Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Indianapolis Colts Face CONTENDER or PREDENTER Paths vs. Houston Texans

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts hosts host the Houston Texans for a massive AFC South showdown. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on NFL crossover, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, everyone. Welcome to this crossover of Locked-on Colts and Locked-on Texans. part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network around crossover Thursdays presented by prize picks. Download the prize picks app today and use code a locked on NFL to get

Starting point is 00:00:40 $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. I am Zach Hicks of Lockdown Colts, joined today by John Hickman of Locked on Texans to talk all about this massive, I mean probably the game of the year so far for both of these teams, Houston Texans trying to get back atop the AFC South. And we got the Indianapolis Colts feeling the pressure a little bit. These teams coming up from behind. They keep winning while the Colts have sputtered in recent weeks. So this is a massive, massive matchup for both of these teams. Today we're going to talk about our overall predictions for this game.

Starting point is 00:01:13 We're going to talk about the most crucial matchups in this showdown. But first, we're going to dive into the biggest storylines for each of our teams. And John, since I'm the host, I'll let you go first. What is your biggest storyline for the Houston Texans heading into this game? Thank you for letting me go. first the storyline is hey we need to they need to knock off some people like you know they got knock off indie they got knock out kc they got to knock out these games the storyline for houston is making the playoffs uh by any means necessary whether it be winning the aFC south division itself

Starting point is 00:01:49 which is still in play for houston uh whether it may be getting that seventh seed for the NFL playoffs for the wild card spot so uh i look at what the houston texans have done over the course of the last three weeks. It feels like nationally, people have become in love with this defense. Locally, we know how great it's been. And at times, nationally, we'll hear about, you know, the love. We'll see the love. But the last three weeks, what happened that fourth quarter against Jacksonville?

Starting point is 00:02:18 What happened against Tennessee, but really what happened Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills, a team that was, you know, trying to put together some things for themselves. The defense is the story. defense is going to carry this team to the end of the year where I personally think the AFC South Division will come down to that last game of the year against Indianapolis. But that's the story, making the playoffs, trying to put another game in front of them, getting another dub, hopefully Houston gets their fourth win in the row. But when I look at what's going on with Indy, Daniel Jones kind of the clock hit midnight.

Starting point is 00:02:53 He's kind of going back to some of the things we saw from him in New York, but you guys are still in the lead, still a good team. What's been the biggest storyline for Indy? Yeah, for the Colts, I think right now it's just getting back to home cooking and making sure that these last couple weeks don't define them. You know, they're one and two in their last three games. They haven't been home in the past month if you consider the buy week in there as well. They haven't played a home game in about a month of play now. And the Colts have been fantastic in their own stadium this year.

Starting point is 00:03:21 Five and O at home, six and O if you count the overseas game, I don't. But five and no, if you count the games actually played in Indy this year, Putting up well over 30 points per game, their fewest points scored at home this year has been against the Denver Broncos where they put up 29 in that week, too, showing a defense, you know, in the same league as the Houston, Texas. So showcase that you are still this team to be at home, this team that can put up a lot of points at home. I know the Houston Texans defense is just this otherworldly talent there with who they have at edge, who they have at corner. I mean, there are a lot of good players on that Texans defense. but the Colts have been the best team in the NFL at home this year. They have been the best offense in the NFL at home and showcase that like you are a different team at least at home.

Starting point is 00:04:04 Colts are two and three on the road this year, six and oh, again, technically six and oh at home at five and oh in Indy. Showcase that home cooking is real here with the Colts. Get back on track. Get back to what they're doing because all their losses up to this point. You know, you're on the road against desperate Steelers and in Chiefs teams and you lose an early season game to the Rams who look like the best. team in football. You can kind of excuse all those. You don't want to lose games in the NFL, but losses happen. Losing a divisional game at home, that's when the panic meter starts to go up quite a bit for this Colts team. Every loss now, again, you can kind of wish you wash away,

Starting point is 00:04:41 but this one you can't. This has to be a win for the Colst. This needs to get back on track, and they need to show that home cooking is real, and they can be that team that they look like early in the season before this recent three game skid. Yeah, that's a, that's a beauty I think of this. Sunday's matchup. Two hungry teams. They got a, you know, fiend off both Jacksonville and Houston right now. I think people may fear Houston a lot more than Jacksonville, because considering the defense. But Indy, I think, is in a position to prove that the last couple of weeks, where, like you said, the last couple of weeks, you know, we hit a couple of roadblocks. We still were able to kind of put together a win in the mix of those. So we're still a good team.

