Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - CROSSOVER: Indianapolis Colts' Shane Steichen On HEATER vs. Mike Tomlin's Pittsburgh Steelers

Starting point is 00:00:00 Crossover Thursday here on the Locked-on Podcast Network. Locked-on Colts meets Locked-on Steelers. It'll be a fun one as the Colts, maybe the best team in the NFL, come to Pittsburgh. Let's get into it. You are Locked-on NFL crossover, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello and welcome to Crossover Thursday here on the Locked-on Podcast Network. I'm Chris Carter of Locked-on Steelers.

Starting point is 00:00:35 He's Zach Hicks of Locked-on Colts, and we are here on crossover Thursday, breaking down Steelers Colts for a 1 p.m. Sunday matchup at Accresher Stadium here in Pittsburgh. As always, crossover Thursdays are brought to you by prize picks. Download the prize picks app today. Use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first dollar. line at first five dollar lineup more on them later Zach man it seems like the colts are the team that have come out of nowhere when they acquired daniel jones everyone was like oh oh okay you do your thing jane stuy kid you you clever little guy you and then the colts have clobbered

Starting point is 00:01:16 everybody they've pretty much faced this season they sit right now atop the afc atop the NFL at 7 and 1 they have dropped 30 or more points in all but two of their games and one of those games they put 29 points up their offense when I look at all the metrics they're scoring the most points for game at 33.8 most totally yards per game at 3385.3 most best expected points per play expected points they just all the metrics they own are the cults the NFL's best team right now or do people need to take a chill pill and let this team figure some other things out Yeah, you know, I'm fine with people saying like a top five team in the NFL, like there is certainly like if you ever want to argue the chiefs being up there, they're the chiefs. They're in the Super Bowl every single year, you know, like you want to put the Rams above them.

Starting point is 00:02:06 The Rams beat them, you know, earlier in the season. Like, I get it. But I do think there are a lot of people not buying this Colts thing still. I mean, we still see some national media guys saying that it's going to fall off eventually. And I just don't know what more you have to see from this Colts team, you know, maybe if you don't call them the best team in football, they're the best. offense in football by far and away and every single metric like you said there backs it up and yeah they've played a lot of bottom feeders this year but they've made them look like bottom feeders when they play them they're beating them by three plus scores every time they play them

Starting point is 00:02:37 and then when they've played teams that are in the playoff picture right now they're two and one with a 10 plus point differential they beat the chargers by two scores on the road they beat the Broncos early in the season put up 29 points on probably the best defense in football with the Broncos and their only loss was a Rams game where they fumbled away two touchdowns in that one losing by seven. So yeah, this Colts team is legit. They're very, very good football team, easily the best offense in football, just so well-rounded. We were talking before we recorded here, but if you take away every single pass attempt that the Colts have had this season, they're the number six offense in football in terms of EPA per play, purely because of their run game. And by the way,

Starting point is 00:03:18 their passing offense is still like the sixth best passing offense in football as well by you pay per play it's a very very good passing offense too but that's how dominant the rush offense has been so yeah i can understand the argument of putting other teams above them and you know being more into the well-rounded teams or teams we've seen do it before but this is a very good football team best offense and football and they've proved it each and every every every week this year look the colts biggest tests are still to come i think the Steelers are have been a decent team for most of the season the last two weeks they've really not been good defensively um but certainly the Colts win this game they get they get that I think they're going international against

Starting point is 00:03:56 the Falcons they get a buy week but then they get to play the Chiefs in Kansas City I think especially if the Colts win these next two games all eyes are going to be on that game to be like all right who's really top dog in the AFC right now but I just I look at this we're going to continue this over the next segment too but I look at this matchup and I see like you know if the Steelers defense was what it had been for the past several years this would be a very very intriguing match. Because the Steelers defense, each of the last three years, has been a top 10 unit, and Shane Seikin's taken advantage of it, you know, albeit against teams that were quarterback by backups and Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields. But this would have been a key match.

