Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: Fans FED UP | As Another Season Disintegrates, Fans Voice Frustration with Ballard

Episode Date: December 25, 2025

In the wake of the Colts' fifth-straight loss which reduced their playoff chances under 5%, fans are frustrated by the franchise's stagnation after another late season collapse. The Squad discusses Chris Ballard taking a lot of the arrows for those shortcomings, if Philip Rivers could possibly be involved in the quarterback situation for the 2026 season, and why this is not a good time to be playing the red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars. 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/lockedoncolts Support 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.

Merry Christmas and welcome into the Colts Squad Show. I'm your host, Derek Schultz, and all I want for Christmas is a playoff game, but apparently that's too much to ask. And I'm Zach Hicks, and I guess all we're talking about for Christmas is the Colts needing a new general manager. And I'm Madeline Pink and former Euler, and you're saying there's still a chance. Colts Nation rise up. It's the Colts Squad, everything Indianapolis Colts every week. Covering all the big.

and game-changing plays from the Circle City the way only the locked-on podcast network can. It's time to squad up. The Colt Squajo starts now. Happy holidays, guys, and thanks so much for listening to us here on the Colts Squad Show. Today's episode sponsored by Price Picks. Download the Price Picks app today and use code Locked-on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. I'm Derek Schultz, Indy Sports Talker, Sports columnist for the IBJ.

I'm joined by a man who set rushing records at Notre Dame and had a great pro career as a running back for the Houston Oilers, among other teams in Alan Pinkett. And you every day or is no, Zach Hicks, your favorite film buff from locked on Colts, Jake Arthur will return to us coming up later on in the week. As you already know, it feels like a quick turnaround with a Monday night game and then we have the Wednesday night show. So a tight window here. Colts gave little resistance to the visiting 49ers as they lost by three touchdowns on prime time the other night, which we talked about on our last appearance here on the Colts squad show. So with the season on life support, they'll go back into the division to face two red hot teams. And I mean scalding hot teams in back-to-back weeks, starting with Jacksonville. Tonight we'll take a look at just how upset, angry, frustrated, all of the above Colts fans are in the wake of not only the loss to San Francisco, just the latest loss in the string of five straight and six out of the last seven that has really taken the wheels off the 2025 season and being ready for changes and what changes could come.

We'll talk about all of that in the first segment of the show. So Shane Steichen announcing on Tuesday, it'll be Philip Rivers once again for week 17. Maybe that means the rest of the season. Who knows? It could certainly be the case even if they are eliminated from playoff contention coming up on Saturday. And whether or not that could possibly extend into the next season. I got a question from that on a national show.

Like, hey, do you think Philip Rivers could actually play again? And I was thinking, no, but it's the cult. So maybe we're going to talk about that in segment two. overreactions, underreactions from week 16. We do that always with our Wednesday show. I think everything we say is going to be spot on. I think if anything, it's going to be underreactions, right? And then taking another look at the Jacksonville Jaguarts,

who, of course, the Colts have already played this season. Their annual loss in Jacksonville, thankfully, already happened. And we'll talk. Playoff scenarios. Fine. We'll talk about them. They exist. I guess they have to be mentioned on the show, even as those seem very, very unlikely right now.

but guys as we've talked about and we sort of left this on on monday night you know it's like 1 30 in the morning on monday night and i'm barely keeping my eyes open and we we got through you know locked on colts and we had a full room it was great to have so many uh people in the youtube comments as well um talking about chris ballard and kind of where the colts go from here and i know alan is sort of new to the cult sphere when it comes to fan sentiment and past trauma and he's getting a little bit of a crash course here because i will say this this is upset and frustrated as i remember the Colts fan base being. And I remember 2015, that season never got off the ground,

even though they have Super Bowl aspirations coming off the deflakeet game. I remember the Jacoby Brissette team turning into a pumpkin in 2019. I remember the Jacksonville and the 2021 season finale and Jim Ursae in front of the airplane. I remember all of it. And whether it's fair or unfair, and there's been over a decade of this, it predates the daughters. It predates Shane Steichen, even, some of it, even Chris Bauer. But fans, Zach, they just feel like they've reached their breaking point. Are you seeing the same thing? I probably spent too much time on Colts Twitter on Tuesday, but are you seeing the same thing here early this week?

Yeah, to a degree. And I see Alan just turned himself sideways for all you two people there. But one thing I will say about this, at least in my perspective, you know, I've been covering this team since 2018, so I don't go all the way back to the beginning with all of you guys. But a big thing for me is I feel like I've been living in this, like, world of just, like, being disenfranchised

and just being, like, just disillusioned, I guess, with this team since the 2021 collapse because for me that was as rock bottom as it gets like because it's like at least here like their losses they're piling up losses with their emergency quarterback off the couch uh to play off caliber teams right like yes it's going to go down as a historic collapse and it has every right to go to but i mean they lost their starting quarterback for five of those games i'm not trying to make excuses but i still think in a nutshell like this season would would still have ended in playoffs for the Colts if they didn't lose their starting quarterback. So for me, 2021 was the far more embarrassing aspect where it's like they played against two

like bottom tier teams to end the season. I think both them were at home as well in those games and they just needed to win one of them to make the playoffs and they didn't. So since it's kind of been like since 2021 for me, it's always been like, you can't really shock me anymore at this team. That's why I was so numb to the Phillip River signing in general. role because it's like yeah i mean yeah this is the the colts team we know and expect it's what they kind of do um but yeah it's just kind of been a trend you know since the chris baller took over and

and that's the biggest part of this conversation we talked about chris baller like i actually love having allen's perspective on here for that because alan is such is so new to all this where it's like man this feels crazy to say fire the guy because of all the things that happened this year they started off so hot you saw what this could be um and yeah quarterback got hurt star players got hurt and it fizzled out against playoff teams down the stretch like that's normal and i think if this were year one if this were year two year three of the general manager like that would be fine but this has just become like another like another just thing that has happened under chris ballard you know this isn't the one and only like negative you know this is just a part a part of the

