Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Indianapolis Colts Looking for BOUNCE BACK vs. Atlanta Falcons in Germany

Episode Date: November 6, 2025

The Indianapolis Colts (7-2) look to bounce back from their ugliest performance of the season this Sunday in Berlin, Germany, against the Atlanta Falcons (3-5).Aaron Freeman (@LockedOnFalcons) of Lock...ed On Falcons joins to break down the main storylines, biggest matchups, and most significant keys to victory. Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake's written work on roundtable.io/sports/nfl/colts/ and Zach's on si.com/nfl/colts/, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! Crossover Thursday is presented by PrizePicks. Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl.Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars, and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons head out to Germany for a week 10 matinee. Let's get to it. You are locked on NFL crossover, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is a collaboration of your daily podcast covering the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons part of Locked On Podcast Network, your team every single day. Crossover Thursday is presented by prize picks. Download the prize picks app today. Use code Locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.
Starting point is 00:00:48 Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hicks of Locked on Colts. And I am joined today by Aaron Freeman of Locked on Falcons, two polar opposite seasons between our two teams. but we have a very fun show plan for you guys. We're going to talk about where we think this game ends up here on Sunday, very early game for a lot of you guys listening here. We're going to dive into the biggest matchups, but we're going to kick it off with the biggest storylines in this game.
Starting point is 00:01:13 So, Aaron, since you are the guest, and technically I'm the home team out in Germany in this one here. I'll let you have the floor first. What do you think is the biggest storyline for the Atlanta Falcons? Well, I appreciate that because I feel like the Colts, what the Colts did on Tuesday. It was probably the biggest storyline of the week in this game, but I appreciate you being so kind to me, Zach,
Starting point is 00:01:33 and allow me to go first. And, you know, you mentioned how the Falcon season has not gone the way that we wanted it to go. And basically, as I've been saying, on Locked on Falcons the last week or so, you know, the wins and losses at this stage is kind of, you know,
Starting point is 00:01:51 we'll see what the Falcons do in the back half of the season, if they could make it interesting. But at this stage, it's kind of really just a season of, let's evaluate Michael Pinnix because it does feel like the Falcons are trending in a direction where there will be regime change in the front office and the head coach. And what type of quarterback is the next regime going to inherit? And Pinnix has had a very sort of night and day difference in terms of how well he's performed in home games as well versus road games.
Starting point is 00:02:21 And last week in New England, he had, I think, his best road game. of his career. And so the hope is that he can build off of that going into this Colts matchup in Germany and see if that will be a trend that we will see in the latter half of the season for this Falcons team. And then probably the more pertinent, sort of specific to this game, you know, you always got to talk about what team is dealing with injuries. And right now, the Falcons are dealing with some offensive line injuries. Chris Lindstrom and Matthew Bergeron exited last week's game against the New England Patriots. Rahim Morris indicated that Chris Lindstrom, the Falcons right guard, and their best
Starting point is 00:02:59 offensive lineman, is day-to-day. So it does feel like he's going to play this week. But he did mention that their left guard, Matthew Bergeron, is week to week. And so that puts his status a little bit more up in the air. And that's meaningful because if he's out of the game, I believe that's the side of the field that DeForest Buckner more often lines up on against that left guard. And Bergeron's replacement would be Kyle Hinton. and Kyle Hinton's not very good.
Starting point is 00:03:25 So it would be a tough day for Michael Pinnock's at the office if DeForge Buckner does DeForest Buckner things to Kyle Hinton this week. Is Kyle Hinton the guy out of Michigan, I believe, right, a couple years ago? No, that's Chris Hinton. Chris Hinton, okay, that's what it was. Okay, so even worse than what I'm expecting then. But, you know, Aaron, I did want to ask you before I get to my biggest storyline, what is going on with the Falcons this year?
