Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Eric Fisher Visiting Colts + Offense/Defense Overview

Episode Date: May 5, 2021

On today's episode, Evan is joined by Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed to go over all the latest Indianapolis Colts news. First up, Indy's left tackle question might soon be answered. Former Chiefs LT Eric Fisher is set to visit the Colts later this week.If Fisher's Achilles injury checks out medically, this is a no-brainer move for Indy. We dive into the possible fit of Fisher, plus former Bears LT Charles Leno Jr. The connections on the Colts' coaching staff to Leno are there, and The Athletic's Stephen Holder mentioned Leno seems to be Indy's Plan B behind Fisher.Closing out the show, Evan and Stephen look ahead to how the Colts should look in 2021. How does the offense and defense stack up?All of this, plus so much more, in a loaded 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 to the latest episode of Locked On. This is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Sidery, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue here on Tuesday night as we're recording this with some latest Colts news. We know the big question at left tackle out of the draft that Colts did not address it. Chris Ballard, the GM, really hinted at throughout the weekend, either on Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night,

he really wasn't the biggest fan of the left tackle class. There wasn't a prototypical class, is what Ballard would say. You have guys with shorter arms. I think that's really what it was all about. Guys really didn't reach the 34-inch threshold. I think there's only about two or three guys in this class that did reach that. And then also a lot of guys that had questions about they're going to be playing the left tackle position long term. So the Colts went ahead and pivoted and did not draft a left tackle in this year's draft. Of course, as you guys know, the Colts selected Quiddie Payne number 21 overall, Dio Odengba number 54 overall, and then from there really addressed the depth on the offense with guys like Will Freese in the seventh round, Michael Strawn in the seventh round as well,

and then getting Sam Ellinger and Kylan Granson in the sixth and fourth round respectively. We're going to be talking through the latest edition today of this news with Eric Fisher, the former Kansas City Chiefs left tackle, going to visit the Annapolis Colts here later this week. Steven, how are you doing today? I'm doing well, Evan. How are you?

Doing good. Doing good. We're going to first hit on this news because it just happened a couple hours ago, Steven, with Eric Fisher, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelosero. He's going to be visiting the Colts facility here later this week. I assume it will probably be later on in the week, around Thursday or Friday. Once he's in the building, I imagine you're going to have that physical and see if his Achilles checks out because if you don't know,

he did rupture his Achilles in the AFC Championship game against Buffalo Bills. So, ironically enough, Steven, his Achilles injury happened on the exact same day as Dayo Odengbo in the pre-draft process. So those guys are going to both be rehabbing Achilles injuries if Fisher does indeed sign the Colts here later this week. But what's your thoughts on Eric Fisher being the name out there? I know we've heard a lot of buzz around Charles Leno, and Stephen Holder of The Athletic mentioned that they have been in contact

with Charles Leno, but he did say that Fisher is a more likely signing. I have to imagine probably due to this, the upside of Fisher compared to Leno, but also the connection with Chris Ballard, who in Ballard's first year as a director of player personnel at Kansas City, they drafted Fisher number one overall in 2013. What's your thoughts on the potential of Fisher joining Indy? And it sounds like to me, according to Brad Beach, from what I've read today, if all goes well in his recovery, he could actually be a guy who starts week one or at worst case probably on the pup list. Yeah, I really like if Fisher's healthy, he's the one that makes the most sense for the Colts. But that's the big question that if is doing a lot of lifting there in that sentence, you know,

he's got that length. He's got that prototypical length that, that Chris Ballard talks about that athleticism that he wants in a left tackle. He was very consistent for years and Kansas city, one of the best left tackles in the league last year, prior to the, the injury.

He had five penalties called on him, only two false starts, one offensive folding, and then there's one illegal use of a hand and an illegal man downfield on another one. So his penalties that he takes, it doesn't get called very often. And so I think having him pairing him next to Quentin Nelson would just be an absolute monster of a left side for the Colts. And you'd feel a lot more comfortable. But again, that's if he's able to come back from that Achilles injury.