whole picture and we have so much data and i'm such a big person where like as we get more data on players as we get more of a sense on players we can kind of fully understand what they are like quitty pay i think is a great example like now we kind of fully know what quitty pay is like in the earlier seasons we could write off bad moments and bad games and bad seasons as like hey maybe we had to see what he can be but now at year four year five we kind of understand what he is that's where i'm at with chris ballard in year nine we kind of understand what all this is at this point so yeah in a nutshell like a season like this is not the end of the world and say like you you fire a general manager, but when you're in year nine and you have a losing record in

your career, he's what, 70, 75, and one in nine years, only two playoff appearances in those nine seasons. And it's just, that's just not good enough, man. It's a results driven league. And for it to be such a results driven league for players and for coaches, it should be the same for general managers as well. You know, coaches don't get the benefit of a doubt for nine years. Coaches get fired after three or four years if they have these kind of results. So why is the general manager different. And that's, I think, the biggest part of this conversation is it's not a one-year thing. It's a nine-year thing with Chris Ballard. I think you just said it all when you said 70, 75, and one. Oh, my God. Yeah. So I think that more than anything else makes me feel your pain,

because that is nothing but mediocrity. And that's a bad, bad, bad one. world to live in. And I got to say, as a player, you sort of play to the tone of what the room is a lot of times. I don't know if these guys have gotten used to seasons like this and have become numb to it. And, you know, yes, they started off hot. But then if this is what's been going on for nine years, you grow to sort of expect it as a player. And you don't like that because you got to be mad. I would love to be in that locker room just to get the sentiment. I mean, I know you want to stay positive because there is still an outside chance, outside, outside, but there's still a chance. So you want to keep your head up and moving

forward but you know sometimes uh in a situation like this you you've there's got to be some kind of a threat uh that threat being you know scrapped the whole thing cut a lot of people and a lot of times when you cut the best player that's when it sort of gets the attention of the team uh to say oh if they could cut him then they can definitely cut my ass so Let me get my P's and Qs together. Now, could they do that to the GM? You know, absolutely. But it seems like, you know, looking from my vantage point, first year owner,

even though she's been around the program for a long time, there might be some runway left because it's her first year. So she got a chance to see what good look like And she's getting a chance to see I guess now what bad looks like But it's probably important for her to see How do all these people react? Are they as mad as me?

Are they upset at all? Do they care at all? And I think you can get one good gauge By watching the players during the game body language means everything to me a lot of times and I don't see guys on the sideline joking around or giggling or having fun you know so to me there's some concern there but you're probably after 70 75 in one probably at a breaking point yeah yeah I'm with you man and sorry i'll get to do it in a second derrick but like for me it's just so much like

de force buckner's been here through like all these things we talk about the 29 i mean not 2019 i guess he wasn't here but like the 2021 embarrassment down the stretch 22 or they were just one of the worst teams in football 2023 lost the final game to miss the playoffs last year that giants game like you know it all these things and then this year obviously the way that this all went down guys like de force buckner zire franklin kenny more um all these guys have been here the entire time. Quentin Nelson, Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, Jr. All of those guys have been a part of that. And I'm not saying these are like terrible players. And like when the second that you miss the playoffs, you have to go in there and cut the best player, you know, like that's not the

case here. But when you have five years of the same results, like changes have to happen. We can't just keep running this thing back and hoping for something different. Like, what's the definition of insanity? You know, it's doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And to Chris Ballard's credit, he hasn't done the same thing over and over again. He's tried to change his process, but it's come with the same exact results. So at the end of the day, there's only one thing left to change. And it's that guy. Yeah, no, you hit the nail on the head. And, you know, to Allen's point, you know, somebody like Zaire Franklin, we talked about this on Monday show Consequences. Zaire Franklin is looking around and he's like, you got a guy off

the street and Jermaine Pratt, you brought in two practice squad level guys essentially to compete with me this offseason. Like, I'm not going anywhere. What are you going to do? You let me go. like you guys they're not cutting me right because who else is there and i think too many colts had been maybe a little bit too comfortable in in their sort of situations and just just kind of the aura of comfortability i i think really you know god rest his soul right the late great jim ursay but i i think people got real comfortable in the later years under jim because they felt like he he wants to be proven right here with bowerner he wants to be proven right here with the core of the team and kept running back, kept running it back.

You know, I think Zach, you mentioned it on Monday night show. After 2021, generally speaking, NFL teams would be torn down to the studs after what happened there. And all they really did was fire Reich and get a new quarterback. Right, yeah. After 2021, yeah, after the debacle that was 2021, that's really all they did. And I think people saw that. And then, you know, 2023, 9 and 8, and we would agree, I think, given the expectations,

that was kind of a plucky good story, the 2023 team. I think they performed admirably, but everybody got their big contracts, man. It was like, all right, sound the trumpets. Let's celebrate 9 and 8. This is the team. And then 2024, it's the same collapse that we saw this year, really, where obviously they didn't reach the highs of this year in 2024, but that game against the Giants in December. I mean, that's on the short list for the worst Colts game.

that I've, worst Colts performances that I've ever seen. And it just keeps happening over and over again and accountability and consequences and guys getting too comfortable. But, you know, that's not to say that these Colts players don't want to compete, Zach. I think, you know, you've been around that locker room, you know that those guys want to compete and they want to win. But I think it's just human nature when you don't have the axe hanging over your head sometimes. Sometimes, Alan, am I right?

You need that. You need that sort of motivation that, look, my butt is on the line here. no doubt about it and some programs make you feel like that acts over your head all the time i think most of them do they don't ever want you to get comfortable i've always felt like they take it as far as if you buy a house in the town where you're playing that's the license to get cut because that means you're saying you're you're comfortable here. Like you think you're going to be here for a while that you would actually put a down payment on a house and live here. I'll show you who the boss is. So it's, you know, that kind of

a thing, you know, where you do need, unfortunately, and it's, I don't like it. But there always has to be that threat of, you know, the possibility at being gone. And, you know, the coaches, I think, sort of emphasize it, you know, by saying more than once, yeah, what have you done for me lately? And so that's the way I pretty much went through the NFL. I heard it all the time. What have you done for me lately? We come back on the here on the Colts squad show.

