Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Indianapolis Colts Need LIFELINE vs. Hobbled San Francisco 49ers On Monday Night Football

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts hosts the San Francisco 49ers for Monday night football here in week 16. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on NFL crossover, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hicks of Lockdown Colts. That's Eric Crocker of Locked-on 49ers. Welcome back to our shows. And part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network around. Crossover Thursday is presented by prize picks.

Starting point is 00:00:42 Download the prize picks at today. Use the code locked-on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. We're here today to dive into this crossover between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers. Game with major playoff implications, at least on paper. We'll see what it actually means for the Colts going forward. But we're going to dive into our typical crossover mode that we get into, guys. We're going to talk about the biggest storylines, the biggest matchups, and what the keys to victory are for our two squads.

Starting point is 00:01:13 But Crock, man, we're going to dive into it from your perspective first. Since we are hosting, I want to give you the floor first. What is the biggest storyline for the San Francisco 49ers? So we've been on a role for a lot of this season despite all the injuries. And I think one of the biggest storylines, aside from all of the injuries, is probably the situation with Brandon Ayyuk. This is a guy who tours ACL and some other legaments a year ago. And most people who expected him to be back by now. And then come to find out, there's a big contract dispute.

Starting point is 00:01:45 He's unhappy. And the situation just soured big time pretty quick, too. It was brought up by one of the listeners of Locked on Four. 49ers that they reminded them of the Michael Thomas situation. I said, man, that's pretty spot on where it was a guy who was productive for a squad, got paid, and then all of a sudden, it just went south. The situation soured, and he found his way off of the team and eventually out of the NFL as well. So Brandon and I, you got to assume he's going to be playing somewhere next year.

Starting point is 00:02:19 I just don't think it was with the 49ers. And right now, they could use him. You know, they do have weapons offensively. You see guys like George Kiddle who's still very productive for the 49ers. Chris McCaffrey, aside from last game where he only had one catch, he's been used as a past catcher as well. So you look at all of that, Juan Jings, he's been solid when playing, and there's been a lot of other guys who have contributed as well.

Starting point is 00:02:44 But Ricky Pearsall, it's kind of banged up right now. He's missed several games this season. Brennan, I, he could help the 49ers a lot in that receiver room. and I think that is one of the bigger storyline. It's a big storyline because we're finding out over the last week or so that it's just like he's just not coming back. But the 49 is

Starting point is 00:03:04 probably a little used to playing with that by this point in the season. Yeah, and how weird is that? Like you guys are on the verge of making the playoffs despite all the injuries. Again, you guys have been still keeping the wins up despite half your defense going down with injuries. And for that to be kind of your big

Starting point is 00:03:20 storyline this late in the season, like it's almost like a weird thing, I guess, for you guys even to be talking about it when there's like it should almost be like praising the team like we're pushing our way into the playoffs right now but there's like this distraction that keeps popping up yeah i mean the 49ers and i give all the praise on this to kow shenlyan he has done an excellent job of coaching this football team because it has been injury after injury i mean how many teams are able to stay afloat while not having their starting quarterback for several games i believe you know And our audience will correct me if I'm wrong.

Starting point is 00:03:55 I think Matt Jones is five and three on the season. So that's eight games that you're playing without your starting quarterback. Most teams don't survive that. On top of that, George Kittle missed a portion of the season. Joanne Jennings, who I previously mentioned, missed a portion of the season. You had Ricky Pearsall miss a portion of the season. And I haven't even gotten to the defensive side where they've just been ravaged by injuries, especially the big guys.

Starting point is 00:04:19 You're all pro players, defensive player of the year, caliber guys, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner. They lost their first round pick, the 11th or 12th overall pick, Mike Hill Williams. He's gone. So the 49, and there's several more guys too, but there's so many guys to name guys that you were going to count on this season to be big contributors. And at this point in the season, to be 10 and 4 is really just a masterful coaching job by Kyle Shenehan. And I thought Robert Salon there, too, the defense wasn't great last game. giving up as much points and yards as they did to a bad Tennessee Titans' offense. But they're finding ways to win.

