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

Episode Date: November 5, 2020

On today's episode, Evan is joined by Kevin Oestricher of Locked On Ravens to preview arguably the biggest matchup on the NFL slate this weekend. Who will come out on top between Indianapolis and Baltimore?Starting off with the Ravens, how big are the losses of Ronnie Stanley and Marlon Humphrey? Stanley's injury is long-term, while Humphrey's COVID-19 case will sideline him only this week against Indy. Meanwhile, what's up with MVP Lamar Jackson? Wrapping it all up, we go over rookie running back J.K. Dobbins, Yannick Ngakoue, and how truly unique the Ravens' offense is.Pivoting over to Indy, Philip Rivers has looked like the 2018 version over the last two games. Will that continue against Baltimore's blitz-heavy scheme? As the running game struggles continue, a lot will be on Rivers' plate unless a breakout happens between Jonathan Taylor and Jordan Wilkins. How has the defense looked for the Colts? DeForest Buckner and Darius Leonard are the game changers, but a lot of young talent is ascending simultaneously.Closing it all out, Evan and Kevin provide their predictions for an entertaining Sunday matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium. Who will come out on top? 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 to this year's Locked On NFL CrossFit Special here. I am Evan Sutter, the host of Locked On Colts, joined by Kevin Ostreicher of Locked On Ravens. Arguably the best game of the week on Sunday in my opinion, Kevin. Colts versus Ravens at Lucas Oil Stadium at 1 o'clock start time. Two teams here that are vying for possibly the two seed in the AFC right now. Between 2-5 and two squads are going up against each other.

Personally, Kevin, this game really matches well on paper. The Colts have really rebuilt this defense going against Lamar Jackson. They have Darius Leonard to force Buckner up front. So that's going to be a really fun one. On the other side of the ball, Phillip Rivers. We always know it's a close game. Leonard Rivers is our quarterback. So this could be a really fun one here on Sunday.

Kevin, how are you doing today? I'm doing well, Levin. I'm excited to talk to you about this one because I agree. It's going to be a good one one and I can't wait for it. Absolutely. Let's hit on the Ravens first though, Kevin, because like we were talking about off the air before we started here, a lot of Ravens news this past weekend. Let me ask you this off the top here. I know both could be Marlon Humphrey, of course, is out due to COVID-19. Ronnie Stanley is also out as well. It could be long term. I haven't looked into it just yet, Kevin. So before we get started, just can you give an update here on Ronnie Stanley and Marlon Humper that was out there wondering? Yeah, absolutely. So we'll start with Ronnie Stanley. Not so great news for the

Ravens as he was rolled up on in the first quarter by TJ Watt. Looked like a really, really gruesome injury. The overall diagnosis, I believe, is a dislocated ankle, a broken ankle as well. You have torn ligaments. He's done for the year. You know, no chance he plays on Sunday, definitely. It's a tough loss for Baltimore. What they have to do now is they have to move Orlando Brown, their right tackle, over to the left side and insert DJ Fluker, the backup, at the right tackle position.

And they lose a lot on both sides with this because Orlando Brown has been a right tackle by trade in the NFL. He played it very well at Oklahoma in college. And now he's moving over to the blind side, which is very different from the right side, both in college and the NFL. And then DJ Fluker, who was a mauler in the running game, but can sometimes struggle at the end of the day in pass protection. But yeah, the big news here, Evan, is definitely Marlon Humphrey and what's going on with the Ravens with the coronavirus. Marlon Humphrey, a very well-paid man now, signed a five-year extension a few weeks ago. He is now on the COVID list.

He tested positive early in the week. He had an illness on Wednesday of last week before the Pittsburgh Steelers game. And he tested negative throughout the entire rest of the week. And the Sunday test, actually, before the game that they do, all the players throughout the NFL get a test on game day. And Marlon Humphrey, the results came back Monday, and he was positive. So he will not be suiting up in this game, which is a huge loss for Baltimore. And the Ravens, for the close contact tracing that the NFL did and that everybody did to figure out, all right, who was around Marlon Humphrey? Who might have this virus because they were around him? They had to play seven of their defensive players on the reserve COVID list,

pretty much their entire middle linebacker room, Patrick Queen. You have Malik Harrison, LJ Fort. They had safety to Sean Elliott go on the list, cornerback Terrell Bonds. There are a lot of guys on this list that are huge, huge impact players. But the good news for Baltimore, at least, is that if those players, they cannot practice all week, but if those players go through their five days of COVID testing and they test negative all five days, they can play on Sunday against the Colts, which would be a huge boost. But again, no practice for those five guys.

