Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - FACE/OFF: Diving Into Colts' Shane Steichen vs. Ravens' Jesse Minter (Ben Borus Joins!)

Episode Date: September 8, 2026

Indianapolis Colts' Head Coach Shane Steichen called a masterful game against the Los Angeles Chargers last season. The Chargers then-DC Jesse Minter is now the head coach in Baltimore, so could we se...e a repeat of Steichen's success to start 2026? Ben Borus joins to dive into the discussion. EVERYDAYER CLUBIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake and Zach's written work on ColtsRoundtable.com, and give them a follow on Twitter: @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! Today's episode is brought to you by Kalshi. For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get $10 when you trade $10. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!HomeChefFor a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners FIFTY PERCENT OFF and free shipping for your first box PLUS free dessert for life! Go to http://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDONNFL. QuoTry QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to http://Quo.com/LOCKEDONNFL. IndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.PrizePicksVisit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup!OdooGreat organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.GustoTry Gusto today at http://gusto.com/LOCKEDONNFL, and get three months free when you run your first payroll.KALSHIFor a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get $10 when you trade $10.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelGet three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 What's the overall temperature feel for the Indianapolis Colts heading into 2026? We have an expert film guy to join us today to talk all about it. 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. Welcome to Locked on Colts. I'm Zach Hicks, and joining me today is Ben Boris, or you guys know him on socials at Colts Film Room. He was on here a lot last year.
Starting point is 00:00:36 We were excited to have Ben back on the show. And before we dive into today's episode, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Get $350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet $5 every day for seven days. Join all the action at fanduil.com. On today's show, we're going to get Ben's kind of overall feel on this Colts team heading into the season. Ben last year was famously a little bit more optimistic than I was. And for half a season, he looked like he was on the right track. And then for the second half of the season, I was somehow on the right track, unfortunately.
Starting point is 00:01:10 So we'll talk about the overall temperature feel about this team. And then we're going to get into what we like to do best. A lot of the film discussion and just the nerdy stuff. We're going to talk about how Shane Steichen fared against Jesse Minter last season and how that was, in our opinion, the best coaching job that we had ever seen from Shane Steichen with the Colts. It was absolutely incredible. But then in the final segment, we're going to talk about how this Ravens team does pose new challenges, some new faces in there, obviously different guys on defense. So maybe the results won't exactly be like this one-to-one repeat.
Starting point is 00:01:44 The Colts maybe won't drop 38 points on the Ravens here in week one. So we'll talk about that in the final two segments. But Ben, to really kick us off, you know, since it's your first time back on the show in a minute here, and we have the season right around the corner, what's your overall feel on this team going into the year? week one and just in general this season. Yeah, well, first of all, it's great to be back. Thank you for having me. The second part of that is I think I feel really good about the floor of this team. Like, I've seen some stuff about people being really pessimistic.
Starting point is 00:02:16 Oh, like Shane Steikin's on the hot sea. He could be gone by week four. They could have a clean house. I don't really see that. I really like the floor. When you think about specifically the offense, they kind of change what, the right tackle? And then a wide receiver pretty much swap one for one.
Starting point is 00:02:31 maybe you lose a little bit if you're not as high on Keenan Allen. And then defensively, there's been a little bit more turnover, and there's probably a little bit more pessimism to be had there. But I still think the floor with this coaching staff is too high for things to be, to completely fall off the rails. The schedule isn't overly difficult when all things considered. And I think that there's a reason to feel like, hey, there's a reason to feel like this team could do what they were doing again.