Starting point is 00:05:22 And I think for Houston, a must win game for them, obviously, to keep their playoff hopes alive. And for Houston, we look at the biggest storyline. We are still awaiting word on whether or not we'll see C.J. Stroud and J.L. Petrie, who I think is very important for the defensive game playing against Indy. But they're in concussion protocol, whether or not they'll be able to come out of that and be ready for Sunday's matchup. I'm going to presume that both of those players will be ready. If they didn't get Buffalo in a short week, I think they would have been available for the Buffalo game.

Starting point is 00:05:57 But now this would be the fourth game. Don't see them being out that long. And I don't see Houston winning the game without CJ's tried out there on the field, man. I really don't. So we say that. But John, look, the three and five was Stroud this year. They're three and no with Davis Mills, man. Davis, was he the better quarterback this year?

Starting point is 00:06:14 Let's not do it. Let's not do it, Zach. I think when people have had that conversation, and I've seen it on social media. I've seen it in the YouTube comments. I think people have to look at what has transpired in those three games. Do we think Houston would have had to come back versus Jacksonville if C.J. Stride were out there? Do we think Houston would have had to go down to a last second field goal against Tennessee?

Starting point is 00:06:48 Then we look at what happened against Buffalo. What happened against Buffalo, A-Sax? The defense didn't allow a touchdown to Josh Allen, right, to interceptions. And also, I think Davis-Mills did a good job in their second quarter, but for the totality of that game, there was some throws and potentially touchdowns that were not on the board because of some of the, I want to say passing mechanics, but just misses from Davis-Mills. And the last time an offensive line for the Houston-Texam,

Starting point is 00:07:21 and not allow a sack. Their quarterback had over 300 total yards of office. That was C.J. Stroud versus the San Francisco 49 a few weeks ago. So, yeah, they needed a quarterback back. He's a franchise quarterback. David Smills was great in his role, but they need them back for this final push to make the playoffs. Absolutely, absolutely. Especially when you look at the Colts remaining schedule.

Starting point is 00:07:43 It's a very tough remaining schedule. And that kind of, again, makes this such a must-win game for Indy is they have struggled on the road this year. I don't know if it's teams just timing up their snap count or it's just the defensive lines they've faced. I mean, L.A.'s defensive line is insane. Pittsburgh's. Chris Jones went just crazy this past game, probably had one of his best performances in years. So I don't know if it's a snap count issue or what it is, but the Colts offensive lines had a lot of issues with defensive lines on the road.

Starting point is 00:08:11 But at home, even if you go back to week two against the Broncos, it's been a lot cleaner of a process up front in the trenches. It's going to run the ball a lot better at home. and pass block at a higher level at home as well. So maybe just making sure that, again, they can win the trenches at home in this divisional game. They have three home games remaining Houston here, Jacksonville in a couple weeks, and then the primetime game against the 49ers.

Starting point is 00:08:34 And the Colts have put themselves in a position where if they split these two divisional games and maybe steal that 49ers game, they could be good for the division just with those alone. So they might not even need to win the road games the rest of the way, but they still need to take care of these home games, These home games are massive for this team going forward, and it starts this weekend. So, yeah, I mean, the biggest storyline, honestly, for both our teams is regardless of all the, like, noise around it is this is this is playoff football for both of those teams.

Starting point is 00:09:03 Yes. 100% playoff football must win games for both these teams to feel good. Because you look at the ASC, there's 10 teams fighting for a playoff spot. There's 10 teams that are around 500 or better. And it only takes another couple, like, losses are here or two to be on that outside looking. in the Texans, I think currently aren't even in the playoffs, but we all, yeah, we all kind of think that they're going to be there at the end, but every win is so important with how the AFC looks where there's 10 teams that are realistically like in the hunt, like Kansas City's

Starting point is 00:09:33 10th seed, you know, do we think that they're all going to miss the playoffs? Like, it's a fight right now for the AFC playoff spot. No, it is a fight. And I think this, this speaks to you didn't give a Sunday, right? But it also speaks to once all of these teams getting to the playoffs, the chaos we've seen so far this year, it's only going to amplify.