Starting point is 00:04:35 But the problem is right now the Steelers defense is struggling mightily. And that's kind of the story of the team right now. We spent pretty much every day this week talking about the defense and what's going on there. For example, the Steelers defense where it's ranked top 10 in scoring for the past, each of the past three years under Terrell Austin, the defensive coordinator, they're 8 22nd in scoring. They're dead last in passing yards per game. Now, they're able to win certain situations. They're fourth best in red zone defense, force best in third and short.

Starting point is 00:05:03 They're top 10 in turnovers, and they're actually not bad and expected points. But it's just, there's been so many breakdowns that I've seen happen with this team, and it's continuing to mount. And one thing that you and I were talking about off camera is that Shane Stuyken's offense is designed to take advantage of teams that lose their discipline and make big mistakes. And I think that could be the kryptonite that forces the Steelers, I guess not Kryptonite because they haven't been Superman this year. But you get my point, this could be the big thing that really unravels the Steelers quickly in this matchup.

Starting point is 00:05:37 Yeah, the middle of the defense has to be very, very good to stop this Colts offense. And that's what we saw really in the one Colts loss they had this year, where they only scored 20 points against the Rams is that middle of the Rams defense was playing some really good football. Quentin Lake is having a great year for the Rams. Kobe Turner on the interior. They did a lot of really good things in that one. But your linebackers need to be up to par against the Colts. Your safeties need to be playing really well. Your interior for defensive line needs to be holding gaps because if they're not, the Colts are going to exploit you. A lot of what they do is motion based, misdirection based, play action based. So they go after linebackers

Starting point is 00:06:12 constantly. And, you know, in a modern NFL where there's only one Fred Warner and that Fred Warner's not even playing this year because he's injured, that's kind of the way you want to do it as an offensive coach, right? It's just go after linebackers. You know, I thought Dayon Henley was having a good year for the Chargers until they went against the Colts. And he had a really rough time there. So, yeah, when you look at where the Steelers defense has struggled, it's with, you know, a lot of discipline things. Tackling has been an issue for them as well, how they combat play action and early passing offenses. And this Colts team, they will step on your throat early and often. They take the ball to start games because they want to put seven on the board

Starting point is 00:06:50 before you even realize what's going on. And then they will keep just scoring on you. And it becomes like this onslaught. But yeah, you're going to get a heavy play action dose early. You're going to get a lot of motion and misdirection. And then once you feel like you figured that out, that's when you get Jonathan Taylor the whole second half, where he's averaging nearly 100 yards rushing in second halves this year. And that's with him not playing most of these fourth quarters because they're winning by three scores going into fourth quarters and he's having a seat on the bench so yeah this colts offense is kind of built to beat the static terrell austin mike tomlin style defenses that we've seen uh even the last two years the colts have averaged

Starting point is 00:07:26 28 and a half points per game against the steelers when they were better steelers defenses when it was gardner minchu and joe flaco starting for the colts now they're bringing in the number one offense and football with daniel jones playing at a high level jonathan taylor upping his game, heck, two years ago when they put up 30 on the Steelers, it was Trace Sermon leading the way in the back field. So now is Jonathan Taylor coming in here. So yeah, I think on paper, the biggest matchup for sure is this Colts red hot offense versus Steelers defense that even if they were playing their top game, I think this would still be a really tough matchup for them. But now with them struggling, what, 300 plus yards passing in three of the last four

Starting point is 00:08:04 games? And the only one that didn't was Dylan Gabriel. I think this is a concerning matchup for the Steelers defense. I think it very much is. And it's something that, you know, I'm going to continue, I'm going to continue to harp on going into our Friday episode that I think is really going to test the fortitude of the whole team because I think something that Cam Hayward, Steelers defensive captain, he talked about after the Packers gave me, so we have to respond better to adversity. And it was like once the Packers, you know, got a couple calls that went their way and they had a couple of big plays, it was like the mistakes started to compound upon themselves. You had, you had, you know, just blown coverages, whereas, like, early in the game against

Starting point is 00:08:46 the Packers, they were winning third down. They were, they limited the Packers to seven points in the first half, and they were making good plays. And then it just seemed like after that, all the mistakes just started building off of each other. And then basic assignments were being missed. And then on the offensive side, you had just, you know, even when they started to move the ball, there were dumb penalties where, like, you could see the frustration start to