And I was in a conversation or a little Twitter discussion with Will Carroll, the injury expert. He said that, you know, the interesting thing with these Achilles injuries is they start using new techniques. They more recently started using new techniques, and the rehab is a little bit different from what it used to be. So when we talked after the draft and my concerns about Dio Adango

were a lot of times Achilles injuries zap that explosiveness. Well, according to statistics, there's like 73% of NFL players return to form after an Achilles injury, after an Achilles rupture, and they're able to come back. So that's the big question is, if he's able to come back, and he's able to play and he returns to form then eric fisher is the no-brainer signing he's the more talented pass blocker he's more talented left tackle um but again that if is is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence i was able to look up here before you start recording just the history of offense limo torn achilles and a couple guys come to mind from the eagles actually brandon brooks the offensive guard who actually tours Achilles late in the process of the offseason last year.

He actually set out all of 2020, but it happened in June. This just happened five months earlier in January. So that's probably the reason why Brooks didn't play last year, because it happened a couple months before the regular season. And then the offseason programs really ramped up in the full speed. But one that really stood out to me was Jason Peters, who tours Achilles in 2012. He was out the whole year because it happened, I believe, in May or June as well. But from there on, as you all know,

Jason Peters has been really a pivotal piece to the Eagles over the last seven, eight years. And post-Achilles injury, Peters is still playing at a high level. I believe he's a free agent right now. But before this year, he had three Pro Bowl years. He's done very well in Carson Wentz's early part of his career as his blindside protector post-Achilles injury. And he's still playing.

There seems to be no issues with Peters in the last six, seven years since the Achilles injury. So there seems to be a good history. I have a couple guys here, especially Jason Peters, where if Eric Fisher does indeed come back to full health, there is a positive history, at least that if it does check out medically, he should be back to himself here in pretty short order. Yeah, once the medical checks are going to be the big thing for the Colts, and

said if he's able to come back, it's a no-brainer. The info there on Peters is really promising because Jason Peters, not only did he come back and play well, he's 39 years old. Like, he's not – he's 10 years younger than Fisher is right now. So you see the rehab, you see the new techniques they're using. If that's really the case and he's able to come back and they think that his medicals are going to check out and he's going to be ready to play in August, September, then even if you have to kind of struggle through Sam Tevey

or Julian Davenport there for the first couple weeks, you go ahead and do that if you know you're going to get a guy that's going to be of a much higher quality there with eric fisher versus you know going in right now i know later in the podcast we're going to talk about charles leno jr um but he's a fisher is just a better player overall and i don't think there's a whole lot of argument there and And don't get me wrong, I like Leno. But Fisher's just the better player right now. Yeah, speaking last point here on Eric Fisher, before we dive in to Charles Leno for a few moments,

the Bears left tackle who got released this week after starting for them as a seventh-round pick for the last six, seven years. Pretty impressive what Leno's done as a late pick in his career. But looking at Fisher, I love that Benesquit Nelson comes back to full health. But really just reading the tea leaves here, just from what Jim Ursae said, what Chris Bowder said all throughout the past week or so, as it relates to left tackle. We've been hearing a lot of Sam Tevey from Bowder and Ursae saying,

oh, he's a capable left tackle if need be, that he can come in and we're confident in his abilities. I think it's kind of – I mean, maybe I'm just reading too much of the tea leaves here, Stephen. But, I mean, bringing I'm just reading too much of the tea leaves here, Stephen, but I mean, bringing up Sam Tevey so much to me, kind of jives to me at least with Eric Fisher, because if they do trust Sam Tevey for, let's say, the first six weeks of the season,

you can not risk it and not really rush Eric Fisher. You can stir him on the pup list and have Sam Tevey start the first five or six weeks before Fisher comes back, almost like what happened with Andy Costanzo in 2018 when he missed the first five weeks of the season. Obviously, it wasn't an Achilles injury, but it was more of a hamstring injury. But you can nurse Fisher back to health at a slower pace and a more comfortable pace and have a capable left tackle

who's had starting experience in the NFL and Sam Tevey start the first couple weeks of the season. Yeah, and that's a really good point because Chris Ballardard and jim rsa and that whole crew will just tell you the information and so often we don't want to necessarily believe what they're saying to us but they're overloading us with the information they keep talking up sam tevey so it makes a lot of sense that that might be the direction they want to go um yeah if if you can get fisher back and the medicals check again, uh, I'd be totally fine.