Starting point is 00:09:57 There's not an AFC team. Honestly, there's not a team in the NFL that outside of the Rams right now in the NFC, but that I truly fear, but in the AFC, I feel like once the playoffs get around, anybody can walk out with a dub. And hopefully we get an opportunity,

Starting point is 00:10:15 to see Houston in the playoffs, to see any in the playoffs, to see how the chips fall. But I'm excited. They just got to get it done on Sunday. Absolutely, absolutely. And coming up, guys, we're going to talk about how these teams can get done by talking about the most crucial matchups for both teams. But first, the NBA is back and there's no better place to get in on the action than with Banduel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss a start of a game or want to ride the hot hand. Vandal has live bets on everything from who will score next,

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Starting point is 00:11:54 heading into Indy this weekend? Good question. I honestly think it's just being disciplined defensively going up against some of the things that the Indianapolis Coast have done this year and some of the things that they've done well. Of course, we can highlight Jonathan Taylor, who at the least is number three on the MVP voting right now. I have a tie between J.T. and Drake May for two with Matthew Stafford when he's done the last several weeks. Year 17 has been crazy. But because of J.T.'s ability to create big plays and just how he's been running this year, the coach's number two route. ran this year in terms of frequency has been the go route 20.5 yards per catch, nine catches

Starting point is 00:12:49 for 15 to more yards, 369 yards. And also the crossing route, 288 yards, nearly 12 yards per catch, 14 catches for 10 and more yards, 7 for 15 more yards. And I think a lot of that has been due to, because of the play action, getting some of those linebackers or some of those dbs to bite down or stop the run. They've been getting caught, and the ball has been getting behind them. So I think for Houston, just playing discipline, DeMico Ryan's recently mentioned, Shane Stiking, loves to throw out some of that eye candy,

Starting point is 00:13:25 but it's important for the defense to be disciplined. So that's what I'm looking forward to. And on the flip side, you know, the run defense for you guys have been very good this year, but you guys made a make-a-break move by trading two first-round picks and Adonine Mitchell to New York for Amman-Sauce Gardner. Shock the hell out of me. So when I look at the crucial matchup, defensively,

Starting point is 00:13:55 and I've been waiting to ask you this, defensively, what could be the game plan to slow down Houston's offense? Yeah, no, I think the biggest thing with Luann Vermon this defense all year. And it's funny that you say that they've had this very good run, defense. It's actually not been that good overall. It's just that teams that they played against have been trailing for so much of games that you have to abandon the run. The Coltsman getting out to these two or three score leads in the first half. And you can't really run the ball at that point. We saw last week with the Kansas City Chiefs, when they really committed to keeping that

Starting point is 00:14:28 run game going all game long, they're able to just run down the Colts throat all day long with Kareem Hunt, their backup running back because there's no DeForest Buckner for this game. He is on injured reserve, and their backup defensive tackles just aren't stout in the run game. So the Colts are pretty vulnerable in the ground department right now, but I do think their past defense is just going to be at a different level. Now, they gave up over 400 yards passing to Pat Mahomes. A big part of that, though, came... And he sees a trial back, Texan and their franchise quarterback.

Starting point is 00:14:58 Yes, but a big part of that came in the fourth quarter when they just were on the field all quarter long because the Colts offense just hit a rut and had, constant three and outs. You look at how the Colts defense performed in that game. The game plan against Pat Mahomes is never to stop him. The game plan against Pat Mahomes is to contain him. So they have a very efficient offense there in Kansas City and kind of what they did with Gardner out there, with Mooney Ward, with Kenny Moore, was we're going to force key incompletions. We're going to take the football away and we're going to stand tall in the red zone. And we saw, I mean, honestly, even in that fourth quarter when the chiefs kept moving

Starting point is 00:15:35 up and down the field. They scored 23 points in almost five quarters of play, and that was with them having the ball for like the entirety of the game. So the Colts kept them off the board. They stood tall in the Red Zone. Chiefs were one of five in the Red Zone. The Colts forced to turn over in the Red Zone, had that big interception early. They got points out there. So I do think this Colts defense is much, much better right now, especially in the passing department. The past rush is a bit of a concern, and it was really rough last week. But again, part of that was we're playing man coverage against Pat Mahomes. We can't have guys fully rush because then he'll scramble and get big gains out there.