Starting point is 00:03:51 because like you said, there was higher expectations. I think it's a talented roster, like a pretty talented roster, but it seems like not only the quarterback, but the team has just been so bipolar this year, hot and cold, you know, games where they beat the bills, but they get shut out by the, by the Panthers. Like, what has gone on with the Falcons this year? Yeah, it's funny because we went into the season thinking, oh, the offense is going to be the strength of this team,
Starting point is 00:04:16 and the defense is going to be very much a work in progress with some of the young pieces that they have and rebuilding that. unit. And it's been the opposite. The defense has been the strength of the team. And the offense has really, really struggled for the most part this season. And I think that's the main issue. A lot of it is dealing with the youth of Michael Pinnock's and sort of the up, down nature, that roller coaster. I don't know if Colts fans are familiar with the roller coaster that ride that is a young quarterback. But, you know, I think that is an issue as well as the play calling. And just this team, you know, the Falcons are the Falcons. They have a
Starting point is 00:04:51 reputation for not necessarily taking care of business late in games and it always feels like there's one or two mistakes even when they're competitive in these games that they wind up making that wind up costing them. Yeah, no, for sure. And it's a team that you can't overlook, I guess, as a team like the Colts because they do have that talent. I mean, we'll get to a lot of that talent in the second segment. But yeah, they do tend to kind of beat themselves, it looks like, on paper for sure. I like your trend of picking like kind of two storylines for for your Falcons. Because I think I have to say two for the Colts, because one is just talking about, like, this upcoming game, the Colts need to make sure that there's not a repeat of what just happened in this past
Starting point is 00:05:29 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. You know, we knew turnover regression was coming. They only had three offensive turnovers through the first eight weeks, but we didn't expect it to be regression in terms of six in one game, you know, double your season turnover in one game. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong for the Colts offense against the Steelers. Luckily, they still put up 20 points in this game despite that. but still like you don't want to have gains with six turnovers so the big thing is just can they
Starting point is 00:05:56 avoid the turnover especially against the falcons defense that's been pretty good this year at generating pressure and taking the ball away uh you don't want to just repeat what just happened against the pittsburgh steelers because look the steelers are a playoff bound team and maybe the falcons aren't but you're probably not going to win against many opponents turn the ball over six times so can daniel jones get off of this game where he just had five turnovers and get back to what he's been doing But I think the other big storyline is one we can't ignore on any of our shows this week, the trade for sauce gardener, what that does for this Colts team. He's not officially playing this week as of right now. He's still working through the concussion protocol, but he's at practice as we speak.
Starting point is 00:06:36 He was not in a red non-contact jersey. It appears like he's going to play this week. And when you look at this Colts defense, you know, they get 27 points to the Steelers this past week, but they had a couple big fourth down stops, forced to fumble late to give the Colts a chance. And again, when your offense turns the ball over six times, I think they did everything they could to give the chance, the Colts a chance to win that game. So it appears this Colts defense is getting on track. Now you throw in Sauce Gardner,
Starting point is 00:07:02 who even if he's not the super man like all pro that he's been two years ago, this is still a massive upgrade over Mackay Blackman and Jalen Jones, guys they've had on the outside. So getting Sauce Gardner in there, then hopefully, you know, a couple weeks to get Mooney Ward back on the outside too. this is like the intro into what this defense can be and seeing how sauce gardener fits so yeah we can't go a show here in indy obviously without talking about sauce gardener and the storyline that he brings but what he looks like in his debut with the colts if that is this weekend is obviously going to be
Starting point is 00:07:34 a massive storyline for the colts and the rest of the NFL yeah and you know i know you guys have been talking about this all week on locked on colts and we'll continue talking about it but for the lockdown falcons uh listeners i'm just curious to get your thoughts on sort of this being this kind of all in move and sort of the idea of you trade two first round picks. And so that means if you want to pivot off of Daniel Jones at some point in the future, you probably don't necessarily have that ability. So do you feel good about the Colts seemingly making a short-term commitment to Daniel Jones over the next couple of years? Yeah, you know, we've seen with Chris Ballard in his tenure with the Colts.