Starting point is 00:02:58 And I think that they have the players to do that, particularly on the starters. As we get into the depth, it's a little bit more worrisome. So it's really about staying healthy this year. And if the Colts can do that, there's no reason they can't be in the mix in December. Yeah, I'm with you. I mean, I've been pessimistic in the past, but I think going into this year, I'd say this is the most optimistic I felt since, I mean, dare I say,
Starting point is 00:03:20 Wow. Wow. Okay. Like, since 2022. Now, that didn't, I wasn't rewarded, I guess, going into the 2020 season. maybe it ends up the same way, but just in terms of like, like last year, they weren't going into the season with Sauce Gardner, right? Like, they didn't have this A1 corner on the outside. I was not very high on Daniel Jones last season. I wasn't high on Minchu or rookie Richardson in
Starting point is 00:03:46 2023 in terms of like what they would bring that that season. So I think just in terms of like where the quarterback plays at, where the continuity is on offense, where the talent is with the starters on defense, I should say. I do feel pretty. optimistic. Now, is that going to lead to me predicting more than nine wins this year? Probably not. But I feel more optimistic than I think I have in the past where, you know, it was like a pessimistic seven, eight win projection for me. Now it's like an optimistic nine win projection. That's, I mean, that's the Chris Ballardare. I think the one thing to point out, too, is with our optimism is I want people to remember this when they get through the first three
Starting point is 00:04:27 weeks of the season and they played the Ravens, the Chiefs, and the Texans. I think that for how reactionary the NFL can be in a week-to-week league, I will be patient with this team. And if they start out 0-3, I will not necessarily be hitting the panic button. Now, I expect them to win at least one of those games, hopefully too. But if they, I mean, they're going to Arrowhead. They're playing the Texans and they're playing the Ravens. It could get ugly to start out, but the schedule does get a lot easier.
Starting point is 00:04:54 It kind of reminds me after everyone pressing the panic button earlier, maybe even in 2018, team when that team wasn't necessarily ready yet, but I will not be in that first three weeks. So I think that's important to know it as well. Yeah. I won't be pushing the panic button if they start 0 and 3. I think my hand will be hovering over it though because. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I'm not saying, oh, it's fine for this.
Starting point is 00:05:16 I'm just saying, like, I'm not going to press it yet. And I think a lot of people will, but I know that that's a very tough start to the schedule. Right, because like let's say they start with three losses. You have the dreaded turnaround back to Pittsburgh still coming up, which I don't think many of us are feeling very optimistic about just because the track record in Pittsburgh, plus that being a turnaround from an overseas game. We still have at Jacksonville later in the season, which we already know is a loss. We've already counted that one as a loss.
Starting point is 00:05:42 That's the free space or whatever in the pingo for counting against the Colts. So the panic button would be close to being hit if they started 0 and 3, but it wouldn't be. You're like taking the glass off and you're like, okay, here it is. Like I might have to press that. Right, right. Going a little bit more in-depth, let's start with defense here because even if we run out of time, I want to make sure we get in on the defense because I am fascinated by this defense. I think there's potential where this could be like a fringe top 10 defense in football
Starting point is 00:06:11 because like they have the talent. I think this is one of the better secondaries in football. I really like what they have in the secondary. They have a bonafide fringe All-Pro corner in Sauce Gardner, a guy who's been an all-pro in Mooney Ward. So if he's healthy, you can at least maybe get a. pro bowl level out of him. A pro bowl caliber safety in Cameron Bynum.
Starting point is 00:06:31 And I'm very high on Justin Wally. Like, I have not hidden from that in the last two seasons. I'm excited to see him out there. I think the secondary can be good. I think Buckner is still pretty good if he's healthy. I think they have a lot of pieces. But I don't feel great about this defense after, like, the top 15 to 16 guys. And if we know anything about the Colts, like, especially last year where they were,
Starting point is 00:06:52 I mean, like, I would guess like 30-something guys played a snap on defense last year. it's going to be terrifying when you're down to pass the 16 guys. And there'll be more than 16 guys who play on Sunday when you count like the Jerry Tilleries, the Jalen Toomelowals and Michael Clemens, and I can just go on and on and on about these players. So what's kind of your overall feel on the defense going into the year? I think we have similar reads on it. I like the starters, like you said, the first 16 guys. I actually am pretty high on the linebacker rotation, although it's a little bit unorthodox to like
Starting point is 00:07:25 want to rotate linebackers the way that Lou is said they're going to start out the season doing. I don't necessarily hate it. And I think I've liked some of the way the young linebackers have played in the preseason. I think it gives Lou some variability there from different packages. I obviously love the secondary. I think that while I wasn't a fan of the value of the sauce gardener trade and still probably and not, having him on the defense is going to feel great. Because I think that what has killed the Colts, I think towards 2024,
Starting point is 00:07:55 was that they would let a team's best wide receiver just go off. I mean, it was, if it wasn't Justin Jefferson, it was Malik Neighbors or Brian Thomas or Roma Dunesay, all 100-yard guys in 2024. I think that that, and then you didn't start before they got sauce and the Xavier and Howard debacle on the start to 2025. Like, that was a reason that that Broncos game was, I mean, the Colts didn't punt versus the Broncos.
