Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Crossover Special with Locked On Bengals

Episode Date: October 15, 2020

On today's episode, our latest crossover special featuring an extensive Colts vs. Bengals preview. Evan Sidery of Locked On Colts and James Rapien of Locked On Bengals collaborate on the latest in Cincy and Indy.Starting off with the Bengals, how has Joe Burrow looked so far? Also, how will Burrow be able to survive long-term with their current offensive line? A rookie update outside of Burrow featuring Tee Higgins, Logan Wilson, and Akeem Davis-Gaither. Finally, what do the Bengals need to do on Sunday to keep it close with the Colts?Flipping it over to the Colts, what's up with Philip Rivers? Have these last two weeks been just a bump in the road, or a sign of what's to come for the rest of 2020? Injuries have ravaged Indy on offense, and they will likely be missing star linebacker Darius Leonard as well against the Bengals.Finally, we preview Sunday's with our predictions. Who will come out on top?All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed crossover episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back into your latest Locked On NFL Crossover special here. As James Rapine of the Locked On Bengals joins me, Evan Sidery of Locked On Colts. We're here to join you to talk about this really important week five matchup between the Bengals and the Colts. James, how are you doing today? I'm well, Evan. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I really appreciate coming on because, honestly,

I'm really intrigued by this matchup for both sides. I know the Bengals have been struggling a little bit lately, but, of course, Joe Burrow is in town there in Cincinnati. He's one of the more polarizing prospects we've seen come out of the NFL draft for quarterback since Andrew Luck. Let's start with the Bengals first. Dive into the Colts as well, and we'll close our predictions, James. But let me ask you, what's been the assessment on your end of Joe Burrow so far?

He's been great, absolutely great. And, you know, people are going to remember last week against the Ravens, but the Ravens make a lot of teams look bad. You know, the Browns in Cleveland after week one, they were worried about trading and talking about trading Odell Beckham Jr. And they've won four straight. You guys saw them last week. So the Ravens are going to make good teams or in the Bengals case, I think a mediocre team look awful. And Joe Burrow was confused for the first time last week. But

overall, you're talking about a guy who's still completing 65% of his passes, making checks at the line of scrimmage, commanding the offense, has emerged as a leader in the locker room, and he's doing it with a bad offensive line, with questionable play calling at times, with a star receiver who's been anything but through five weeks, and A.J. Green, and outside of Tyler Boyd, hasn't had a consistent presence there at receiver. T. Higgins has flashed some, and I'm sure we'll get into these guys,

but Burrow has done a lot and kept them in games outside of last week. So I've been really impressed with him, and I think he has a bright future. James, we did our crossover special in the offseason talking through just the Colts and Bengals back then. We were talking about Burrow, and really the comparison, honestly, could be there for Burrow with an Andrew Luck type of trajectory. And really, unfortunately, so far, I mean, through this very small sample size, this Bengals offensive line looks a lot like those old Andrew Luck offensive lines so far. What do you think has to happen moving forward here between Burrow and this offensive line? I think that they, one, need to realize that they're bad, right?

And I know that sounds kind of crazy to say, but this Bengals coaching staff came into the year thinking, okay, with this offensive line, we're going to be able to coach them up and get them to be, you know, an average unit, a competent unit, and they just haven't been. And so when you acknowledge that and you acknowledge, okay, well, we have a poor right tackle,

at least in pass protection by PFF metrics and certainly the eye test and Bobby Hart. Our guard play has been below average. How do we scheme around it? Do we sign a free agent? Do we go out of our way? As it applies to Sunday, I think Zach Taylor has to find a way to get Joe Burrow comfortable instead of him scrambling around taking hits. I mean, he's taken 50 hits in five games. That's just, it's insane. And some of those, like Andrew Luck, and I think the comparison makes sense from a variety of standpoints, but one thing that Luck loved to do, right, was extend plays, use his feet, use his playmaking ability.

Well, Burrow does those things, and that's something you have to live with. But you need the line to hold up its end of the bargain because he's going to take two to three hits just to try to extend plays a game anyways. And if the line isn't doing its job, 10 hits per game, that's just too many. It was 15 last week against Baltimore. The Bengals are going to have to find a way to cut that in half. And so I think that you're not going to be able to completely fix anything given the lack of talent, but if Zach Taylor can scheme around it and maybe John Ross is active this week and they try to get him the ball

and see if he can do something after the catch because they haven't really been able to give Burrow enough time to put the ball downfield and push it downfield, which is another flaw in this offense. Let's hit on the receivers like you mentioned, James. John Ross will be someone I want to hit on too as far as trade that I talk goes in just a second. But really the hot topic here, A.J.