Starting point is 00:05:01 They've been good in other games defensively against guys like, you know, the Panthers and some of those teams. But ultimately, Kyle Shanahan did a masterful job this season, keeping this team very, very, not just competitive, but at this point in the season, an opportunity to potentially be the number one season. in the NFC. Yeah, no, for sure.

Starting point is 00:05:25 And that's kind of funny because it links back to the Colts where a lot of our conversations recently with Indy has been like, man, it's really tough to win in the NFL, especially when you're going against playoff team after playoff team these last couple weeks, when you're down to your emergency quarterback, when you are down your best players on defense. Colts are without their top three defenders, Mooney Ward, which you guys all know in love out there in Sanfran, DeForest Buckner, you guys all know in love out in Sanfran, and then Sauce Gardner, those guys have barely played for the Colts in this recent stretch when they gone downhill. But I guess we can always say there's one team that can win with all that going

Starting point is 00:05:57 against them. And that is the San Francisco 49ers. And it's kind of the battle of the injuries here where you guys, though, have your quarterback back. The Colts biggest storyline is obviously Philip Rivers. You know, I think there was a stat put out there or thing put out there. The number one most watch indie network game because it was Philip Rivers return after five years. And I think on top of just the Philip River's return for the Colts being this big storyline, I think it's also just the fight the team showed against the Seattle Seahawks. That was a good team they played last Sunday. And I think people aren't giving enough credit that this Colts team that should be in their

Starting point is 00:06:32 dying throws right now because of all the injuries, because of where they're at at quarterback, took Seattle to the wire, held one of the best offenses in football to no touchdowns in that game. And I think the Colts deserve credit for that fight. But now the big thing, the big storyline going forward is, was that their final push on this season before they give up? in the final three games or is this like showing what they're going to be the rest of the way are they going to continue to fight are they going to be a team that's going to be a tough out and maybe

Starting point is 00:07:02 can squeeze out a win or two down the stretch or was that the final little push they have there behind philip rivers and his one miraculous game back and then it just fades into obscurity after that so for the colts it's still the big philip river storyline but also just how much fight the team showed against a really good seattle team and can they carry that fight now back home Again, still a good 49ers team, but now they're back home. Now you're a week removed from that. Do they keep the same emotions that they kept in this past game? Well, when you have the CEO or whatever her position is right now,

Starting point is 00:07:35 Carly Ursaid Gordon on the sideline making notes of everything she's seeing, maybe it just has people fighting a little bit harder knowing that, hey, she's watching everything that's going on. She's not just going to go off with what the coaches say. She's listening to what the coaches are saying in the headset. I like the approach that she's taking, And I feel like, especially early on when you kind of were healthier and had Daniel Jones at quarterback, I think people were kind of feeding off that a little bit.

Starting point is 00:08:01 And I'm not saying that was the difference, but it was kind of refreshing to see someone take that approach. And now that, you know, you're down quarterbacks, multiple quarterbacks, and you're going with old man rivers, you know, to see the fight in them, Fortniteer fan base was rooting for the Indianapolis Colts. And when you guys kicked that field, like in the game, I said, ooh, I think they did it. And Sam Donald hit a nice pass and got them down the field and in position to kick

Starting point is 00:08:31 your field going to win the game. So that was tough to see. But I do like the fight that I've seen from them. And when you have some, you know, you got a baller at running back, you know, there's always an opportunity, a defense that can play well. There's always a chance. Yeah, no, for sure. This Colts defense is coming to this game.

Starting point is 00:08:46 Kind of limping still. Mooney Ward is out for the year. We'll see with Soss Gardner and DeForest Buckner, which we'll get into more in future segments, like the health of those two guys will be a big factor this Monday night. But this Colts team at least showed some fight, and they have to bring that same fight against a good 49ers team that has been the embodiment of fight all season long.

Starting point is 00:09:05 No matter who's out there, a quarterback, wide receiver, defense, they fought their way to a 10 and 4 record. And like you said, Kroc, they're fighting for the number one seat in the NFC right now alongside the best of, I mean, in the best division in football. They're right there in the thick of this. So I think we're going to be in for a good little fight on Monday night. It might be an ugly game, which we're going to talk about here at a second, but I think it's going to be a good little fight.