Starting point is 00:08:19 That shouldn't have been an issue. Sean Payton just kept attacking Xavier Howard, and then Sean McVeigh did the exact same thing. it feels good to have a corner that, you know, however you feel about Soss Garner, he is better than a lot of corners in the league when it comes down to being able to game plan versus those top guys. So I love that. But yeah, the depth is extremely concerning and a couple injuries away from really going to give Lou his hands full in terms of how he's going to game plan for some of the offenses down the stretch. Yeah. Like I think they have
Starting point is 00:08:50 some good rotational players and like a Hunter Woller. I'm with you. I think the top four line backers. I'm intrigued by enough by all of them to be like, like Betcher and Alan, even if they're not starters, I feel good about them. Even Cam Taylor Britt, I feel better about now than I did when they signed him. Like he had a really, I thought he had a good preseason. Yeah, really good preseason, really good offseason in general. We both love Tommy, like Atatomi Wadabori's awesome up front. After that, the other depth players, though, are very concerning. And that'll be something that we'll talk about throughout the season. But coming up, Ben and I are going to dive into our passion project on this episode, which is talking about Shane Steichen versus Jesse Minter last season,
Starting point is 00:09:27 how that was honestly the most impressive coaching performance of Shane Steikin's career. And now we get the part two of that here in week one with the Baltimore Raven. So we're going to talk about that here in just a moment. But first, with schedules getting busier and everyone getting back into their normal routines, figure out what's for dinner can become a daily headache. Home Chef makes cooking simple and fresh, with fresh food delivered right to your door, easy recipes to follow in meals that actually taste great. Weekly deliveries help eliminate meal planning, grocery runs, complicated prep, and even a lot of the cleanup. And with more than
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Starting point is 00:12:14 Everdairs. We are back with Ben Boris, aka at Colts Filmer, talking all about Shane Steichen versus Jesse Minter in 2025. And before we get to that, don't forget to check out the Everdair club for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with other listeners of the show, me and Jake, tap the link in the show notes or go to lockdown colds.com. So, Ben, in preparation of this first game, you went back and watched the infamous Los Angeles beatdown of last season where the Colts offense was just lethal, that entire game. You could see it from the get-go in that one, but I think the moment that really, like, told me that Shane Steichen was all about beating the crap out of this team was that, like, third and
Starting point is 00:12:53 long conversion to Alec Pierce down the left sideline. Yeah. Where they called it perfectly for the quarters call that they were against. It was like third and 19 and they get like a 40-yard gain down the left. It was a deep flag down the left side line. Yeah. Yeah, they played that corner perfectly. They were able to exploit the quarters coverage they expected.
Starting point is 00:13:11 And that's when I knew like, okay, Shane Steichen is certainly all over this. And it was against a team with the Los Angeles Chargers that were a top 10 defense. One of the better defenses in football were good enough to get just. mentor this head coaching job with the Baltimore Raven. So just give a quick overview, Ben, of like what went right for the Colts in that game and how did Shane Stuyck and get the best of one of the best defensive play callers in football last year? Yeah, well, I think part of it was at the time that they played that game. It was, there wasn't really a right answer for how to defend this offense. You had to start with stopping Jonathan Taylor. But if you did dedicated too
Starting point is 00:13:49 many resources to that. Daniel Jones showed that he would bond to Alex Pierce deep, and that presents its own set of challenges. So the chargers came out and they play a ton of quarters, which the weakness isn't a quarter's coverage or cover four is the flats in a lot of it. You're going to have the space underneath that quarters, you know, that off corner that you can just attack over and over again. And that's what Shane Steichen did. And most defensive coordinators, they're probably going to be fine if you say, hey, we play quarters and you attack the weakest part of the coverage. that's fine. It's just a paper cut or it's just like a little, you know, bruise. But they just did it over and over and over again. And there wasn't a lot to trap the flats.