Green, the Bengals veteran wide receiver. He's been there for so long, but it seems like he's been very disgruntled for a while now. That viral video we saw last week in Baltimore of him looked like he was mouthing trade me to someone on the sidelines. What's been your assessment of AJ Green so far this year, James? And is this the beginning of the end for a tumultuous relationship the last year or so with the injury? And now just the way he's played the last couple weeks with the

effort? Do you think maybe we're closing on the end of the AJ Green-Shacker instance by the trade deadline? I don't. And not necessarily because it shouldn't come to an end, because I think there can be a really good argument for both sides that it would be best for AJ to get, you know, have a new home and join a contender and try to help out. And I think he can. And at the same time, it might be good for the Bengals to try to get a pick instead of be, you know, hanging on to a guy that is clearly at this, past his prime, but I still think can contribute somewhere. But I look at it, and I asked Zach Taylor this on Wednesday.

He said, yeah, things are good with AJ. He's expected to practice Thursday. He's not going to practice on Wednesday. And he left Sunday's game with a hamstring. And you're right. It just seems like frustration boiled over some. And whatever the Bengals coaches did, and maybe they sat down with Green and had a talk with him,

but whatever it was, it seemed to smooth things over a bit. We'll see if Green talks this week. That's certainly someone we've requested. It's hard without open locker room, right, to walk up to his locker and be hovering around. But hopefully we can get him on a Zoom. But if not, just outside looking in the bangles are known to hang on they don't trade guys just to trade them even if they're you know partially unhappy

they probably look at this as all right well green tweet this hamstring in the during training camp he clearly hasn't been the same player through five weeks let's see how he looks this next these next couple of weeks. I won't rule out a trade, but they're really patient. Mike Brown in this front office, they're not going to overreact to social media or a viral video or anything like that. So I wouldn't be shocked at all if today as we record this, Evan, they still view Green as a piece of this franchise,

an important piece moving forward. Now that could change. Maybe they decide to go in another direction between now and the deadline, but I still think that they believe in Green. And depending on whether or not he has some success over the next couple of weeks, that could determine what happens to him before the deadline. He's been a pillar there for so long, James, being a top pick there, really seeing a lot of errors in Cincinnati through A.J. Green being their star player.

Of course, now turning into the Joe Burrow era, he's still hanging on there, and we'll see what happens the next couple weeks there. But with the Colts, just real quick, Paris Campbell, he's been out, and I've been looking around as far as trying to get more playmakers for this Colts offense because they're really desperately missing that 4-3-1 speed Campbell has. I'm sure a lot of Bengals fans or Ohio State fans know how much of a game-breaker he can be.

What's up with John Ross, and why isn't he being used more often there? Because, of course, 4-2-2 speed, a speed demon on the slot or the outside for this Bengals team, but he just hasn't clicked there throughout his career so far with the Bengals. What's it look like right now for John Ross' future with the Bengals? Bleak? Yeah, I certainly question it. And honestly, Evan, and maybe i'm the wrong person to ask but or the right person depending but you know let's say the colts did trade for john ross before

the deadline i'm probably the guy you want to have on to excite the colts fan base because i believe in ross i believed in ross when they drafted him back in 2017, ninth overall. I knew he had those injury issues. But when you watch that Washington tape, it's awesome. Like, he's great. And he's shown flashes of it. Last year, the start of the year, had a two-touchdown performance against Seattle, really game-breaker, a couple long touchdowns, long touchdown the next week against the 49ers. But he's dealt with injury issues, and that's kind of the question mark with him.

And here's the thing. He's going to have some boneheaded plays, but like, you know, he might have a drop here or drop there. He's going to have the, you know, he doesn't think the ball is coming to him and it looks like he's being lazy. Like there are plays like that for sure. And that drives Bengals fans crazy. And that's why a lot of them are out on him.