I think the franchise would be totally fine. Letting Sam Tevey start for the first couple of games, um, to see where he's at and then going in and being able to plug in what's a pro bowl left tackle. Um, you know, he's Eric Fisher's, he's a great player. So I don't think there's any question about that. It's just, is he going to be healthy? Yeah, that's a big question, Eric Fisher. We'll see later this week once he visits the Colts facility. I'm all aboard the idea. I think he makes so much sense. And he could be your potential multi-year fit for the Colts because left tackle is such an important piece of the offensive line.

And the Colts, if you remember with the Curse of Winstrade, they're probably not going to have a first-round pick next year, so they might not have the draft capital to get the guy they want in the draft for left tackle in 2022 as well. So if Eric Fisher checks out medically, he could be your guy for the next two to three years if all goes well. But let's hit on the next option here. Charles Leno Jr., the Bears' left tackle, Stephen.

What's your overall thoughts on Leno? We've been seeing a lot of Colts fans really intrigued by him. Obviously, the connection with Chris Strausser, the offensive line coach who coached him at Boise State. Kevin Mawai, the assistant offensive line coach as well, coached Leno for one year in Chicago in 2016 as an assistant there. There's a lot of coaching connections here, but I mean, honestly, Stephen, if we're going between GM connections to coach connections, the GM's going to win every time. So that might be the reason why Eric Fisher, it might be the preferred choice here. But if they do pivot off of Fisher and the medicals don't check out,

either way, really, between Fisher and Leno, they're both going to get next to Quentin Nelson. And Leno is a guy to me that seems consistent. He's durable. He's barely missed any snaps the last seven years. He's not on the level of Fisher when he's fully healthy, but he's a serviceable enough guy where he's a level or two above Sam Tevitt. Yeah.

The good thing about Charles Leno, more than anything else, it's the fact that he's played like 96 consecutive games since he became a starter. He works hard. He does things the right way. Again, we talk about culture a lot when we talk about the Colts, and he would definitely fit into that. Same thing with Eric Fisher, by the way.

So both of those guys are high-character guys. The things that concern me about Leno is he had a bunch of penalties last year, holdings and false starts. He had four holding penalties, three false start penalties against the Bears, and Bears fans will be more than happy to tell you that Leno was a bit of a turnstile for opposing defensive ends throughout the season. Now, if you look and compare his first eight games of the season to like first eight or nine games of the season to the second half of the season, he's basically like a different player. And that's because during that first half of the season, he had to work next to like four or five, six different combinations of offensive line. The second half of the season, he only had one guy there that he played next to at left guard.

And so once he got that continuity, he played much, much better. So I think PFF, again, I don't like to quote PFF because I don't necessarily agree with their rubric and the metrics and how they do their process. But they had a significantly higher grade on him in that second half after he got that consistent starter there next to him at left guard um as opposed to the first half where he really struggled um the coaching connections that we talked that you talked about chris drosser are i think huge because basically like leno was the like poster child for chris drosser's like teaching method in terms of offensive linemen so if there was going to be a guy that they were planning to bring in, it's probably the guy that has a lot of experience

with Strasser and is basically his guinea pig whenever he wants to teach offensive line. So really, in my personal opinion, I don't think they could go wrong with either option because I think both are considered an upgrade over Sam Tevey. And realistically, probably both are an upgrade over what they would have gotten in that second round of the draft at this point. Because again, we go back to the draft and a lot of those top guys were gone. So you're reaching there in the second round if you take an offensive tackle at 54 based on how the board fell. And when you look at Leno, when you look at Fisher, both of those guys are going to be able to, you're probably looking to

