Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts Training Camp Stock Up, Stock Down + Reminiscing on Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James

Episode Date: August 10, 2021

On today's episode, Evan and Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed go over the bigger training camp storylines thus far. Who has stood out in the best and worst way for the Indianapolis Colts? Surprisingly, even with the injuries, there have been plenty of positives to go through. However, for the negatives, there's a great chance those mentioned won't make the final 53-man roster.Closing out the show, we go over Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James. After being inducted in the Hall of Fame, what was it like watching two legends up-close throughout their prime years? Evan and Stephen wax poetic on the potent QB-RB duo (note: this was recorded before the Hall of Fame speeches).All of this, plus so much more, as we begin our daily Monday-Friday podcast schedule officially with preseason upon us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back to the latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Colts for the Locked On Podcast Network. Today as always, your host Evan Cedric, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue. As we're here to talk through the biggest training camp takeaways, it's our first time talking about training camp, Stephen.

We're also going to talk about the quarterback battle that's heating up between Jacob Easton and Sam Ellinger as a temporary quarterback one. And then as we're going to close it out, talking about Peyton Manning and Adrian James officially being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. So that'll be a fun discussion at the end of the show. But how are you doing tonight? Hey, Evan, I'm doing well tonight. How are you?

Doing great. Doing great. And I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on how training camp's gone so far this year. We're about a week plus in now. And there's a lot of people, a lot of storylines that are starting to trickle out for the first seven or eight days of training camp.

And I want to get your thoughts first off on how this stock up, stock down, so to say, is going for the quarterbacks. And we'll put both in the stock up category, but I wanted to hit off the show with the storyline about Jacob Eason and Sam Ellinger. Eason's been pretty inconsistent so far throughout camp, not surprising after Curtis Wentz got hurt on the second day of camp and he's still adjusting.

But from everything I've heard over the last three or four practices, Stephen, it seems like Sam Ellinger is kind of picking up steam within the camp battle, so to say, if there even is one, because Kevin Bowen, Jim Ioh, and the rest of the crew that's covering out in Westfield are saying that Ellinger's looking really poised in the pocket. He seems to be having a better grip of the offense as far as being able to make things happen out of structure. And then as well, it seems like he's just more consistent

doing the football right now. So what's your opinion of Eason and Ellinger right now? Because Eason obviously has the arm talent. There's flashes here and there, but it's less consistent. Ellinger, the less stronger arm, but more consistent so far. So what do you think of this quarterback battle? And do you think there's even a battle that's going to be happening here in camp? and there, but it's less consistent. Ellinger, the less stronger arm, but more consistent so far. So what do you think of this quarterback battle? And do you think there's even a battle that's going to be happening here in camp?

Because I'd be very intrigued, let's say, if Sam Ellinger outperforms Eason in the first preseason game or in the scrimmage practices against the Carolina Panthers next week. Because it feels like, to me, just from all we've heard so far, that Ellinger's kind of gaining some steam. Yeah, I mean, I take all this kind of with a grain of salt Jacob Haston's going against first team off first team defense more often than not um you see those fat flash plays um it's one of those situations where do you like the guy that and then this was brought up by some other people on on Twitter but do you like the guy that, and this was brought up by some other people on Twitter,

but do you like the guy that has the rocket arm that is somewhat inconsistent, or do you like the guy that has the much, much weaker arm, but is able to do those things like keep composure and always keep your eyes downfield? So I'm interested to see how it plays out in the next couple weeks, because again, both these guys are just now getting their first times, like going really up against NFL defenses. And I feel like Jacob Eason is going to have the head up or have the advantage in the battle, just because he's been here for an extra year. And, yeah, he's been inconsistent, but sometimes you see those wow throws

and you're like, just wow. Or, you know, wow. It just amazes you with how he throws the ball sometimes. And I think that once he gets a little bit more comfortable in the situation, you know, yesterday or on Wednesday, Jacob Eason was like 9 for 12 and played really, really well. And then he came back down to earth. Sam Ellinger has just kind of stayed steady, not made any, like, wow throws,

but just been steady. And you see a lot of butter reporting on it being like a lot of checkdowns, a lot of things like that where it's just short stuff. So that's really the concern with Jacob Beeson though, is if he can't get off that first read, then what's he going to do? Sam Ellinger is, I think, probably a much more composed quarterback in the pocket. So he can work through his reads a little bit better than what Jacob Eason can right now. And it's something