But I think they have less patience with him than other players. And so I think the Bengals should activate him this week. I never really thought they should have deactivated him because he brings something that Green doesn't really have anymore. Tee Higgins hasn't shown at the NFL level. Tyler Boyd doesn't have, even though he's a really good player. And that's being a deep threat that you're talking about. So if I'm the Colts, I would absolutely be interested in a guy like John Ross. At the same time, if I'm the Bengals, I would have him out there on the field Sunday, and I would have him out there every Sunday moving forward just to see if he can help Burrow help this offense get going because they've struggled all year with producing

explosive in big plays downfield. And that's just, if you watch last week against the Ravens, they were like, okay, we're going to get up on you. We're going to be physical and beat us over the top. And it could not, it could not and did not happen. And I think that adding Ross to this offense could certainly help. So we'll see. But if I'm the Colts, I'm absolutely interested. Last general Bengals question I have for you, James, before we dive into maybe what the Bengals need to do against this Colts team on Sunday. What's been your overall thoughts?

I know obviously a lot of Joe Burrow talks so far, but what about the other three rookies picked right behind him for the Bengals, T. Higgins, and then linebackers Logan Wilson and Akeem Davis-Gaither? What's been your thoughts on those three so far? They've played relatively well. I think linebackers are a hard spotkeem Davis Gaither. What's been your thoughts on those three so far? They've played relatively well. I think linebackers are a hard spot to come in as a rookie, specifically this year with no real offseason,

no in-person offseason or OTAs or anything like that. I think that they're starting to emerge a bit, those two linebackers. Akeem Davis Gaither led that room in snaps last week. Over 70% of the defensive snaps was out there for a significant amount of special teams plays as well. And he's just a fast athlete. He's a guy that can go sideline to sideline if you need him to. He can cover. Now, is he a rookie and is he going to make mistakes?

Absolutely. But he can also run. He's physically capable of running with running backs out of the backfield and tight ends, etc. Same thing goes for Logan Wilson. but he can also run. He's physically capable of running with running backs out of the backfield and tight ends, et cetera. Same thing goes for Logan Wilson. He's bigger, has a couple of interceptions in his last two games, played and missed one, had an interception week three, missed a game with a concussion,

had an interception the other day against Lamar Jackson. So another big athlete, fast player, good instincts. And so I think these two guys are sort of the future in the middle here for the Bengals defense. And I wouldn't be shocked at all if you see them early and often on Sunday, even though Josh Bynes and Jermaine Pratt are both scheduled to start. As for Tee Higgins, it kind of seems like the time is now for him. He led the receiving room in snaps last week. He's had, I believe, four receptions in the last three games, has really built a rapport with Burrow that continues to build week by week. And the one thing missing, and maybe this is the week, he hasn't made the big contested catches downfield. And I just think it's him showing his hands a little bit earlier than most NFL receivers.

So guess what? Corners are understanding that, and they're able to adjust to it and bat the ball away. So I think he's adjusting to that aspect of life in the NFL, but so far it's promising, and I wouldn't be shocked at all if he continues to emerge and is a factor on this offense for the rest of the season. James, looking at this game on Sunday from the Bengals' perspective, I mean, if you're

Matty Rufus, the defensive corner for this Colts defense, I mean, and also DeForest Buckner, Justin Houston up front, this could be one of those games, I mean, we've already seen consistently this Bengals' offensive line get kind of really ragdolled around by really good defensive lines. It might be arguably one of the best ones they've seen yet with this Colts defensive line. Are you, how worried are you about this offensive line going against Buckner and Houston, the rest of the guys up front there? It's interesting, especially because coming off last week with the Ravens, and they hit Burrow 15 times, sack him seven times. But the Bengals have kind of seen defenses that are set up structurally, at least personnel-wise, like the Colts. They saw the Chargers in that pass rush week one with Ingram and Bosa.

The very next week, you had Vernon and Garrett. Obviously, it's not in that order with the Browns. Miles Garrett's the guy that commands the attention. But the point is, is they've seen some good defensive lines. And I think you can deal with that part of it because Burrow's used to it. Not that he's not going to get hit, but he's kind of seen it. And I don't think it could get much worse than it was week one against the Chargers and even to a point week two against the Browns.

And even the Eagles got to him a lot. But this isn't blitzing and confusing him, that aspect of it. That's what happened last week and what kind of really hurt this Bengals offense and kind of put them in the mud, so to speak, is because he was confused for the first time. And so I don't think there's going to be anything, at least on paper. Now maybe Ibrafluz does decide to blitz some more and try to confuse Burrow a little bit.