Starting point is 00:09:06 build up. I think that that's what the Steelers have to avoid happening in this game, because the Colts are a team that I think is really well balanced, and especially on offense. And I think that there is a very easy script to follow for them to frustrate this Steelers defense and get them into making those mistakes. I want to talk more about that matchup in a second here as we continue crossover Thursday here on the Locked-on podcast. Network Chris Carter of Locked on Steelers, Zach Hick, Locked on Colts. Stick with us. We'll be right back. But first, what I remind you this episode is brought to you by prize picks. Every day we make decisions, but on prize picks, being right can actually get you paid. Don't miss the excitement

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Starting point is 00:11:24 Use code locked on NFL at Monarch.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarch.com code lockdown NFL for half off your first year only at Monarch. Zach, we're looking at this matchup a bit more. It's crossover Thursday here, crossover Thursday with locked on Steelers, locked on Colts. And I truly think that unless the Steelers defense does a complete flip turn of all the problems that they've had and there's addressing,

Starting point is 00:11:53 there's a comeuppance of this unit that was highly praised by myself and several others here in Pittsburgh looking at what they were doing in training camp, unless that group turns it around, I truly think the only thing that the Steelers, can really do in this game is score. And I do think that that's something that Shane Steichen's defenses haven't had to deal with the last couple of times they've faced the Steelers

Starting point is 00:12:15 because it's always been, you know, Mitch Trubisky, Justin Fields. And meanwhile, the Steelers offense, where I didn't, you know, whereas the defense is underperformed, I think the offense has exceeded my expectations so far. They're 11th and they're moving. They don't have all the metrics that work in their favor,

Starting point is 00:12:32 like they're 25th in total yards. But when you look at how they protect the football, ball how good they are in the red zone how well they do in third third and short um they do a lot of things right and aaron rogers seems to have them moving yeah i think the biggest aspect too that is concerning for me on the colts side looking at the steelers offense is that 13 personnel package now i know pat friar moose left this past game and and his status is up in the air for this upcoming game uh but just the ability to put these heavier personnel sets out there for the steelers like even if friar moose misses the game i fully expect them to go more than the air i fully expect them to go

Starting point is 00:13:06 more six offensive line or maybe call up another tight end because they love they they have a fourth tight end and connor hayward cam hayward's little brother and they're not afraid to use them right exactly so i expect them to live in their 13 personnel actually a really funny thing about this uh game is that the teams that run the most 13 personnel are on both sides of this the colts run at a 12% rate uh the Steelers run it at a 15% rate and the reason why it's so interesting to me for this matchup is louis and rumo does not play base defense the Colts do not play base, they don't put three linebackers on the field. Really, their only counter to heavier personnel sets is five defensive linemen and one

Starting point is 00:13:44 linebacker in their nickel packages, right? It's like their grizzly front is what they call it. So that would be key for just the Colts, just trying to get that forward penetration against that 13 personnel. But it's interesting because, again, traditional thought is go more linebackers against heavy personnel sets, and that's how all teams are able to throw against it. But on the flip side, because the Colts are kind of taking away the pass still by keeping lighter personnel groups on there, it leaves them susceptible to the ground game where

Starting point is 00:14:11 you could see these outside run plays behind the three tight ends be really successful. You could see these long stretch plays. And then once you get the ground game going with Aaron Rogers, Aaron Rogers has been really effective this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers. So yeah, I think this game could have shootout in the makings just because of the way the Steelers run the football out of those 13 personnel and 12 personnel sets. Arthur Smith, we all know him here in Indy because of his time with the Tennessee Titans and what he was able to do with that ground game with Derek Henry.

Starting point is 00:14:39 So I do think this is going to be a new challenge for a defense that, again, they are so predicated on slowing down the pass and so focused on the past game because, one, they have a big lead every single game. You don't really face the run very often. But because they're so predicated on that, if a team sticks with the run and goes with heavier personnel sets, they might be exploited on the cold side of the defense because they want to be in nickel and they want to be in dime as much as possible. On those heavy sets, what the Steelers have been doing for the Colts fans that haven't had a chance to watch any of the Steelers games yet, they bring on Spencer Anderson, who's sort of a swing tackle for the Steelers.