We'll see Uncle Phil for at least one more game. perhaps two more games perhaps september we'll discuss when we come back on the cold squad show this portion of the cold squad show brought you by prize picks you and i make decisions every day but on prize picks being right can get you paid don't miss any of the excitement this sports season whether you're following the NFL NBA or if you're like me you like both there's no better time to jump in on the action if you haven't tried it yet prize picks is the simplest way to play just pick more or less on at least two player stats. And if you get them right, you win.

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That's code locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup with price picks. It's good to be right. And we're back on the Locked on Colts Squad show on this Christmas Eve edition of the show. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Thanks so much for joining us alongside former NFLer Alan Pinkett locked on Colts host, Zach Hicks. I'm Derek Schultz. Jake Arthur will return for the game recap after the Jacksonville game coming up here on Sunday. Speaking of the Jacksonville game, Shane Steichen announcing on Tuesday that Philip Rivers would once again start, which is no surprise, right? He played very well, a much better performance than the game in Seattle when he first

kind of came in off the street as QB won for this Colts team. But I don't know. Maybe I'm I'm just, maybe it's the eggnog, maybe it's just me spending too much time on Colts Twitter. I'm just a little, you know, I'm a little whack-a-doodle here. I did a phoneer with a national show for Fan Duel. And, you know, those national shows are usually just kind of going over the general talking points with the Colts. But the host has to be like, hey, this is a very uncertain quarterback situation with, you know, Daniel Jones and the Achilles. And I don't think they like Anthony Richardson very much. And I'm like, yeah, no, I agree with both those things.

Do you think there's any chance that they could just try to. run this back again with Philip Rivers and take him into camp and see what he has after a full off season. And I thought about it. I was like, you know what? I find that extremely unlikely, but then again, it's the Colts. So I never know. And I thought, that actually is maybe a decent topic to bring up with Alan and Zach when I talked to them later today. So what do you guys think? I mean, look, let's face it. The chances of that happening, I think we would agree, are very, very slim. But is there at least somewhat of a chance, just given how unknown the quarterback situation is that maybe they would do that and see if Rivers could

come back and keep the seat warm for two games, three games a month. We don't know what the timeline's going to be with this Achilles injury. I mean, I can't imagine it being like a full season situation for him at 45 years old. But I don't know, Zach, what do you think? I mean, look, if anyone can do it, Philip Rivers can, I guess, right? I mean, I don't think anyone could come in five years cold and do what they did. I think the frustrating thing would be if that actually happened. I mean, the Colts basically said no to Philip Rivers coming back for 2021 because they wanted to go for more explosive option at quarterback and they traded that first round pick for Carson Wentz and then Rivers ultimately retired because he didn't want to, you know, adjust to a whole new situation, new system. We could have just gone back to 2021 and brought Philip Rivers back instead of doing the whole Carson Wentz thing. But I digress. That's in the past at this point.

We're talking about the potential future. One, I don't think this would happen at all. I mean, a big part of why Philip Rivers was able to come out of retirement for the Colts here. is because his son's football season was wrapped up at this point. I believe his son is going to be a senior in high school. And Philip Berbers is the head coach, I think, for that team. So I don't think, look, you can come back to the NFL anytime. He's shown that he can do that.

He can come back to the NFL at 50 if he wanted to. But your kid's not going to graduate high school. You're not going to have a chance to coach your kid every single year. You know, it's a very different thing. Well, I guess he has like 10 opportunities to coach his kids in high school because he's got a lot of kids. but maybe not that kid in particular there but yeah you know would it be the worst option probably not because even philip rivers at 45 and heck if you're saying that he could get into some football shape and and really get a whole offseason worth of work in i think it can be passable

now again your your running game would be atrocious next season i still think like if i'm jonathan taylor i'd probably want out in that situation because i'm going to run for 400 yards you know on 150 carries, but yeah, I think it could be a thing. It's just, I don't, I don't know. Again, if anyone can do it, Philip Rivers can, right? He's Philip River. Like, what he's done this year is phenomenal, right? And I'm not going to downplay this story. But I don't think that's even remotely on the table, especially in like fall when the Colts would need him the most. If we're talking about the Achilles injury with Daniel Jones, they would need him the most in, like, fall potentially. And that's when he's going to be coaching his son in his final year of high

school. So I just don't think these are anything that's on the table right now. It would be a fun story, though. And again, I firmly believe if Philip Rivers had, especially prior to this year, if he had a full offseason worth of work and he was back down to 230 pounds, 235 pounds, even, I think this could be pretty solid. Like, I think this could look like 2020 potentially, because he looks pretty much the same, except he's a little bit thicker around the dad belly there. I think if he were in football shape and had an offseason of training, I think he could be fine. But, yeah, I just don't think that's going to be in the cards for him. And I don't think – I think the Colts would entertain it in an emergency situation.

But outside of that, I don't think they would really entertain it. I'm probably going to sound like an echo. But first, let me say that I applaud Philip Rivers for what he's done in two games. And the improvement he showed from game one. the game too, which is what's supposed to happen. And we all know he's not in true football shape right now. And that having a full offseason, yeah, he would come back and would look far better. But my issue is with him at quarterback, is this offense sustainable? And I think you hit the nail on the head, Zach, when you said, for Jonathan Taylor,

It's like if he's a quarterback, I'm out of here because if he can, I guess here's what has to happen. If Philip Rivers can get in great shape and get under center and run play action, then you might have something. Because right now, the defenses are so good that if you're just going to stay in the shotgun and hand it off. I mean, they can just crash right away. And they've got time to react because if they do fake the handoff, then they can get back in their passing lanes if they have to. And so the passing game is looking a little bit better, but it's at the expense of not being able to balance off the run game.

And so it's, I said it. Monday night, you live by the past, you die by the past. And so it would be a great story. Looking at what Philip Rivers is done, I would love to have him as my quarterback. I think his leadership qualities are immense. I think he's a gamer. But where his game is right now, I don't know if it affords the opportunity for the Colts. to win a lot of games.

