Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - EXPECTATIONS: Has Perception of Indianapolis Colts' Shane Steichen, Chris Ballard Changed Recently?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Should the Indianapolis Colts' latest moves and additions make you more optimistic for this upcoming season or less optimistic? Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen. of the day. This your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked-on podcast network, your team every single day. And today's episode is brought

Starting point is 00:00:38 to you by GameTime, download the GameTime at, create an account, and use code locked on NFL for $20 off of your first purchase. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshaw, resident film nerd of horseshoe huddle.com. And my partner, Jake Arthur, is our credentialed boots on the ground for the site. It is our final

Starting point is 00:00:53 episode before you get into a game week run of episodes here where we get into our normal run, you know, throughout the entire season. You guys know and love everything we do there. So we're going to kind of branch out and do kind of overview stuff and then some just housework stuff essentially with how we view this roster and everything. So we're going to end the show with potential moves the Colts could make for their practice

Starting point is 00:01:17 squad or their roster to make this team better prior to the season. We're going to also dive into strengths and weaknesses of the roster, what we feel most confident in saying about this team. But before we get into all that, let's have more. of an open conversation here, Jake, about just our viewpoint on this roster, how much it's changed in recent weeks, even from just the end of training camp to now, kind of how we're feeling just vibes wise, I guess, going into the season. So Jake, you know, you were there covering this team from day one of training camp all the way until the end, seeing how this team was

Starting point is 00:01:51 growing, seeing guys move up and down the depth chart, being there for the quarterback named, the starting quarterback named. How do you feel about this team as of right now compared to maybe how you felt coming in the training camp? Yeah, I think from the first day of the off season, there's been a different tone to this team. They have been intentional and aggressive about making impactful moves, I think.

Starting point is 00:02:16 And in turn, that's put pressure on them. I think we already kind of figured this was a do-or-die season for most people, but especially Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen, and Anthony Richardson. I think that is firmly in place now. You look at the moves they've made. They spent money in free agency.

Starting point is 00:02:34 You know, Charverry's Ward and Cam Bynum, those are win now moves. You can go into Xavier and Howard. Like, yes, I know he's kind of over the hill. But they, number one, they didn't have to even go out and get a veteran. We've seen them in the past back, all right, we got to had a couple guys go down. We're going to see, we're going to put our depth to the test and see if the moves we made to get the doldrums of our roster going if those are going to work or not. They're not settling for that.

Starting point is 00:03:01 And I think a big part of that is the Luana Rumo effect. I think we're very much seeing the cachet that guy has in this building. It feels like whatever he has said he's wanted, it's happened. But no, they put, I think, a lot of pressure on themselves with the moves they've made. We've seen the cornerback room. If anyone goes down with a bump, it's like they're working out three notable players on the outsider, they're bringing in people to compete. The cornerback room has already been churned so much.

Starting point is 00:03:33 Like, Corey Ballanty, when they picked him up in free agency, we're like, that's a respectable move for like a fifth six corner. Like he started, I think it was like 11 games. He was like one of the first corners to go. Like they have clearly shown they're not satisfied with just being fine. They want a lot of these areas to be as good as possible. And, you know, I think I like it. they've done that like that's not a bad thing but at the same time all these moves they're making

Starting point is 00:04:01 if it doesn't work if it's a disappointing season i i have zero idea what the everyone can do to stick around after this like it looks like they're throwing all their resources at it and if it doesn't work it's it's probably just going to have to be time to move on yeah i will say that you know we we were big proponents here on this episode on the show of saying that when they named Daniel Jones is starting quarterback that it was all the excuses are out the window like you got to win this year but I think it's more than just the Daniel Jones move that are pointing this Colts team into a winner die situation essentially where you know you're looking at the Xavier Howard signing where it's like again last the last couple years a player goes down with injury it's like well

Starting point is 00:04:44 don't worry we got Dallas flowers don't worry we have Samuel Womack off waivers like it's fine now it's like oh Justin Wally went down let's go get Xavier Howard let's work out Mike Hilton. Let's, you know, get these other veteran guys in here. Jalen Carlis is not healthy. Let's get Anthony Walker working out. Let's get Kaiser White working out. Let's add Chadmuma off waiver. So it really is the lack of complacency and like the just a pure urgency with this team that we're seeing going into the season that we really haven't seen from Chris Ballard and company before. And I think part of that is, again, just you don't have, they're not having the patient route of a young quarterback. They're putting the 28-year-old quarterback in.