Starting point is 00:09:28 But I keep teasing it. Next up, we're going to dive into our biggest matchups between these two teams. What will decide the game between the 49ers and the Colts on Monday night football? But first, this episode is brought to you by prize picks. The holiday season is one of the best times for sports. You got bowl games, big basketball matchups, playoff pushes. it's all happening at once. And while we're all making the choices every day,

Starting point is 00:09:53 one of the most fun places to make the right call is with prize picks. Prize picks is the easiest way to get in on daily fantasy sports. Just pick more or less on at least two player projections, lock in your lineup, and you're in the game. It's simple, it's fast, and it's available in 45 states, including California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia. The early payout feature is a great bonus. When your lineup starts strong, you may get that option to cash out early,

Starting point is 00:10:17 which if you're kind of manic like me, and just freaking out, I think that's the perfect way to go. And if you can choose from a huge range of unique stats, from fantasy scores, field goals, attempted, free throws made, and turnovers. Whatever fits your strategy, you can pick your way to play on prize picks. So download the prize picks app today and use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup. That's code of locked on NFL to get $50 on lineups.

Starting point is 00:10:41 After you first, have you play your first $5 lineup, prize picks, it's good to be right. All right, locked on every dayers. We are back with this crossover Thursday. Zach Hicks of Locked on Colts here, joined by Eric Crocker over of Locked on 49ers. And we got a big match of 8 and 16 versus 10 and 14 Monday night football. Again, probably better on paper than what it's going to be in reality. But we'll see what transpires on Monday night.

Starting point is 00:11:10 But Croc, because again, you are the guest on this show I'm hosting, I want to throw it to you. What do you think is the most crucial matchup for the 49ers? as they head here to Indy for this big game. You know, I think the 49th defensive line against the Colts Office line. I know Old Man Rivers back there, he actually was protected fairly well for someone who can't move.

Starting point is 00:11:35 And one of the bigger issues of 49ers have had really for the entirety of this season, they can't get after a quarterback on the other side. So I think that's the thing to watch. And maybe I don't just make it the 49ers' defensive line against the Colts officer line. Maybe I say, you know, it's just, all the 49th is able to put pressure on rivers and make him uncomfortable.

Starting point is 00:11:57 And when you watch some of the clips, again, I didn't watch a full game from the Colts versus Seahawks, but a lot of what I saw was, you know, Phil the River is kind of falling back a little bit, kind of fading away from some of the throws, just a little comfortable as you would expect a guy who has not played a football game in five years since COVID. So we should expect him to look that way. But the 49ers have to make sure that they continue to make him look that way. And I don't think they're going to be able to do it by just bringing four guys.

Starting point is 00:12:27 They're going to have to bring some pressure. They're going to have to send five guys at times if they want to continue to make him look a little uncomfortable in that pocket. Yeah, move him off of his spot. The mobility has, he wasn't the most mobile quarterback before. He's a really big quarterback, kind of a big stature guy. Watching him, he looks like someone playing Philip Rivers in a movie. That's just what it looked like. So you got to make him look like that come this game as well.

Starting point is 00:13:01 Yeah, no, the Colts are very much aware of the limitations that Philip Rivers have when it comes to moving off his spot. The Colts had their highest rate of shotgun and pistol snaps this past week. Compared to earlier in the season with Daniel Jones, they did more under center, they did more play action. that's not in the playbook anymore because Philip Rivers can't move. He can't move whatsoever. All he can do is a one or a two-step drop, hit his back foot and get that ball out of his hands. So it's going to be quick that ball coming out. By the 49ers, if you can make it hitch even a little bit,

Starting point is 00:13:30 you have a good chance of forcing mistakes because the arm talent really isn't there right now with Rivers. And that kind of leads to my big matchup is when it comes to Rivers, is there any more in the tank besides what they did this past week against the Seahawks? The Seahawks kind of figured it out in second half. Colts only had 67 total yards of offense in that second half. I think only like 37 yards passing once the second half started. And part of that was because their whole offense in this game was screen passes and rub routes. And if you're going to be sitting in like zone coverage and just like zone coverage against the rub routes so you can communicate there and then, you know, flying downhill against the screenplays, what else do you have there as an offense?