Yeah, and like full credit to the story that is what Philip Rivers is doing right now and how Shane Stuy... I mean, look, this offense, to start the year, they were, what, 31% under center and they were running, like, they were like the second highest play action rate in the NFL and doing a lot of play action boot stuff, very, very different offense of what they've run the last two weeks. The last two weeks, it's been all gun stuff, it's been quick passing, it's been developing things that work for Philip Rivers.

and I don't want to downplay how awesome of a story that is, right, for both Stuyken and Rivers to even be remotely competitive these last two games with the situation they're in, especially with their offense, is something to be excited about. But I do kind of think, and this is maybe a preview into the final segment, I think we're going to see what happens when you play against top defenses that are prepared and when you can't run the football against them with a quarterback who doesn't have much of an arm. I think we're going to see that a little bit these last two weeks.

of the season, you know, so I think it's a great story, but sustainability is a big aspect of the NFL, and I just don't think it's very sustainable what they're doing. Like, they gave their best two shots that they had these last two weeks, and it didn't result in wins, but they really turned out what they could have done to get wins the last two weeks. I don't know how much more they really have in the tank there. Yeah, I'll still go back to this. You know, both Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard, they have a front row seat. to watch how this offense needs to be run,

how to execute, how to check to the right place, how to put the ball where it needs to be put. So hopefully they're not just chilling on the side or sitting there with the phone in the pocket and texting, that they're actually doing some analysis and seeing this is how this offense can be run. And, you know, it would be a great opportunity for Riley Leonard to make a step because he got a chance to, you know, get in a couple of games this year. And for Anthony Richardson, if he can get to a point where mechanics are not a question, where the knowledge of the offense is at a level where Daniel Jones has it, where Philip Rivers has it,

That way you're getting the best of both athletic with the knowledge of the offense, then, you know, those two guys, I don't want to necessarily say those guys can't be a possibility. But I think if it was, and it all depends on how the recuperation of Daniel Jones goes. If it was about a month of games, you know, maybe I would say it, the, Philip Rivers experiment could go on, but longer than that, I think you probably need to develop the guys that are behind him. Yeah, no, and I think it's obviously it's a tough situation for them to be in right now, especially not knowing. It's not just the fact that it's Achilles, it's just the unknown of what the timetable could look like with Daniel Jones. And you have to

make this big decision on whether to retain him at all, which I think the Colts are going to try to do. But if you do retain him, knowing that he's, even if he's medically cleared to play, he's likely not going to be himself in September, maybe not October. Hell, he might not be himself at all during the 2026 season. I mean, he might not be himself ever again, right? Because that's just kind of how Achilles injuries goes. But, you know, if it is not Rivers, which I still think we would all agree is very unlikely. We've talked about this really mediocre free agent veteran list, Zach. Like, there are a lot of old Colts retreads on there, like the now injured Gardner Minshu and Joe Flacco is technically a free agent. Could there be somebody from there

that they would bring in because I don't know why. I am all the way dug in on this take. I do not think you're going to see Anthony Richardson take a starting snap ever again for the Colts as long as Shane Stuyken as that goes. I am just all the way dug in on that. And so I'm looking at alternate options here for what could be for 2026. No, I mean, that's fair. And honestly, I will say that, you know, when it comes to the conversation of who should start the rest of the season for the Colts with them essentially eliminate from the playoffs, I know they have the teeniest chances in history of football right now.

But, like, you know, they're technically not limited. People saying, oh, start Richardson, start Leonard. What's the point starting this old quarterback? I will go as far as saying the quarterback of the future is currently not on the roster guys. Like, maybe Daniel Jones can be that. Maybe he can be the guy who overcomes the Achilles tear. I'm a team never invest in someone with an Achilles tear. So that's just me personally.

But I understand if you want to bet on the outliers there when it comes to Daniel Jones. But I don't think the Colts believe enough in any of these guys. Leonard might be here long term, but I think you draft him to be the, clipboard holder and I think that's probably what he's going to be with this team and I'm kind of with you Derek where it's like even if Richardson does start early next season I don't think they have much faith in him being anything here so when it comes to who's starting the rest of the year I don't think it matters I really don't think it matters maybe just the development that the offensive line gets with Rivers back there communicating is more important than throwing out

one of these young quarterbacks who don't really believe in but yeah I mean when it comes to the QB class Derek I think you were being a little bit complimentary of the QB class when you called it modest. I mean, look, like, Malik Willis is probably the most interesting option out there. And then all the other ones would be trade candidates where people are talking like, oh, Tua could be traded, Kyler Murray could be traded,

Mack Jones, Davis Mills. But here's the thing, Mac Jones and Davis Mills showed their worth to their teams this year by winning games when their quarterbacks were out. Why would those teams want to part with those guys when they're the whole reason those teams are going to be in the playoffs because they kept them afloat when their starters were out.

And then you go to guys like Tua and Kyler. does that solve anything? You're just depleting more draft capital and resources for the future to sink it into another veteran that's been a failure somewhere else. Like, that doesn't do anything for me at all. So I think ultimately what the plan is going to be, Derek, and I'm sorry for all Colts fans have to hear this. I think it's going to be re-signed Daniel Jones to a pretty decent deal and hope that he can be the first time that Chris Ballard signs someone coming off an Achilles tear that doesn't completely flop for them. Because every other time he's done it, it has not worked for this team.

So maybe this can be the, what's the gambler's fallacy? Like, oh, I was 0 for eight or whatever. So the ninth time has to work for me, right? No, the percentages are the same for all nine of them. You know, if it's a 10% chance, it's still a 10% chance. It doesn't mean you're going to get the one in 10. But I think that's kind of where we're at with this, where we're going to keep, we're doing this gambler's fallacy with Achilles.

And you know what? I think he'll be cleared for on-field activity in the off-season. And he'll be on the field by week. one next year, but to your point, Derek, and my big thing with Achilles, it's not about when you get cleared. It's about what you look like when you're out there. Tell me, go out there and watch Sandsenbucon this year and tell me that's the same player the Colts had in 2023 when they were a fringe playoff team. Tell me that's the same player who had 10 sacks for the team out there getting what three or four this year, making $12 million. And tell me that that's the same

exact player. It's just, it takes a toll on you as a player that Achilles injury. I just don't like betting on it. But I think the Colts are back into such a corner right now where it's like, unless you completely pivot off Daniel Jones and make some big trade with the little draft capital you have or sign of Malik Willis, you're going to just probably bring back Daniel Jones and hope the Achilles isn't that big of a deal. And Zach, I trust your analysis. In fact, the everydayers are lucky to hear you because no one probably has the graphs on the personnel throughout the league than you. I learned a lot just listening to the different quarterbacks.