Starting point is 00:05:24 there but also i think it's the new ownership you know the new ownership they there is this rush to show this new ownership that hey we have a good thing going here if we can make the playoffs this year we can really make our pitch to them in the off season but i think that's the ultimate goal from everything they've done but the one question i really want to pose to you jake is with the recent additions with all the veterans they've been adding with moving to jones as a starting quarterback this year. In your mind, you think that they are closer to the playoffs now than they were coming into training camp. That's tough. Number one, I like that you said urgency. I think that was a great way to describe what they've done this year. I can't say. I like, I like their

Starting point is 00:06:11 intention with what they're doing. Like, I believe that they believe what they're doing gets them closer you know what i mean i'm not i'm not like super inspired by the daniel jones move but at the same time i do believe that that is shane stike in banking on him like i i think he thinks that move allows them to get to the playoffs it's a very similar situation to 2023 and i think jones is a little bit of an upgrade over gardner minchu personally and Shane just wants that guy that's going to execute his offense the way he wants it to be done and he doesn't have to worry about the variance of anthony richardson i get that i still think anthony richardson offers them the ability to get over the hump and you're just going to have to live with the bumps in the road with them

Starting point is 00:07:00 with jones like it it can work it could be unspectacular but it can work if shane you know kind of throws all the resources in it that we've seen especially in 2023 from a play calling standpoint, I thought he did a lot of really cool things. Like, there was a lot of wrinkles that did not look like a normal boring offense, even though he kind of had a very limited quarterback pulling the strings there with Munchu. So I still have some big questions to be answered, I think, but I do, I would say they think they're closer to making the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:07:37 Yeah, and I will say just, again, from all the moves that we've seen this offseason, and a lot of it has been the priority of how can we raise the floor for right now. Again, Xavier and Howard coming in is a big part of that. But even other smaller moves. And our guy, Owen Stevens here in the comment section, is giving me a good thing to work off of here. He says every upside piece is gone. And it's a bit better, but is it enough to really make it,

Starting point is 00:07:58 much less be an impact. And I do agree that, like, in the past, again, we've seen the Colts lean into the young guys with upside, where it's like, we're keeping this athletic lineback. We're keeping Isaiah land at the bottom of the roster, just to marinate and, see what he can be but this year it's been look when it came down to the final defensive tackle they went with eric johnson over tim smith who i think johnson had a better preseason but again you

Starting point is 00:08:20 typically would go with just the younger player there if it's that close when it came to the bottom of the defensive end depth chart instead of trying to keep an isaiah land it was bringing in more stuff bringing in more more guys that help now instead of keeping that stash player at the bottom really the only kind of stash player that we see is Jonathan Edwards on the team. And honestly, that's maybe just my perception of him being a stash player. He might be a guy they view high enough to contribute this year. They did give them a pretty big undrafted free agent guarantee. So, yeah, I think a lot has been about raising the floor.

Starting point is 00:08:54 And I think they certainly have raised the floor in a lot of ways. Like, you're not going to be trotting out Juju Brands, hoping that he figures it out and giving him multiple games to work through it. And if there's issues, there's issues. You know, you're putting out an Xavier and Howard. And I think there's going to be pretty quick triggers on both sides of the ball where if a guy's not performing, they're going to pull them. You know, I don't think it's going to be like a Dalton Tucker situation last year where

Starting point is 00:09:19 it took six games for them to pull them. I think if Matt Consolves struggles through three or four guys, three or four weeks, two weeks, maybe two, three weeks, I think they make a change there. And I think that's what we're going to see from the team this year. So does this make them closer to the playoffs? I think it probably does. Again, Richardson, you were banking on just the 1% chance that it clicks for him, and it ends up turning your team into an early rendition of the bills with Josh Allen. But I think just overall, having a quarterback who can just do what the coaches says, you can move the offense, keep you on the field for good sustained drives, keep your defense fresh, and then getting veterans who can communicate and know the system on defense, raising the floor behind those guys, it probably made them closer to the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:10:03 but ultimately it's going to come down to those those lucky bounces that can get them in and that'll be what what makes or breaks this season so i don't think my overall perception of the team has changed much from day one of the off season and now because i still think they're like a fringe playoff team but maybe they they close the margins a little bit you know in terms of like again with richardson and with the juju brenses and with those type of players that you would be giving a lot of snaps to you had this wide variance of what they could be but because you have Jones, because you have Howard, because Eric Johnson instead of Tim Smith, you know, just those little margins there. I think they close the margin of error just a little bit to where

Starting point is 00:10:41 they're probably going to perform around what this team is capable of, which is, again, like a fringe playoff team, but again, it's not as volatile or as expansive of a range, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. I think that's fair. It seems like they're banking on a lot of guys they feel are safer and they don't have to have as much patience for. It honestly feels in a way like how Ryan Grigsen kind of built those Andrew Luck teams quickly, like throwing veterans at it because they were ready to win right now because they had Andrew Luck, but more like the Matt Hasselbeck Colts teams, if that makes sense.