sign them for two years, like you said. You're probably going to be without a first round pick next year. So you're going to be hoping that you can get a developmental left tackle in the draft in the second round. So I look at that and I say, all right, you want to get these guys that you think are going to be quality starters for a couple of years. Eric Fisher, if the medicals check out would probably be my one option one. And then Charles Leno Jr. based on his consistency and his ability to stay healthy and stay on the field, he's not terrible. And if you pair him next to Quentin Nelson, I think he could be just an absolute beast right there. But quite honestly, you pair any left tackle next to Quentin Nelson, and they significantly improve. So I think either one of them are a good, good option there for the Colts.

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If nothing happens there, you have to assume they go to Charles Leno as their plan B. If Fisher does sign, of course, you'll be having all that information if we're on lockdown Colts and break it all down. But let's dive into the next part of our show, Stephen, talking about just the Colts overall, paying in 2021, the offense and the defense. Start off with the offense here first. We just went over left tackle there.

More likely not it's going to be one of Eric Fisher or Charles Leno starting a left tackle, if need be, Santay for a couple games as well. But outside of that, Stephen, I mentioned this on Twitter earlier today, there's really not a lot of holes on this roster. I mean, there's a couple questions here and there, Stephen, I mentioned this on Twitter earlier today, there's really not a lot of holes on this roster. I mean, there's a couple questions here and there, sure, but if they do go ahead and sign a Fisher or Leno at left tackle, that left tackle position is set in stone for the next year or two.

You have Carson Wentz as your new quarterback to replace Phillip Rivers. A lot of internal belief from the Colts that Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. are going to take those next steps forward in their development, and if they have big year twos, just to make this Colt offense even better. You have T.Y. Hilton there as well. Paris Campbell, if he stays healthy. And you also have guys like Naeem Hines.

You have Jack Doyle, Malik Cox, and now Kylan Granson as the tight ends. A stable offensive line. It seems like to me like all the pieces are in place, Stephen, for them to really take a leap this year offensively to more explosive plays. Really, it's all on Carson Wentz's shoulders at this point. Frank Wright can get Carson Wentz back to himself. There's no reason why this Colts offense can't be top 10. I think across the Colts' entire roster, if you look at their frontline starters, they're probably some of the best in the league. Chris Ballard this offseason

was a major focus of his to upgrade the talent at the depth positions of the offensive line. And so I think there's still some concerns at wide receiver if somebody goes down. But your frontline starters, I would put them up against most other teams. I think they're top five, top ten in the NFL in offensive. I feel pretty confident about that especially if Carson Wentz can come back and and Frank Wright can get him back to the level that he was Michael Pittman Jr. I expect him to make a huge leap I mean Jonathan Taylor you saw him in

the last six games of the season where he ran for just an insane amount of yards and touchdowns against the offensive line with the offensive line and he just was crushing people and once he finally got the groove and finally figured out the offense and everything kind of slowed down for him he you saw him just kind of take off you've got nine hinds you've got you know all these guys and the colts i feel like are very confident in Paris Campbell and that he can come back and stay healthy. And the reason I say that is because they didn't take a wide receiver early in this draft. They didn't force it. They didn't go and get a guy like Elijah Moore or something like that in the first round when he was available. They didn't go and get a Terrace Marshall Jr. in the second round when he was available. So the team, I think, has a lot of faith in Paris Campbell.

That Conley Granton, he's a perfect fit for this offense. And I wouldn't be surprised. There's a rumor that the Eagles would be releasing Zach Kurtz here soon with a post-June 1st cut. Now, I don't know how reliable that is, but if Zach Hurts becomes available, I think that he's going to be another guy that the Colts bring in. And I know some fans will say, oh, well, they're not going to keep four tight ends on the roster.