But if it's just pressure up front, he's used to that and he'll move and use his athleticism and he'll be fine there. But there's no doubt i mean the defense is certainly uh one of the better defenses even after last week in the nfl and i think that uh that it's going to be a challenge i'm not brushing that off i just think that structurally burrow's going to know what's coming and have a feel for it versus not knowing what's coming and looking confused like he did last week against the ravens last one for you james we're down some colts talk here.

What did the Bengals have to do to have a chance to pull off this upset in Indianapolis on Sunday? Well, protecting Burrow would be the first key, right? It's trying to keep him up off the ground. And that goes without saying. Honestly, just be, and I kind of think it is on the offense, you can give keys on either side, right? Intercept Phil Rivers, force him to throw a couple balls to you, which he seems like he's bound to do at one point or another. So that aspect probably goes without saying, but on offense, that's the key. Can you get in control of this game? Can you establish Joe Mixon? Can you keep Joe Burrow upright enough to where it feels like he's in a rhythm early, where he's not playing from, you know, come from behind?

Because then if that's the case, then that Colts pass rush is going to be licking its chops because it knows that number nine is throwing most of the time because they're up by 10 points or something like that. So I think if you can get off to an early lead or stay in the game early, stay within one possession in established mixing, that can kind of open things up for not only Joe Burrow, but, but take some pressure off of this defense, which played extremely well last week against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens and

had nothing to show for it. So I think they can stay in it. I am expecting a close game and we'll see if the Bengals can bounce back and respond well after an awful loss last week on the road this week against Indianapolis. We're going to dive in now into our second segment of our crossover special. Before we do so, a quick word here from our sponsors. This football season will be different and Pepsi is here to get you ready for game day, no matter how you watch this season. Pepsi is the refreshment you need to power through game day and become a member of the league of football watchers.

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We are back for segment two of our crossover special. James Rapine of locked on Bengals and Evan Sidery of Locked on Colts. James, I'll give you the floor here to ask me some Colts questions. Yeah, Evan, let's dive right in and let's start with the signal caller. Phillip Rivers gets signed in the offseason. You get off to a 3-1 start. I watched a significant portion of the game last week against the Browns. How are Colts fans?

How are the Colts in general feeling about the veteran quarterback? Yeah, after the first few weeks, it's been very rollercoaster-ish, I would say. I mean, a lot of Chargers fans probably know that with Phillip Urza or the Colts fans are experiencing that for the first time. And the first three weeks went really well for him. He led the NFL in percentage, over 75% of his throws, being very efficient too within the offense outside of that Jacksonville game in week one, where he had just two really bad decisions he made for interceptions for the Jaguars that really led to him winning that game. The last two weeks though,

in outdoor conditions, in cold weather, in Chicago and Cleveland, Rivers has quite frankly, James, looked awful. He has not been able to drive the ball down the field. He's making really bad decisions again. Frank Reich and Chris Bauer mentioned that that would be something they'd be trying to avoid moving forward throughout the rest of the season with an offensive line. Even though they lost Marlon Mack, they still have Jonathan Taylor on board there. Naeem Hines and Jordan Wilkins can also help out in the run game if need be.

A lot of it's in place for Rivers to be a game manager. And when the Colts fall down in games, when they're asking Rivers not to be a game manager, it's been consistently proven time and time again now that he's not able to do that at this stage of his career, which shouldn't be that surprising that he's age 38, but he'll be 39 here next month. But I think it's really surprising to me, James, that at least from the Colts' perspective, that they're not able to really get much going offensively. A lot of that has to do with Phillip Rivers and a lot of it has to do with just the efficiency of this offense the last couple weeks because it really has fallen off a cliff for Rivers ever since those first three weeks where it honestly probably was due to the soft schedule they played.

The Jaguars, the Vikings, and the Jets. And then the last two weeks playing against the Bears and the Browns. The Bengals, of course, we saw last week did really well against Lamar Jackson, honestly. I really wonder what's going to happen this week if they stop that running game and they force Phil Rivers to throw the ball around the yard a little bit. I think the Bengals could be opportunistic in that sense.