Starting point is 00:14:10 You know, you have to have a little bit more than that to find constant success in this league. and I'm curious if there's anything else. You know, does Philip Rivers arm get a little bit better a week? Like, again, he came in on Monday for his first workout and he was signed, I think, Wednesday. And then all of a sudden he was playing on Sunday. So maybe a week of full practice, like two weeks under this belt can have that arm a little bit more loosened up and maybe not, you know, as stiff as what it was on Sunday. Or maybe that's just what we're going to get.

Starting point is 00:14:39 And all they can do is run rub routes and run these checkdowns to running back. So I think the biggest matchup is can they get anything more out of this passing offense? Because Rivers gives you a nice floor of, hey, ball's going to be out. Guys are going to be able to catch it and fall forward and get into third and two, third and three, third and four situations. But the margin for error is so short when you're relying on like 10 plus play drives. You know, you have to be able to have something more than that. So a big matchup for the Colts is can they squeeze anything else out of Phillip Rivers

Starting point is 00:15:08 or is that the best they can do? Because if that's the best they can do, I don't know if you're beating any of these teams. down the stretch here. Yeah, 49ers are going to have to figure out how to take away the short stuff, some of the crossers or the mesh routes and things like that and make him push the ball down the field. You know, some of these balls floating just a little bit, right? He doesn't have as much zip on his throws as he used to.

Starting point is 00:15:31 Philip Rivers never had like the strongest arm. Like he wasn't just a super power thrower, I think, from that class, Ben Rothersberger, probably a better arm. But we also saw Ben Rothersberger late in his career. And he started to kind of elect to throwing some of the more, you know, quick, quick game, getting the ball out of his hands right now, as opposed to consistently pushing the ball down the field. So I think Philo Rivers has kind of lean more into that aspect of his game.

Starting point is 00:15:59 And the 49ers are going to say, you know what, we've got to take that away. Let's tighten things up. Let's not give him the pre-snap things. As someone who is a former football player myself, I can tell you, you know, I can't move as, you know, like I did when I once was, you know, in the NFL and stuff like that. But my mind, I can play with like my players, you know, like the kids I coach. I can play with them a little bit. I can't play man, but I can play off and I can read concepts because the game slows down to you from that perspective.

Starting point is 00:16:29 And I think for Philip Rivers, he's probably out there like, man, I can't throw the deep ball. I can't do certain things. But, man, the game has slowed down to where I can see things kind of happening a little bit before is actually happy. So he's going to have to be a big time anticipatory thrower in this game if he's going to want to beat the 49ers. The 49ers team, they do play a lot of his own. They'll mix in some man coverage. I think they may have to kind of change that up a little bit and go a little bit more, man, take away those initial windows and make Philip Rivers hold on to the ball a little bit longer than he would like.

Starting point is 00:17:00 Yeah, no, for sure. Communication is going to be big for the 49ers. But as long as you can keep everything under 10 and you can kind of contain that, I think you can bottle up this Colts team. But I love that shout out with the trench play, where the Colts over. line versus 49er D-line because the Colts might be down their top two offensive tackles for this game. Now, the 49ers haven't capitalized on that all season, but this would be the time to do it because if the Colts can get out there and run out of the gun with Jonathan Taylor all day

Starting point is 00:17:24 long, they don't, like, if they don't have to put the ball in Philip Rivers' hands, they will do that, you know, so the big thing for the 49ers will keeping the Colts into a pass-centric offense and making sure that Jonathan Taylor doesn't beat them with that offensive line up front. Flipping quickly to the other side, though, for the Colts, I think the big thing. thing obviously to slowing down this 49ers offense is one Christian McCaffrey's been such a fun interesting running back this year where he's playing like slot receiver a lot he's like he's like the best slot receiver in football while also being a running back so for the Colts the first thing is just trying to identify where he is at all times and holding him down I know the Titans only

Starting point is 00:18:00 helping to one catch last week but that's not the norm he's got a lot of catches this year and then just limiting yards after catch and yards after rush for the 49ers they've been creating a lot of yards like they always do with Shanahan. Shanahan is one of the best schemers in the NFL. So for this Colts defense, that could still be very short-handed. If you get your hands on a guy with the ball, you have to get them to the ground, which has always been a difficult task, especially with George Kill, too. George Kill is a monster when he gets the ball in his hands. The 49ers haven't been as good with the yards after catch. I think some of the guys that they originally relied on to be big yards after catch guys, they're no longer here.