Starting point is 00:11:15 And Hasselbeck wasn't terrible. Like they're kind of treading in those same waters right now, but Daniel Jones isn't like 38 or whatever Hasselbeck was at the time. But guys, we're going to keep this conversation rolling, but kind of get into things like Zach and I are comfortable, declaring about this team like what what what factors really get our confidence points in this team in 2025 we're going to talk about that in just a moment hey locked on colds fans are you still paying full price for gas stop leaving money behind get real cash back every time you fill up with the free

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Starting point is 00:12:51 That's promo code touchdown. Offers vary by user and location. Go to upside.com for terms and conditions. And you guys know the NFL season. is back. We're talking next week. And honestly, there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans, cheering on your team. But let's be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle between queues, login screens, and prices jumping at checkout. It can be pretty frustrating. That's why I use GameTime, the app that gives the advantage back to fans. I don't obviously

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Starting point is 00:14:41 So be sure to check that out after the show. All right, guys, welcome back. We are talking about the Colts 2025 season and we're shifting this conversation into things we are most confident in declaring about this team. this year. So, Zach, why don't you start us off here? What's, what's something when you think about this team? You're like, all right, this is definitely going to be how it is. Well, I'm not always the most optimistic person on here. So I'm going to go pretty optimistic when it comes to this one. And it's not in like, hey, Quentin Nelson's going to be good because we know Quentin Nelson's

Starting point is 00:15:12 going to be good. But I think I'm going to, I'm going to go out there and say, I think Tanner Bordalini is going to be a really good center for the Colts this season. I'm not as confident in McInsoviz, even though I do think that McInsolves can get there by the end of the season. But Tanner Bordellini, I saw enough in the offseason. I saw enough from his rookie season, even his college film, where I think this is going to be a really good center for the Colts. There will be some issues with the anchoring and with single pass blocking, but I think as a run blocker, especially on those zone runs, I think as a free guy in pass protection

Starting point is 00:15:43 where he can help with his eyes and help with stunts, I think he's going to be a fantastic center for the team. So keeping this on more of a micro level, just going with one player, one area that I'm really confident is, is Tanner Bordellini establishing himself as a really good center for the Colts? I'm very optimistic, especially when Quentin Nelson is next to him on that left side. I think he's going to be a darn good player for this team. I really like that one. I especially like the idea of the center that's considered undersized, but more athletic

Starting point is 00:16:12 than the normal center. Those guys can find a way to be special players. And I've already heard, I've already heard from within the building, you know, with Sparano to talk about not only Bordellini's ability to pick things up quickly mentally, but just things that cannot be taught or coached or anything like his flexibility.

Starting point is 00:16:32 He gets his body into these weird jams, but where he's still able to keep his strength to make a block successful. So I'm really interested to see how his game grows. And that's going to kind of lead me into my next point here, which is bigger than just a single player. But

Starting point is 00:16:48 I think overall, neither of us are in love with the quarterback situation, whether it was Anthony or Daniel. I would still have reservations if it was Anthony. But I do think this is the best opportunity for Shane Stuyken to, like, be in his bag with this offense. I think it should be the most complete offense he's had in Indy. If the offensive line is at least average, you know, I'm not going to go out and say, like, the line is going to be top 10 again because they're working in two new starters.

Starting point is 00:17:17 Like, let's be realistic. I think they'll be at least average, though. but this is the first time he's had a stud-tide-end here. Jonathan Taylor just got done rushing for 1,400 yards last year, despite missing three games. They have a quarterback that they're confident can just get them by doing what they ask. And then this group of pass catchers,

Starting point is 00:17:37 I already mentioned Tyler Warren, but, like, men, downs, Pierce, if A.D. Mitchell gives you anything more than he did last year. Like, this is a pretty complete offense overall. and some of the unique things that we saw Shane do in 2023 early on when he had Anthony Richardson and even still when he had Gardner, I think if he keeps that creativity up and doesn't ask A.D. Mitchell to throw the ball or anything, I think this is going to be a successful offense. And if you look at like areas that were really, really bad last year, like they were 30th in time of possession like they almost never won the time of possession battle 30th at 27 44 per game