And I know that the Colst don't have a first-round pick for the next two years. But even the quarterbacks that are coming out that are potential first-round picks, I don't even want them, you know. You can't say that around here with men. This is Indiana, Mendoza is a statement of right here. But aside from Mendoza, we can say that about every other quarterback, Dalla. In this country, we can't say that about Mendoza. He's awesome.

Yeah, but it's, I guess the highest bust rate is at the quarterback position in the first round. But if, and I think this Shane Stuyckin offense is one that is the set up for a veteran. A veteran with knowledge knows all the coverages, has been there, done that, seen it, and then can assimilate to what Shane Scyken. trying to run. So I think it would have to be a veteran that they would bring in a knowledgeable veteran. And I don't think you can take a chance on a rookie grasping the entirety of this offense. I think even for a Riley Leonard, I don't think he would be right until year three because, you know, you got to be in there, as you said, when the bullets are flying so you can

see how to react. But I'm confident that, you know, having a firsthand look at it, they can learn a lot quicker. Michael Pittman, Jr., a cut candidate, keep stiking, dump Ballard. We're going to talk under and overreactions next when the Cold Squad show returns. Welcome back to the Cold Squad Show. Thanks so much for joining us on this Christmas Eve, or I don't know, maybe we're watching on Christmas, maybe we're watching the day after. Again, you said for the Colts and Jaguars coming up on Sunday as they look to halt a five-game losing skit alongside Alan Pickett, Zach Hicks. I'm Derek Schultz. Happy holidays. So this is the segment of the show, segment three in our midweek show where we play over and underreactions.

And I kind of joked earlier, all the underreactions. I don't think there is such thing as overreacting right now with the way that the Colts are playing. But, you know, something else that I saw. And, you know, as we know, a lot of the core members of this Colts roster are, are under contract through next season, but the Colts do have some maneuverability around them and some outs and things like that. You know, these things that are standard fare

as far as NFL contracts are concerned. And I had heard somebody mention Michael Pittman Jr. As a potential cut candidate, not because Michael Pittman Jr. is not a good player. I mean, he's having a nice year, statistically speaking, you know, a career high in touchdowns, you know, a lot of that, obviously,

from the first half of the season, which is what happened with most of the Colts offense. But, you know, also a guy, that is not an elite separator. I'm not really interested in having the conversation. Is you a number one receiver? I don't think he is. But I think everybody's definition of that is a little bit different.

But that said, you know, overreaction or underreaction to say that Pittman Jr. could be one of those cut candidates, Zach. I mean, I'll go one step further and say, like, outside of the offensive line, anyone on their second contract is a cut candidate for a team that's been under producing for as long as they have you know like i'm not in the business of wanting to cut barrenhardt rhyman or quentin nelson because it's insanely hard to find good offensive line and i know that's the one thing chris baller continue continually hits home runs on so it doesn't feel like it's hard to do but yeah offensive line it's hard for me to part with that

because even if you start over and you get a new quarterback in here what's the number one thing you want to give them is an offensive line up front like so i'm fine with keeping them but yeah i mean look when you've underperformed like this and a lot of these guys are near 30 years. I mean, when you're a second contract guy in the NFL, you're near 30 already feels like, you know, you're coming out, especially with the COVID years. You're coming out at 24. Your second contracts in 28, 29. And some of these guys are on their third or fourth contracts in their age 30 seasons. And how close do we think this Colts team is, especially with the lack of quarterback options. So realistically speaking, you know, it doesn't, it wouldn't,

like you have to at least consider the outs in the contract. Now, I don't, I don't really care for just cutting guys just to cut guys you know like you actually have to have a plan with that money that you're saving don't just save like because that cap space doesn't go to your pocket you know you still have to use that cap space at some point so you know you have to have a plan with that money but if it comes to the point where it's like look hey to fit alec pierce here who is what 25 years old has gotten better every single season and for what we just say about michael pitman junior where yeah maybe he's not a true number one i would struggle to argue that alec pierce is not a true number one right now with how he has played this year and last year especially this year

this year he's looked like a true number one if it comes down to either or with those two guys i would make the tough decision there and say look we got to keep alec pierce he's younger he's ascending he's playing some great football uh and we can't lose alan's nickname for him you know we have to keep the nickname at least you know that's the big part here that's going to be in the contract um so those are the tough decisions that the colts had just not made under crisp out And I think, again, I keep going, I hate picking on this guy because it's not his fault. It's the injury's fault. But, like, they had the prime opportunity to open up some cab space and get another pass rusher in this offseason with Samson W.com's contract.

You know, they could have saved, I think, $8 million of that $12 million he was due this year and invested that back into a free agent that had more juice and had more. But Chris Baller is not someone who wants to punish guys for injuries, wants to punish guys for depreciating play. He thinks those guys earn that money and they got to stick with it and they got to keep that money. And that's the thing. This is a business, man. At the end of the day, it's a business. And when guys aren't producing, I'm not saying cut all of them, right? But like, when you have to make these decisions, it can't be we're letting all these guys walk. We're like, you know, letting a Dio Dainbo walk. And I'm not saying Dio Dengbo is some special player or anything like that. But letting a Dio Dainbo walk so we can keep Samson-Bucon because he earned that contract back in 2023.

Like, that's not good business, man. We got to make these tough decisions sometimes. So, yeah, when it comes down to all this with the colds, I'm not saying go in there and just cut everybody, right? I really don't believe that. Like, I don't think you're going to find someone better than Jonathan Taylor out there. So don't just cut him to make the cut, you know, but it comes down to it, like where you've got to make those decisions. Like, hey, we have this amount of money allocated to the wide receiver room. We can't go over this because it's just our soft internal budget. So we have to choose between Pierce and Pittman.

Sometimes you've got to make that tough decision. It can't be we're choosing Pittman because we've already committed to them. if Pierce is the better option for you, you know, in that case. I'm not saying it's going to come down to that, but that's just one example there. So all this to say, I'm kind of with you, Derek, where it's like, I don't think it's an overreaction to say these things, because what has Michael Pittman Jr., DeForce Buckner, Grover Stewart, Kenny Moore, Zeyer Franklin, what have any of these guys won with this team? And the, what have you done for me lately type of league?