Starting point is 00:08:13 There were so many half measures post Andrew Luck retirement. You know, there was getting these stopgap quarterbacks, getting guys who probably weren't the answer and then leaving just these massive holes on the roster because they didn't want to commit to those quarterbacks. So on one hand, it's like it was probably good that they didn't commit to some of those quarterbacks and go all in on other moves around like Carson Wentz, for instance,
Starting point is 00:08:33 because that would have been a disaster. So that's always in the back of your mind where it's like making Daniel Jones that guy, there's inherent risk with that. But on another side of it, it's like, finally, like we're going for it. You know, you have this seven and two team. You're the number one offense in football. scoring over 30 points per game.
Starting point is 00:08:51 Even in two of your disaster games you've had this year, you scored over 20 points. And now you're just giving Louana Rumo all this ammo on defense. In a year where the AFC has been pretty weak overall, the chiefs don't look like the chiefs. The bills have had their struggles. I mean, the bills lost to the Falcons. And not to say anything horrible about the Falcons,
Starting point is 00:09:08 but again, the Falcons, you know, kind of handled them in that game. So, yeah, this is kind of the year to kind of go for. And they have a window next year, too, where Gardner's only under contract for $9 million. against the cap hit. So it's risky going all in on a quarterback like Daniel Jones with his history in the NFL. But you kind of have to respect, I guess, the team just saying, you know what, here's a window. DeForest Buckner is 30 years old. Grover Stewart's 30. Kenny Moore's 30.
Starting point is 00:09:34 We don't have many more years with this core anyway. Let's swing for it now. And then if we have to readjust after, we can. So part of me is just excited to see what it just looks like now, even though there is, I mean, gosh, when you go up two second round or two first round picks, there's a lot of risk involved in that. But, you know, when you're getting a 25-year-old, you know, first team all pro for only $10 million of the next 25 games, that's what that price tag is going to be. So I respect the move. We'll see how it works out, but I'm excited to see what it can look like on Sundays.
Starting point is 00:10:08 Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, no for sure. But coming up, guys, we're going to continue talking about this Colts and Falcons matchup heading into germany we're going to talk about the most crucial matchups and how we have a game with arguably the two best running backs in football going head to head but first you guys know the saying look good feel good the problem is the most dress dress clothes kind of only check one of those boxes they look sharp but they feel stiff hot high maintenance that's why there's mizzen and main mizzen and main makes classic menswear with performance fabric so it's effortless to look sharp and
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Starting point is 00:12:23 dollar lineup. That's code locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup prize picks. It's good to be right. All right. Locked on Everyday, Locked on Everydayers, we are back with this crossover Thursday episode. I'm joined by Aaron Freeman of Locked on Falcons. I am Zach Hicks of Locked on
Starting point is 00:12:45 Colts. And we were talking all about this matchup heading into Germany. Aaron, I don't know about you, but I'm excited to be done work by noon on Sunday. It's my favorite part of these overseas games. But let's talk about biggest matchups here, man. What are you really looking at when it comes to the Falcons versus this Colts defense or this Colts offense out here in Germany? Yeah, I think if I'm just sort of focusing in on one sort of key matchup, individual matchup, player versus player. I do kind of want to see Sauce Gardner against Drake London. They played each other in 2023.
Starting point is 00:13:17 Drake London only had one catch in that game. It wasn't simply because like sauce shut him down. But basically they parked sauce on one side of the field and the Falcons just refused to throw to that side of the field. And that often had Drake London on that side. And so it was a very quiet game for him against the Jets that particular Sunday. And so I do want to see how they integrate sauce into this defense. as good as it would be for sauce to kind of take it easy and stay,
Starting point is 00:13:45 you know, just take an extra week to stay in the concussion protocol. Make sure he's healthy. I do as a football junkie kind of want to see how that matchup goes. But in terms of like big picture offensive stuff, it's really just like, can you get Bejohn Robinson going again? He has had a quiet couple of games,
Starting point is 00:14:03 and I don't think it's a coincidence that the Falcons have lost their last three games that when you look at the season, you know, in the Falcons wins, Bijon averages about 129 rushing yards per game, and their losses is about 41 rushing yards per game. And so if you can't get Bijon back in a conversation where he's nipping at Jonathan Taylor's heel as far as a rusher goes, I don't know if this is going to be a successful performance for the Falcons on offense.
