sneaky decent Arizona team that looks like they're going to move to three and two because they're on the free space this week. playing the Titans. Until then, follow us at Lockdown Colts on socials and check out our other great content on YouTube and TikTok. And we'll see you next time right here on the squad show.