I think it hurts all around Baltimore's offense and everybody who is on the team right now. There's kind of that aura around the building now. What if you have it? What if you have it? The Ravens are very confident. They're doing everything right. They're complying.

But no practice for those guys. That could be huge. So it's been a very interesting week in Baltimore. I know they can mention Ronnie Stanley is probably out for the year at this point. But just hypothetically speaking, Kevin, if it was, let's say both were out for one week, who's the bigger loss for the Ravens, Stanley or Humphrey? That's a good question. And I honestly think it's Humphrey.

With the state that the Ravens team is in right now, I think moving Orlando Brown to the left side and Fluker to the right side, again, there's definitely a downtick in talent on both sides. But what Marlon Humphrey brings to this team, both as an outside and a slot corner, is something you really can't replicate. Baltimore is already super, super thin in their secondary. They always seem to go into the year with 18 million corners

and lose like all but three of them. This season, it has been the same story. Tavon Young, their best slot cornerback, one of the best in the league, goes down in week two with a knee injury. He's done for the year. Ethne Avert, who filled in for him, and ultimately what the Ravens had to do was they shifted Merlin Humphrey inside, moved Ethne Avert outside.

Avert goes down a few weeks ago with a shoulder injury. He's done for the foreseeable future. The team already lost Amon Marshall, their second-year guy out of USC, who's a corner. He was done for the year during the training camp that the league had before the season started. So now losing Humphrey, your only healthy corners on the active roster right now are Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith.

Khalil Dorsey, who's an undrafted rookie. And then if Terrell Bonds gets called up, that's a fourth guy, but he's on the COVID list right now, so who knows? Baltimore is extremely thin in the secondary right now, and even though Ronnie Stanley is phenomenal, Arlen Humphrey being a top-five corner, both on the outside and in the slot, that's something you can't replicate.

Yeah, absolutely. Humphrey, they can mention, one of the best corners in the NFL, and he'll be desperately missed for Baltimore this Sunday. Even though the Colts are going to be probably without T.Y. Hilton as well due to a groin injury, it's going to be really interesting how this Colts receiving core matches up with the Ravens without Marlon Humphrey. But let's talk about Lamar Jax for a moment. The MVP last year who's been a little bit

hasn't been on the MVP level, so to say, like we saw last year, Kevin. This past week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, two interceptions. He also had a fumble as well. And over his last three games, looks like he has five touchdowns and three interceptions. He's been a little hit and miss sometimes as far as accuracy goes.

Obviously, Lamar is more known for his really elite speed as a runner and being able to get out in the open field and be a complete mismatch. And he's improved a lot as a passer since the Louisville days as well. But what's been going on for Lamar Jackson, Leland, over the past couple weeks, last month or so? Yeah, so definitely not what Lamar Jackson had been hoping for over the last few weeks. You mentioned that he has been struggling to an extent. And when I say to an extent, there were people across the league who kind of,

you know, they saw his MVP season and they looked at it and they said, well, look, if he can play to this level, he's going to do it for the rest of his career, which is very, very unrealistic. You're not going to see him put up 36 touchdowns every year, do what he did on that blistering MVP campaign. But he has actually played relatively well and relatively similar to what he was doing at this point during that MVP campaign last season in 2019.

Now, against Pittsburgh, Lamar Jackson has won Baltimore a lot of games. And, you know, you can't dispute that. Nobody can dispute it. But he definitely lost this one for baltimore two costly costly interceptions another costly fumble in the red zone it was difficult for lamar jackson to kind of find a rhythm and give credit to pittsburgh their defense is amazing but lamar jackson wanted to work on his deep ball accuracy and outside passing concepts in the out in the offseason the outside passing you know, everything looks good there.

He looks a little better throwing those balls. The deep ball accuracy has not been, I think, what a lot of people were expecting in the improvement department. The Ravens have the personnel to do some stuff. Marquise Brown, the speedster, 379 yards receiving, currently leads this Baltimore team. Only two touchdowns, though.