Well, they kept four tight ends last year. So it wouldn't surprise me. They use three tight end sets quite often. And Zach Hurts has such familiarity with Frank Reich's system It wouldn't surprise me. They use three tight end sets quite often. And Zach Ertz has such familiarity with Frank Reich's system and has that trust level with Carson Wentz that I think you're probably going to look at them to sign Eric Fisher or Charles Leno Jr. here in free agency to fill in that left tackle hole. And then you're going to see another tight end sign of Zach Ertz

if he becomes available. I think honestly, I mean, I don't know about you, Stephen, but I mean, just with the way that Kylan Granson looks to me on tape, and just with the way he fits that Trey Burton role perfectly to me, I don't want to give him like a baptism by fire. But I really feel like with Molly Cox and Jack Doyle there with the two starters next year. I feel like Ertz might be a little bit redundant. I know he's obviously a great tight end in this league, but I feel like honestly Carson Wentz doesn't need to get a Zach Ertz type of guy on board here. I think with Kylan Granson, he'll be in that third tight end role,

that Trey Burton role, play around the 20-25% of the snaps each game. But with the way Granson runs, he has an aggressive running style. He has a great explosion run after catch. I know Kevin Rogers, the director Granson runs, he has an aggressive running style. He has a great explosion run after catch. I know Kevin Rogers, the director of player personnel, told me after the draft that it seems like he's going to be taking on that Trey Burton role in this offense. I kind of want to see – I mean, maybe it might be smart to register Conley Granson next year and get him up to NFL speed.

But with Granson's mismatchability against linebackers and safeties, I might roll him out there instead of signing Zach Ertz. What about you? So the reason why I, I go with Zach Ertz is because in, in my opinion, I think Jack Doyle, Jack Doyle is kind of running out of time.

And I think Zach Ertz and kind of grants and play different roles. Remember when Philadelphia was really rolling and they won the Super Bowl? They had played Zach Ertz and Trey Burton at the same time. So it's not one of those situations where it's one or the other. I think that both of them would see playing time. I think you'd see less playing time for Jack Doyle in that situation or potentially more'Ali Cox. With Doyle, it's tough because he's such a fan favorite. But if you look at him in the past two years, it seems like he's steadily declined. And that, I think, is something where

the Colts, they're going to probably let him play out his contract. But I feel like he's playing times probably going to decrease, or they're going to try to get another guy in that could fill that same style of role. And they're going to be able to basically give Doyle a little bit of a breather. So then maybe by the end of the season, he's still fresh. And so I totally understand what you're saying in terms of taking snaps away from Granson, but I just don't think that Ertz would necessarily do that

because they just are different players, in my opinion. And like the Eagles, when they won the Super Bowl, they played a lot of trade burden with Sackert. So I think that they would be running a lot of two and three tight end sets. So they'd be able to make that work. Yeah, that's a valid point there and we've heard whispers from guys like steven holder of the athletic mentioning this could be jack doyle's last year he has two years left on his deal but i believe after this

year it's non-guaranteed just like anthony fondos was so maybe this is doyle's swan song you're kind of transitioning to that tight end three role we see molly cox get a lot of snaps and as the primary blocker and kyle and Granson as the vertical threat. Some of the watchers, of course, with Zach Hurts, he's been linked to the Colts forever now, it seems like, Stephen. But looking at the offense here as a whole, you have the infrastructure with the offensive line. I'm not really worried about the offensive line that much,

even with the big left tackle question. I'm assuming Leno or Fisher are signed here within the next couple weeks, who I think are very dependable left tackles, and especially against Quentin Nelson, they're going to look even better. You have the stable running game with Taylor Hines and even Marlon Mack as a guy who can come in here at the change of pace. You have the young weapons who should ascend next year at Campbell Pittman. And you have T Y Hilton as a reliable guy who probably transitions more to a

WR two role with Michael Pittman ascending next year. And it feels like to me, honestly, this offense has a lot on the table where Carson Wentz isn't going to need to really beat Superman. He's going to be a guy who throws the ball around 25 times per game. The Colts are probably going to be a heavy running team early on to get Wentz comfortable and a lot of quick passing concepts to guys like Campbell and MPJ.