Starting point is 00:15:15 But with Isaac Siamalo going down last week, now he is kind of up in the air this week. He's their Steelers starting left guard. He's like the oldest guy on the offensive line. They have a lot of second. They have like three second year starters and one guy, Broderick Jones in his third year. but Seamala went down. Spencer Anderson became the backup guard. And then they couldn't deploy those heavy packages where it was six

Starting point is 00:15:38 offensive linemen and, you know, an extra tight end and those things. But to your point, they are not afraid to throw out, to throw up the heavier packages. And I wouldn't be shocked if they found a way to try to rotate Spencer Anderson in, even if he's the starting guard, have plays where they rotate someone else in to the guard position and have him go to that extra tackle spot because he's been. so good there for the Steelers. And then on top of that, they have this guy named Darnel Washington, who's their, who's the kind of officially, he's number two tight end, but he's basically been their primary tight end because they love using him in the run game and they're not afraid to

Starting point is 00:16:16 use them in the past game. He's this six, seven behemoth of a tight end. They say he weighs 260. He does not. He weighs like 300 pounds. And he just, he's like a seventh offensive lineman out there. And so the Steelers seem content with pitching it out wide, letting guys like Jalen Warren and Kenneth game will use their speed and quickness to get out there. And they also, they ask their all of their linemen to pull Broderick Jones, Troy Faltonu, Samo when he's healthy, Mason McCoy, all their guys. They pull and they hit in space well. And so I do think that'll be interesting to see how do the Colts try to counter that

Starting point is 00:16:49 style of play? Yeah, the game script is going to be huge in this game because, again, the Colts take the ball off the opening kick. If they go down and get seven on that first drive and maybe get Arthur Smith in that Steelers offense panicking a little bit. say, oh, we have to pass a little bit to keep up and get away from the running game, then it could really swing heavily in the Colts favor. And this is what they've done to a lot of lesser opponents they've played this year,

Starting point is 00:17:10 where we're going to put up 14 on our first two drives. And if you have one mistake on your offense, you're all of a sudden a two score a hole. It's hard to climb out of that, especially, again, when the Colts offense is scoring at will. So a lot of this is going to be how much the Steelers want to stick to the run. Now, again, this is Arthur Smith. He's going to stick to the run. We know how he is. They can be down by four scores in the fourth quarter, and they'll stick to the run a little

Starting point is 00:17:31 bit because that's just how he is. But yeah, I think that's going to be a great matchup to watch for these two teams. I'm really curious to see what the Colts can do against Aaron Rogers, where that ball comes out quick, it comes out hot, it's getting his guys able to run after the catch. And then D.K. Metcalf, I don't know if the Colts defense has this like big time answer for him. Their number one corner with Charverius Ward out has been Mackay Blackman. And Mackay Blackman for, you know, he's played fairly well this year. He's like $5.10 a buck 80, you know, a buck 90 at best. That's hard to put on D.K. Metcalf, it would have been great to have Charverius Ward for this game so you could put

Starting point is 00:18:05 them on Metcalf, but it makes your defense have to be more aware of a player like Metcalf. So, yeah, I think this game is, again, has kind of shootout potential on paper. The biggest thing is just going to be splash plays and takeaways, sacks, penalties on offense. Those are going to be the only things that keep these offenses off the board and which offense can be a little bit more disciplined. The Colts defense for all their warts and issues this year are top 10 and sacks. They've got a turnover in every single game they've played this year. The Colts have a great turnover differential as well. So that's kind of where they've lived as a defense where it's like, look, you're going to put up yards on us, especially in these

Starting point is 00:18:40 garbage timing games or games. We're leading by two scores in the fourth quarter. We'll let you have a 10-minute drive to get to the red zone and kick a field goal or something, right? Like, that's fine. But the big thing is just creating those opportunistic splash plays. I think that's what both these defenses want to do in this game where it's like, look, these offense are are going to score 20 plus points for sure, but can we make that low 20s instead of mid-30s? You know, there's going to be the big key by taking the football away, getting it back to our offense that has the advantage. I'm right with you in this. I just think that the Steelers, another thing that's been, that's supposed to be their thing this year, what's crazy is their defense right