The big thing with the Ravens offense and Lamar Jackson is that it is very, I'll say, one, but pass offense hasn't been able to hit on a lot of what they wanted to hit on this season. It's really been the run game, which even so Greg Roman has been very hesitant to use at times, which has been almost mind boggling. There have been a lot of people out for Greg Roman this year because of his play calling choices, which have been suspect at times. So Lamar Jackson, he's playing well, but I think a lot of people expected a lot more from the stat department. Again, I think the statistical drop off for me was expected, but I think he's being more efficient with the football. The turnovers over the last few games have not been encouraging,

but over the course of his career, he's been relatively safe with the football. So I'm not too worried. Let's tell him the rookie running back, J.K. Dobbins, who finally had his breakout game on Sunday against Pittsburgh. 15 carries for 113 yards and an elite seven and a half yards per carry for Dobbins.

And he's also been a really good asset in the receiving game as well when utilized there. Are we finally seeing the torch being passed through Kevin midway through the season where it looks like J.K. Dobbins is going to be the star of the rest of the way? I know Mark Ingram,

look at the injury report as well for Baltimore might be on Sunday as well. Yeah, Evan, that's a good question. And honestly, I don't know. I think a lot of people want that to be the case, but knowing Baltimore, knowing how they love their committees, I don't necessarily see it that way. And the reason I say that is because the Ravens have three, actually four very capable running backs on this roster. You mentioned Mark Ingram, they have Gus Edwards, Dobbins, of course, and also Justice Hill. Now Ingram is somebody who has not been forming up to expectations this season. It's been a slow season for Mark Ingram,

that ankle sprain does not help things at all. It's looking like Ingram is going to be out this Sunday again. So against the Colts, I can definitely see Dobbins getting a big piece of this workload. But Gus Edwards is no slouch either. 64 carries for 305 yards. He's averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He's averaged five yards per carry throughout his entire career. So Edwards is somebody that the Ravens love to use.

And the reason the Ravens are so successful on the ground is because they can insert a fresh pair of legs on you in the run game, whether it is Ingram, Edwards, Dobbins, Hill. In the fourth quarter, let's say when the defensive line is gassed, the linebackers are tired. You can put in somebody who is a great runner who only has three, four carries in the game and they can just go to work. So against the Steelers, we saw why Dobbins was a second round pick by Baltimore in a relatively deep class at running back where they didn't necessarily need to pick a running back. Dobbins was somebody who was a surprise pick to some, and he has elite balance. He has not elite speed, but he's a power guy. Kind of reminds a lot of people of the on the field Ray Rice product. And so I certainly think Dobbins is going to be the running back one

come next season. But right now I think Baltimore is going to stick to their committee, and I think it's an efficient and good plan. I think we should hit on as well the trade the Ravens made a couple weeks ago for Yannick Ngakwe from Minnesota. Ngakwe has already bounced around from Jacksonville to Minnesota. They recouped that pick in Minnesota, sending him back to the Ravens, who sent a third-round pick out for Ngakwe, a win-now move for the Ravens.

You see this window as being right now in the next couple years, in my opinion. Ngakwe played on Sunday as well in a limited role. He's still getting used to the Ravens system. What's your thoughts on the Ngakwe move and also just that defensive line now, including Ngakwe with his former teammate, Calais Campbell, and also you see Matthew John on there as well? Yeah, definitely a great move for the Ravens giving up a third and a fifth round pick and the reason here honestly I think this

is kind of an audition scenario what I mean by that is the Ravens have three of their outside linebackers four actually who are going to be free agents at the end of this season and Gawkway included this is a rental for Baltimore but we saw the Ravens go out and acquire Marcus Peters last season, who was also a rental. Now Baltimore is able to sign him to a nice extension for both sides. I think it was a bargain for Baltimore, but also a good deal for Peters. With Gawkway, he just gives the Ravens defense a lot more versatility. He's somebody who can win one-on-one. Baltimore's defense is very blitz heavy. Don Martindale is an exotic blitzer. He will confuse quarterbacks at the line. He'll put eight up in the box and only rush three or four. He loves his

blitzes. But what Ngokwe gives the Ravens is somebody who against teams with those quick hitting offenses, you know, for example, I look to the Chiefs and the Steelers. Those are teams where Baltimore needs to have those one-on-one winners because they need to be able to put more back in coverage. And so while blitzing is a big part of what Baltimore does, and Gakwe makes this defensive line super scary, especially you mentioned it with Calais Campbell, but Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakwe are going to be the two guys who I think are competing for a spot on Baltimore's roster next season. And Judon only has two sacks right now in Gawkway on the year.