Starting point is 00:16:11 So it was kind of a weird game plan. But I do think that this past defense is going to be a very good strength for the Colts. They're vulnerable against the run. I know the Texans haven't been the best rushing offense this year. But with Woody Marks, you know, playing some good football, I think that they can certainly run the ball a little bit there. But yeah, with the corners the Colts have out there, they're going to play a lot of man coverage on third downs.

Starting point is 00:16:32 Early downs, you'll see some zone and some mixed. and match coverages, but I think it's a pretty good secondary that is going to suffocate teams in the red zone. It's going to be hard to score in the red zone against them, which I know has been like the number one issue for the Texans this season, especially inside the 10-yard line. Dog, it's been, it's been hard to watch, man. Yeah. It's been hard, Zach, man. Let's look at Houston's losses. There has not been a double-digit loss for Houston this year. Tampa, they lost, and they got down to the red zone and we're not able to punch it in for a touchdown.

Starting point is 00:17:10 Seattle, they got down there a couple of times we weren't able to punch it in. And this is after the defense force for turnovers. Denver, they got to the one-yard line, and again, we weren't able to punch it in. And that was a three-score loss, a three-point loss. So you guys are not the greatest on third. now in terms of, you know, the defense defensively.

Starting point is 00:17:33 But when teams are getting to the red zone, I think you guys are like 10th or 11 in terms of red zone defense. Correct me if I'm wrong. But it, like you mentioned, it's a very good red zone defense. And the small details for this game kind of worry me again. That's why you want to a franchise quarterback out there. Talent-wise, she should be able to make some of these throws and make plays. But if they don't, if they don't, if the, if the Texans get down there,

Starting point is 00:18:00 let's say four times and they don't come away with two touchdowns, then I think this would be one of those moments where the coach could pull it out. And I'm of a belief as great as the defense has been playing for the Houston, Texas all year. All year.

Starting point is 00:18:16 Houston going on this crucial stretch of games, Indy, Casey, they just beat Buffalo, right? What kept that game so close was they got down there a couple times and weren't able to score. And then in the second half all together, they just unable to move the balls up and down the field,

Starting point is 00:18:33 they got to help out their defense offensively. They got to be able to score touchdowns because I don't think as great as this defense has been playing this year, I still don't think we've seen the four of this defense because I don't think they've played with a lead, a good lead since Baltimore. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:18:54 That's one time. Yeah. He used to put up 44 points in their game. And, of course, Cooper Rush was starting a quarterback. And that's not Lamar Jackson. So I'm anticipating at some point the offense has a breakthrough to where the defense can lean on them. And then to close out some of these halves, to close out some of these quarters with a lead, the defense can just get freaking.

Starting point is 00:19:16 And DeMico will have a confidence to send a couple of bliss packages with guys coming after Daniel Jones because they got the lead to do that. Yeah. And a couple of things I want to touch on before we get to our final segment is, yeah, the Colts defense, kind of the way they're built right now is they're not going to hold you to like a hundred yards. You know, they're not like the Texans where they're going to just suffocate you, but you'll get your yards. But the biggest thing is takeaways, key sacks and key incompletions and standing tall in the red zone. So they'll hold your points low. They're not as good as the Texans, obviously, holding you down to like 10 points a game or whatever it is that you guys are holding teams down to. But the Colts are