Starting point is 00:19:19 now is still seventh in turnover creation. They haven't created a turnover for three games. They didn't do it against. Patriots game, right? They had like six takeaways in that game. Yeah, I think they had like five, four, fumbles or five recovered fumbles. And then, you know, they did have other games like, you know, they played well. They had some takeaways against the Vikings, but against the Browns, against the Bengals and against the Packers, they haven't had any. And granted, they also, they've dropped quite a few interceptions, like, or let a ball sail

Starting point is 00:19:44 right, so pass a sail right over their heads. But I think that that's, you're right. That's the thing that the Steelers can use to shock themselves out of, out of these plays. But the key thing is going to be, can they get Daniel Jones to make a mistake? because he has been playing very mistake-free football a lot this year. You know, we were talking about the Steelers. You know, they are good at protecting the football. They have the seventh lowest turnover rate at 0.8.86 turnovers per game.

Starting point is 00:20:11 Colts have the third best turnover rate as far as protecting the ball at point, literally half a turnover per game. So I think that if the Steelers defense has any hopes to shock themselves out of their problems, it's going to come from those turnovers. But I want to talk about if the Colors, do have a weakness. What might it even be? We'll talk about that next here on crossover Thursday here on the locked on podcast network, Chris Carter, Zach Hicks. Let's keep it here. We'll be right back. But first, remind you that this show is brought to you by Mazda. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. Mazda delivers confidence with every ride with more IHS top safety pick plus awards than anyone else. You can feel Japanese craftsmanship in every detail from the metallic accents to available in Napa leather upholstery. With all-wheel drive standard in every crossover SUV,

Starting point is 00:20:59 you can drive with confidence through almost any season like our players. They sweat every detail because when you make every move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. Mazda move and be moved. Back here on crossover Thursday, here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, I'm Chris Carter of Lockdown Steelers. He's Zach Hicks of Locked on Colts. Zach, let's talk about the Colts because you did detail like,

Starting point is 00:21:22 hey, if a team can run the ball on it, if they can go heavy packages, that might be. one thing, but is there a weakness that you've seen from the Colts in these? Because, I mean, like you said, they've beaten up on all these lesser teams. They've won all but one of their games. And that one game, they had some crucial turnovers at serious points. Are they a team that kind of doesn't have an obvious flaw? Or do you see something that worries you when you look at them taking the field? If a team can strike at this, this could crumble the way that they play football. Yeah, I think a lot of it is just the Colts defense right now.

Starting point is 00:21:56 If you ask me what the flaw is with the Colts offense, it's that there's probably some turnover regression bound to happen eventually. Like, it's hard to go a whole, they have three turnovers on offense this year. It's hard to go a whole season with what, seven, on pace for seven, eight turnover total on the year. It's hard to go a whole season with that. There are going to be some mistakes because that's just part of football. So maybe that's the one negative on the Colts offense is like this can't keep up at this level, I guess. But on defense, you know, they are pretty exploitable just in terms of, of, I think in the running game, if you go more heavy personnel packages, you really can take

Starting point is 00:22:31 advantage of them out in space just because they're going to match with nickel, they're going to match with dime, you can get some chunk runs. And then from there, I think the most important thing to do is play off of play action, use some more max protect kind of pass plays, and let your three wide receivers work against the Colts six or seven defenders in the back end. And you probably will have success that way. because a lot of the cold success in terms of past defense this year have come from pressure. But if they're not getting pressure up front, like a DeForest Buckner is not getting a quick

Starting point is 00:23:01 pressure, if Laotou is not moving a quarterback off their spot, they just don't have the talent right now in the secondary. Like Nick Cross and Cam Bina have played some good football. Kenny Moore is still coming back from the Achilles injury that has been lingering him the last couple weeks. And then on the outside, you know, Mackay Blackman's been fine, but fine is a relative term in terms of the other side, which is practice squad guys that. they're throwing out there because they are down to cornerback 7, 8, 9, and 10 or whatever it is