He has five. And I think that, you know, people pay for sacks. Judon is a great player in many different facets of the game for Baltimore. But I think he's going to demand money that Baltimore just can't give him, especially with the Lamar Jackson extension coming up. You have Marquise Brown, Orlando Brown. You just paid Merlon Humphrey and Ronnie Stanley a ton of money. So the Ravens can't keep everybody. It's a tough lesson in this

league, especially with the salary cap. But overall, Ngakwe definitely makes this defense better. And with Yannick Ngakwe, you see a lot of these different things and you're going to see a lot of different looks from Baltimore that I don't think we've seen before this season from the Ravens. Yeah, this Ravens defense is going to be fun to watch against this Colts offense on Sunday. And just to bounce back to the offense real quick, Kevin, before we pivot over to some Colts talk as well, for the Colts fans wondering out there, this Ravens offense is, of course, unique. They're a run-heavy system. They're one of the rare teams that are kind of zagging while everyone else is digging towards the pass-heavy offense. For those just out there listening from the Indianapolis point of view,

can you describe the Ravens' offense, just how unique it is? Yeah, definitely, Evan. It's extremely unique, and you mentioned it. This is a pass-heavy league in the NFL, but Baltimore is doing literally the exact opposite with their runners, and the Ravens employ a lot of RPO, but we've seen less of it this year. I think what Baltimore is trying to do is establish the pass game and say, you know, look, we can beat teams running the football, but we can do it passing the football as well.

But what makes this offense unique for the Ravens is they can employ a lot of different sets that will make defenses think that it's one certain play at the end of the day, it's another. So for example, on those RPO plays, if J.K. Dobbins is in the backfield for Baltimore on Sunday next to Lamar Jackson, and he does that RPO motion, there are three things that can happen. One thing that he can do is hand that ball straight up the middle

and Dobbins can run. Another thing he can do is at the last very second, pull that ball down and bootleg to the outside, or he can just pull it down altogether, and that can be a pass play. So what the edge defenders for Indianapolis or whatever defense Baltimore is playing has to do is stay extremely disciplined, have gap discipline, because if they bite too hard on the J.K. Dobbins one of the middle,

Lamar Jackson will see that and turn it to the outside. If the defensive end outside linebacker kind of edge contains on the outside that's one less guy jk dobbins has to make miss and he will just hand that ball off so it takes an extremely disciplined defense to play well against this baltimore offense and with the improved passing concepts i'm hoping over the next few weeks that the ravens will employ des bryant hopefully will make an impact for the ras. Plus the really great running game Baltimore has already. It's a really tough offense to stop unless you're super, super disciplined. Let's move on here to our next segment, which is going to be talking about the

Colts. Kevin will put me with some questions about Indianapolis, who is five and two, just like they were last year, but we'll have to see if it's sustainable or not this time around, like it wasn't in 2019. Before we do so though, a quick word from our sponsors. Thanks to a lack of natural athleticism or commitment or overbearing sports parents, fewer than 1% of 1% of 1% of people will ever play professional football. But instead of entering the NFL, they joined another league, the League of Football Watchers. This season, football season will be different, and Pepsi is here to get you ready for game day, no matter how you watch. Pepsi is the refreshment you need to power through any game day.

Because Pepsi isn't made for those who play the game. It's made for those who watch it. Pepsi, made for football watching. Go to madeforfootballwatching.com. Check out the latest football watching content from Pepsi. All righty, Kevin, we're back for segment two. I'll give you the floor here and I'll ask some Colts questions. Thanks, Evan. And this is a game that I think it's going to be a good one,

kind of as you mentioned in the first segment. But Evan, I think we have to start with how Philip Rivers is performing this season. Now, a lot of people are calling him, you know, quote unquote, old this, that, and the other. I don't think he's played that bad for the Colts. You look at it, 1,860 yards, he's thrown 10 touchdowns, six interceptions, has led this Colts team to a 5-2 record. What have you seen from Phillip Rivers so far this season? Yeah, Rivers so far this year has been really good, in my opinion, especially the last two weeks. And I think it's just because no preseason,

a limited training camp, no OTAs. I think he's still getting his overall adjustment here with this Colts offense. Of course, he has reunited Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni from the San Diego days. But I think you're now seeing Phillip Rivers really just getting in this Colts offense. Of course, he has re-knifed Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni from the San Diego days. But I think you're now seeing Phillip Rivers really just getting in control of the offense. We saw in week one he had a couple rough interceptions from there. And then also against Cleveland, Chicago, just so his arm wasn't there,