Starting point is 00:19:52 holding teams pretty low. And we've seen that even in some of their losses. They're not getting like eviscerated out here by these teams, now especially with Sauce and Moody Ward out there. So I think this is going to be a bit of a slugfest type game. And then going over to the Colts offense, just real quick, a quick match I want to talk about. The Texans defense, while they have been good against the run and the past this year, because they are one of the best defenses in football, if you're the Colts, you know, you want to lean on the run game in this one. They're one of the few teams in the league where their run EPA per play is higher than

Starting point is 00:20:23 their past EPA per play. And it's not because the Colts Pass game has been. atrocious or anything like that. It's because their running offense is some of the most efficient rush offense we've ever seen in the NFL in terms of EPA per play. It's been phenomenal. Even with last week kind of laying a dud out there, it's been one of the best running offenses in football. So when you're the cult, you're uniquely situated where you can kind of avoid DeNeil Hunter and Will Anderson and what they do best, which is make those impact plays in the passing game by running the ball more than maybe other teams do. Now, I know Anderson's still

Starting point is 00:20:55 just a phenomenal run defender too. But you'd rather him make plays in the run game than in the passing game because the passing game are eight-yard losses in a force fumble where run-game stops are like a two-yard game. You're still moving forward at least in those stops there. So if you're the Colts, though, you want to lean on that run game, lean on Jonathan Taylor and make sure, like, take advantage of those. One thing I thought the bills were crazy doing this past week is they were running on the early

Starting point is 00:21:20 downs when Anderson and Hunter were off the field. And then they were always passing when Anderson, when Anderson and Hunter were on the field. And I was like, man, like, you've got to take advantage and pass when those guys are off the field because they're so impactful out there. Well, to be fair, the Texans, granted, you can't replicate Will Anderson and the Hunter. But one thing we don't talk about enough is the depth of that D-Line unit. Oh, yeah, that's great.

Starting point is 00:21:47 From the interior guys to the edge guys, Barnett, Dylan, Wharton, who is coming along nicely Tim Settle on the inside, Shetter Rangles on the inside. Schematically, you may see the Texans' depth guys win, but when you get the Niel and Will out there, and they didn't face a lot of double teams. The bill's, I thought that was crazy. Demico Rines even talked about it. That's when you just see sheer will, strength, talent, speed, whatever, win.

Starting point is 00:22:20 So we talk a lot about the front line guys, but those depth guys for Houston have absolutely contributed to Houston being the number one defense in the league. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you have to have the faith to take those guys off the field, you know, and it only comes when you have good depth behind them. But even so, I think from the Colts perspective, it's a difference between having 2.3 seconds to throw and 2.6 seconds to throw.

Starting point is 00:22:41 Like, I will take the slightly higher time to throw because Anderson and Hunter have been so dominant this year. But coming up, guys, we're going to talk about the keys to victory for both teams and close out the show with our final predictions and thoughts on this matchup. All right, Locked on Everdaeers, we are back for a final time talking about our keys to victory in this game. I'm Zach Hicks of Lockdowne, Coles, joined by John Hickman of Lockdowne Texans. And John, again, I will throw it up to you.

Starting point is 00:23:10 What are your keys to victory for the Houston Texans in this big AFC South matchup? Red zone offense, got to be good, man. Yeah. gotta be good whether it's davis mills with this cj strong it has to be good and i'm going to put see we i know if we've highlighted the indies offense versus the texas defense and that that boils down to two names that since they both arrived in his conference division excuse me we talked about them a lot shang stiking and demico ryan's but nick cayley has to be good he cannot play play scared. He can't coach scared. He can't get to the second half and become complacent in

Starting point is 00:23:57 his play calling. He has to come out in the first quarter in the third quarter where they have only scored, I think, an average of 3.4 points per game this year in those quarters. You got to come out and play like the playoffs. Play like your life. It is depending on. So because of Because of that, some of the offensive inefficiencies, you get a quarterback and C.J. Straubback, maybe that changes your approach. Maybe you have the faith in him to do more than what you were asking out of Davis-Mills-led offense. But that's the key to victory to me, man. Just being as aggressive as this defense has been all year, go out there and fight and die with him, God, dog it, because if you don't, no, I'm serious. I mean, the defense out there a lot of times have been on the front line so often outside of Baltimore where it feels like the offense are just the guys like the water boys sometimes.