Starting point is 00:14:29 Yeah, no, for sure. I think that's been a huge reason why we've seen the Falcons kind of taper off a little bit on offense. It's like this is a legit superstar at running back and you have to get him involved. I love what you said about Drake London, though, because it feels like he's taken this extra step in his game as of late. Like this year, last year, in particular, where Sauce Gardner's had, you know, kind of two down seasons. So see kind of where the level of play is between those two guys would be really interesting to see. I'm curious to see if the Colts treat Gardner the way they treated Mooney Ward early in the season, where Mooney Ward was traveling with number one wide receivers.
Starting point is 00:15:01 And I know they liked Ward in that role. I'm curious to see if they're like, you know what, first game was Sauce. He's doing the same thing that we had Ward doing early. And then we'll see what happens when they both get back on the field in Kansas City. But I'm going to say something that might upset you a little bit, Aaron. But I think one of the biggest matchups here is special teams because this is what's really killed the Falcons this season from missed late kicks to missed extra points. You guys, I believe, are going to another kicker and another holder this, or not holder, snapper, right, this week as well. They have a snapper on standby.
Starting point is 00:15:35 The regular snapper is probably going to be good to go. but there are some issues, family issues that may prompt him to exit the team in the future. Gotcha. Okay, yeah, I did hear that there were some questions with the snapper, but I hope everything's okay with him there. But, yeah, the special teams process has been rough for the Falcons this year, and they've lost games because of it, where we've seen the Colts kind of steal points and steal games in a lot of ways with their special teams play, some block kicks at the end of half, some big returns where like Amir Abdullah had like a 90-yard return against the Chargers that really kept that game in control for the Colts.
Starting point is 00:16:10 When you see games like this where the Colts are the favorite team, the team that's likely to win the game, the way that you can lose games like this is special teams, just turnover and changes and just crazy things that happen there. So for the Colts, it's just kind of continue what you've been doing on special teams and let the Falcons be the ones that make the mistake where they're on their third kicker, or likely their third kicker this week here of the season. And so I think special team is going to be a big one. And then just as a football fan, because you threw a football fan thing out there,
Starting point is 00:16:39 just a spectacle of these two running backs. You know, I grew up in an era where running backs were glamorized, you know, where the Sean Alexander's, the Priest Holins, the Larry Johnson's, the Danian Tomlinson, like, oh, my gosh, running backs dominated the NFL. And we've kind of lost a little bit of that love in recent seasons. But now with guys like Bejohn and with Jonathan Taylor, Jemir Gibbs, like these guys all, Derek Henry still do. doing what he's doing at his age, which is crazy.
Starting point is 00:17:06 You're kind of seeing this, like, resurgence of running backs, but these are two are probably the most fun, exciting, electric running backs to watch in football. So I think just matchup-wise, both these defenses are going to be pulling their hair out, even though we're coming from two guys who don't have hair on this episode here, pulling their hair out, trying to figure out how to stop these two running backs. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, the Colts have an advantage here because the Fawkins haven't been able to really
Starting point is 00:17:31 stop any running backs this year. and then you factor in Jonathan Daler and Colts offensive line and it's like, this is, you know, so it, that is going to be a key matchup. Can the Falcons actually, you know, is like the over under for, you know, I don't know what it is over at Price Picks, more or less or whatever, but I would probably take the more on whatever it is. So head on over to Price Picks for that. Like that sponsor drop.
