Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts Host Fellow WINLESS CJ Stroud, Houston Texans

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's only week three, but at this point, the Colts are just hoping that the season doesn't spiral out of control. It's only week three, but at this point, the Texas is only hoping that the season doesn't spiral out of control. You are locked on NFL crossover, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome to crossover Thursday on the Locked On podcast network. I am Jake Arthur of Locked on Colts, joined by John Hickman of Locked on Texans. And today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. Get $350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet $5 every day for seven days.

Starting point is 00:00:49 Join all the action at fanduel.com. What is up, everybody? You know, the AFC South isn't always good, but I don't think many people thought the Colts and Texans would be coming into this one, a combined to O and four. But John, here we are. I think people wouldn't have been super surprised about the Colts, having gone up against the Ravens and Chiefs in the first two matchups and not making the playoffs for five years.

Starting point is 00:01:15 But man, what's going on with this Texan squad? Is everything okay? Everything is not okay. Everything is not okay. And I'm on record saying if they don't win Sunday, scrap the season. I mean, it is what it is. This is a tough schedule that Houston is going that they have this year.

Starting point is 00:01:33 I mean, you guys opened up against two great teams and Texans opened up against two great teams, but the reality is, I mean, not to be funny here or kick a horse when it's down. No point of tenet to the coach. But the reality is that Texans had much different expectations coming into this season than Indy did. Yeah. And so at best, you thought this team was going to be able to split. Well, they kicked it off 0 and 2. Offensive explosion week one. offensive

Starting point is 00:02:01 just yeah not as much not as much against the Cincinnati P Eagles so it's been a disaster it's been injuries right across the offensive line

Starting point is 00:02:13 it's been Nico Collins it's been now but you know ultimately man if I'm just keeping it real and that's what I like to do it's been a lot of offensive incompetence coming off a week two but just operational incompetence on both sides of the ball

Starting point is 00:02:24 nobody thought that Buffalo was going to drop 36 in week one of the regular season. A lot of, I have the numbers here. 275 yards allowed on first down against Buffalo. First down, not, not first half, not, you know, first quarter on first downs throughout the game, 275, 10.5 yards per first down, eight plays of 15 or more yards on first down.

Starting point is 00:02:51 Nobody saw that. So right now it just feels like both sides, they're dealing with their own incompetence. our own miscommunication errors and it's hurt. And the hope is week three, they clean up on those things and get into the win collar. But it's been bad. Yeah, week one for the Colts, their offense wasn't great. It probably wasn't good enough to win if the defense would have showed up.

Starting point is 00:03:16 But it's hard to even talk about the offense right now because of how bad the Colts defense is. That's what I want to ask you about. The second, yeah, the second most yards allowed in NFL history through the first two weeks. 1,029 yards. So again, the offense generally fine, especially last week, kind of there was about 10 lead changes against the chiefs.

Starting point is 00:03:39 So they were able to go toe to toe with a really good looking Patrick Mahomes. But the defense just could not stop anything. And it's like there's miscommunications. They're allowing big plays. Like there's some key metrics if you looked at, like if you looked at like red zone and third down, defense for the Colts, you would think they were fine. Like, they're middle of the road in both those areas, but opposing offenses are just

Starting point is 00:04:05 creating their own big plays before they have to get into those situations, which is the problem. So you got switched green dots already through two weeks, right? Was it at the third level and it's brought back down to the second level? Yeah. So what they were going to do, they started out with it being free safety, Cam Bynum as the green dot. A very smart player has always, you know, he's been like a quarterback of the defense, basically.

Starting point is 00:04:32 So in theory, it kind of made sense, but just literally physically it was a problem. Because when you're the free safety and you're lining up in the back half of the defense and you're 15 or 20 yards off the ball. And you have to come up to the line of scrimmage every time and relay messages and then hurry up, get back to your spot and diagnose what the offense is doing. There's just no time to do that. And they noticed after the first week, communication was not where it needed to be. Guys were misaligned all over the place. Lamar Jackson smelled blood in the water from the first play, they said. And then just took advantage from there.