It feels like, to me, Steven, that from Wentz's standpoint, this should be a bounce-back year where it's not catastrophic like it was in 2020 where he threw 15 picks in 13 games. Yeah, it's not going to be, I don't think it's gonna be anything like that. That's what, in 2020, the tough part with Carson Wentz was he had nothing, like he had no offensive line, he had no weapons. You know, they were throwing to practice squad wide receivers. So unless, you know, as long as the Colts can avoid just massive injuries, like, you know, Wentz lost his all pro guard in Brooks that we talked about early in the show to Achilles injury in June.

Like it's, it's something that you just don't see happen very often. And so that's the tough part is I just don't see him that being a huge issue because I think that he's going to be able to come back and he's going to be able to play at a really, really high level. And I think that he's going to fit right back into what Frank Reich likes to do, and he's going to be back into his comfort zone. Colts fans, rockauto.com is the place to go if you want to save money on your next car purchase. I've saved a lot of money, so have a lot of listeners, and you're going to want to do the same thing because they really do put a lot of money back into your pocket. They're a family-owned business serving auto parts customers online for the last 20-plus years. Go to rockauto.com to shop for auto and body parts from hundreds of manufacturers.

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so that we sent you over there. Again, write LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N in the How-To-Revive-Boss box so that LockedOn Colts sent to Read Your Boss box, send that to us and we'll send you over there. Again, write LockedOn, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, in the How to Read Your Boss box, send that to LockedOn Colts and we'll send you over there. A main selection, reliable low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Colts fans, go to rockauto.com right now. Yeah, that's a really good point there. And with Wentz and Reich back together, we saw the With the Next Pick series detailing the trade and just their relationship. They seem like the same person. So I think just the chemistry from philadelphia to indy is going to be so much on a better level i mean of course that press taylor might grow former eagles coaches

on the staff here as well so the transition should be good for carson wentz let's dive into the last part of our show steven diving into the defense and of course we're going to be talking all about throughout the offseason here about the offense and defense, what can happen here. But looking at this defense for a second, let's start off with Quiddie Paye because we heard from Chris Ballard actually on SiriusXM yesterday in an interview with Alex Marvez and former GM Bill Polian. Ballard mentioned the Quiddie Paye pick, that they're going to be starting Quiddie Paye in Justin Houston's spot as the right defensive end. And at some point, they're going to try to use him as a mismatch weapon,

where if they see a mismatch they like inside, they'll probably kick Pei inside on some pass downs and allow guys like Bandugu and Toure to get some run on the edge on third down. I really just, the more I think about it, I love just the versatility of what Pei is going to bring to this defense because you see their current starting defensive line is going to be Pei, Stewart, Buckner, and more like than that probably taekwon lewis there's a strong side edge and then from there you have backups like

ture banigoo rochelle muhammad taylor stalworth and later on the season probably dio adangbo this defensive line steven is really what chris bowers always wanted you neither to be able to go 9 10 even maybe even 11 guys deep on a defensive line yeah it're going to be able to go 9, 10, maybe even 11 guys deep on a defensive line. Yeah, it's going to be really good for Quidipe and for the Colts defense to be able to put Quidipe in there. And I think the one guy that's going to be able to really benefit the most from Quidipe and then when Dayo Dango comes back from Dio is DeForest Buckner because DeForest Buckner was getting double teamed all year last year because the Colts didn't have a pass rush it's it's something that Colts fans don't quite understand is if we remember back to the playoff loss

the Colts didn't lose because they didn't have a left tackle. At that point, Anthony Costanzo was out. The Colts lost because they couldn't touch Josh Allen and they couldn't get to the passer. And so Chris Ballard, like he tends to do, is he just went really hard at that position. So he went and got a lot of depth at the offensive line, but then he attacked the defensive end position with really high, really high character, really high value, high upside picks. And so I'm super excited about the defensive line and being able to have Quidipe in there, have him opposite Tyquan Lewis, and being able to let the young guys really get snaps with Ture and Banigou on passing downs,