Dan Orlowski talked about before in terms of this is going to be Frank Reich's biggest test as he goes through and tries to work with these guys. You want to see whether he can work with Jacob Eason to the point where he's more than just a one-read quarterback. And for the first four weeks of the season, if they have to roll with Jacob Beeson, that's ultimately what's going to happen with this offense. It's going to be a one-read and then throw it to the check down kind of offense, which is fine. It's just it's going to be pretty vanilla, pretty bland. It's going to be like Jacoby Brissett style offense.

But remember, Jacoby Brissett was five and two in that style of offense before getting injured. So I think that really Jacob Eason is still going to keep ahead in the battle, if we would call it that. But, you know, it's really good that Sam Ellinger has been consistent because at least it gives you a baseline for what the backup quarterback could be. Yeah, and they actually just cut Jalen Morton today,

the third, fourth-string quarterback, undrafted rookie out of Prairie A&M. So they must be liking what they see from Ellinger. And Stephen Holder mentioned in a story he wrote on Ellinger that people within the organization are actually thoroughly impressed by how he's getting the offense down so far. Marcus Brady also mentioned that as far as processing goes, Ellinger has the edge over Eason. And we know Frank Beck loves the processing ability in quarterbacks. He values that very much. Just how intrigued are you to see preseason games now with these guys in live action?

Never seen before with Eason, never with Ellinger because he's a rookie. But I think Frank Rickson and Pat McAfee show that he expects Easton to play the first half of week one's preseason game. I imagine Ellinger and Brett Hundley split the third and fourth quarter. I think it's going to be very interesting to see the live bullets sort of fly in about 10 or so days. Yeah, I mean, it's probably the most excited I've been about a preseason game for the Colts in a long time. And quite honestly, it's like the one year, I wish they would have played in the hall of fame game to get the extra preseason game. Cause it would have been really, really helpful to get Jacob Beeson and Sam Ellinger in there to,

to see a little bit more, to get just a little bit more vision on those defenses to see what they can do. But yeah, this is... Frank Gregg, yeah, he said Easton's going to play the first half probably versus if it were Carson, he said he'd play the first 10 plays. So that's where they're at. I'm excited to see what they can do. I'm excited to see Jacob Easton in live game action to see how he does because it really is his job to lose right now.

And I think depending on how well Jacob Eason or Sam Ellinger plays in the preseason, I think that's going to play a little bit of a role in how conservative they are with Carson Wentz and bringing him back. Because if they feel like Jacob Eason or Sam Ellinger can keep the ship afloat through those first five or six games, and they're not going to rush Carson Wentz back. But if they're really, really struggling, then they might try to – like they're not going to rush.

They're going to be conservative with Wentz no matter what, but they might give him some extra time to heal if Easton or Ellinger are playing well. But if they're not playing well, they might bring him back when he feels like he's ready. And so I think that that could be a difference. Let's go to another player on the stock upside of things that's really impressive so far in camp. And we've been hinting at this possibility throughout the offseason, Stephen. But based on what we've read and listened and watched so far throughout Colts training camp,

I think Michael Pittman Jr. might be the Colts' new WR1, Stephen. He's getting a lion's share of the targets when it's Eason out there, Ellinger, or even when Carson Wentz is out there the first couple days. It really does seem like it's becoming that point where Pittman, the Colts really want to foresee Pittman throughout camp, and I imagine they'll do the same preseason where they want to get him more involved. So what's your opinion of Pittman?

Cause it's going to be really is turning heads right now, heading into year two. And I think if he can make that leap as a legit number one receiver for this Colts team, he's going to be really fun to watch in this offense for the next couple of years. I absolutely think Michael Pittman is going to be the wide receiver one. And I don't think it's going to be a transition. I think he's going to be the wide receiver one and I don't think it's

going to be a transition I think he's going to take it over from from week one and I was on the high stakes fantasy advantage on Sirius XM the other night and Tom and Greg and I were talking they asked me kind of the same question about it and I said you know Michael Pittman jr he's being under drafted in a lot of leagues. I think he's right now in the wide receiver 44, 45 range. I'm drafting it around the 10th round. So he's looking at, like, he's like wide receiver three, basically, on rosters. And if you look at how he finished the season last season,

you look at what he did in the playoff game when they tried to get him the ball. You saw Buffalo shadow him with Tredavious White the entire game, so that just shows you that Buffalo respected him, but you see how he's worked, and you see highlights of the catches that he makes, the stuff, the catch he made today over Kenny Moore after Kenny Moore had gotten the best of him in the first rep. Then Michael Pittman Jr. made, made a great catch on a fade in the, on the second. So I think Michael Pittman Jr. is really, really going to be the wide receiver one here for the Colts much sooner than people, people think.