Starting point is 00:05:08 They went really up-tempo. Baltimore did to kind of take advantage of the Colts. So they switched it to their Mike linebacker, Rakeem Davis-Ga, which most teams operate that way in week, too. And they said communication, assignments and everything were better, but they really allowed even more yards in week two. I think the problem is, I don't know that they're being real with themselves, because when you give a guy like Akeem Davis Gaither, the green dot, you're basically gluing into

Starting point is 00:05:38 the field throughout the game. And they're running on a rotation at linebacker right now. And they've got Davis Gaither, Jalen Parly's, couple rookies and C.J. Allen and Bryce Betcher, but like Davis Gather just looks slow, both to respond and like in pursuit. And I noticed, you know, he was on the team is on primetime Sunday. A lot of people questioned the effort level as well because it looked like he was just jogging around out there at times. So I just, I think the Colts, if they get, if they have a really good chance of just getting the best athletes on the field, they're probably going to need to let some of these young guys just play

Starting point is 00:06:19 more. This is a coaching staff, especially with Lou and Arummo, that really, really values and trusts as veterans and is a little more apprehensive to give a long leash to a rookie or a younger player. But I just think the younger players offer so much more upside. So there's a lot wrong with this defense right now, especially just basic execution. They can't tackle to save their lives. And they're out of- Was it 22 through the first two weeks of the NFL season, Missed. Yeah, that's, I think that's one of the more officially reported numbers, but I would imagine it's, it's much higher than that. Because I think Kenneth Walker had like 14 or 15 by himself last week. That's, that's been a problem for the Houston, Texas. It's just a lot of

Starting point is 00:07:05 uncharacteristic things from Houston. But to be fair, you know, this defense is great as it was last year. They struggled with explosive plays allowed. They struggled with mistackles. They cleaned up on it a little bit in the second half of the season. But they struggled. So I think it's getting to a point now where I'm not sure how many offenses are just scared of Hughes's defense with a full offseason to prepare. And then, you know, you mentioned how you guys are dealing with some miscommunication issues throughout that defense. And, you know, again, it goes back to what we saw on tape week one where. 15, eight plays of 15 of more yards on first down.

Starting point is 00:07:54 That's just not including the entire game with Josh Allen and that offense got busy. And a lot of that we can pinpoint to the addition of Reed Blanketship, similar to CJ Gardner Johnson in 2025. After week three, Houston had to make a decision. They ended up releasing him. I don't think Houston's going to release Reed because he doesn't, he doesn't bring that type of energy to the locker room that disrupt things. But ultimately, if this is another week where back in,

Starting point is 00:08:19 communications and passing off guys in zones is a problem. I think for the Texas, they're going to make a tough decision. And it shouldn't be tough. What plays into Houston's favor, and I'm sure we're going to get into it a little bit more, you know, you guys are going to be down that man that typically, no matter who's that quarterback, gives the Houston, Texas problem. And that's Alex Pierce. And so that's going to play into Houston's favor.

Starting point is 00:08:46 But, man, I'll say this before we move on. You guys played Jack. You guys played Kenneth Walker. You guys played Derek Henry. You guys have to, you know, Lou had to scheme up against Andy Reed. And that's hard for anybody to do in the NFL. The fact of the matter is, Coach fans out there, and this is where you should probably be jumping for joy.

Starting point is 00:09:07 This is also where Texas fans may get mad at. Houston ain't got none of that. He shouldn't got a Kenneth Walker. He said ain't got a Lamar Jackson. He said ain't got those guys. They don't got an Andy Reed. And so this is a more even game that I think most Texan fans want to admit. To your point, though, I think this will be very telling about whether, like,

Starting point is 00:09:31 it's going to be a good barometer for like how bad is this defense. It is a Texan's offense that there's not much faith in. If they make them look bad, then that's a whole new discussion for the rest of the year. We're going to get to that in just a moment, though, guys. Coming up next, we're going to talk about some matchups that really kind of need to have this spotlight. going into this one. Welcome to your most rewarding NFL season ever, only on Fandual. How rewarding are we talking? We're talking more rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring, more rewarding than an 18-point comeback, maybe even more rewarding than an O-Lyman catching a touchdown. This season,

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Starting point is 00:10:40 An 18 point comeback, even better. And if an offensive wineming catches the touchdown, well, I mean, that's pretty much the ultimate football reward, isn't it? Make this your most rewarding season ever with Fandre. Visit fandrel.com to get started. The NFL is full of games that you plan for all year round, but sometimes the best memories come from the games that you almost missed. Take it from me. I was at the Colts 4th and 2 game against the Patriots way back when I did not stay the whole time to see the comeback. Game time makes it easy to find tickets to NFL matchups that you want to see with prices that include fees so you don't, or so you actually know, you actually know,

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Starting point is 00:12:00 really right up the alley here a rivalry game with everything on the line a pack stadium the atmosphere those are the games worth finding a way to be there for game time makes it easy to find those tickets get your friends together get your tickets and tell them it's game time download the game time create an account and use code locked on for $20 off of your first purchase term supply. Again, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off. All right, welcome back party people. I am Jake Arthur of Locked on Colts, joined by John Hickman of Locked on Texans. And we are talking about the matchup.

