Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - HE'S BACK: Indianapolis Colts' Alec Pierce Returns to Practice | Panic Meter for Returning Players?

Starting point is 00:00:01 Indianapolis Colts wide receiver, Alec Pierce, finally returns to practice. 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.

Starting point is 00:00:26 I'm Zach Hicks. That's Jake Arthur. And on today's show, we're going to dive into the final practice. I guess it's like the final practice of the off-season training camp officially wrapped up last week. but this is the final practice before the final preseason game of the offseason.

Starting point is 00:00:41 After this week, it gets into regular game prep, and we get into our typical season mode here with the Indianapolis Colts. Roster cutdowns are due on Sunday by 6 p.m. The Colts had their final game at 1 o'clock on Saturday, so we have a lot coming to you guys here in the next couple of days. So at first we're going to talk about just some of the news and notes, overall, some of the last notes from practice as well. And then Jake and I are going to play a little game called PANN.

Starting point is 00:01:05 panic meter. I know a lot of Colts fans out there are panicking about certain things. So we're going to go through some notable players returning from injury, some notable depth questions, and play on a scale of 1 to 10 what the panic meter is here for us on this show. But first, Jake, the biggest news and notes of the day, Alec Pierce finally returned to practice. And for a lot of Colts fans who I guess were worried about this process the entire time, I think the only bit of like, Well, I don't want to say the only bit of wrong info we got was the Chris Ballard going into training camp because there was that whole debacle with the second shot that happened or whatever a few weeks ago. But I think, and when it comes to timeline-wise, the only thing that was off was when Ballard said they expect him back within like a week or two going into training camp

Starting point is 00:01:51 because everything else has been lined up pretty well. When he first got the surgery, it was a four to six-month recovery. We're in the middle of month five right now. Shane Stuyken said earlier this week that we're hopeful to get him back out there this week. and he was able to get on the field here on Thursday's practice. So everything looks to be good for Alec Pierce. They said the goal is still week one for him. And hopefully he's out there against the Baltimore Ravens.

Starting point is 00:02:14 You and I have kind of always been pretty hopeful. He'd be out there for week one. But this further looks like a good shot at him being there because he has a little over two weeks to get acclimated and get ready for that first game. Yeah, I mean, he got the first of what should be like seven practices under his belt, as long as he participates in all of them. So that's just over two weeks worth of practices. You, of course, would love him to have more time under his belt.

Starting point is 00:02:41 But I'm sure with continued rehab and like walkthroughs and stuff like that, I think he'll be able to catch up mentally with like some of the mental reps being able to physically enact those now. I will say I think probably the biggest hurdle for him since he's not going to be getting any preseason action or anything. is probably just the football shape of it all. So we could see him start a little slow out of the gates this season for anything that's not like a vertical route because I don't, you know, a vertical route like he's done that X amount of times in his career. Like what do you really need to train for that essentially?

Starting point is 00:03:20 But all the other stuff kind of like the additional details like whatever, whatever they envision for him. Some of that stuff may come along a little slowly. We'll see if he gets involved in. to 11 on 11s next week. Shane was a little bit noncommittal as he likes to be on that. I don't think he wanted to press the issue if, you know, they just didn't really know.

Starting point is 00:03:43 I don't think how he would respond to practice yesterday. So, you know, I think they'll kind of just play it all by ear and see how he reacts after each practice and then probably steadily fill his plate up little by little. But yeah, I think he'll be ready for week one. That seems to be everybody's goal. Will he play 65 or so snaps? Maybe not.

Starting point is 00:04:05 They might pitch count him a little bit early in the season. But just being out there at least, it sounds pretty promising. Yeah, and I've always maintained throughout the all season two with a player of his pedigree, like how long he's played in the NFL. He's going on to his fifth year with the Colts. It's not like this is a rookie first-timer, right? He knows what he's doing. He knows what to expect with the NFL.

Starting point is 00:04:27 He's been, this has been part of his everyday life for the last, you know, four years of his life. So the ramp up period is not as big as what it would be for like C.J. Allen right now, right? Where they're still trying to ramp up C.J. Allen, he didn't miss nearly as much time just because he is a rookie compared to Pierce, who has been a veteran who's done this. And obviously someone they trust enough to give $30 million per year to. So I expect him to be out there week one, maybe not a full workload, but pretty close to it. Because even if he's not running full speed out there, like just having him on the field helps your offense so much just the threat of Alec Pierce. So I do expect him out there week one, as we've maintained throughout most of the process. The next biggest hurdle for Pierce is that week of game day, like when that week of the game happens or whatever, seeing what his practice schedule looks like.

Starting point is 00:05:15 If he's logging full practices, then he's absolutely going to be out there. And we'll analyze that as it comes. Another big bit of news for the Colts yesterday, Rigoberto Sanchez was extended. So the Colts have locked in their longest 10-year cold or one of their longest. 10-year Colts. I think it's him and Luke Road are the two longest tenured players. For two more years through 2028 now, Rigoberto Sanchez, he's been consistently top five to seven punter, I think, over the last couple years for the team. Very, very good player, and he's worked so well with many all-pro gunners with this team as well, with George Odom and

Starting point is 00:05:51 Ashton Doolin over the years. So Rigoberto Sanchez, easy decision. Also, an underrated part of his game is how good he is as a holder, the Colts kicking game, has been pretty good with him as well as the holder. So, yeah, easy decision for the Colts for sure. Yeah, like you mentioned with that underrated aspect of holding, like, look what Blake Groupie went through in New Orleans with the constant switching out of their kicking operation. He goes somewhere where Luke Rhodes and Brigo have been together nine years at that time, and he doesn't miss the rest of the year.