Starting point is 00:17:57 Yeah, yeah. So it is one of those things where if the Falcons can somehow, you know, I, I'm just assuming, again, I don't know what the number is. I'm just assuming that number is like 130 or something like that based off of how the Falcons defense has performed and how Jonathan Taylor has performed this year. If the Falcons can't keep that number to less than that, then it's going to be a big problem for them.
Starting point is 00:18:19 Yeah, and, you know, as you being the daily expert for your team here, what's kind of been the issue in run defense for the Falcons? Is it D-Line, linebacker, all of the above, tackling? Like, what's going on here with this defense? Well, as of late, linebacker play has taken. taking a dip because Divine Diablo was one of their key pieces early in the season and a big part of why that defense looks so good early in the season. And his replacement in J.D. Bertrand has not lived up to expectations.
Starting point is 00:18:48 Colts fans can be familiar with the guy who's sort of now supplanting J.D. Bertrand, which is Ronnie Harrison. And they have him playing some big nickel slash box safety hybrid linebacker stuff as a way to, you know, mitigate Bertrand's limitations. But it's mainly on the defensive line. Even when Diablo was healthy, they couldn't really stop the run, mostly because if you are an offense and you just want to run between the tackles, and if you want to pull guards and run counter and all these various run plays
Starting point is 00:19:21 and you just run straight down the falcons throat, you will have success consistently getting five, six yards of pop. And when you're running back like Jonathan Taylor, If you can make guys miss on the second level, you know, it's, it's a long, long day every single Sunday when the Falcons are trying to stop the run. Yeah, no, I feel that. We've had that. We had that early in the season with the Colts.
Starting point is 00:19:41 Then they were able to get Jermaine Pratt when he got released and he's kind of solidified things a little bit, but they still give up some leaky plays every now and then. So I'm always, I'm nervous looking at like Robinson and being like, oh, gosh, there's going to be like that 170-yard touchdown run. Maybe they can hold them to, like, lower totals besides that. but there's probably going to be that 70-yard touchdown. So we might be into some running back fireworks here in Germany. The Germany and the UK games and all them are so like slug-fest, like ugly games.
Starting point is 00:20:11 So it might be the ones where the running backs have to carry the way. But guys, don't go anywhere. We'll be back in just a second. We're going to talk all about the keys to victory for both the Falcons and the Colts in this Germany matchup here in week 10. But first, the NFL season is. is back it's going hard and it's honestly there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your favorite team but let's be honest getting tickets can be a hassle between the cues the login screens and prices jumping at checkout it's frustrating that's why i use game time the app that gives the advantage back to fans game time is fast easy and back by the game time guarantee you'll always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time at the best price plus all fees are included so the price you see is the price you see is the price you paid. I pulled up game time in just a couple taps, guys. I see these amazing deals. I'm talking
Starting point is 00:21:03 about your favorite NFL games as low as $100. Download the game time app, create an account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Again, that's promo code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-FL-N-FL-N-Fel for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go download game time today. All righty, locked on every day as we're back with this crossover Thursday. Locked on Colts, Locked on Falcons, Zach Hicks and Aaron Freeman talking about this big Germany game coming up on Sunday. And again, I'm going to throw it to Aaron here to start off here. Falcons, three most important keys to victory. I think one of them's going to be slowing down Jonathan Taylor, but I'll let you take it away here. Yeah, well, I'm not even going to put that
Starting point is 00:21:46 in the keys to victory because I know they're not going to do that. So, but sort of, I guess, building off of that one point is Bijon needs to have a better rushing day than Jonathan Taylor. Like, that's the key. If you can get Bejohn, you know, if you give up 150 yards to Jonathan Taylor, if you get Bejohn 160, that to me, I think, is going to be huge for the Falcons to get this thing going because, as I said, I'm expecting a big day for Jonathan Taylor. So if you can get a big day from Bejan Robinson, then I think that will be huge for the Falcons offense success and taking some of that pressure off of Michael Pinnock's to have to
Starting point is 00:22:21 carry the team on the road. You mentioned turnovers at the beginning of the show. So that's been something that the Colts have done a really good job of, but they have been behind in turnover margin, both in our losses this year and very much ahead of it in all of their wins. And the Falcons are a team that turnovers often are basically what's going to decide the factor. They were ahead last week against the Patriots, and it was the first time they had lost a game where they had a positive turnover margin under Rahim Morris. They're 8 and 1 over the last year and a half. They're one in nine when they're a negative turnover margin, and they're about two and four, I believe, when they're even.