Starting point is 00:12:36 Everyone wants to see. Everyone wants to see this flex to Monday night, John Colts, Texans, Week 3, 2, 0, and 2 teams. Man, I just want to survive. Yeah, I just want. as to us personally to survive this matchup. You know, maybe it'll be more entertaining than we're thinking, John. But match-up-wise, what-you-know- I think this is going to be a, I think this game, we can see some points.

Starting point is 00:13:01 You think so? Right. I mean. Well, disappointing defenses, yeah. With these, with these disappointing defenses, now again, I look at, you know, you guys are not having an addict peers, but Josh Downs can still be a factor. I'm missing a receiver that I like that you guys have. Help me out. Keenan Allen is maybe not someone that you really like this year.

Starting point is 00:13:25 No, not enough. So they did, with Pierce going down, they did just bring in Darius Slayton yesterday. That's nice. That's nice for you guys. He was connected rumors-wise to the Houston, Texas for about a week or so whenever Jaden Higgins went down. That makes sense. But this could be a game where we're, we see some point score. Wouldn't like that, right?

Starting point is 00:13:49 You would like for this to be a full rebound game for the Houston, Texas defense. But when I get to matchups, for me, man, it's all about, you know, the matchup that I think will determine it all. I mean, you guys don't have no slouches in that defront. It's can the Texas rebound against that defensive line, right? And I think there hasn't been a consistent pass rush for you guys, based off of what I've seen. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:14:17 And so for Houston, this is all about not allowing the coach's defense to snap back to reality. Whatever their reality is, allow for them, force them into playing in what the reality is, and not what they want their reality and what their vision is. So it starts up front with the Houston, Texas offensive line.

Starting point is 00:14:37 It was a bad week last week. Dexter Lawrence dominated. Jonathan Allen dominated. The kid on the outside, how he dominated. It was a domination from left to right. And so for Houston rebound in that department. This is also a stubborn team, y'all.

Starting point is 00:14:55 What they want to ride the wheels until the wheels fall off with the players that they like, that said, you know, it would be irresponsible for the Texas to start Trent Brown, but it would definitely be irresponsible if he continues to play in that game and he's struggling. So they want to get it going early, you know, I think we're dominating up front.

Starting point is 00:15:15 That's been a message, at least all week. That's my number one matchup, Jake. Yeah, you had mentioned the receiving game there. And with Alec Pierce out for it seems like the foreseeable future, he's going to be week to week. It sounds like, you know, reports say maybe midseason is best case scenario for him. And Ashton Doolin is week to week with an ankle as well. So it doesn't sound like they might have their two most vertical

Starting point is 00:15:43 elements of the passing game. So it really looks like Josh Downs, Keenan Allen, McQuan Treadwell, and whatever they're able to get out at Darius Slayton. They drafted Dionne Berks, who they finally got on the field last week, but they just gave them like a couple jet sweeps. They didn't really do much for them as a receiver. But I'm just very curious to see what this passing game is going to be. Now, we've seen Alec Pierce beat coverage, no matter who's against him, even if it's Derek Stingley. but I think if anything receiving wise works in the Colts favor, it's that it will be a bit of a mystery to Houston as well.

Starting point is 00:16:23 Because being without Pierce and Doolin, it's like, okay, well, clearly things are going to want to go through like Josh Downs a bit and Tyler Warren, but the Colts are kind of having to adjust to defenses being on top of Tyler Warren already. Like they haven't been able to do anything underneath with him whatsoever. You guys have seen, you know, the Colts like to do these rollouts where they get him the ball a few yards down field and he creates six, seven, eight more yards on his own. Defenses are on top of that right away.

Starting point is 00:16:52 Yeah, and my fantasy team has suffered because of it. You know all about it. Yeah, he's averaging like four yards of catch right now. It's brutal. But Josh Downs is a man coverage beater right now. He is unguardable at the moment. So unless they bracket him or find some way to double him up and kind of muddy the airwaves a little bit, Josh Downs is going to have to move this offense along through the passing game.

Starting point is 00:17:17 And Jonathan Taylor, I feel like, obviously, you always want to get a guy like that involved. And he's had over 90 yards rushing in each of the first two games. I think he's had 120, 10030 yards from scrimmage in both games. So he's doing well, has scored like four touchdowns. So Jonathan Taylor has been Jonathan Taylor so far. But I think defenses also know that without an Alec Pierce, it's easier to lower. up the box against the Jonathan Taylor. So that's definitely something I'm looking at as well.