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Go to StatHero.com slash locked on the sign for free right now, and you can get three times back on your first play. They're giving you a 300% match. That's unheard of, so go to StatHero.com slash LockedOn. Again, StatHero.com slash LockedOn, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N. What's a quick projection? I mean, we talked about projections for Pittman so far throughout this offseason, but I really think that potentially 100-plus targets, 1,000 yards,

like a 10-touchdown season or like eight or nine touchdowns isn't the wrong possibility for Pittman because I know the Colts will spread it around, but if Pittman does take that leap this year, Steven, I think he's going to be clear cut the number one receiver and get those lion's share of targets. Yeah, I'm not great on predicting pure numbers in terms of catches and stuff, but I could see him up there in that 100, 120 target range. Probably looking at like 80, 90 catches,

but easily a thousand yards just because he's so, he's deceptively dynamic after the catch, just because he's a bigger wide receiver. You don't expect him to be as shifty and fast as he is. And he really can take it to the house. If you give him a lane, he's gone. And based on, depending on who they keep at the tight end position or the back end wide receivers, Pittman's probably going to be their primary red zone target. So he's going to be able to

probably sneak up, if not double-digit touchdowns, be really, really close to it. Speaking of red zone targets, Stephen, one guy that's really turning heads right now is the Colts' seventh-round pick, Mike Strawn. Their pick atop the seventh round they traded back this past draft. I think it was Charleston College, if I'm saying that wrong. But I think, honestly, Strong's a physical freak.

We talk about after the draft, 6'5", 230-plus pounds, looked almost like a Titan out there. We saw that viral video today on Twitter, if you were following the Colts Twitter account, of him making that red zone play against Xavier Rhodes. And the size difference between a guy like Xavier Rhodes, who's a very physical cornerback and really is in the top tier as far as percentiles go for athleticism and height, weight, and speed for corners.

Strong was just like a freak next to him. That's just what stood out to me in that video. He had the really nice fade. He boxed out roads pretty easily, used hands very well in that situation. But even outside of today's practice, Stephen, Strong has been turning heads almost every single day, making a flash play here and there. I know we've had the wideouts, late-round wideouts, make some noise in camp and fizzle out.

Deion Kane, Deron Carter. But to me, it feels like this might be different, Steven. I feel like Mike Strawn is really proving right now. I think he's easily leapfrogged Desmond Patman for that WR5 spot. And he might be pushing for some legit playing time if we get in a red zone situation in the regular season. Yeah, absolutely. I mentioned this

on on my podcast a very stable podcast um there over with scampi blue that michael strawn has been like a really surprised guy so far in in camp and he's stacking days on days it's kind of the same thing that within vanagoo has done um but michael strawn is like i said he's the prototypical height weight speed guy and xavier rhodes isn't a small corner um he's you know six foot he's physical um he's he's a big guy and michael strawn when you matched up against him made him look small and the guys got like i said height weight speed he got prototypical measurables, and he crushed people down at Charleston or over at Charleston, depending on which direction you are. But he crushed people at Charleston in D2 and did it on a consistent basis, which is really what you want to see with these late round flyers that you take is, did they do it consistently against lower level competition? And Michael Strawn did. And you're seeing him do it now here at the NFL level.