just missing a lot of things. And it's arguably you can say both losses for the Colts this year are on Phillip Rivers just due to turnovers, due to mental errors. But the last two weeks, especially against the Bengals before their bye week and then this past week as well against the Lions, he's really been on fire, which is probably the best time to see it heading into this tough schedule for the Colts next month because Rivers has six touchdowns, it's only one interception the last two games. And I think if he's able to keep playing like this, Kevin, he's going to be a player who's

more so like the 2018 Phillip Rivers creator 2019. He keeps the ball out of harm's way, makes the efficient pass, makes some chunk plays here and there. He's going to be pretty good. He's a big upgrade for this Colts team anyways, or Jacoby Brissett last year, just being able to really take those risks where Brissett wasn't. But it's been a little up and down, I'd say for Rivers so far,

but if this continues, at least from these last two games, he looks like a quarterback who's probably going to be a top 10 quarterback the rest of the year, but this tough stretch, like I mentioned, is really going to tell us a lot about where Rivers truly is. Yeah, no, I definitely agree, Evan, and I think Rivers has been a very nice acquisition for Indianapolis and what they've been able to do on offense this year, but I think a big part of their success on offense, Indianapolis' success on offense, is definitely the running game. We talked about the Ravens' running game last segment, but I kind of want to key in here on this Colts rushing offense,

led by Jonathan Taylor, who has 100 carries on the year for 389 yards. But they also are getting nice contributions from Jordan Wilkins, from Naheem Hines. Marlon Mack is injured, so obviously he's not a factor right now. But how impressed have you been with this Colts rushing offense? Honestly, Kevin, I mean, compared to years past, I'm not as impressed because we saw in 2018 and 2019, they were truly dominant on that front. Quentin Nelson and the rest of those guys were probably just mauling people

left and right. But so far this year, Kevin, I know Ravens don't have to be surprised about this, the Colts are actually 32nd last in the NFL in yards per carry. They're really desperately missing Marlon Mack right now, under four yards per carry. Jonathan Taylor, I think, is still getting his feet wet. He was actually benched in the second half of last week's game against Detroit because he just wasn't seeing the holes.

He was averaging two yards per carry. He had 11 carries for 22 yards. And Jordan Wilkins finally gave him that spark in the second half of that game, getting around 18 to 20 carries, almost 100 yards. He's just a lot better at seeing the holes right now. And Taylor just is still trying to maneuver around it against NFL speed. It's a lot different compared to Big Ten defense that I matched for Taylor. So really, the running game has been disappointing for me this year.

I'm really expecting a breakout here soon. Hopefully Jordan Wilkins was that spark last week. But I think I expect the rest of the year more so a lion's share split between Wilkins and Jonathan Taylor with no Marlon Mack out there. Taylor really was the workforce for the last six weeks, but he just hasn't been cutting outside that Minnesota game week two where he had 26 carries for over 100 yards. But ever since then, it's just been really tough sliding for this Colts team.

They're not really getting to the second level on blocks just yet. I think teams also just know that they're a run-heavy team. They're stacking the box. They're one of the teams facing the heaviest stacked boxes in the league so far this year. They're not really gambling with Phillip Rivers. They don't trust Rivers' arm. I imagine the defenses do. So maybe the last two weeks really do show that Rivers could maybe take some pressure off that running game. And maybe we see a breakout here soon, possibly on Sunday against this Ravens team. But honestly, Kevin, I'd say I'd be pretty disappointed so far compared to years past this Colts rushing attack because

I mean, maybe it's just surprising to way with Marlon Mack and his injury, but Mack just knew how to read those holes, be patient, and so far just Taylor has been patient. He's not really knowing how to hit those holes just yet and adjust to the NFL speed. He'll probably be a lot better this time next year, though. But really, I'd say the passing game has been more of a strength compared to the rushing attacks so far this year. Yeah, and I think part of it for Taylor, at least, and the Colts rushing offense might be the lack of preseason, the lack of a full offseason in the NFL.