I think that's exactly what's going to happen is they're going to have DeForest Buckner and Quiddie Paye down there at the defensive tackle spot. You're going to throw in Ture and Banigou at the defensive end and let those guys go in that NASCAR-style package, like what the New York Giants ran when they won the Super Bowl and beat Tom Brady. I mentioned this before. Quidipe is that long – he's just such a good and versatile cog for this defense, and I think the Colts and Colts fans are going to love him. Yeah. The more I talk about it, the more I just absolutely love Quidipe in this Colts defense, a guy we've been targeting,

coveting on this pod for a while, Stephen. But looking overall just at this front seven, like we just mentioned, Paye, Buckner, Stewart, more likely not Taequann Lewis into that mix. And then also the linebacking core, Bobby Okereke and Darius Leonard. I actually did the math earlier today, Stephen, but all the guys' arm length that I just mentioned, that starting six of Paye, Stewart, Buckner, Lewis, and you also throw in Okereke and Leonard, the combined arm length of those guys is 17 feet. That is insane to me that those six guys can cover 17 feet just with their arms usually across the field.

Chris Ballard, we talked about this before last week, Stephen they made the pay and Odengbo picks but looking back on even more if you throw Dio into that mix who's the longest even on that team like this front seven that Chris Ballard has built is one that's really built for this cover two scheme that Matty Rufus loves like getting rid of the zones and having less like less space for the offense to make throws or have space to run. Like Chris Ballard is truly building a freak show front seven. Like it really is incredible. Look at the numbers and dive deeper into it. Yeah. The defensive length is just crazy.

And it's something that Chris Ballard has said that he likes in his defenders. It's just makes sense. If you can, you know, make those windows smaller for quarterbacks, then they've got to be more accurate. And quite honestly, that's the hardest thing to do in the NFL is to be accurate and make, make those really tight, tight spot throws where you're just throwing into a really tiny box. Not only that is it allows the defenders to be able to get in and engage the offensive lineman before they can get engaged so it helps them get off blocks faster it helps them if they spot the running back they can get that arm out to slow them down the length on the defense is just crazy and I'm I'm really really excited to see this team really get going and get to playing there at Lucas Oil and on that fast

turf there. Yeah and what's fun about that too like Buckner had 26 QB hits and nine and a half sacks in 15 games last year inconsistent pass rush around him I think teams are probably not going to give Quiddy Pay much attention the first couple weeks but once Quiddy Pay really starts going off with teams still doubling DeForest Buckner like it's going to be so fun to watch that do i just keep thinking about what they're going to do on the left side of those offensive lines but overall steven let's like move out of the front seven for a second into the secondary i think it's fair to say the one question for them is cornerback two xavier rhodes had a resurgent year last year he's obviously locked in as a cornerback one kenny moore the best nickel defender in the NFL. But cornerback two is going to be very interesting because they really ran it back.

Marvell tells back from an opt-out season. You have T.J. Carey re-signing a one-year deal. You have Rakia Sin, of course, currently locked in at CB2. The Colts didn't draft a corner. And we heard all the smoke around, hey, maybe they're going to go draft a corner. It seems like they don't really like Rakia Sin. But the Colts did not do that. They going to go draft a corner. They don't really seem like they don't really like Rocky Hussain. But the Colts did not do that.