And he's not going against, you know, the running joke was he wasn't going against Jalen Collins this year because last couple of years in camp, it seemed like every big play a wide receiver made, it was against Jalen Collins. Now he went up against the Colts arguable CB1 in Xavier Rhodes and just made the play like he's going up against the ones he's making plays he's doing doing a good job so I'm excited to see what he brings and I think you're right that he is pretty much starting, like to me at this point, I think he supplanted Desmond Patman for that wide receiver five wide receiver six spot. Because, you know, Ashton Doolins, I think has been out with an injury. Desmond Patman really hasn't, hasn't flashed yet. And Michael Stratton has flashed every single day. And that's really

what you want out of these of these flyer wide receivers. I don't want to get too ahead of myself. I did tweet this out at LockedOnCult or on Twitter, but let's say Strawn is a late-round hit like Chris Bauer. Now, if he hits pretty big with Strawn, I think that would be honestly one of Bauer's best picks if you get a seventh-round steal like that. But hypothetically speaking, T.Y. Hilton's a free agent next year.

Zach Paschal's a free agent next year. They're both going to get, I think, some pretty good paydays. I think Paschal set himself up very well to be getting a big payday with high-performing camps so far. But hypothetically speaking, if Strawn does pan out, Stephen, you can have Strawn on one side, Pittman on one side, and then Campbell in the slot. I mean, I know it's only a seventh round pick who's flashed in a couple weeks

of camp so far, but, man, it's fun to think about the possibility of those three guys growing together. Oh, absolutely. If Sean can develop, like, it really could be just a really underrated wide receiver room, even if T.Y. and Zach Pascoe, I fully expect Zach Pascoe to go to the Eagles next year in the offseason just because of how much Nick Sierra and he loves him. I don't think T.Y. is going to be back.

So you're looking to develop those wide receivers. And if Ballard can hit on this seventh-round guy, you can see late-round guys hit. Antonio Brown was one that I think was a sixth-round pick. Terrell Owens, I believe, was like a sixth-round pick, something like that. And so you see these guys hit every once in a while, and it's not anything consistent. But, again, you look at did they dominate at their level,

and all those guys did, and that's what Michael Strawn has done. Then he's come in, and it hasn't been overwhelming for him here in Indianapolis. And that's a good thing because the Colts have a legitimate defense. So I don't think that it's like a lack of talent on the defensive secondary. It's because he really is pretty darn good. Let's go to Kylan Granson real quick. Another big plus so far in the stock up, stock down. So he's definitely in the stock up category.

I think it's fair to say based on what we've heard from the Intel at camp so far in the first week plus, Kylan Granson as a rookie tight ends been their best time in the roster. Molly Cox has been inconsistent with drops. Jack Doyle is more so it's like a blocking tight end at this point. What's your opinion of how Kylan Granson looks so far in camp? Everything we've heard in Kylan Granson has absorbed the playbook. He looks like he's going to get a lot of reps.

He's been the most dynamic receiving threat at the tight end. It's something that Chris Ballard and Frank Gregg had talked about, getting that F tight end, that move tight end, that they're able to really run routes with. And that's what Kylan Granson is. He's really good with the ball in his hands. He's really good getting open. And with the offense and how they

funnel things through the tight end, it makes a lot of sense for him to have a big year, even though he's a rookie. And he's probably going to have a more... People are going to say he's going to have a better year than Molly Cox or Jack Doyle, just because he's not going to be asked to do as much as they are at least right now um but i think in terms of just pure receiving numbers i think tyler granton's going to be the colts tight end one there just as a receiver i think molly cox is still going to be the tight end one overall just because he can do more and he's a better blocker um he's a lot more versatile than granton is right now, but Granson is definitely a guy to keep your eye on. We've hit on this before as well, Stephen, but long-term thinking here, Jack Doyle, we've heard his mulling retirement from Stephen Holder earlier this offseason,

and obviously I think his last year's contract's non-guaranteed. I love the possibilities if Granson does hit for the Colts of him and Molly Cox as the Colts tight end duo for the next three or four years. Yeah, I think that's great. And the Colts can go in and look for some depth a little bit later on in the draft next year or in free agency. But I think Molly Cox and kind of Granson are a really – it's a really solid combo, and it allows Frank Reich to have a lot of versatility in what he wants to do.

Let's hit one more here on the positives. I'm going to cobble together some on defense. Let's hit on the first one, Quiddie Paye. He's looked nothing like a rookie so far, Stephen. That's what we hoped for when he was drafted is instant impact, a guy who can get you seven, eight, potentially ten-plus sacks in his rookie year. He's been beating San Tevin Wool, holding hold him like a drum throughout camp so far. And he just looks like a freak out there on the field.