That's tough. It's certainly affected the Ravens. I'm sure it's affected every team in the NFL. But for the Ravens, the strength in their defense is definitely stopping the run. And so with a Colts rushing offense that's struggling, if the Ravens can make the Colts offense one-dimensional, I think that will be very good for them. But at the same time, as we kind of talked about in the first segment, Evan,

the Ravens secondary is pretty beat up, but the Colts really, what seems like their only injury, you mentioned, T.Y. Hilton is a little banged up here. And so with T.Y. Hilton, let's assume he's out. What other receivers should Baltimore be looking out for that might hurt them a little bit? Honestly, I'd probably say a surprise here. He was actually cut the last two seasons in training camp

and brought back from the practice squad. And so far he's been thriving. Phillip Rivers is Marcus Johnson, an unproven pro so far. His third year in the NFL. Used to be in Philadelphia with Frank Reich. He's really been Phillip Rivers' deep target so far this year. T.Y. Hilton has been struggling a lot this year. I've been saying a lot on my podcast that this could be the twilight

sort of swan song for T.Y. Hilton. He's in a contract here. It just looks like he's not the same anymore so far this year compared to years past. And Michael Pittman Jr. as well as another player, the Colts' top pick, 34th overall. He just got back from a leg injury last week, but he's a player I'd watch out for as far as a deep threat goes. He could be that new Mike Williams for this Colts offense that Phillip Rivers loves to use. But I think so far, I mean, the receiving core hasn't proven much to me, but if I had to have two people, if I was a Ravens fan to watch out for,

it's Marcus Johnson and it's Michael Pittman Jr. because those two guys can take the top off of defense. And I think they're the most trustworthy guys so far for Phillip Rivers. But even the tight ends, I'd say, are probably more important to this team right now than the wideouts. Mo'Ali Cox is having a breakout year. Jack DeWitt is always reliable. They love Trey Burton, too, the former Bears tight end.

So I'd say those four or five guys would be the ones I'd watch out for, especially with no T.Y. Hilton. Probably going to be a heavy tight end game and one where they'll try to establish the run as much as they can. But watch out for Johnson and Pittman, but as well as those tight ends.

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and only 5 grams of sugar and 5 grams of net carbs. It is a great taste to tie to your throughout-the-day Colts fans. With a free cool-over to next purchase while supplies last, go to BiltBar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-A-D-O-N, and get 20% off your next order of Bilt Bars. Again, use promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-A-D-O-N, for 20% off at BiltBar.com. That is B-U-I-L-T-B-A-R.com. Yeah, absolutely. And I definitely want to move on to the defensive side of the ball here before we get into our predictions, Evan.

Talking about this Colts defense that has been actually very, very good this year. I think led by Darius Leonard, doesn't leave the team in tackles, but still 36 tackles. He has a sack, four tackles for loss. And I think the acquisition of the Forrest Buckner, that has paid off big dividends for Indianapolis. 2.5 sacks for him on this year. And then you have other guys who have been contributing.

Xavier Rhodes has been a guy who was thought to be washed and ultimately came into Indianapolis and has performed very well this season. been contributing is avian roads has been you know a guy who is was thought to be washed and ultimately came into indianapolis and has performed very well this season justin houston three and a half sacks one of my favorite players in the nfl what have you seen from an indianapolis perspective on this indianapolis defense evidence yeah deforest balkner really was the crown jewel acquisition to take this defense from being average to possibly a lead so far this year kevin he's really helped out everyone on this team even Even though the sack numbers won't show it, he's such a disruptor up front in the run game and pass game.

He's helping out guys like you mentioned, Justin Houston, Grover Stewart at nose tackle. And you see guys as well like Tyquan Lewis, 20th second round pick, finally breaking out the last two weeks. Two and a half sacks in his last two games. A lot of things to do to Buckner who's right next to him where he's taking so much pressure off those guys up front. Constant double teams.

Darius Leonard as well as running free more often because of Buckner. The secondary has less pressure on it because Buckner is getting home to the quarterback more often in a quicker time. He's really changed this whole defense, in my opinion. He's so worth the money that the Colts paid for him this past offseason, that trade, getting trade number 13 overall, their first-round pick for Buckner, which I think looking back on was a steal of an acquisition because Buckner I think is right below Aaron Dahl right now as far as the top disruptors at defensive tackle in the

NFL. And just goes to show you just how impactful the three technique is for this Colts defense, their heavy zone scheme. It helps guys like Xavier Rhodes too, who I think is really doing well outside of that man scheme in Minnesota. He had a really more often on an island than he was in years past. But this year though, he has a lot of help inside and outside. Kenny Moore, their slot guy, is so versatile. I think he's one of the more underrated defensive backs in the NFL. You have guys like Julian Blackman, the rookie free safety, who replaced Malik Hooker, who tore his Achilles in week two.