Starting point is 00:25:01 The most frustrating thing in football is when one side of the ball has done enough to win and the other side costs them. And this is what I was yelling about all week with the Kansas City game where, yeah, people are looking at that being like, oh, the Colts defense gave 500-something yards. They held the Chiefs to nine points halfway through the fourth quarter. And the Colts offense had four straight three and outs. That gave the ball right back to Kansas City. They even forced a red zone fumble. They forced another three and out from the Chiefs. And it's like, help the defense out here.

Starting point is 00:25:29 So I know exactly your pain, man. It's so frustrating when like one side of the ball can not get enough help. And you mentioned that. And I'm looking at the Texans third quarter punt. This is after scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter, David Smith's got busy, 112 yards, 2 TD, zero touchdowns, a near-perfect passer rating. He even goes down and score in a many two-minute drill to close out the quarter to give you that lead and come out in the third quarter, punt three plays, punt three plays, field goal, seven plays, fourth quarter, punt three plays, punt four games, I mean, four plays, and then one play to end off the game, that's a nil. You've got to help out the defense.

Starting point is 00:26:09 And they were a game, Davis foot down away from potentially. losing that game when they had no right losing that game with how the defense played in that one. I was scared that it was going to end like the Detroit Lions game Thursday night last year. Yep. Luckily, you got a different version of Will and DeNeil and Caleb Bullock, the sophomore safety came through for it, right, especially as late-knit game. But that's what I'm talking about.

Starting point is 00:26:35 Be as ferocious and aggressive as your defense. Because I promise you, especially you get your quarterback back. if you do that with how the offensive line is playing with Trent Brown over right tackle, then you may be able to really create leads which has been foreign for this team this year. What about you? Yeah, I mean, obviously the key on offense for the Colts is limiting mistakes. That's the biggest thing with this Houston Texans defense is they get a lot of sacks. They force you into mistakes. They take the football away and they just suffocate everything you want to do. Now, you don't go out there and

Starting point is 00:27:10 play scared, but you can't afford to turn the ball over in this game because I think this is going to be a bit of a slug fest type game where I think the defenses are going to both show up and play some pretty good football on Sunday. And I think the thing that's going to change the name of the game is turnovers and field position. So if you're the Colts, if you're going to have a fumble on your own 20 yard line and give them free points, that could drastically change the entire game. And we've seen the Colts offense kind of have those turnovers and sacks recently pile up. Now, they had no turnovers and no sacks against the Chiefs, but the three and outs are just as much the same as turnovers, essentially.

Starting point is 00:27:46 So, yeah, it's all about keeping possession of that football on offense, giving your defense some time to rest. And then I think on the Colts defense side of the ball, we need Madman Lou to come out here and have his type of showing. I mean, again, I think for pretty much the entirety of the game against the Chiefs, we saw Luanna Rumo just doing what he does best against Pat Mahomes. And then he had Mahomes just kind of frantically overthrowing. plays. They were shutting them down in the red zone. And even when the Colts offense had a lot

Starting point is 00:28:14 of issues and stagnated, the defense stood tall until eventually the gates broke late in the game. They got to make Stroud uncomfortable back there, whether it's bringing pressure, whether it's simming pressure, whether it's, you know, whatever it has to be. You have to make Strout uncomfortable back there by any means necessary. And there's no excuse really for this defense right now. I know DeForest Buckner is out, but you trade two first round picks for Sauce Gardner. You know, Like, there's no excuse. You have to have the performance now to match what these other teams can do. I'm not saying it to be as good as the Houston Texans defense, but, I mean, the resources

Starting point is 00:28:50 put into this defense as off-sees, there's no excuse for them not to be able to, like, go toe to toe to with a team like this. So for the Colts offense, keep control of the ball, move the ball forward, lean on Jonathan Taylor, your MVP candidate running back. And on defense, we got to get into our bag a little bit. We got to find ways to pressure Stroud and take the football. away because in a game where, again, I think this is going to be like a low 20s for both teens type of game. Taking that football away is going to be vital in this field position