Just his bendiness, his speed, his strength combination. Looks like a more souped up version of Justin Houston. That's a great sign for the Colts. They didn't get a better upgrade version of Justin Houston at 10 plus years younger. So from all we've heard so far, Stephen, it's fair to say Quidipe and there and really since the first week of OTAs, Quidi Pei took over the starting role from Al-Qadi Mohammed as the other edge rusher.

But he's really taken the bull by the horns, even through training camp so far. Looks like he's improved outside of OTAs to become an even better player. I'm very excited to closer get to Parise and see Quidi Pei, not only in preseason action, but also see him in regular season action because it feels like he's going to have a really big year. Yeah, I think he will have a really big year. I've been super high on Quidipe.

I mean, shoot. I mean, everybody go back and listen to the podcast from after the draft. He's showing what we said back then is what we said leading up to the draft, what we said after the draft, what we've said to now. He's lived up to the hype so far. And I don't see that really slowing down. Coach Baker has talked about how Quidipe is beyond his years in terms of his development and how he understands the playbook and his work ethic. And that's only going to just explode even more on the field is when you've got guys that they're going to have to

pay attention to DeForest Buckner at the defensive tackle position. If you've got Cody Paye over there on the right side and he gets one-on-one matchups against the tackles, I feel very confident that he's going to win a lot of those matchups. And quite honestly, all the defensive ends so far in camp have really shown out uh even going up against Braden Smith you know that the left tackle position with Sam Tevey, Will Holden it hasn't been great so far uh but the the defensive ends so far Kamuka Ture, Van Banigou, Puti Pei, Tyquan Lewis have all had really really good camps so it makes you feel more confident in Chris Ballard's decision to let Justin

Houston and Danico Autry walk in the offseason. Let's hit on Ben Banigou to close out our stock up portion because he's really been the surprise of camp so far in a good way. Because we were talking all after the Quitty pay pick, especially after the direct to Daiwa Dangbo, is he even going to make this roster? I think Ben Banigou realized, you know what? I really put everything into this camp because if not i'm going to be gone and i think he's had a

second almost every practice so far steve which is a great sign hopefully it carries over to preseason regular season action but if you can have him as a change of pace guy to take some reps with uh quidipe camoco turi and taekwon lewis he's a guy if you can eventually hit on that second round pick if he becomes last year's version of Taequann Lewis as a legit contributor, as a pass rush specialist, that's a huge boom for this Colts defense if you can add another edge rusher consistently to that mix. Oh, absolutely. And Ben Vannegan knew this was a big year for him. Chris Ballard said it. It's not like it was a surprise or anything. and it's really promising to see how much he's worked this offseason to put his his stuff in the air put all the sweat into

the game and really kind of kick his own butt to get there he worked with DeForest Buckner in the offseason and so I think that was really good for him to have a mentor there on the defensive line somebody that's really going to guide him in the right direction. And he's just like, like we said with Michael Stratton, Ben Vanig was stacking days on days. And that's the biggest part about showing what you can do in camp is stacking days on days, being consistent. He's had a sack in every, every single practice so far.

I know because I sit there, I pay attention to it, and I want to see this guy do well. He's got all the talent, and he just needed the opportunity. Now with Danico Andre and Justin Houston gone, he's getting that. And for the Colts, it puts them in a great spot where they now have four edge rushers that they feel pretty good about right now. And that's not even counting Dio Adengbo for until Dio Adengbo comes back like they've got four really quality edge rushers right

now that they feel good in and so I'm really excited for the defensive end position even though it's young it's an experience I think having somebody like Grover Stewart and Jofor Buckner there in the middle to take some pressure off of them is going to just help out tremendously for their the defense fence development let's go to stock down a few players here on the list Steven and I'm going to cobble together a few right here the first one it's the left tackle position Santevi is not look good at all in training camp whoever it may be Banigou, Touré, Kay, Lewis, have been consistently beating San Tevi pretty badly. We saw a clip earlier today on Twitter of Kamoka Ture actually knocking Tevi to the ground on one rep,

which just isn't a good sign for him. Will Holden's been very inconsistent so far. I'd probably give Holden the edge over Tevi at this point. Julian Davenport just returned from practice after being on the COVID-19 list, so maybe we see something out of him the rest of camp and preseason. But they've got to figure out that left tackle spot, Steve, because I think they're hoping and praying that Eric Fisher only misses a couple games because it does not look good right now at the blind side of left tackle.