Starting point is 00:18:23 last year they're going to be much better offensively and especially in time of possession i think these drives are going to last a lot longer yeah we'll see explosive plays dip a little bit but we'll see just more success rate hopefully that's what they're hoping for i guess this season flipping over to the defense side of the ball when it comes to my confidence level for the first time in the chris ballard era i think the colts are going to have a better pass defense than run defense season. Pretty confident in that, especially with just the personnel they have on this team. I know the cornerback room is banged up. I know Nick Cross is still not practicing, which is terrifying. He actually is back. Oh, he is back. Okay, good. Because I was terrified for a second there

Starting point is 00:19:00 on who could start week one. But even with all that, I was going to say the past defense would be better. Traditionally with Luana Rumo, his past defenses have been more of the shiny example of his defense than his run defense. And then we're looking at just the 90-something percent nickel rate they're going to be in this year, it's going to be so much on run gap integrity in this run defense. And we saw some issues with that last year with the Colts. And I think it's going to be a bit rocky at times, especially with, I like the starters on the Colts defensive line, but behind the starters on the Colts defensive line,

Starting point is 00:19:33 I'm not really sold on anybody there, especially a defensive tackle. So I think we're going to see some leaky run defense, but I think this past defense is going to creep into that like top 15ish range. I don't want to be too crazy optimistic here because they are potentially starting Xavier and Howard in week one on the outside, which could be a disaster. But I think overall this is going to be like a top 15 to 18-ish past defense and probably like outside the top 20 run defense unless Grover Stewart just goes absolutely crazy, which he could.

Starting point is 00:20:05 But I feel very confident in this past defense relative to where it's been in pretty much the entirety of the Chris Ballard era. I mean, if you go for yards allowed per game or even even, EPA per play. The best they've been is like 15th or so, 16th or so. They're typically in the bottom five, bottom six in Ballard's era. I think this is going to be one of the better past defenses, respective to his career here, but probably the worst run defense they've had because there's going to be such a priority on suffocating the pass lanes that run defense will certainly get a little leaky this year. I completely agree with that one. I think a lot of the guys

Starting point is 00:20:41 they have defensively, especially with the personnel they're going to use, are better past defenders than run defenders. And guys are going to have to be on their peas and cues, like, all the time in order for it to be a successful run defense. But hopefully it doesn't get to that point, you know. I think they're definitely going to have their warts, but hopefully it's not a thing where, like, it clearly is killing the defense. And they're going to have to, like, use bare fronts and go super heavy.

Starting point is 00:21:06 Because I really don't think Lou wants to do that. But we're running along on this segment. I don't care. I got to get this one in real quick. Okay. Because we have heard a lot back and forth, whether we've talked about Daniel Jones or whether we've talked about Anthony. We have been accused of hating either one or fan-boying either one.

Starting point is 00:21:27 And I'm here to say, I don't care what happens this year. I'm like all on board with a quarterback being priority number one in 2026. I don't think there's any way you can look at this and say that either of these guys is the long-term answer. I don't want to completely doubt Anthony. I think like he he could still maybe be a successful quarterback in the league, but I don't think the Colts are going to be the organization that takes the time to figure that out. Like look at what's happening right now. It doesn't make sense. It feels like everyone is fighting for their jobs this year. Like that's probably the main reason Daniel Jones is the quarterback in the first place. And even if Daniel Jones is

Starting point is 00:22:08 awesome this year and like is this year is this year's like sam darnold sam darnold isn't even with that team anymore you know what i mean like so i i think there's a really really good chance that quarterback is priority number one again going into next season that doesn't mean they don't have like a bridge quarterback like a bridge veteran and it could even be daniel who knows um but i've got to imagine their long-term answer at quarterback is not on the team right now i think that's probably a good bet But because the season's right around the corner, we can table that for either week six, week seven, or hopefully, week 18 or 19. Well, hopefully it's after the season because the season went well and not in like week six or seven. But we'll see.

Starting point is 00:22:52 We'll table that for the future. I'm willing to let this play out this year and see what it is. I'm open-minded right now, guys. I know I've been very rigid in the past. I'm open-minded right now. I want to see what happens. But coming up, guys, we're going to still talk about this current roster. where could the Colts make some additions? Are we feeling good with it?