Starting point is 00:22:58 So basically, that turnover margin really dictates the results of these games. So that's my second key to victory. And then the third one is a fast start. The Falcons are three and one when they score on the opening drive this year. They're 0 and 4 when they don't. And one of the things we've talked about on Locked on Falcons is like, you kind of know by the end of the second series for the Falcons offense, if they're going to win a game or not,
Starting point is 00:23:21 Like if they are sluggish in the first two series, it's like, oh, we're in for a long day. Now, they did not score on either the opening two drives last week. I think it gets New England, but it did sort of climb their way back into that game. But it was just a little too far of a hill to climb when they were down like 21-7 at halftime. So, like, I think if they can get off to a better start, particularly on the road, that will be huge for this team and allow them to kind of do the things that they were able to do against the bills where they were able to kind of get off to our early lead and kind of dictate the tempo of that game and force a team like Indianapolis to kind of march to the beat of the Falcon's drum as opposed to marching to the beat of the Colts drum.
Starting point is 00:24:03 Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like you just took my typical three points that I make every week. So I'm going to actually reiterate that that start fast point for my first month with the Colts here because that's just been so vital for every team this year, but especially the Colts. They've taken the ball first in almost all of their games this year because they want to put points on the board, put that pressure on opposing teams. And a big part of their game plan is we pass early to score points and then we run you into the ground late to win the games.
Starting point is 00:24:29 So you're not going to get much Jonathan Taylor in that first quarter or the second quarter. So for a big part for the Colt's success is get that early success with Daniel Jones, build up that lead. And then if you go into lead with a half time, if you go into the half time with a lead, you get Jonathan Taylor the entire second half. And as you have said multiple times on here, that's going to be tough for the Falcons to overcome.
Starting point is 00:24:49 So for the Colts, build up that lead early, especially going to half with a lead, and then you can give the Falcons all the Jonathan Taylor they can handle in the second half. You made a great point about turnovers as well. The Colts have eight turnovers on offense, and their two losses, and their seven wins, they've only turned the ball over once in those games. So that's going to be vital. I think for the Colts defense, it's really just taking that ball away and making sure that they're not the team that makes the mistake. Again, when you're the favorite team in a slugfest, like early game overseas,
Starting point is 00:25:19 you just don't want to do the things that swing games against your win probability. So special teams mistakes, turning the ball over on offense, not capitalizing on turnovers on defense. So I guess the overall point here I'm making with the Colts is like, just play a clean game. Play a clean game. Don't have the pre-snap penalties. Don't miss kicks. Don't, you know, drop interceptions, be as clean as you can.
Starting point is 00:25:42 And that's how you can take care of business here. And then I'm just going to swing it back again to Daniel Jones here, where Daniel Jones has his worst game. of the year for the Colts this past week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, five turnovers when, again, he had three turnovers in the previous eight games for the Colts when they got off to that seven and one start. Make sure that New York Giants Daniel Jones does not show up after that. Make sure that gets back on track, back into Colts, Daniel Jones.
Starting point is 00:26:09 Again, I know the Germany game is weird. Just make sure that doesn't kind of just continue that trend. We want that to be a weird regression game in the other way. we don't want that to be the new trend for this Colts team. That's going to be the biggest part for this one. But Aaron, I think we're going to have a fun one, even though it's a, you know, again, these early morning games, they have been ugly at times, Slugfest. But we have two running backs that are fun to watch.