Starting point is 00:14:28 There wasn't anything to take that away. And Shane Steichen just found a way to do that. And then when they weren't playing quarters coverage, it was clear that they still wanted to get the ball on the perimeter because they would use run actions and different ways to get Tyler Warren out into the flats. And you go look at those passing charts that I posted one of them from like next gen stats. and there is like very little throws in between the hashes. They wanted this defense stretched horizontally, running side line to sideline, and they just did it over and over again. And part of the reason, too, is that, you know, Jesse Minter comes from the Michigan college stuff and some of the new trends of aligning your nickel.
Starting point is 00:15:06 Those who don't know, your nickel corner, a lot of times for most defenses is going to align to the passing strength, so the side where the most passing threats are. these college coaches have brought field and boundary. So where the wide side of the field is, where's the space? So we're going to align the nickel there whether there's nothing there or not. And Shane Steichen's like, okay, you can align your nickel corner or your best pass coverage to the field. We're just going to attack the boundary over and over and over again. And we've seen him do that with the Seahawks game versus Mike McDonald.
Starting point is 00:15:34 We saw him do it versus obviously the Chargers. And then even in 23 when they played the Ravens in that kind of defense, he's done that. So a lot of boundary passes to the flats. And that's where we saw a lot of what Shane's second did. Yeah, so two things I want to throw at you that I recall from that game, and you can correct me if I'm wrong. But there were a lot of isolation routes to the outside as well, especially when there wasn't the quarters where like we're going to get under center.
Starting point is 00:15:59 We're going to do these play action. And we're going to have Alec P. On a Benjamin St. Juice versus whoever on the outside. And we're going to use that speed threat. We're going to use that ability to win in isolation. And I remember like the big third. or down they need at the end of the game to clinch it was just Pierce by himself against that corner on the outside. We run the little hook route and we trust him to win that. There was a big comeback
Starting point is 00:16:20 route on the left side line as well where they trusted Pierce to create that separation. So now with Alec Pierce being paid like a wide receiver one, I'm kind of expecting that we see a similar approach here going into week one. Yeah, totally. And I think we'll obviously talk about more about what the kind of adjustments are going to be because I don't necessarily think it's going to be like just a replay from 20 to 25 necessarily. But I do think that we're going to see, you know, it's obviously different personnel as well, but I do think they're going to find a way to do something similar.
Starting point is 00:16:49 If Jesse Minter and Anthony Weaver decide they want to align their nickel field and boundary and they get that on the opening drive, like there's just not enough film to know exactly what they're going to do. So it's going to be a lot of in-game adjustments. What are they doing? After the first drive, I can see James Seeking coming out in a lot of different formations, trying to get as much information on a defense that we don't know if they've adjusted here or not. So I definitely think that Alex Pierce is going to be a big part of that.
Starting point is 00:17:15 We'll see in which ways and how often, but I do think that that he will be a big part of that game. Right. And then one more thing I want to throw at you that I remember from that game is the way that the Colts match their run looks with their passing looks when they were under center in particular. Like you mentioned, they were leaking Warren into the flat a lot. But essentially when you look at how Minter used Derwin James last year, right? They used him as like this pseudo like, linebacker safety hybrid, right? He's going to come and trigger downhill against the run. And because we're going to be a nickel so often with Mentor,
Starting point is 00:17:46 they needed Derwin James to come down and fit really hard. So what the Colts did is every single play action pass had so much backfield motion from like, you know, we're selling this counter run by pulling two linemen or pulling a lineman and a tight end and leaking Warren backside. So you're getting like these hard fits from Derwin James. And they were putting him in absolute hell in that game, along with the linebackers were.