No, it does not look good at all. The tough part is when you see, like, I've heard that the tackles have been inconsistent in camp. The tough part is when you see, like, I've heard that the tackles have been inconsistent in camp. The tough part is when you see these little shots on Twitter with just one play, it doesn't really tell you the whole story on how well they did the entire practice. Like, the one with Kamoka Ture, it seemed to have, it was clearly, like, he stood up in a stance.

And Ture, with already having better leverage, just being a smaller dude, was able to get in, lift him up, get him off balance and toss him. And that's no matter who your left tackle is, if you get up high and you lose that leverage battle and you allow the defensive end to really get into your pads you're going to lose that battle um there's very few uh left tackles that in that situation wouldn't have had the exact same thing happen to it so my hope is that they work with these guys and they're able to hash that out the other troubling part is with quentin nelson being out you can't hide the left tackle quite like you could before um because will holden played pretty well um back when when he was next to quentin nelson of valdeer played really well next to quentin nelson and he quentin nelson helps cover that left tackle position and so not having him

in there is having a like a cascading effect out from the center position. So I'll be interested to see what happens when Ryan Kelly comes back and Quentin Nelson. Hopefully he doesn't miss any time from everything he said. He doesn't expect to miss any time. But you want to be conservative with these guys if you can. So the left tackle position hasn't been great. I don't think anybody would say it has been. I think they need to do a little bit.

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BetOnline. Your online sportsbook experts. These next few guys in the stock down list are on the list because you guys have heard absolutely nothing about them throughout camp, which is never a good sign if you're not hearing from the B-riders about any of these players. The first one on the list is Isaac Rochelle,

who was signed for the Colts as actually their first free agent, outside free agent this offseason, to a one-year deal. But, Steve, I think it's fair to say Rochelle might be the 6% defensive end on the roster. Al-Kadhi Mohammed just came back from the COVID list, so he probably leapfrogs him pretty soon as well if he hasn't already. If he doesn't, to me, this might be Sheldon Day 2.0 all over again, Steve. I know Day had the injury, but Rochelle might be a guy who doesn't make it through preseason. It just seems like he's a

guy who might get squeezed out with how the young guys are doing. Yeah, I think that he's probably going to get squeezed out, to be totally honest with you. I don't see him making the roster right now with how well Ben Banigou, Kamokra Ture, Taequann Lewis, and Quidi Pei have played. And then now you've got Al-Khadi Mohamed coming back. You're going to have five defensive ends. Normally you keep five or six. And then you got

to know that Dayo or Dayo Adango is coming back probably midway through the season. So I look at Rook Schall and he's probably one of your cuts. This one, I don't, if I were making my 53 man roster today, I don't think he makes it. Yeah, I totally agree with you there. And unless he flashes and preseason, I think he's on the way out of this roster. Let's go to another guy here who definitely had a lot of hope heading into camp. You hope he'd take a leap forward, but he hasn't just yet. He just hasn't flashed at all throughout camp. We haven't heard any big moments from him. Desmond Patman,

who we talked about earlier in the show, with Mike Strawn, who I think Strawn definitely leapfrogged Patman at this point. And if we're talking about who they keep for the six wide receiver spot, they're going to go special teams every single time. That's what gives Ashton Doolan the edge, even with the injuries suffered early on in camp. Patman still is not doing special teams reps throughout camp as well.

It feels like to me, Stephen, I think Patman might not make the roster and at this point the Coltopius makes it through the practice squad through waivers yeah same yeah it's you haven't heard anything from him and again that's that's kind of the the tough part is the beat writers will sit there and tell you everything they see and And if a guy hasn't stood out, they don't say anything. And, you know, Patman's had some drops. Michael Strawn hasn't. And Michael Strawn's put together days on days of really good play at camp.

Desmond Patman has been meh. Like, he's been okay. And so I think that the Colts were hoping to get more out of him. But at this point, I would probably have Michael Strawn over Desmond Patman. And like you said, hope he passes waivers and you can keep him on that practice squad. Maybe he can be one of the guys you protect. But yeah, I just don't see – I think Michael Strawn's probably the better fit right now at that wide receiver six. That's the end of the stock down list, dude.