Starting point is 00:17:46 And also, man, and I haven't been able to watch a ton or, you know, track his progress since coming back. But I guess I'll ask you this question first. You know, is Daniel Jones still being utilized as a mobile quarterback? A bit. I think so he's not scrambling quite as much as he did last year, but he still will get out and move. when he needs to.

Starting point is 00:18:13 They're very selective about when they're going to do quarterback sneaks with him. Like I think he did one on fourth and short on Sunday night against the Chiefs. It was a late game. They had to have it. They kept swapping scores back and forth. So like they needed, they just needed to have something happen. So they did that.

Starting point is 00:18:30 But you're probably not going to see him get out and run quite as much. Now, it is a little bit of a feeling out point because teams have been able to blitz the Colts really well, really since like midway through last year. And Jones didn't really respond to it well. Now his blockers weren't doing their job. Like the running backs were doing a very poor job in picking up blitzes. And Jones wasn't really doing a great job of acknowledging how quickly he was going to need to get rid of it.

Starting point is 00:18:59 He did look better in that regard last week against Kansas City. So you may see him get out and move a little bit more or just try and get rid of the ball super quick to kind of counter. a really good Houston secondary. I say that because, you know, and not necessarily threaten the team with his legs vertically by getting up field and getting a ton of yards. But Daniel Jones was a very good, you know, when he's active and when he's healthy,

Starting point is 00:19:26 you know, he can be a mobile quarterback, but he can just operate their pocket very well, kind of use his legs as a decoy to kind of throw some defenders off in the secondary to maybe take some of those shots downfield. Again, no Alex Pierce. so that's his trust of weapon. But that's something that I'm looking forward to. And Houston coming into this game without Nico Collins,

Starting point is 00:19:49 I know South Gardner ain't been winning a lot, right, especially in the States where it's been almost two years since he's won a game. But, you know, the Houston receivers, I mean, they got to give Houston something this week. They didn't give Houston virtually anything last week. And the Texans traded for Kashan Moody from New England once Jayon Higgins went down.

Starting point is 00:20:10 was expected to have a monster year for Houston. Unfortunately, ACA injury derail that. But this is a game where, for me, Houston cannot rely on guys that are just guys. They have to get Kayshun involved. They have to get Jalen Noel involved. And I'm looking at this defense and how this defense has allowed so many explosive plays. And I'm thinking to myself, I know Soss is out there.

Starting point is 00:20:34 And I know what the public perception of SOS can be. He's still a very good quarterback in this league. all things considered, but can the Houston, Texas receivers win their one-on-one battles? Can they create separation to help their quarterback out? So he's not under pressure to do everything virtually by himself. And so that's another matchup for me where I look at the offensive line, getting back, retooling and reestablishing their good play. I'm looking at those receivers in absence of Nico Collins.

Starting point is 00:21:01 I'm challenging them to just get open, find a way to get open. And it's partially on the offensive coordinator. He's going up against Lou. Lou's not a bad defensive corner, and I just think things are not falling his way right now because of the personnel. But I'm looking at Kaylee and I'm looking at the receivers. And I'm saying, hey, man, this is a matcher for you guys to also get back on track because all things considered week two, you stunk. Yeah, if I'm Houston, I'm not trying to get too cute. I'm seeing what's worked against the Colts and that's speed, speed, speed, speed.

Starting point is 00:21:31 Any receiver with speed. Yeah, any receiver with speed has done plenty of work against the Colts. defense so far. All right, guys, coming up in just a moment, what is either team going to need to do to beat the other side here? There is a path for both. And again, a two and a half point spread. It's kind of a pick-em game. But John and I are going to kind of break it down here in just a moment. A new football season brings some big questions. Who makes the playoffs? Who wins their division? Who takes them the title? Cali, America's number one prediction market platform. That lets you trade those predictions in a live market. For the Colts,

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Starting point is 00:22:55 Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calshu.com slash regulatory. And all right, guys, listen up. A quiz on your phone and a box at your door isn't a clinic. When it comes to men's health, things like energy, sleep, drive, and how you feel day-to-day deserve more than a questionnaire. Game Day men's health is a real in-person men's health clinic with more than 430 locations across the United States and Canada. Men can meet face-to-face with a licensed clinician, get labs drawn in the office, and receive initial results in as little as 15 minutes. Game Day looks at the full picture, your symptoms and your lab results before developing a treatment plan.

Starting point is 00:23:37 I mean, I know as a guy, I'm 36 now. I'm getting older. Like, I'm not as functionally efficient as I was in my 20s. And things just do not run as well as they used to in your older age. But you know what? As guys, a lot of time we kind of kick the can down the road and say, we'll worry about it later. Probably not a good idea to do so.