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Starting point is 00:24:19 That's code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after your first $5 play. Price Picks, run your game. Welcome back every dayers. We are talking expectations for the Colts 2025 season. We've kind of given a general vibes overview as well as things we're really confident in declaring. But now we're going to talk about things we think will still happen, what we think should still happen. And it's not necessarily in this next week before the season starts, but like throughout the year, up to the trade deadline, what have you. And, you know, what the Colts have been doing very clearly tells us like, like rosters always churned throughout the season, but they're still being intentional with impact.

Starting point is 00:25:06 moves, it seems. You know, this week they worked out linebackers, Kaiser White, Anthony Walker, nickel, Mike Hilton. All those players have been impactful players at some point in their careers. None of them coming off really the best times

Starting point is 00:25:21 of their careers. But, you know, Anthony Walker has familiarity with this franchise, obviously was drafted here, played his first four years. Mike Hilton and Lou Ann Arumo were here for a while. And Kaiser White was a guy we were trumpeting on the free agent market here all offseason.

Starting point is 00:25:38 So all three of those guys fit. So we know they're still going to try some things. So I guess I'll start there, Zach, any of those three, you know, you could bring in Derek Forrest or any of the other guys they worked out, would you bring any of them in right now or would you just kind of keep them on speed dial for if there were injuries or something crop up during the season? Yeah, I mean, I probably try to bring them in on the practice squad. You can have up to six vets on the practice squad, vested veterans, so guys who have played

Starting point is 00:26:05 in three or more games and four seasons of their career you can have up to six of those guys on your practice squad the colts are currently sitting at five so they can make some more room I know their practice squad is completely full right now but if you wave another player and then also release one of those veterans then you could add like two of these guys to your practice squad and personally I think adding like a Mike Hilton to the practice squad would be a benefit to everyone you know getting him in back with Louana Rumo you can be like a guy who can help with the communication and help with, you know, like a player like Xavier and Howard who hasn't played under Luana Rumo in almost a decade at this point. You probably want to get

Starting point is 00:26:44 just the communication up to speed. And Mike Hilton knows this system better than probably anyone on the Colts at this point. Like Joe Bachi is maybe the only other guy who knows this system as well because of his years with Luanarumo in Cincinnati. So, you know, I think getting a Hilton in here and then whoever looked better in their workout between Kaiser White and Anthony Walker, they're probably around the same at this point in their career's white. It's coming off a year that wasn't great last year. Walker has been pretty good every year of his career except for

Starting point is 00:27:11 the injuries popping up in recent years. So you don't know how much he's really got left in the tank at this point. But either one of those guys, whoever impressed in their workout more, I'd be fine with adding both of them to the practice squad. And then you know, I hate to say it because the preseason is fresh in everyone's mind, but

Starting point is 00:27:27 you could just release like a Laquan Treadwell to make space off the practice squad. And look, Treadwell is never going anywhere. He's got his roots in indie these last couple years. He's probably not going to sign to anyone else. He knows that the Colts like him. So you could probably have like a treadwell more on speed dial than one of these guys who might get added to a different practice squad in the next couple of days here.

Starting point is 00:27:48 So yeah, I'm all for just adding more vets. I think if, again, if you're going for more wind now, you're going for more floor raising moves. I think getting like a Kaiser White or Mike Hilton just in your organization now, it kind of helps your end goal of trying to be competitive. this season yeah when it comes to walker and hilton i i definitely think there's or uh walker and white i think there's definitely benefits to both both are captains i believe uh i'm not sure about hilton but like probably um but yeah so walker very very high football iq and like kind of a coach on the field type um the injuries scare me like he signed one year deals in cleveland each of the

Starting point is 00:28:27 three years after he left indy and was on i r each year uh so injuries have definitely been a thing for him white has been a productive player i think he's had 100 plus tackles in three the last four years and the one he didn't get was like 90 tackles so that's obviously not everything but if you're looking for like linebacker help and it's essentially september now that's a pretty productive player at this stage of the game so if you need someone to contribute pretty quickly white is probably your guy but i do like from the perspective you said hilton could be like kind of a coach to these guys walker as well and then for hilton we keep i not just us but like i don't feel like anyone is talking about mackay blackman still he's you know had the ACL last year coming in

Starting point is 00:29:14 everything i understand from him in minnesota this summer it was like not great as he gets back from the ACL but even a guy like him hilton could be a great sounding board and influence for him to quickly get acclimated if they see him as kind of a backup nickel i mean christmas Monza is already there, but he's practice squad. So I'd be okay with them adding any three of those guys. I see why they would do it now that it's been a couple days. I was a little skeptical about a couple of them at first. But yeah, I would do that.