Starting point is 00:18:09 It was like they were miserable in that game. And I think that was one of the biggest keys. And then when you saw later in the game when the Colts were just actually handing the football off, you were seeing linebackers running every which way because they didn't know if the Tyler Warren coming back across the formation to seal a backside block if he was going to peel into the flat. So then they're running away from the middle of the defense where Jonathan Taylor was running untouched for 30-yard touchdowns.
Starting point is 00:18:33 Yeah, that was great. Were they like over time like teams had kind of caught up. to some of the movement passes because Shane Steichen said, Daniel Jones has good likes. He can throw on the run really well. He's super accurate doing it. We've got a running back that can do it. We've got a tight end that people believe is a true blocker. Let's run a ton of movement passes. And that's kind of how they started out the year. And then you got to the Rams game in particular in a post about this. The Rams would like hang back. So they wouldn't necessarily bite as hard on the run fake. And they wouldn't sprint to like, they'd almost play
Starting point is 00:19:03 it like a true zone. They weren't triggering downhill. They were almost, they knew the boot was going to come eventually. And the way to punish that is to run basically a throwback screen the other way. And that's what they did to Jonathan Taylor. So these linebackers are basically like all over the place like you mentioned. And I think that that was a big part of it too. Like obviously Jonathan Taylor goes for three touchdowns in that game and they got dominated up front. But part of that is just to the way that they've stretched the defense. Yeah. No, for sure. It was a great game plan. And it was like, you know, the first time those two guys went against each other, you could obviously say Shane Stike and won. That was just one of his best games that he's called. But the key now will be,
Starting point is 00:19:43 can he repeat that against the Baltimore Ravens? So in a second, we're going to talk about the different challenges the Ravens posed compared to what the Chargers posed last year and how it might not be a one-to-one repeat because things rarely are in this chaotic sport that we love to cover. Support for today's episode comes from Indeed-sponsored jobs and workplace chaos hits and you need the right hire. Indeed, sponsor jobs helps connect employees. and candidates who match specific needs like skills, certifications, and location. So less time gets spent searching and more time gets spent finding that right fit. People are finding quality hires on Indeed right now.
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Starting point is 00:21:03 Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed, on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply need to hire. This is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. And welcome to your most rewarding NFL season ever only on Fanduel. How rewarding are we talking? Well, more rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring, more rewarding than an 18 point comeback, even more rewarding than offensive linemen catching a touchdown. Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch. But it is part of everything here. This season, Fandul is making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field with all new Fandole Rewards Club featuring exclusive offers, surprises, and more.
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Starting point is 00:22:18 All righty, locked on Colts every day as we were back for a final time with Ben Boris at Coltsfilm Room on socials. We talked about the temperature feel going into the season, and we also talked about Shane Stike's master class against Jesse Mentor last season and how maybe that could run into this first game. But I do think that there are a couple of aspects that are different about this matchup, Ben. and I'm going to mention three people in particular. One is Trey Hendrickson. Trey Hendrickson is a very different beast than a hampered Kaleel Mack was in that last game and just kind of the rotation that the Chargers had an edge in that game. And just a certified bucket getter at defensive end is a big time difference.
Starting point is 00:22:59 I mean, there's a reason why the Colts pursued Trey Hendrickson this offseason. The other one is Kyle Hamilton. Darwin James is fantastic. Kyle Hamilton might be the best in the league. at what he does, you know, so I think that's a big part of this. And then another one I find really interesting is Anthony Weaver and his mix into this equation. Because let's start with Weaver because I think you and I both really like Anthony Weaver. And I think the two times that the Colts faced off against him, the first time was in 2023,
Starting point is 00:23:29 2024, 2024, I believe. Yeah, 2024. Richardson was the starting quarterback. And I thought Weaver really got the best of Stuyken in that game. It was a tougher game for the Colts. They still won that game, but it was mostly because of the legs of Anthony Richardson than anything. And the Dolphins' quarterback injuries, if you remember. Yeah, right, exactly.