Not a lot of guys so far because this roster is pretty solid across the board. The quarterback question still is a huge concern with Carson Wentz and his injury right now, but hopefully he's back soon enough. Hopefully he doesn't miss any regular season games. But let's close out the show here talking about two guys who actually got their gold jackets tonight who are former Indianapolis Colts. First up, of course, we're going to do Peyton Manning and close out with Edger and James. But Peyton Manning, Stephen, I mean, to everyone listening, Peyton Manning helped change

Indianapolis and the state of Indiana to a football state. I know Indiana is known for basketball, but man, Peyton Manning, once he got on board and hit his prime years, the Colts were the talk of the town. Peyton was all over the place on billboards, on ads. Everywhere you looked, there was 18 jerseys. Peyton really changed everything for this Colts franchise. He changed everything for the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis. And him finally getting into the Hall of Fame after all these years,

I know was a tough ending to his career in Indy where the neck injury, the Colts get the number one pick. You get Andrew Luck. You have to do that move every single time if you're the Colts because you don't know what's next for Peyton Manning. You get Andrew Luck on board. You gave him a great six, seven years. But man, Peyton was a special, special player. One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. And it's really cool to see him get his moment this weekend alongside former Colton Edger and James. But Steven, what's your little

soliloquy here on Peyton Manning as he gets enshrined officially forever in Canton this weekend? Yeah, Peyton Manning was the no-brainer Hall of Famer his entire career. If you look at everything he did, there was like a stretch of seven years where out of like the top five highest – or the top seven highest quarterback year, like I don't remember what the ranking was, DVOA maybe, but Peyton Manning had five of the top seven. It was just crazy what he did. For me, Peyton Manning did more for the Colts and for the city of Indianapolis than I think any other sports, any other really person in my memory. The lasting impact I think that he'll have even more than what he did for the Colts, you know, it was Luke's Stadium basically is the house that Peyton built. But I think the more lasting impact is what he did off the field

with Riley Children's Hospital, the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. You know, all of the work that he's done in the community and all the people's lives that he's changed, I think, is even more impressive to me than what he did on the field. And he's a first-out Hall of Famer, so that tells you everything that he did off the field and how much that meant to all of those people and so you could talk about his accolades you know two times Super Bowl winner all that you know it's pales I think in comparison to the the lives that he's changed off the field and I think that's going to be his lasting effect. I totally agree just getting number 18 retired by the Colts and just seeing the Peyton Manning

era up close in person, like every other Colts fan, really most Colts fans have experienced. If you weren't around for the Peyton Manning era, go back and watch YouTube clips. Cause man, that was just such an incredible time to be a Colts fan, but let's tell an Edger and James here close up the show, Stephen, he's now enshrined alongside Peyton in the hall thing. He was in the 2020 hall thing class, but due to COVID-19,

they're doing it this year alongside 2021 class. But Edge was so special too, Stephen. He's now enshrined alongside Peyton in the Hall of Fame. He was in the 2020 Hall of Fame class due to COVID-19. They're doing it this year alongside a 2021 class. But Edge was so special too, Stephen. Top five pick in the draft in 1999, the year after Peyton. He had over 3,000 yards rushing his first two years, 26 rushing touchdowns. He also had 60-plus receptions his first two years, over 1,000 receiving yards. Edron James is kind of the old version of Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara before those guys came around.

He kind of set the trend for those guys, the all-around runners and pass catchers in today's NFL at UC really have taken off nowadays. And without that knee injury, if that wouldn't have happened, tearing his ACL in his third year, Stephen, Edron James is truly on a pace to become one of the greatest running backs of all time. He still became one of that, but I have to imagine pre-ACL Edrin James is one of the greatest things I've ever seen in my life as a running back. I don't know if any modern-day running back still compares to those numbers,

but I truly feel like if Edrin James wouldn't have hurt his knee in his third year, he might be the greatest rusher of all time. Yeah, I think that's probably right that you know he probably tries that they probably try to keep him here in indianapolis if not for um the injury and and slowing down a little bit but it's he edgar and james it always is interesting to go back and watch that draft um because that was the same year ricky williams came out and everybody talked about ricky williams ricky williams and then bill polian took edgar and james and everybody was kind of in shock about it but then when you saw him on the field and edgar and james really was kind of that more versatile weapon that really could do it all.