And if you're going five years of constant failures in December and having the same core, roster, I don't think anything should be off the table when it comes to these players. I wouldn't be surprised by any move they made in terms of who they cut. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if they cut Quentin Nelson. You know, it's just teams. I'd be shocked a little bit on that one, I will say. But teams do that sometimes. A couple of reasons, number one, because the economics are a big part of playing this game.

And that salary cap is hard and fast. And so they can't afford it a lot of times. But number two, to send a message that you're here to earn your money. And the way you earn your money is get us a result. And if you can't get a result, then you've got to go. And so and I look at the fact that receiver is probably one of the easiest positions to cut that because the talent that comes into the league now is so much better at the wide receiver position. Now, these guys are doing football year-round now where, you know, when I played, you had, you know, maybe something in the spring.

But these folks do, in high school, seven-on-seven camps. In college, they're practicing, you know, year-round. Look at all the guys making one-handed catch. all the time. So the skill level is there. So you think about it, if you're not a number one receiver, then you probably are going to get cut because they could go cheaper and get someone with just as much skill, maybe a little more speed, but they probably don't have a feel for the route tree, how to get on top of somebody and run a route. and create separation.

They don't have all the little detailed things, but to fast. They may not have all the details, but, you know, from an economic standpoint, you can deal with that because those guys are going to make a couple of plays down the line. So, no, I wouldn't be surprised by anybody they cut, and it could be for several reasons. is there an overreaction element to wanting to keep the head coach while letting go of the general manager the track record of success is not good when it comes to doing that even though and I don't want to say this definitively but from what I've gathered in the conversations that I've seen in Colt's Twitter I think it'd be a soft lean towards keeping Steichen whereas everybody seems

to be out on Bauer at this point and part of the fact is Bauerd's been here nine your stike, it's only been here three, but could, would you be in favor of that possibility, Zach, if the Colst decided to go down that road as awkward as it is to retain a head coach and hire a GM who didn't pick that head coach? Yeah, I think, and this is kind of the cop-out answer here, but I think I'm fully indifferent to it. I think first off, we just have to get the general manager out of here. And then whatever the new general manager thinks is the best course of action, you know if the new general manager wants to you know what i believe in psych and believe what he can do cool that's who you're tying your ship to you know that's who you're tying this thing down to

if he wants to just clean house and start new cool if he wants to do a lame duck coach situation and say you know what stikin ride out this roster one more season if you if you show me something maybe i'll keep you but probably get rid of all you guys after the year then go go be it too you know like whatever the new general manager decides but i just want a different person at the top making these decisions, I think is it for me. So if the new general manager came in here and made that decision, so be it, I think. I'd be fine with it.

I just think you had to start with the top and then let that new person in charge kind of make that big decision there for you. So I know it's a bit of a cop-out saying, like, you know, not making a decision on this question here, but like, ultimately, I'd be fine with it. Like, whatever that general manager wants, I'd put my belief in that general manager

until they, again, until they've shown me that I shouldn't have that belief in them, Like, again, I don't have nine years of data on the new general manager unless they go to a retread here to tell me that I shouldn't believe in the guy. So as long as they get someone in here and they have a plan of action, I'm going to give it some time to see if it fully realizes and see if it's one that needs to be critiqued. So if they want to roll with Stuyken, you know, so be it. I understand the vision. It's just that's who you're tying yourself to. Well, I think it's all a function of who do you want to give the power to, the coach.

or the GM. Every GM wants to have, you know, their pick of coach. Now, I can think of a couple situations where the coach was the one who had to power. Belichick had to power. Oh, what's his name? Was that the Packers? Homegren? Yes, Holmgren had to power. But I don't think coaches make the best general managers. So, it's, It's one of those tough things where the GM wants to put his or her touch on the program, and usually that involves their own coach. Now, one of the things to look for is, let's say they did, you know, fire Chris Ballard. Are they going to include Shane Seichen in on interviewing a GM, you know,

or are they just going to upper management? We'll pick the GM because if you do that, you're going to get some head button. You know, if you want that relationship between coach and GM to be solid, they got to be on the same page. You know, they got to have the same vision. So it's sometimes it's tough letting go of one that the other is easier to let go to coach and let the GM handle all the personnel stuff.

But if you go that route where you let go to GM, you better make sure that a relationship exists between the head coach and the GM because they got to be like this. They got to be boys. They got to be partners in crime. They've got to have the same vision. They've got to be able to see the game the same way

in order to be successful. Playoff odds. Playoff odds. We're going to talk about that. Sorry, with my bad Jim Mersey impression when we come back. And also take a look at the Jaguars when the Colts squad show returns. Back for final time here on the Locked on Colts squad show. Thanks so much for making us a part of your day alongside Zach Hicks of Lockedon Colts.

Alan Pinkett, former NFL or a nerd name legend. I'm Derek Schultz. thanks so much again for all season long for hanging with us it's been quite the roller coaster we're something like 40 shows in and there's been a lot of good and we were riding the wave with the 7 and 1 8 and 2 start and there's been a lot of bad since then as that wave has inevitably crashed down a little bit as the Colts now find themselves at 8 and 7 before we get to the Jaguars guys let's let's talk about the playoff thing because look they're still technically alive for the playoffs so we have to talk about it uh Colts playoff simulator at the athletic it gives them

a 2% chance. The only scenario now where they get in, at least it's easy to understand. They have to beat the Jaguars. They have to beat the Texans. And then the Texans have to lose to the Chargers as well coming up this week. If they beat the Jaguars this week, the Colts go to a 7% chance. What I don't really understand is, look, if you're to tell any Colts fan right now,

yeah, they got a 2% chance to make the playoffs. Every Colts fan would be like, yeah, you know what? That sounds about right. That scenario to me mathematically seems like it should be more than a 2% chance. no all you need is two wins and then one other game to go your way am i wrong there maybe it's going on vibes you know it's really looking at this like you know what i think in the last four weeks all like 17 games that the colt needed to go one way have gone the complete opposite way like what the chargers are on like a four game winning streak the the texans are on like a seven game winning

streak the jaguars look like the best team in football all of a sudden they are just killing teams left and right with just what looks like the most lethal offense in football. And oh, by the way, the Colts are 0 and 5 in the last five games. So maybe it's purely just factoring in. And maybe they somehow input it. They're down to a 44-year-old veteran quarterback off the couch or something at quarterback. You know, like maybe they were somehow able to do that. But I think, yeah, based off vibes, 2% actually feels a little bit high, Derek.