Starting point is 00:23:48 This past season, though, in week one, I thought Stuyken actually came out pretty well. And it's because you rolled out this new offense that I don't think Weaver was expecting. But I do think the Colts, you know, they accounted for the Blitzes really well. I think Weaver went to man coverage a lot on third down in that matchup. and the Colts had answers with Josh Downs and a couple other of their bucket getters at wide receiver. So through two matchups, I think it's been a pretty good back and forth between these two. And I'm curious to see what Weaver brings to this equation of Shane Steichen versus Jesse Minter. So he was definitely on one of the key figures on why things will change.
Starting point is 00:24:24 I have two others. Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce, I think if you're trying to decide why this game might be a little bit different and why the game plans might be a little bit different. You know, I think we've kind of, it's been a storyline, obviously, here in Colts camp, how is Daniel Jones coming off the Achilles? How is Alec Pierce? You know, we always assumed that he would,
Starting point is 00:24:43 at least people locally, you know, thought week one was always a possibility and the very likely outcome. That is great for the Colts, obviously, that they're both going to be playing out there in week one. But if you're the Ravens and you're game planning for these two, you have to force these guys to prove you wrong. I think they are going to stack the box
Starting point is 00:25:02 They're going to make sure Jonathan Taylor does not become a factor in that game. And then they're going to make Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce, who have not had any reps together this offseason, beat them deep until they force them to not stack the box anymore. So I think that's a big determining factor of like if Daniel Jones and Siken likes to call a shot pretty early in the game and make sure the defense knows that Alex Pierce can still run by them, if they can connect on one of those,
Starting point is 00:25:28 that might change the entire dynamic of the game because I think the Ravens are going into this thing. We have to take away Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Warren. And then if Pierce beats us deep, make him because he hasn't practiced pretty much all summer. Yeah, that's an excellent shout because I could really see the Ravens coming out early in this game by stacking the box, making sure when the Colts are under center and they want to do these like bootleg stuff and these things where they're leaking, Warren, that they're going to have the edges accounted for and make sure like, okay, if we see Warren coming across the formation, make sure that those backside ends or, you know, those forced defenders are staying home and staying on him,
Starting point is 00:26:03 and they're going to force those downfield throws to pierce. So that is certainly a good shout there. I want to get your gauge, though, on do we think the Ravens come out and play some man in this game? Like, again, with Weaver last year, they played a ton of man. He kind of got burned. But then when Minter tried to play zone last year against the Colts, he really got burned. So I think traditionally with this Colts team, like especially last year, too, it was you want to play more man coverage on them.
Starting point is 00:26:30 The Colts were much better at killing you against Zone because they'll just find those weak spots. And Jones was so good pre and post snap of like, okay, with my motion, I know what's coming. I know where the spots are going to be to attack. Where against man, it's more so can my guys go beat a guy one-on-one? And outside of Josh Downs, they haven't really had many guys who could do that. So how do you think the Ravens approach this? I'm kind of thinking they might play a little bit more man, but we'll see, I think.
Starting point is 00:26:55 I was kind of thinking something similar just because, again, like, there, I think you just have to be, if you're the Ravens, you have to be improve it mode. Like, Alec Pierce, you're not going to play man coverage or cover one down the field while Alec Pierce can just burn you deep on a go ball. But like, if you don't believe that Alec Pierce, you have to make him prove it. Like, and as they should. So I think you're going to see a little bit more man coverage. I think the other thing that Anthony Weaver did in that game is play more zero. And I think that, again, with Daniel Jones's Achilles, It's great.
Starting point is 00:27:26 I have not had a chance to view practice this off season. I know you have, but it's great to hear that he's moving well. If you're Anthony Weaver and you're Jesse Minter, I am playing zero. I am blitzing you where you haven't dealt with pressure. And particularly when you were injured last year, pressure was suddenly started to revert back to normal. You're coming off an injury now. They are going to heat Daniel Jones up. I have no doubt about that.