Starting point is 00:23:28 on this team. So I think that's kind of the way that you can exploit this Colts team and put up points on them. It's exactly what the Cardinals did against them a couple weeks ago is they used a lot of six offensive lines sets, 12, 13 personnel sets to throw the ball out of max protect and let their wide receivers go to work against a depleted secondary. So if that, if there's anything, I think it's that. But in terms of slowing down this Colts offense, you've got to hope that they woke up on the wrong side of bed that morning. And they'll still probably put up high 20s on you, but it's better than mid high 30s on you. Really, because the only thing I can stop, I think this Colts offense right now is themselves. They just have so many weapons on that

Starting point is 00:24:08 side of the ball. Maybe if injuries pile up, you might get lucky, but, you know, the offensive line is playing some of the best football I've seen. Shout out to your boy at right guard. McInsalves has just been a stud at right guard this year. I know you don't want to hear it going into this game, but you can hear it the rest of the year. You know, he's been playing some great football. But, yeah, I mean, Tyler Warren was the missing piece. Pitman, Pierce, Downs have all been great.

Starting point is 00:24:33 And then right when you think you've, like, slowed the passing game down, you get Jonathan Taylor, who's playing some of the best running back football I've seen in my lifetime right now with what he's doing. So, yeah, this Colts offense, I think their only thing that can stop them is themselves. And as a defense, I think your key just needs to be capitalizing on splash. plays, getting the sacks when they're there and trying to make sure, like, if a ball hit your hand as a defender, you're catching that football. You know, you can't let that hit the ground because the Colts will make you pay right after that. But, yeah, this Colts

Starting point is 00:25:04 team's a wagon right now. They're playing some great football. But I think their defense is certainly a little bit exploitable right now on that side of the ball. Yeah, I think that that's certainly part of it. And also, yeah, shout out to Mack and Solve as my pit guy, just extremely versatile. But I think that that's the thing here, that the Colts have so many guys. that I think fit what they're doing really well right now with the run game. And again, I think all of that, and I want to get to the quarterback talk here at the end because I feel like we've danced around Aaron Rogers and Daniel Jones. But like I feel like both of these teams are built in a way that makes it life easier for their

Starting point is 00:25:39 quarterback because their run games can take over at times. And I think whereas the Colts, they have taken over at times, I think the Steelers haven't had their full dominance of a run game, yet. And granted, you know, the Colts offensive line a bit more developed, you know, the Steelers offensive line. Like, you know, Trayfautano, this is his first year as a starter. He missed all the last year. Two other guys are in their second year. Broderick Jones is his first year at left tackle. But I think that when you look at what these quarterbacks are trying to do, if these

Starting point is 00:26:11 teams can just neutralize or mitigate the run games, it'd be interesting to see how these passing attacks work because Daniel Jones has been very smooth with the Colts. You know, when you, it's kind of like, you know, where like, you know, Ryan Tannenhill when he had Derek Henry all of a sudden, his career was revived, you know, and, you know, Daniel Jones had Sequin Barkley for some years. Now he has Jonathan Taylor and a really good offensive line and a plan that makes sense. And I do think it's going to be interesting to see which of these quarterbacks can make the better decisions because decision making, in my opinion, has been Aaron Rogers best trait for his entire career.

Starting point is 00:26:47 And the Steelers, he still clearly has that aspect to his. game. And I do think it'll be interesting if it does get to a shootout, which of these quarterbacks find ways to make things happen. Of course, Daniel Jones still has the athleticism on his side. Yeah, one thing I just want to put out there for any fan, because I think this is such an important thing that it kind of gets lost in the shuffle a little bit. The Colts are not a run first team. And I know that it looks like they're a run first team because Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL in rushing and he's been great. But Jonathan Taylor, in terms of carries per game, is on one of the lowest paces of his entire career.

Starting point is 00:27:23 Fewer carries per game than last year, much fewer than his 2021 season. And part of that's because they're sitting him in fourth quarters because they're killing teams. But in the first half, he's averaging like under 10 carries and a half, right? A lot of it's coming in the second half when the passing game opens things up for him.