Starting point is 00:26:33 So maybe it'll just be like a big run heavy game for our two teams. Maybe we'll see. All I ask when the Falcons get on national television and, you know, technically it's not a prime time game. But for all, everybody who's going to be up early in the morning, at least state side. all eyes will be on that game. All I ask when it comes to the Atlanta Falcons, don't embarrass me when everybody's watching us. And so the last time they played overseas was in 23,
Starting point is 00:26:57 Desmond Ritter, those terrible picks against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it's like, oh, this is the worst. And so I just, you know, I don't need the Falcons to beat the Colts. I just need you to play just a competitive, not weird, typical Falcon game. And that so often is too much to ask
Starting point is 00:27:16 from this football team. But we'll see if we get the head on something. Isn't a typical Falcons game just weird, though? Like, isn't that kind of what you guys do, miss kicks and weird turnovers and missed extra? Like, it's just kind of what, even this year. Like, it's just been the poor Falcons curse, you know? It's like when I was talking with the Chargers guy earlier this year,
Starting point is 00:27:34 I'm like, just make sure that you let the Chargers do their chargering and you'll be able to win the game. I kind of feel like I have to say the same thing with the Falcons. Just let the Falcons do their thing. Yes. And you should be able to win the game. Yeah, the Chargers are the West Coast version of the Falcons. the Foxx and the East Coast version of the charges.
Starting point is 00:27:49 It's basically the same team. You know, not just because we have a couple extra seconds here. We talk about primetime embarrassments, though. At least you don't have that epic collapse against the Vikings that we had in 2022. Now, we were able to laugh about it because we were all the worst teams in football when it happened, but at least you didn't blow a 30-something point leave. Oh, well, the person I'm talking to. I'm sorry.
Starting point is 00:28:10 I didn't mean to set it up that way. But, you know, it could have been worse. I don't know what you're going to be worse, I guess. at least we all have our love of Matt Ryan. We don't have any hate for Matt Ryan here in Indy. You guys obviously love Matt Ryan. So, like, we have that to bond over either. There you go.
Starting point is 00:28:27 Kirk Cousins engineered that comeback as well. Oh, yeah, that's true. It all comes full circle. I apologize to all Falcons fans listening. I did not mean to invoke that I was purely just joking about the Colts and I forgot about, you know, the trauma that you guys went through. So I hope you guys have healed. Nothing bad has ever happened to the Atlanta Falcons.
Starting point is 00:28:47 in a February football game or anything like that's true at least you were there in February I guess you know but I can't imagine anything we had the Halliburton thing happened in Indy you know like we have our own heartbreak so I sincerely apologize Falcons fans but that's all we have for today ending it on that note here locked on Colts locked on Falcons I hope you guys don't hate me too much there in Atlanta after me saying that I want to thank you guys though for making us your first listen of the day the NFL season's finally here for your next listen get it a double dose of the locked on NFL podcast.
Starting point is 00:29:20 Tyler the man, man, Roland, gives you a shot of NFL Espresso to start your day. While Tony Wiggins takes you into the barbershop for the smoothest breakdowns to end the day, find Lockedon NFL on YouTube overlist your podcast. And you guys don't already. Make sure you're following us on socials. Aaron, let them know where they can follow you there on social media. Well, they can find me on Lockdown Falcons on Twitter as Falc fans on Blue Sky. And if you want to hear a bad German accent for the rest of the week,
Starting point is 00:29:46 continue to check out Locked on Falcons. Have to make sure you guys are checking out Locked on Colts. I don't know if I want to give my social media handle after I was just provoking Falcons fans, but no, it's at Zach Hicks too over there on socials. We have a fun time there, and I'm not going to try a German accent. I'm going to leave that to Aaron, but maybe we'll play some Aaron's German accent over at Locked on Colts the rest of the week. You guys have a great day, and we'll see you guys back here tomorrow for our respective shows,
Starting point is 00:30:12 and then again back on Sunday for the early morning, early morning game. Thank you.

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