Starting point is 00:18:39 no longer playing right now or maybe not as explosive as they once were and i would say right now who are the yat bros as they used to call themselves there was debo samuel he's in washington brandon iyuk was a part of that he's just acting kind of weird right now so then you look to george kiddo who's a big part of that and while he'll fight for extra yards and he may break the tackle you are not seeing those big breakaway run after catch runs that you saw early and his career, slicing through defenses, just not there. And Christian McCaffrey, although he has a ton of catches, a ton of touches. The volume is there, but the explosive plays, not there at all.

Starting point is 00:19:23 I think as long as run this season, 20 yards, some people may attribute it to, you know, some of the opposite line and round blocking, and I would give them that if it wasn't something that has just been non-existent all season long. You're telling me they're never blocking things up ever for you to spring off some big runs. So the explosive nature of the 49ers' offense is just not there. And I think they have to rely on Brock Party to create more of those explosive plays with his legs, with his arm. And when I say with his legs, even though he did have a big run last game,

Starting point is 00:19:57 I mean more so of getting out the pocket and being able to throw the balls down the field where maybe covers broke down because the run-after catch guys, they're just not quite either there again or what they used to be. Yeah, and real quick, I love that point there with Brock Purdy getting out of the pocket because he, the thing that's made him one of the best Shanahan quarterback's, if not the best Shanahan quarterback, is his ability to make plays out of structure and get out of the pocket on the move. The Colts this year have really struggled to get quarterbacks down when they get pressure on them. Lyotu Latu's had that issue in his two years with the Colts. And if Buckner doesn't play, that limits them even more. So getting Purdy just to the ground, like in any way possible is going to be a big part because, again, once he gets out of that pocket, it's not just the scrambling.

Starting point is 00:20:38 being able to throw outside the pocket and create plays that way. But coming up, guys, we're going to dive into our keys to victory for these two teams. What do the 49ers have to do to beat the Colts and vice versa? All right, guys, we are back for our final time here on this show, tithing into the keys to victory for both the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts Crock. I'll throw it to you again here. What is the key to victory for the 49ers this week to beat the Colts while on the road? on Monday night football, too, very fun time.

Starting point is 00:21:10 I've alluded to it with the, you know, the biggest matchup, and I'm going to go back to that. You know, the 49ers on the season, dead last in sacks. And it's not even close. Like, between them and the 31st team, 49ers have like 16 sacks. 31st team has like 22, 23. You guys are behind Miles Garrett.

Starting point is 00:21:30 I saw that graphic today. Miles Garrett's ahead of your whole team this year. Miles Garrett has several more sacks in the 49. entire team. So I feel like I'm kind of beating a dead horse a little bit, but that has to be the key for the 49ers. You have to sack Philip Rivers, and you have to sack him more than once, and that has been a big challenge for the 49ers, but I would say that is legitimately a big key to this game for San Francisco 49ers. Yeah, no, it's a huge part of that. And actually, it's really funny because it kind of links in with the Colts, where the Colts with Philip Rivers, their key to

Starting point is 00:22:03 victory going forward is bring games down to its ugliest fashion. We're going old school football, not in the sense we're under center, like we're still in the gun all game because Phillip Rivers can't move. But the whole goal of the Colts to win games down the stretch is to play complete ball control on offense, no negative plays. We're going to beat you three yards in a cloud of dust at a time and maybe get some first downs that way, pin you deep with special teams if we have to punt and then win on defense. The only way they had a chance against Seattle last week and they nearly pulled it off.