Yeah, this offense is so intriguing to me because I look at it, at least on paper, and I get it, Phil Rivers isn't what he once was, but I see T.Y. Hilton. I see a really good rookie running back, and I get it, you had an injury there, but overall, it makes sense that they're at least pretty good. I like your tight ends. I think everyone knows that's in fantasy about Mo Alley-Cox. We've known about Jack Doyle for years. And yet it does seem, and like I said, watching it, and again, I take it with a grain of salt because it's just one week, but watching last week against the Browns, this offense struggled. And it was, excuse me, and it was just a, I don't know, it felt like something was off and I don't know what it is. Is it T.Y. Hilton? Has he lost a step too? What are we looking at overall from these skill players? Yeah, once again, for this Colts team, like last year, injuries are just really destroying their wide receiver pool right now. Paris Campbell had a PCL-MCL significant sprain. He might be out for the entire year. If he's not, probably not going to be back until Thanksgiving

at the earliest, maybe even Christmas. If they make a playoff run, as this Colts team does, he might not be back until then. Michael Pittman Jr. also had compartment leg syndrome in the Jets game. He got hit pretty hard, and he had to have surgery the next day on his legs. He'll be back after the bye week. This will be the last game he misses after missing the last few games

due to that injury. And then T.Y. Hilton, James. I hate saying this because T.Y. Hilton is honestly one of my favorite Colts of all time to watch, but it's easy to see on the field, off the field, or not off the field, excuse me, on the field, the last few weeks and especially even the latter portion of last season, he has lost a step. T.Y. has entered that portion of his career

where he's more of a possession receiver than a deep threat, really not many deep targets for T.Y. he's had obviously a couple great moments against the Bears he had a couple good catches against Cleveland as well but only 200 plus yards receiving so far for T.Y. in five games he's really just become sort of like a decoy right now for this passing offense for this Colts team where they can't get anything going right now they're desperately missing Michael Kempin Jr Harris Campbell, and they're really trying to get guys like Trey Burton involved as well. But if T.Y. Hilton's lost that step and he had those injuries on top of that, this receiving core is once again down in the dumps.

And with T.Y. maybe entering in his swan song year, James, this looks like a receiving core desperately needs some infusion. We're talking with Evan Sider. We have locked on Colts here on our normal Thursday crossover. It's Colts Bengals this Sunday in Indianapolis. Let's switch gears, talk about the defense. Obviously, this defense, you go out, you get DeForest Buckner in the offseason. We know about Darius Leonard, who I think is good to go this week.

Justin Houston, another veteran player in there. Xavier Rhodes. I look at this, and there are plenty of names, pro bowlers on this week. Justin Houston, another veteran player in there. Xavier Rhodes. I mean, I look at this, and there are plenty of names, you know, pro bowlers on this defense. And for the most part, at least up until last week, I thought they were off to a great start. What do you think of this defense as a whole, and how good are they? Yeah, this defense has been really surprising to me, as far as how good they've been. They had a really bad first half against Cleveland, but they really shut them down in the second half,

allowing three points. Baker Mayfield had 19 passing yards in the second half of that game as well with two interceptions. Even missing Darius Leonard in that game, it was surprising to me just how well this Colts team rebounded after halftime, were able to really lock in against this Browns offense. And throughout the whole year so far, whether it be the rushing defense, the passing defense, they've been really, really solid.

Outside of the Jacksonville game in week one where Gardner mentioned 19 of 20, and undrafted rookie running back James Robinson went off against him too. They've really settled down since then after that loss and really shown they are one of the best defense in the NFL. I wouldn't say they are the best. They're probably in like top six, top seven, because when they play these good teams,

they usually have a couple leaks here and there. But it's crazy to say, James, is how much of an impact DeForest Buckner has had on this defense, whether it be the front four, the linebackers running more free, the secondary having less pressure on them to make plays. Buckner really has changed the entire equation for this Colt defense. And he's taken them from an average to below average defense to one that's really above average to almost an elite defense, honestly. The amount of impact Buckner makes on almost every single snap is incredible to watch. And it sounds like to me, from reading from Frank Reich, listening to him earlier today, Darius Leonard did not practice as well.

So Bengals fans might not see Darius Leonard again this Sunday, which means that Bobby Okereke and Anthony Walker would be the linebackers out there. So probably a lot of nickel upcoming for this Colts defense with Kenny Moore in the slot there. So I think they might be playing precautious here with Darius Leonard because he's nursing that groin injury and they have to buy the week after they play on Sunday. So at this point, James, I'd probably lean toward Leonard not playing on Sunday.

Okay. So if he doesn't play, you mentioned those guys, that's got to be a huge loss, right? I mean, Leonard's a stud. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, it's definitely a fall off there. But I'm honestly pretty impressed by Bobby Okereke, the third round pick from Stanford in 2019, because he has consistently shown that he can be a playmaker, whether it be getting into the holes in the running game, making a couple flash plays as far as interceptions go. He has almost the exact same physical measurables as Darius Leonard.