Starting point is 00:29:43 So what about positions? Like this doesn't have to, we talked about this a little recently with like post cuts and like waiver wire stuff. But is there any positions you see now that it's like the end of the week from cut week that you think really need to be addressed? Yeah, but say these are more just areas. of concern, I guess, on the roster. I still think linebacker is one that you need to keep adding.

Starting point is 00:30:06 And Chris Ballard mentioned that. That's why we saw the workouts for Kaiser White, Anthony Walker. I think Neville Hewitt was also one of their workouts as well, another veteran who's been around the league a little bit because I watched some Chad Mooma film and let's keep him on special teams. Let's keep, he turns like me out there. Let's keep him on special teams. He's athletic, straight lines and he can be like a good blitzer type guy, but I don't want

Starting point is 00:30:31 him on defense like i want him like a grand steward like keep him away from the real defense and keep them on special teams uh but you know i i think there's still room to add like a white or a walker there and then again that interior defensive line depth is terrifying to me like putting your faith in eric johnson for a fourth time is a little scary to me a guy who was waived this past off season by the patriots and again i still think they could have gotten to the practice squad i don't know if anyone else would have claimed him. So, yeah, it is a little nervous to me to, like, rely on him to be your backup nose tackle, or even worse, if Gallimore's your backup nose tackle, again, he's got the

Starting point is 00:31:10 size, but I don't think he's got the... His game isn't nose tackle. Right. He doesn't got, like, the moxie for it, I guess, is kind of the lack of a better term. So I would have, I really want a nose tackle in here that is just a two-gapping, like, space-eating big guy on the interior. And I don't think they have that still on the roster. So, like, I think Mike Pennell got released by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Starting point is 00:31:33 He's an older guy, like 33 years old, just pure run stuffer and nothing else. If he's interested in coming to Indy, like, get him on the phone, man. I'd rather have him here just to eat some space. But I think it's going to bite them in the butt. Like, it has the last, like, four years on defense. Like, they've had a good run defense the last three or four years regardless. But we do see the drop off when Stewart is off the field. And again, I still think we're going to see.

Starting point is 00:31:58 that this year, but even with a leakier run defense than what we saw in recent seasons. So I think they're playing with fire when it comes to the backup nose tackle, especially if, you know, Stewart's maybe rotating out, like, say he's only playing like 60% of the snaps, 62% of the snaps. I think those other snaps are going to be really concerning when Stewart is not out there on run defense. I agree. And Owen here also mentioned, can we sign someone who we know is a real human being

Starting point is 00:32:27 at tackle? like someone we've seen, you know, what the Colts have been doing, I would be surprised if they didn't still make a move at backup offensive tackle. I mean, like if you look at cornerback, again, we mentioned everyone who's needed a band-aid, they've gone out and worked someone out or brought someone in, you know, as help. So going into it with mid-round rookie Jalen Travis and Luke Tanuda as your backup tackles, that kind of runs counter to everything you've been doing so far this office. season so I'm very concerned at backup offensive tackle because also as we know around here

Starting point is 00:33:02 your tackle your backup tackles are gonna be playing and like braden brayden smith like has not had the best bill of health physically either you know uh throughout his career especially the last few years and bernard riman misses time as well so they they need more than what they've got there and then do your point at nose tackle again whether they want to trade for someone whatever whatever they do, they do have to get a real backup nose tackling there. Your Al Wood's type, like you mentioned, Penel from the Chiefs, I feel like was there a little smoke there like a couple years ago? That like Penel to the Colts felt familiar at one point.

Starting point is 00:33:40 Probably because Chris Ballard loves his chiefs players. That's probably what it was. But yeah, I've been begging for this for a long time, you know. Again, EPA per play-wise, the Colts run defense has been good for like essentially each of the last nine years with Chris Ballard. Like, they've always had a pretty competent run defense, even in the bad moments. It's overall been better than what we expect. But, again, you're playing with fire this year.

Starting point is 00:34:04 Louana Ramos' defenses are much better against the past than the run. And Grover Stewart's not going to save your butt this year, you know, like he has in years past. So I'm a little concerned about it, but we'll see. We'll see in week one against the Miami Dolphins when they have this 4-2 speed running back and a couple other guys and a really cool zone run. system where you really have to be good with your gap integrity and filling run lanes, it'll be put to the test as long as H.N. can actually stay healthy in that first game. So we'll have all that next week as we break down everything going into that Miami Dolphins game for week one of the Indianapolis Colts season.

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