I think we're giving the Colts a little bit too much. I don't disagree. I'm just sucking mathematically. right like doesn't that feel like that should be higher than 2% all you need is if three games to flip your way but you're right the last 17 have not flipped the Colts way so why would those three go their way that's the odds maybe maybe that's the odds they're running in there it's like well look all the all the luck is against the Colts right now we can't we can't give them more than 2% give yourself that little margin for error like you know what maybe they could but yeah

I mean crazier things have happened in the NFL like the Colts collapsed back in 2021 so you can never say that something's impossible but again, the Colts have to beat the two hottest teams in football right now in the next two weeks and gets an outside help while they are the coldest team in football. So it's kind of tough to project this any other way. Now, the Colts are still rolling with Rivers, who I do think gives them their best shot of winning these games. Now, I do think the wheels could come off a little bit these next two weeks because if you're

not going to have a run game and that ball is floating still a bit on rivers and now you're going against two defenses that are pretty much fully manned, like very, very talented, physical and fast. I think we could see this fall apart a little bit, but I still think on paper he gives you the best shot. And who knows, like in the NFL, it just takes a couple bounces, and maybe the law of averages where every single bounce is gone against the Colts these last, like, four or five weeks, maybe they all come back in an impressive fashion these next two weeks, and they get every

bounce to go their way. You know, it was funny, and this is not even talking about Jacksonville or the player. but it's just something that showed me where this game was going. How often do we see a strip sack from the backside for a quarterback and the ball and it turns into a two-yard gain for the offense? I knew right when that happened. I was like, you know what? This is just not our year.

It's just like a strip sack from the backside of the quarterback and they turn it into a two-yard gain. Like you're getting positive yards on the strip sack. Like that's just when you know it's not your year. It's not your time. It's not your thing. So I don't want to blame it all in bad luck. But the way the season's going, I think 2% is.

seems high for the Colts, but I'm with you, Derek. Like, mathematically, probably not, but man, the two hottest teams in football and Jackson who we're going to talk about, I mean, they're making a push for looking like the best team in football as of late. Like, they have been, like, since their by week, the changes they have made and then Trevor Lawrence just playing with absolute confidence right now, they look real good. Like, they look like the team to beat in the AFC right now. Well, your goal is to be ascending at the end of the year.

and that's what Jackson Phil and the Texans are doing. I mean, and it's hard to sustain, you know, tough play for 17 games. There's going to be lulls, but you want to be playing your best football at the end of the season. And, you know, with the Colts, some of it is the football guys. I always talk about the golf guys, you know, the golf guys are, are the ones that allow me to make Bertie on 17 or 18 because they want to bring my ass back, you know, where I've done nothing but double bogey the whole day.

But the football gods can be tricky. And, you know, as a player, I've been in some of those scenarios where you had to depend on other teams and, you know, what do we have to do? What does this other team have to do? And you really, as a player, got to block all that. out because nothing happens unless you win.

So the only aspect of this, you know, playoff predictor is controlling what you can control, which means if you go out and win, you might have a shot. But you also, and here's what a lot of folks don't understand, when you're on a losing team, the audition in those last few games is going to have a. a lot brighter light being shined upon you, because if you're on a team that has lost five, six, three, don't think that they're not thinking about replacing your ass. You know, so you have to, at the end of the year, whether you got a 2% or 20%, 100% chance to make the playoffs, you have to be at your best to just.

just play for the opportunity for them to hopefully bring you back the following year. Well, Alan, we got to rewind to the first segment again. This is the Colts we're talking about. You're never really auditioning for your job. You've got the job security for anyone thinking that the Colts fired their general manager. Like, how would you attract a new general manager? It's like, you get job security, baby. That's the number one thing we all look for.

But, yeah, no, I agree with you, Alan. I do think it should be that case when you lose six, seven games. down the stretch. You should be auditioning for your job because every contract is cuttable in the NFL. Every contract is cuttable, especially if you're on that second contract. We love the term outs in your contracts, right? We love talking about the outs. The Colts never exercised them, but if you lose seven straight down the stretch, I don't care who your quarterback is. Those outs got to be circled by general managers. So we'll see if that pride shows up for the Colts for the first time here. I will say this, and I'll kick it back to you, Derek. We've seen in the past with

these Colts teams when they're in these situations when it's like put up or shut up a lot of it is it's a shut up I'm not expecting I mean look the hottest offense in football rolling rolling in a town in a dome controlled setting I know the Jaguars are technically the road team this week but hottest offense in football and aggressive and fast defense they just beat this Colts team by three scores my prediction is not going to be kind this week I'm just going to say for this Colts team. It's really incredible. You know, so much of the season,

it's a marathon, it's not a sprint, right? It's kind of cheeseball. But you look back and it really is true because you go back to sweet, wonderful Sunday, November 9th, just when the world was a happier place and we were all, I think I had more hair,

Alan maybe had less grays. The Colts were eight and two. They go to Berlin. They beat the Falcons, right? Jacksonville Blue, a three touchdown lead to the Texas. and you thought, this is great because now both teams are three back in the AFC South, right?