Starting point is 00:27:39 So the Colts have been relying on Daniel Jones to be like their starting pitcher in a lot of ways. He comes out there, he builds up the lead by playing some really good football. And then when you have to give it to the bullpen, That's Jonathan Taylor. He's more of the bullpen on this team where, you know, if we have to get him out there earlier, that's fine because he'll run away a game.

Starting point is 00:27:57 But also he can carry the load and close out games as well. But Daniel Jones has played some really good football where this Colts team, they do so much motion pre-snap, so much play action where we have an answer for a lot of things defense are doing. And for Jones, it's just to take that information in pre-snap, identify like, hey, I have downs with inside leverage against Patrick Queen here. I know that I'm going to be able to get that completion. Oh, I have Alec Pierce one-on-one press man coverage on the outside.

Starting point is 00:28:22 I know I can force that down the field to him. Michael Pittman, Jr. on this RPO play because the linebacker's creeping up, I know I can get that ball out. So his mental acumen has been fantastic this year. It's probably the biggest area I slept on him coming into the season with Daniel Jones, and that's why he's been such a perfect fit in this Colts team. But yeah, I think if this does get a shootout, it really just comes down to that decision-making.

Starting point is 00:28:42 And honestly, like, for Jones, he had one interception that was a bad decision. his other two were just that he doesn't have the best arm throwing the ball vertically. So he's been making some really great decisions this year. And I just want to put this out there again. If Terrell Austin and Mike Tomlin want to have these static type defenses that show their hand pre-snap, I don't care if you're playing man or zone. The Colts are going to rip that apart. So you've got to bring some simmed pressures, some mugged blitzes, some creepers up to the line and bail out of it.

Starting point is 00:29:14 You have to just change the picture as much as possible to have success. success against this Colts offense because if you're not, Jones is going to throw for $2.50 in the first half, and then you're going to get Jonathan Taylor the whole second half. And you can't survive getting Jonathan Taylor the whole second half. No, you could not, man. It's insane what he's doing this year. And I think that's the thing.

Starting point is 00:29:32 It's not that they're run first, but it's like, it's like, you know, that ever presence of Jonathan Taylor running you over is always right over your shoulder. So you can never fully commit to Daniel Jones because if you do, you know that he can check into a run and Jonathan Taylor's taken off your head for 80 yards. And so I think that's what makes this offense really, really special, is that they have struck that balance. And on the flip side, I think Aaron Rogers has been

Starting point is 00:29:57 benefiting from, you know, a better system than the Jets. You know, the Steelers, you know, basically are one win shy of his total wins all of last year already. And I think that there's, there's things that if he can get going, if the runoffice can get going, they can balance each other out. And the Steelers are still figuring themselves out. But that's what it could be. I think If there's a recipe for the Steelers to win this game, it's that it is a shootout and then they get some turnovers to go their way. And then that leads them to a big upset. But we'll cover more of this on both of our sides of this show.

Starting point is 00:30:29 Lockdown Steelers and Locked on Colts. You've been listening to Crossover Thursday. Zach, thanks so much for joining me. Let people that can find you, follow you and get more your work. Yeah, obviously you can find me over at Lockdown Colts. I also cover the Colts for Horseshoehuddle.com all my written works over there. I do some video breakdowns also on YouTube. Just Zach Hicks is all it is on there.

Starting point is 00:30:46 and also follow me on social media is at Zach Hicks to cross all platforms. Absolutely. Thank you, Zach, for joining us. Thank you all for joining us here on crossover Thursday here in the Lockdown Podcast Network. I'm your host of Lockdown Steelers, Christopher Carter. You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Blue Sky, wherever you get your social media handle. It's my handles at Carter Critiques. You can read my work in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by going to post-gazette.com,

Starting point is 00:31:09 including a film study. If you want to see all the big problems of the Steelers defense, did a big one on Wednesday. Go check that out in the Pittsburgh Post-Cazette. You can also catch me here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, just like you catch Zach. Be sure to subscribe to the Lockdown Steelers and Lockdown Colts podcast for our Friday episodes, getting you ready for this big Sunday matchup. We'll see you here on the Lockdown Podcast Network.

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