Starting point is 00:29:19 and getting points on the board. So we need Louana Rumo to create that pressure, create some cracks, get that football out of Stroud's hand and go from there. You mentioned field position and if I'm reading this correctly, let me know. The coach are the number one kickoff return team in the NFL. As of late, and especially teams all together, but as of late, the Houston, Texan special teams have been having breakdowns and returning yards allowed. So again, we talk about the small details in this battle in the war of the AOC South. That matters. Just being a better special team unit, don't allow them to start at the 30. Don't allow them to get good field position on some of these returns. By the way, I was

Starting point is 00:30:02 critical of the NFL changes to the return game. I am no longer critical of it. It has helped the return game a lot. So shout out to Indy. No dueling in this game. And you look at his ability to create some of these bigger moments for Indy, whether it's offensively or maybe special teams, but they got to be better. And I think that's also a call to action. Yeah. No, the Colts are, I think, arguably the best special teams team in football this year. They're number one in return yardage. They're creeping up there into the top 10. I think in return yardage allowed punt game is probably the best punt game in football. They didn't get a lot of practice early in the year with but now they are able to cover a lot of punts exceptionally well.

Starting point is 00:30:41 Riego's up there in net yardage as a punter. And even Michael Badgley's had some extra point issues, has made a lot of his kicks as well. So the Colts special teams is big. And like, again, when we talk about like the little things that decide games like this, where you think these are pretty evenly matched teams that, you know, especially with the Texans on the road,

Starting point is 00:31:01 who even though they're on fire, home and road is a big thing in the NFL. Yeah, I think something like special teams is going to be a big, big aspect in this. Not having Ashton Doolin does hurt. I'm glad we're spending time on a crossover talking about Ash Dooling. A lot of Texans fans are probably like, who is this? You be surprised.

Starting point is 00:31:17 Texan fans do their homework on players, man. Okay, okay. I love that you guys know Ashton Duelan. That's great. Yeah, he's just the Jack of All Trades guy, return guy, punk gunner. Got a random, like, 50-yard catch last week as well. So not having him is pretty big for the Colts. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:31:32 I'm looking forward to the game, man. I think this would be a guy. I'm going to try to incite chaos between two fair bases on social media, by the way. But let's do it. You know, the only thing come get out of Indiana is Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson. I'm going to start some mess. But I think this is going to be a great game. I don't want to give a score prediction, but I can see it coming down to the fourth quarter.

Starting point is 00:32:01 Yeah, for sure. And I've really enjoyed Stuyken and D'emico Ryan's bouts the last couple. years and for the first time this feels like both of these guys are like fully equipped for the fight you know like in the past it's been like you know the first year when ryan's took over stikin kind of ran all over him with gardiner minchu in that first showing just because that defense wasn't what it was now and then in future showings you know the colts were rolling out joe flacco and and you know richardson had his struggles and stuff but now it feels like stikin's got what he wants on offense demico's got what he wants on defense and now we're really going

Starting point is 00:32:35 to see like these two heavyweight boxers kind of go toe to toe. And I've always really enjoyed the schematic matchup between the two of them. But I'm really pumped to see what it looks like on that side of the ball. I know the other side of the ball is probably the more important one because that is where we could see some leaks. But Colts' offense, Texans defense, I think is going to be a blast on Sunday. That's a story right there. Yep, for sure. I want to thank you guys for making Lockdown Colts and Lockdown Texans your first listen today and every single day. The NFL season is finally here. So if your next listen, get a double dose of the Lockdown NFL podcast. Tyler the madman

Starting point is 00:33:06 Roland. He earns that name over there. Gives you a shot of espresso to start your football day while Tony Wiggins takes you into the barbershop for the smoothest breakdowns to end the day. Tony also earns smoothest breakdowns as well. I'm locked on NFL on YouTube wherever we listen to your podcast. If you guys don't already

Starting point is 00:33:22 make sure you're following us on social media. I'm at Zach Hicks 2 at John underscore Hickman 12. Make sure you're following us over there and subscribe on YouTube wherever you get your podcast. You guys have a great day and we'll see you on our respective shows tomorrow for our final breakdown of Colts and Texans.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Indianapolis Colts Face CONTENDER or PREDENTER Paths vs. Houston Texans

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