He's been a revelation so far at possible under our dark horse defense rookie, the Irkhand, in my opinion. He's been so impactful as far as being a ball hawk goes. So many young guys ascending at the right time for this Colts team and of course Darius Leonard not much has to be said there because he's so impactful we've seen his first three years and he came back from an injury a grunt injury this past week against Detroit he was the reason they won the game he had a strip sack fumble on a blitz and that really turned the tide against Detroit from there Detroit was driving on the field they're about to take the lead Leonard gets that fumble and then from there the Colts outscored the Lions the rest of the way,

21-7 to win 41-21. Those two guys, Leonard and Buckner, really spearhead this defense. But young guy is like a Tyquan Lewis, a Julian Blackman. Xavier Rhodes finally reviving himself. And if Kamoko Turay plays this upcoming Sunday, which is a possibility to be a season debut for him after his gruesome leg injury last year against the Kansas City Chiefs, he'd be an elite speed rusher off the edge there who could try to contain Lamar Jackson. So I really like this Colts defense right now. It's really being more exotic with

Matty Berfuss, our defensive coordinator, not playing cover two as much, more so cover three, cover one, being more, I would say less simplistic in their scheme, which is really helping out guys like I mentioned Xavier Rhodes, on the outside. So this Colts defense, I think, is legit so far. I think this next three, four games will really tell us a lot about them, especially Sunday against Lamar Jackson. Because I feel like this defense, honestly, Kevin, is built to stop a guy like Lamar Jackson.

They have Leonard. They have Buckner. They have Bobby Okereke, a linebacker. All these speed guys of length that can go out and try to stop and contain his rushing lanes, as well as J.K. Dobbins. So this is going to be a fun one on Sunday. i really think it's gonna be decided between this ravens offense versus this colts defense yeah i do too evan if the ravens offense can get on track and obviously that's gonna be very tough against this colts defense it's gonna shape up to be a very

very good game but evan finally i do want to get into some final score predictions with you how do you see this one going i think kevin I've been saying on the podcast earlier this week, I think it's going to be a slugfest. I think we're going to see a game where the Colts are going to try to play ball control, keep it out of Lamar Jackson's hands as much as possible. I think if Rivers keeps the ball out of harm's way, try to maybe run some play action, take a couple of deep shots here and there. If Jordan Wilkins and John Taylor get the running game going a little bit more often, I think they can stop this Ravens offense. I trust this defense from what I've seen so far.

DeForest Buckner, if he's able to go against this offensive line and have success, if Darius Leonard runs more free and is able to be a spy on Lamar Jackson, keep him out of his rushing lanes, I think the Colts win this one. They're two-and-a-half-point underdogs at home per draft kings right now from what I'm seeing. But I'm going to go Colts 24, Ravens 16. I'm expecting a game where whoever gets into that mid-high 20s first is going to win here. So I'm going to go Colts 24 Raven 16. I'm expecting a game where whoever gets into that mid high twenties first is going to win here. So I'm going to go with an upset here.

I'm going to go Colts 24 Raven 16, but Casey flipped the other way, honestly. Yeah. And this is a game for me, Evan, that's super, super tough to predict. And if the Ravens had Ronnie Stanley and they had Marlon Humphrey, this would be a totally different ball game. But I get, I agree with you. I think it's going to be a slugfest, you know, potentially very high scoring,

even though both defenses are elite units, but I think Baltimore is going to just slightly like literally slightly edge this one from the Colts. I'll say it'll be 31 to 30 Ravens. And the reason I say that is because I do think that even despite the loss of Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens defense will be able to contain the Colts offense. They'll be able to make them one dimensional to be a passing offense only. They'll be able to kind of clog up the running lanes. And I think the pressure could get to Phillip Rivers just a little bit. So I'll say Ravens 31, Colts 20. But Evan, this was great. Thanks for doing this crossover with me.

And hopefully we just have a good game on Sunday. Yeah, totally agree with you, Kevin. And for those wondering out there, if you want to go subscribe to Locked on Ravens, go ahead and do so. And we'll have a podcast stream for those two as well as Locked on Colts. You'll find both of us wherever you're listening. Go follow Kevin on Twitter as well at KAustriker34 and the Locked on Ravens Twitter account at Locked on Ravens.

If you're interested in following us with the Colts over at lockdown Colts, follow us on Twitter at locked on Colts. Kevin, appreciate the time, man. Awesome. Thanks Evan.