Starting point is 00:23:59 Because you continue testing and evaluating care can be adjusted over time based on your data over at game day. A number on a lab report doesn't. tell the entire story. Game Day looks at the blood work alongside how you're actually feeling. Then a licensed clinician can build a plan around that information rather than guessing. Book your complimentary test and consult at gameday men's health.com. All right. Welcome. Welcome back, everybody, including John here now. So let's go ahead and take you through the home stretch. Again, Jake Arthur, locked on Colts,

Starting point is 00:24:35 John Hickman, a locked on Texans. It is week three. Both these teams are 0 and 2, but I would say one of these teams will leave in the wind column, John, but they did tie a few years ago. So that's not a guarantee. And the Colts almost tied last week. But, you know, someone's not losing this matchup. Let's just say that. But when it comes to Houston, John, obviously they're just not living up to expectations of what you guys and people who watch the Texans thought, what do they got to do to kind of I clean this up and finally get a win. Not a tie, but a win.

Starting point is 00:25:14 You know, I think this week for Houston is all about finding inner identity offensively. Because as I mentioned, you know, the problems that they had with, you know, Josh Allen on the first downs against Cincinnati, they cleaned that up a ton. And so the problem with that game on Sunday was miscommunications. guys not executing their assignment and ultimately guys not getting open because of the quote unquote scheme or system that's being ran offensively.

Starting point is 00:25:51 I think it's time to find their own who they are. Not only who they are and who they want to be, but who they have in the building. Some of these guys are not other players around the league just to say it nicely. So I think that's what the Houston, Texas, have to do to get back in the winning column is offensively find the identity that works for you, not the identity that you're hoping to be.

Starting point is 00:26:16 And with that, lean on CJ Stroud, he's your best offensive player right now. There's no other way around it, right? Lean on him, and I think this is a perfect game for the past to open up the run, maybe create some lighter box situations for David Montgomery, who needs to cut down on some of the dancing in the backfield and just get upfield when you can. But lean on your quarterback, C.J. Stroud. I am going to pick Houston in this game 2817. I think this team, because of the defense is, you know,

Starting point is 00:26:50 for Indianapolis is just so bad that they'll be able to rebound. But again, I'm not 100% confident that that 2817 score for Houston can't flip the other way and won't be a 2817 score for the Indianapolis Coast. You guys are just down too many important players. Yeah. That it makes it easy. to fall back on Houston. Two and a half favorite going into Indy.

Starting point is 00:27:15 I think that says a little bit about the situation right now for the coach. But ultimately, I'm rolling with the Houston, Texas to figure a way to get it down. Yeah, I think things won't look quite as bad for the Colts. They're at home. They're not facing Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes. Now, I've always thought CJ Straub was better than the perception over the last couple years. I feel like he's much more the guy that won rookie of the year. But, you know, the offensive line is not all that great. No Nico Collins is a huge blessing. Like Colts fans feel

Starting point is 00:27:50 about Nico Collins, how Texans fans felt about Y. Hilton, just for example. So Collins not being out there, I think is a huge breath of fresh air. I do think the Colts will keep it pretty close, but it's very difficult for me to pick them right now. While I think they can win, I'm going to say they lose 24, 26 to Houston. Again, very close game. You know, Cahini Fairbairn is a big X factor. It seems to always come up at the worst times for the Colts. And I just, it's difficult for me to see a Colts win right now,

Starting point is 00:28:24 not even just because of how things are going right now. But I think Shane Stuyken only has two wins in his Colts head coaching career against Houston and Jacksonville. He could beat Tennessee all he wants, but the two better teams of the AFC South very much struggles with. So it's kind of a I'll believe it when I see it type of thing. And the start the Colts had gotten off to this year doesn't lend me to believing them quite yet. I think that is all for us, everybody.

Starting point is 00:28:54 We will be back with you throughout the week. Make sure you check out our Friday shows. We will be back with you as well after Sunday's games. So make sure you check out our post game shows. If you want another way to be locked on Colts and locked on Texans every day, day, then let's introduce you to Locked on Colts Hit and Locked on Texans Hit. It's your daily hit of espresso on the team that you love. Quick, strong five-minute episodes or less.

Starting point is 00:29:19 Find Locked on Colts Hit and Locked on Texans hit on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. And remember, if you don't already, follow at Jake Arthur NFL and at John underscore Hickman 12 on all social medias. And with that, thank you guys. And you have a great, great week.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts Host Fellow WINLESS CJ Stroud, Houston Texans

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