Starting point is 00:22:32 And I think that's the way they're going to approach a lot of these games down the stretch. So for the Colts, it's kind of avoid those negative plays, avoid those turnovers, avoid those sacks, because if they can avoid those, they can keep on track. That's, again, against Seattle, only one sack and it was on the play where Philip Rivers slipped on the logo, that really funny viral moment where he just fell down and it took him 10 minutes to get back up. That was the only sack they allowed in that game. Only turnover was in the desperate moments at the very end.

Starting point is 00:23:00 They kept it pretty clean on offense for the most part, and that's why the Seattle Seahawks were starting inside the 20, inside the 10 on most possessions, and why they were only able to get field goals. So I think that's the Colts plan of attack down the stretch here with Philip Rivers starting. So if you're the Colts, you've got to avoid those sacks. You have to avoid those turnovers because any one turnover or one sack can flip the game script against you. And can Philip Rivers win with a negative game script? Probably not.

Starting point is 00:23:27 He can probably only get the win for you if it's, just that ball control, getting three to four yards, falling forward, and winning a field goal battle. If you throw a pick six, that might be the end of the game for the Colts. So for the Colts, it's avoid those big negative plays. You know, I think another thing for the 49ers is something that they've actually done very well. And it's flown under the radar a little bit. It's one of those things when it's not an issue. You don't bring it up as much when it's an issue. You talk about it a lot, but special teams. 49ers are top of the league right now in special teams and that is an area where they struggled with for years and they hired a new special

Starting point is 00:24:03 teams coordinator it seems like they're getting it right and some of these games we're talking about if you're going to win games with the amount of injuries the 49ers have there has to be something else then you're just playing well you know offensively or defensively and i think for the 49ers it's been special teams i don't even want to mention the kicker stats right now because i don't want to jinx anything but he's got a good thing going to right now, Eddie Panero kicking the ball. Special teams, they've been able to take the ball away several times. They've been able to capitalize off of getting either a big return

Starting point is 00:24:38 by the 49th return on Sky Moore or pinning teams back on punk coverage. So 49ers continue to play really good special teams, a very underrated aspect of their game right now that's really attributing to some of these wins. Yeah, no, when you're a team like the 49ers coming into this matchup, you're favored by five and a half on the road against an eight-win team. So a team that has won this year, but your favorite heavily in that game, you have to win that third phase because underdogs have a chance if they can win that third phase against you. So if you're the 49ers, don't turn it over on special teams, make sure that your returns are crisp and clean.

Starting point is 00:25:15 Don't get pinned deep. And I think for the Colts, again, the inverse is true where it's like, if you don't win special teams, you're not upsetting a team like the 49ers, you know. So you have to have those margin for errors going your way because, the way that the Colts want to play, special teams and defense need to win the day for you. So the defense needs to perform like I did last week, physical, coming downhill, flying all over the place, and then special teams need to win that way. But that's my second key here actually is the defensive aspect of that, where the Colts

Starting point is 00:25:41 run defense since their by week has been the second best in football, only behind the Los Angeles Chargers. They've held teams to only 3.3 yards per carry. I think they're sixth in success rate against. They're getting a lot of negative plays. and if you're the Colts against a 49ers offense that has a quarterback that can create like Brock Purdy, you want to keep them behind the count as much as possible. We want to get them into third and tens, third and 11, third and 12s, because if they can get

Starting point is 00:26:06 into those third and three, third and four situations, good luck covering, again, McCaffrey on an angle route or covering kiddle one-on-one with the injuries that the Colts have on defense. So keep flying downhill, step the run like they have been, and keep the 49ers to third and 10, third and eight plus, and you might have a puncher's chance of doing what you did. against Seattle here against the 49ers offense. One thing the 49ers aren't doing very well is running the ball. And you would think that wouldn't be the case when it's a team like Kyle Shanahan right here.

Starting point is 00:26:37 When people call him a genius, it's not because he just has these elaborate passing concepts. It's because of the way he draws up the run game. And right now, it just has not hit. Christian McCaffrey currently right now has the second most runs in the, the season, excuse me, third most in his entire career. But he's just 5,000 yards. He will hit that. Again, the volume so far has been crazy high for him.