So this is wonderful for the Colts. They cushion their lead. And you look back now and you're like, could that have been like the worst thing to happen to them outside of the stuff that they've done to themselves, right? Because Houston suddenly, Houston would have been for all intents and purposes dead at that point, really. Not only to the division race,

but just getting to the playoffs in general, I think it gave them new life. And I think it, you look at, Jacksonville. They've turned around ever since then. I mean, how did they respond? Well, they went out and they beat the Chargers by four touchdowns the last week, the next week. And then, you know, the Denver game at Mile High, they just pounded the Broncos. And yeah, you know, you got the Jets on here. You got the Titans on here. A not very good Arizona team as well, but just the way that Lawrence is looking, just the way

that they've carried themselves, like the body language, the Jags look like a confident team. And, you know, Zach, I know, you and I've been watching the Jags for a long time. most of the time they don't look like a team, right? They look like a guy that's a team that's ready to get out of there, give me my check. And it's a little bit scary when the Jaguars are playing with purpose and playing like they have momentum and they're feeling themselves a little bit. And that's certainly how they felt now is not only an AFC favorite,

but perhaps even a Super Bowl favorite with the way that they've played. And you know what? As much as the Colts have had obviously vastly more success against them in Indianapolis, all these games seemingly have been really close. Like, Jacksonville has put the Colts in a body bag in Jacksonville, a lot more than the Colts have put Jacksonville in a body bag in Indy lately. And that's what also kind of gives me pause as well about this matchup. Jacksonville doesn't come here and get scared. You know, they're used to having, even during the Payne Manning years, Jacksonville had success coming here at Indianapolis.

Yeah, they've always been. There's always that one team in the division that gives you more trouble than the others. Like, if you're the Titans, you get terrified of the Colts matchup because the Colts always pound them regardless of who's in there. If you're the Colts, you're terrified of Jacksonville, because Jacksonville always plays them tough. It could be a one-win-jaxonville team. It could be a 12-win-Jacksonville team. They're going to play the Colts very tough. It's just that the way the organization carries itself.

But I will say with Jacksonville, and I don't want to get called, like, you know, a Jacksonville home or somehow or anything here. But I did say a couple weeks ago when the Colts had that game down in Jacksonville that this is a really well-coached team. Liam Cohen, Coach Camp at defense coordinator, has always been a guy I've been very fond of. I've loved what he's done in his entire career as a coach. They've been a great coaching all season long, and the adjustments they made post-bye were great. The big question always with that roster was, can they get the drops down? Can they get the dumb turnovers and penalties down? Can Trevor Lawrence find his rhythm?

And it seems like since the biweek, that entire team is just locked in. They've been locked and loaded. Lawrence is playing the best football of his career. The drops have come down significantly, especially after the trade of Jacoby Myers, to get him in there. they're still pretty penalized, but I think that's just their aggressive style of play. They fly all over the place and they get a little too antsy, but I kind of like that with them. And yeah, they look like a team to be right now. So it's just two teams playing at very different levels right now, right?

Where Jacksonville's hitting their stride, like you said, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Well, they're hitting that home stretch of that marathon and they're picking up speed where the colds used up all their gas in the early part of the season. And they're kind of tripping over their own two feet right now. And it's just kind of a collision course now between a team that's peaking at the right time and a team that's plummeting at the right, at the wrong time. And yeah, I just want to give a lot of credit, though, Jacksonville. They've done a lot of, a couple of weeks ago, if you would have asked me, who am I more scared of Houston or Jacksonville? I would have said Houston with that defense. But now with the way Jackson was offense is playing and how well coached they are on both sides of the ball, Jacksonville may not, again, like they might be the team to be in the AFC right now with how they're playing.

I don't know how sustainable it is because, again, we've seen. ebbs and flows with the players on that roster and they are just one year removed from being like a four-win team but if they keep this up man they could beat anybody in the NFL the rest of the way so the talent level on all 32 teams is pretty much the same yeah in the league so what is it that separates one team from another confidence and luck and when you When you, you know, getting a couple lucky bounces every now and then always helps. It just does. But if you have a team that's planned with confidence, that's a dangerous team

because they execute a lot better when they believe that what they're doing is going to work and they end up winning more games. And when you lose, you do fall into that, oh, here we go again, type of feeling. And it's just, it's hard, it's hard to battle that thing is when you keep losing. No matter how hard you try, you know, you're still, you're getting unlucky. You know, I think about the game Monday night where you fumble the kickoff and it's like, here we go again, you know, we're shooting ourselves in the foot again. And then, you know, a good team is going to a confident team.

is going to take that momentum, seize it, and not let it go. So that's, to me, what has happened with Jacksonville in Houston is they found that little spark they needed. And now they've got that belief in their playing with confidence. And a team playing with confidence is a scary-ass team. And so it's just hard to stop. So, I mean, the Colts need to muster up all the belief that they can, but they can't beat themselves either. And I think that's been part of this five-game losing streak is beating themselves. Yeah, and that's the big thing, just to put a final point on this, where Houston and Jacksonville have so much confidence and belief in themselves right now, right?

What do you think the confidence is right now in that Colts team when their defense just, what, allowed points on eight of nine drives against them? in this past game at home in prime time the whole world's watching you know in a primetime game and you allow points on pretty much every drive against you i can't imagine like you could have be the most like well thought i don't even know the right word for this we're in a minute we're in the hour of the show right now it's hard to get the words but like you know you could be the most stone cold person in the world and and be able to recover from everything but that that weighs on you man and and again when you get low like that i don't know how how do you just bring it back up up against these two teams that are playing like this.

Because it's your job. Yeah, right, right. These aren't even excuses for the Colts. It's just saying that, like, how low I believe in their chances, I guess, of winning this Sunday and the rest of the way. But, yeah, they have, I mean, there has to be pride at stake. There has to be worry for your job, I guess, these next two weeks. And there has to be some real repercussions if it doesn't happen.

Because, again, like Alan said, just to put a fine bow on this, you can't lose seven straight going into the off season. Yeah, no, I mean, the Colts best defender on Monday night. the only time that the Niners didn't score, I think, was the inanimate field goal crossbar, right? Oh, and the interception from camera. And the interception, okay. So I think it was like seven of nine or something.

Yeah, that was the other one as well. But yeah, it was a rough showing for sure. Thanks for joining us on the Colts squad show. Lock us in for your midweek show every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. But don't forget, where your place for live game recaps following each and every Colts game this season. We'll be back with you for the home finale on Sunday following Colts Jaguars to recap that one.

That'll be shortly after the game goes final. here on the Lockdown Colts Network. But until then, keep it locked on Jake and Zach for the rest of the week on Locked on Colts. Be sure to follow at Lockdown Colts on socials and check out the other great content on YouTube and TikTok. And happy holidays. Merry Christmas. We'll see you next time right here on the squad show.