Like Marshall Falk was a great running back that the Colts had for a number of years. But I just think Edger and James was better all around than Marshall Falk was. And Edger and James was such an integral part to those early Colts years. Like one of the original big three it was he was so good at catching passes so good at blitz pickup that's what people don't understand about edges he was such a smart football player that he could see it just the

way Peyton did and knew where to be knew what to do He was able to keep Peyton safe. Peyton trusted him just with everything. And so he was such a good player, and I wish that he could have spent his entire career in Indianapolis. I think that would have been just a fantastic, fantastic thing for Edrin. But unfortunately, he didn't. But his memory here in Indianapolis, I think everybody always remembers Edrin James. memory here in Indianapolis, I think everybody always remembers Edrin James is an Indianapolis Colt.

It's not like Peyton Manning where people are like, oh, well, you know, do Colts or Broncos Peyton Manning? And I'm like, well, Peyton played for the Broncos for like three years. I don't think that's anything near it. But Edrin James, I don't think anybody ever gets him confused on whether he played for the Colts or the Cardinals. It's always the Colts in everybody's mind, which really goes to show how good he was here in Indianapolis, that he probably would have been one of the top all-time running backs if he would have stayed healthy. I think that that's not beyond the realm of possibility,

and I'm just really excited for him to get in. Last point here, Stephen, before we close out today's show, and we'll be back with you all next week talking through camp and preseason and scrimmage action against the Panthers. But just really going back in time for a second, just for those listening, just obviously Peyton's getting in the Hall of Fame, Edger and James as well, Marvin Harrison's already in there. Reggie Wayne will soon join them in a year or two. That early to mid-2000s colts offense steven is still something that blows my mind when you think about how many hall of famers were on that same unit simultaneously how just they were

star wars weapons out there it's like putting up monster numbers every single year for about four five six seven year stretch just going back in time to see those offensive numbers and how they did in the early to mid 2000s. I don't think we're ever going to see anything like that in history. And that was Colts. It was truly a special time to be a Colts fan. Yeah, it really was like a golden age of Colts football right there. And I don't think that that's overselling it at all. You're not going to see a team like that probably ever again you know having you know Peyton and Marvin and Reggie and Edgerin and then Dallas Clark uh Brandon Stokely Austin Colley Marcus Pollard gets left out sometimes in there he was a great tight end um they the colts just yeah man they like joseph would die dominic like i could go along and then that's just the offense like not even talking about the defense there and and

having the two one of the two greatest sack guys in the in the history of the nfl um and then you know bob sanders is again personally one of my favorite players in Colts history. And so I don't think you're ever going to see something like that again in terms of just the pure talent. But I think what Chris Ballard and the Colts are building right now, I think as an overall team, I think you're going to see a really comparable roster to what you had back then. You just probably won't see like the star star players like you did because I mean, Peyton Manning is the greatest, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

And Marvin Harrison is one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. And Edgar and James is one of the greatest running backs of all time. And so it's, it's really tough to sit there and say that you're ever going to see something like that again. I don't think we will. But it was such a great time in Indianapolis. And I hope if you haven't seen those early years with the three of them together, go back, pop on NFL Game Pass if it ever comes back and see if you can catch them. Go to YouTube, catch some of those videos, some of those highlights. The things that they were doing back in the early 2000s

was just wild. Just really through the 2000s to 2010, it was just crazy what they were doing and how good they were. So if you don't know what they did, please go back and watch. I hope that you'll appreciate that and just appreciate how well that they played all together. But yeah, I don't think we're ever going to see something like that again.

And I was just excited that I got to experience it when I did. Always fun having you on, Steven. And really a fun episode tonight, going through training camp, stock up, stock down, the QB battle that might be going on between Easton and Ellinger, and then wrapping it up right there. Talk about arguably the two greatest colts in history and pay manning and edward james going to the hall of fame officially this weekend so colts fans go ahead and follow steve if you're not already on twitter at nice read steve and go through his new podcast as well over on stampedeblue.com he does great work as always over there steve appreciate the

time tonight thanks evan have a great one