So I think Okereke and Leonard together for the next decade is going to be really fun to watch in Indy. But, yeah, missing your emotional energy that Leonard brings onto the field and just how much of a freak he is physically and just how fast he is for a linebacker. That type of special talent is missed whenever he's out there. But, honestly, I think this Colts defense has set up pretty well against this Bengals offense because, I mean, DeForest Buckner is just the

giant equation there. If he's able to really just get pressure consistently, I'm not too worried about the linebackers because Buckner and Justin Houston and the front four up there have been really dominant so far. Yeah, it's interesting. I think they opened at nine and a half point favorites, the Colts did, and that's coming off of the loss to Cleveland. And last I checked, it was down to about seven and a half. So clearly, everyone favoring the Colts by a decent margin in this matchup. What do you think here? How do you think this matchup is going to play out, Evan? Do you think the Colts are going to handle business at home? Colts fans, Bilt Bar is back. The best tasting protein bar ever, and it's even more delicious. They have six new flavors together with the original 12, and they're covered in 100% chocolate, and they're soft and easy to chew. They're great for the health conscious guy out there, and they help lose or maintain weight while indulging in a delicious treat. The bars are low calorie, low sugar, high protein, high fiber, and great for a keto diet. For example,

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maybe Joe Burrow, if the offensive line holds up for the first few drives, get into a rhythm, and if that happens, it might be a little bit worrisome for this Colts defense, because you saw Gardner Minshew, of course, in Week 1 go off when he got into a rhythm early. If Burrow is able to do that, it could be close, but I think this Colts team is going to win. I think they win by

double-dudes, and I think it's going to be one of those games where the Colts are going to try to ground and pound, keep the ball out of Phil Burrow's hands as much as possible be a game manager really try to bludgeon this Bengals defense into submission with Jonathan Taylor in this offensive line maybe a get right game this offensive line as well James because they really haven't been an elite unit so far this year so maybe try to establish that dominance up front have Taylor run the ball about 20 plus times Rivers maybe throws around 20 to 22 times and I think this one's gonna be a a low scoring slug best type game if burrow makes it more fun that'd be awesome to

watch this as far as entertainment value goes but i'm gonna go 23 to 13 i say the colts win this one yeah that's not shocking and i wouldn't be shocked if that was the route especially if they get taylor going because with dj reader out for, the Bengals, they've had like seven injuries or opt-outs, defensive tackle. It's been nuts, the kind of turnover they've had at that spot. Geno Atkins expected to get more increased snaps this week, so maybe he can help out in the middle a bit.

We'll see. It's only a second game of 2020. But yeah, that's my, if I'm the Colts, I would just try to run it right up the middle and say, all right, young linebackers, step up and tackle and tackle some more and then tackle some more. And you live with that because if you have Phil Rivers throw the ball around, I do think the secondary is capable of making some plays. Jesse Bates has been one of the best safeties in all of football through five games.

William Jackson III is certainly capable. Darius Phillips was big last week against the Ravens. So I think this defense can make some plays for the Bengals if they can force Phillip Rivers to throw. And I'm not sure where I lean, to be honest, as we record this. I think it's going to be close. I think it's a field goal type game because the Bengals got their head kicked in so bad last week. I think that they find a way to hang around, even if they shouldn't. And honestly, I think it goes down to the wire, and it will be up for grabs here in the fourth quarter.

And it might come down to Phil Rivers versus Joe Burrow, which would be certainly fun. This has been fun, James. I always enjoy doing these crossovers, and the Bengals also are one of the more intriguing teams for me to watch this year because all that young talent and fusion onto this roster. Joe Burrow, obviously the way he led a culture ball last

year and the way he's been able to really hold himself up well so far, even with the situation in Cincinnati right now. I think the Bengals have a great future ahead of them with Burrow at quarterback, but for those out there who have not followed Locked on Bengals, go ahead and do so on Twitter at Locked on Bengals. Go subscribe over there as well, and for those who want to go follow Locked on Colts, you can go subscribe to Locked on Colals. Go ahead and do so on Twitter at Locked on Bengals. Go subscribe over there as well.

And for those who want to go follow Locked on Colts, you can go subscribe to Locked on Colts and follow on Twitter at Locked on Colts. James, appreciate your time, man. Of course, Evan. Appreciate you having me.