They went ahead and added a safety in Sean Davis. He's not going to impact that corner room at all. So it makes me think it might be like just depending on OTAs and training camp between Tell, Kerry, and Rock, I think we're poised for like an open competition there for that spot. Yeah, I think so. And I think it's really telling that the Colts, again, didn't draft a corner early in the draft or at all in the draft. And they didn't sign one on draft free agency either. I think that it shows that they do have faith in Rock and they know that

New Rock needs to come out and this is a big year for him i think we were all kind of thrown off because every time tim mercy got a chance to talk about anything he would mention the cornerback and possibly taking a cornerback early so we all kind of steered that direction we're like well i mean maybe it doesn't make sense given the scheme that they run and how it basically defalues the cornerback position, but maybe they do take them early. They didn't, obviously. But, yeah, I think there's some concern with the long-term position of the corners.

Like you said, you've got TJ Carey on a one-year deal. You've got Xavier Rhodes on a one-year deal. You've got Rocky Hussen, who's struggled. Kenny Moore is going to be a mainstay there. You've got Marvell Tell coming back. So you hope that he can pick back up to where he left off before he opted out. And so there are some definite questions there. Oh, Isaiahgers as well i failed to mention him but you know he he played well in spurts last year too so they've got some talent but i i'm concerned about the development and if rock can develop then i think that it's going to be a solid group and you just hope that he put in the work this offseason and given the high character guys that Chris Bauer likes to bring in as opposed to some other franchises I think that the guys that that he's got they're going to work hard because they

don't want to let the team down and it's not I mean it is about you know the money and getting a paycheck and everything like that but so much about what the Colts have built here is, you know, being high character and being a, a good locker and being a good teammate, um, being a good guy that, that you know, that your teammates can rely on. And even if you're not at the facility, they've got faith in you that you're doing the right thing. And that's really what the Colts have built here. And I think that if the Colts have built here.

And I think that if the corners go and work out and they keep it up, then they'll be great. And if they don't, then the Colts are going to need to find a way to address it. Last one here for you, Stephen, before we close out tonight's pod. Appreciate the time as always, man. Looking at this defense overall, we just went over the front seven, looked at the defensive backs for a few minutes there. What do you think is your expectations for this Colts team next year? I think we both agree that this Colts team, a curse and Wentz bounces back, should be a top 10 offense next year. I think if the quarterback two spot holds, I think it's going

to even help out more with guys like Quiddy Pay on board now with more consistent pass routes, going to help out that secondary. This Colts defense should be in a position where they could be even better than they were in 2020 because Quidipe, I think, is really the equalizer here where I know Justin Houston produced good in the box score last year, but there was a lot of games where he just disappeared. He did really good in the first month of the season, but he really tailed off in the last few months of the season. Quidipe is not going to do that.

I think this Colts team, if all goes well at the pass rush, which they really double-dipped and addressed, and once Dio comes back, if he does later in the year, like this defense should be a top 10 unit. Yeah, I think it will be. I think that if this defense has all the ability to be a top 10 unit, I think that it's going to be a top 10 unit. Honestly, I would put them at top five. Cause the one thing that they were really lacking last year was the pass rush. That was the, that was there and no pun intended, but Achilles heel last year was the fact that they couldn't get to the passer. So you had guys like Gardner Minshew having all day, you had,

you know, Baker Mayfield having all day to throw. You had, you know, Deshaun Watson, Josh Allen, the Colts just couldn't get to the pass rush or couldn't get to the passer. So now that they've really addressed that pass rush, I think that they're going to be in a much better spot. And you hope that Ben Banigou has been able to put in the work and produce. I would imagine knowing him and his trainer, they have, I have no doubt about that. So I'm excited to see what he produces this year. So that's, if the Colts get a pass rush, I honestly think they're going to be top five because their run defense is going to still be near the top of the league. The problem was their pass defense last year,

and they're going to be really efficient tacklers. They're probably not going to let a lot of points get scored. So in terms of yardage, they may not be top five, but I'm fairly certain they'll be top five in scoring defense. Steven, always enjoy having you on. Cold Spins, if you're not already, go ahead and follow Steven on Twitter. You're not already at NiceReadSteven. Go listen to his podcast as well over on Stan P. Blue.

Steven, appreciate your time tonight. Thanks, Evan. Have a good one.