Starting point is 00:27:49 Yeah. And that would be the big question the Colts have to answer early this season is because from weeks one to eight, Jonathan Taylor was past blocking the best of his career. They were having these answers for the Blitz that I had really never seen from Shane Sikin. And I think Shane Sikin is a great offense of mine. But even going back to his Philly days and some of his Chargers stuff too, like he is always kind of struggled against Zero in the Blitz. But he was finally having these answers early last season where that was part of like this big surge they had.
Starting point is 00:28:17 But then starting with the Pittsburgh game, then the Atlanta game, Kansas City was a big one too. these teams started throwing zero at them, and they really were testing Jonathan Taylor and testing Daniel Jones' ability to stay cool and collected in the pocket. And it led to some issues, and it led to the points per game coming down and the efficiency coming down. So what version of the Colts offense do we get against the Blitz? Because, I mean, remember 2023 with Gardner Minchu,
Starting point is 00:28:42 how Kyle Hamilton had like three blindside hits on Minchu where he wasn't even expected. Like the Ravens, I know this is different staff and everything. Well, I guess Weaver's back, so not completely different. They like to bring pressure. It's what the Ravens like to do. And I'm kind of expecting a similar-ish game plan to like the Dolphins in week one last year where they're going to test the Colts and be aggressive early on defense.
Starting point is 00:29:06 No doubt. And I think that is the one thing that just came to my mind of like, you know, it's not that they didn't get after Jones when they played last year of Ventured in, but I think that they're going to turn it up a notch and basically say, you know, Dana Jones, the big resurgence was part of the reason he was handling pressure, like unblocked pressure in his face when he was being pressured. He was answering in ways he never did with the Giants. That obviously reverted, you know, as he started to get injured and a little less confident on his feet.
Starting point is 00:29:31 I think the other thing is the Colts are going to have to be a run first team to start out the year. Like you didn't get, like, you didn't get, it's not madden. You don't just load it up and you just play. And I know that the Colts are going to tell you how confident they are and all those things. And I hope that that connection just picks up right where it left off. I think if you're Shane Steichen, though, you have to realize, hey, we need to get the, we have the one of the best running in the NFL, we got to get this running game going. And I think the other thing is he's coming off such a high usage year.
Starting point is 00:29:56 I think Seth McGowan is just like an X factor for this team of like, will they finally, they haven't done it in the past, will they kind of split some of the carries, you know, to manage Jonathan Taylor's workload as he gets a little bit into it now his third contract? Like, is that something they're going to do? But I think the run game, they're going to have to stay ahead of the schedule and not get them into pressure-heavy downs where Daniel Jones could be dealing with some pretty exotic looks in spots where who knows how confident he is now that he's actually getting game reps off the Achilles.
Starting point is 00:30:29 Yeah, so we will see come Sunday. I think it's going to be a really good matchup. I still feel pretty optimistic about what the Colts have on offense, especially now they have a step, I guess more of a separator in Keenan Allen versus Michael Pittman, Jr. I don't want to say Allen's this great separator at this point in his career because he's not, but we both made our opinions known about Pittman Jr. last season and how the Colts could have upgraded there. I'm intrigued to see what they can do.
Starting point is 00:30:53 I'm expecting an aggressive Ravens team, but I think this Colts team has all the ingredients to respond and put up some points on Sunday. But great conversation with Ben Boris, again, at Colts Film Room. Make sure you guys are checking him out. And thank you guys for making Lockdown Colts your first listen today and everyday. Now in video, we send you the first ever 24-7 YouTube channel on the NFL and audio.
Starting point is 00:31:12 Check out Lockdown Fantasy Football with Fabs and Marcus. For your second listen, again, that is Ben Boris at Colts Film Room. If you never miss an episode as well, of the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get us ad-free plus members-only Discord access and much more. Had the locked on colds.com to join the club. Thank you all for tuning in. We'll be back here tomorrow afternoon with our first injury report of the season. We'll have all eyes on AJ Halsey, Alec Pierce, and anyone else who might be nicked and bruise. So some fun stuff there. We'll have that all covered on tomorrow's episode.

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