Starting point is 00:27:05 3.6 yards per carry. That's the lowest yards per carry in his career. So he still may very well get 23, 24 carries in this game. It just might be a hard-fought 65 yards. And that's what the 4'9s have seen a lot of. Now, if they can get something going on the ground, that would be awesome but like you said this is a coach team who had done a really good job with defending the run and i think that's something that they might be able to do again against

Starting point is 00:27:34 the 49ers so it would probably be the other things uh keeping brock purdy in the pocket having to make throws one thing i think rock party is really good at is when he has the run and pass as an option and what i mean by that is first down second down right if you let them get four yards on the ground, five yards, they can throw the ball right here or they can run the ball. That's when I feel like he's probably his most efficient. When you get him in those kind of third and long situations, he still can complete him.

Starting point is 00:28:04 Don't get me wrong. But I think that's where he's being more prone to force something to a receiver and potentially turn the ball over. So I think he gets to Tennessee Titans, they did a pretty good job of staying out of those positions and most of the third downs were very manageable for the most part. And I thought he excelled and played at an extremely high, level in that game.

Starting point is 00:28:23 If you can get him to be a little uncomfortable with the down and distance, he may force something and give you something, and that could open up an opportunity for the coach. Did it several times against the Carolina Panthers through three, four interceptions in that game. Didn't matter if 49 is still one. So even with him doing that, if the 49th's defense does their part on Phillip Rivers,

Starting point is 00:28:46 they still can pull a win out, even if there are some of those turnovers. Yeah, and I'll close it out with just one more that I think applies for every game, for every single team, but especially in this one with two banged up teams, whoever wins the trenches will win the day. As always, that's how it works in the NFL. If you can win up front, you have a good chance at winning. So if the Colts with their backup offensive tackles, but still their interior intact with Jonathan Taylor in the backfield, they can run the ball effectively.

Starting point is 00:29:11 It takes the pressure off rivers and they can put points on the board. And on the other side, they can pressure Brock Purdy. It puts them in better position. But on the inverse side, if the 49ers can protect Purdy, let him do his thing in the backfield there. I don't think Jonathan Edwards and Mackay Blackman, what, Cameron Mitchell, I don't know how long those guys are going to be able to cover the kiddles of the world, the Jennings of the world, like those are good players out there

Starting point is 00:29:35 and the Colts just don't have the talent right now in the back end. And on the other side, if the Colts can't run the ball, Philip Rivers isn't carrying you to victory. This is not, you know, 2015 Philip Rivers, 2014, Philip Rivers. He's a grandpa now. He's not going to carry you to victory. So whoever wins the trenches will win the day in this one, especially, I mean, it's true in every game,

Starting point is 00:29:53 but I think especially in this one with the known weaknesses these two teams have. Man, you said 2015 and 2014, I didn't even by then, he was still in the NFL for a long time. Right, right. So he's been around a long time, and we're going to see how he holds up in this big time matchup. Yeah, definitely be a fun one here. Both teams still have playoff hopes.

Starting point is 00:30:13 The Colts hopes are probably more hopes right now than the 49ers you are doing their thing. But it should be a fun one on Monday night, between these two squads. Again, prime time football in Indy. We will see the interesting uniforms the Colts have in that game as well. So make sure you guys are tuning in. But real quick, if you guys need a last-minute holiday gift

Starting point is 00:30:34 or someone keeps asking what you want, make it easy. Ask for the everyday air club. Add-free episodes of this show, exclusive Discord, server access, and more subscriptions can be gifted through locked-on Colts or locked-on 49ers.com. And for those of you guys on video, we send you guys to the first ever 24-7 national NBA YouTube.

Starting point is 00:30:51 channel directly from here. And if you don't already, make sure you're following us on social media at Zach Hicks 2 at Coach Crocky for all your coverage of your two teams and subscribe to this on YouTube where you guys get your podcast. You guys have a great day and we'll both be back with you on our respective shows for our final bit of coverage on Friday leading into this big game.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Indianapolis Colts Need LIFELINE vs. Hobbled San Francisco 49ers On Monday Night Football

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.