Starting point is 00:06:20 So that just goes to show you how good the Colts have it there. But no, Riggo, like, it's not sexy. It's a punter. Like, it's a footnote for a lot of people. But it's really underrated. remember what it was like in 22 when Rigo was out with the Achilles and Matt Hawk was shanking at least a punt or two again. It was bad. Like we haven't seen bad punting around here in 35 years, you know, because they went from Ron Stark, Chris Gardocki, Hunter Smith, Pat McAfee to Rigoberto

Starting point is 00:06:50 Sanchez. Like this has been a pretty spoiled franchise with good punting. And I know everyone loves Pat McAfee as a player and everything. But when you look at it, at it. Riggo kind of has all of the most meaningful career punting records right now. He set in the last couple years, he has set the franchise record in yards per punt in the season, net yards per punt in the season. Last year, he had a career high 50% of his punts down inside the 20 yard line. So Rigo, almost 32 years old, he is on top of his game. Yeah, no, for sure. It makes a lot of sense to extend him and punters have a lot more longevity and other positions.

Starting point is 00:07:31 So just keep riding it out until he wants to call it quits and he can retire a Colt one day. Another bit of news, speaking of 30-plus-year-old players, DeFords Buckner and Keenan Allen will be playing this Saturday in the Colts final preseason game. Now, we'll see how many snaps that really means. I've seen a couple teams with their starters, had them literally go out there for like a play and then come out. I would expect anywhere between maybe five at most 10 snaps for these guys. Like a driver too, yeah.

Starting point is 00:08:00 Yeah, even that seems a little bit much. But I think Keenan Allen to force Buckner, it's good for both them because they just need to stretch their legs a little bit, feel contact again. Buckner, it hasn't been since what week, like 12 of last season, week 13 of last season, or I think it's 14. He came back for week 16 against the 49ers and then reaggravate it and that was it. Right, right. So it's been a while, though, for Buckner.

Starting point is 00:08:23 He hasn't really had that full contact. And then for Keenan Allen, he hasn't gone through much of the offseason program, whether that's by his choice or whoever's choice. So Keenan Allen and them just getting some contact in. I think it's good for both of those guys. And we will see them here on Saturday. Hopefully, knock on wood, nothing too dangerous out there. But getting them out there and moving around a little bit.

Starting point is 00:08:45 But Jake, for our last minute here of the first segment of our show, do you want to go into some practice here and just see it, say if there was any news and notes? Again, I know it was a short practice, light practice. You told me Daniel Jones only had like one series of work with the. starter. So very, very light practice, but anything that caught your eye today? Yeah, no, it was very reflective of, you know, what the game will be, you know, no Daniel Jones and it's actually going to get a little bit of Anthony Richardson with the ones. Anthony and Riley both got a couple series, you know, with the ones and twos there. Daniel, for what it was worth, did throw an

Starting point is 00:09:20 interception. It looked like kind of a timing issue along the right side, but Hunter Wooler was right there to just pick it right out of the air. First really big play I've seen from Waller in terms of takeaways all summer, which is good because that was a big theme for him last year. I've seen him be more like in the right place at the right time to blow somebody up. In practice, it doesn't happen, but like in a game, he's capable of rocking guys stuff out there. So he might be a guy that gets some really hard hits this season. Beyond lookout for that. Had lot to with a couple sacks as well, which there's always some give and take there. So it's great to see him with some sacks, but it means he beat somebody's block attempt on the offensive line, of course. So

Starting point is 00:10:03 good things from Law, too. I thought Riley, Leonard, and Anthony were fine, just generally fine. We'll see how it looks in the preseason game. But, you know, there's still not going to be a lot of starters out there for Anthony to play with, you know? I mean, he'll get a little bit of work with Keenan Allen, but like Josh Downs won't be out there. Tyler Warren won't be out there. A lot of treadwell and dueling, I'm sure. Yeah, but the big thing will be the offensive line for us. Yes, that will help. That's the most important thing because we haven't been able to evaluate these quarterbacks at all this preseason. The line's been bad. Yeah, because the backup offensive line has been so bad. So maybe he can get like five throws in

Starting point is 00:10:41 with a good offensive line out there. It could really help him. Coming up, we're going to go into our panic meter. We're going to talk panic meter for players returning from injuries and also to close out show talk about some depth positions or just some positions in general that might be causing some panic across the Colts fan base. All right, guys, we all know that when it comes to adulting, life gets busy and figuring out what's for dinner every night can quickly become monotonous, and it's just another thing on the to-do list. But Home Chef takes the stress out of meal time by delivering fresh ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes right to your door. Whether you're looking to eat healthier, save money on takeout, or simply spend less time grocery shopping and

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Starting point is 00:13:55 we want to remind everyone not to forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad-free episodes and with access to a group chat with other listeners of the show, me and Jake as well. Tap the link in our show notes or go to lockdown colds.com. So I'm going to give you a little bit of the softball here to start off, Jake. Daniel Jones coming off the Achilles injury has done a lot of work this offseason more so than I think anyone really expected. on a scale of 1 to 10, what is your panic meter right now when it comes to him coming off of that injury? 10 being the most panicked, is that right? 10 is the most panic. One is the least amount of panic.

Starting point is 00:14:30 For him, so with the Achilles, I'm not concerned at all. Like, because we've seen all spring, all summer, he's been perfectly fine. I've seen him take off and run at full strength, full burst. He looks fast enough. But I think just my general concern with his durability overall, is always going to be at like a six. Yeah, that's fair. Because, I mean, since he's been a full-time starter in the league,

Starting point is 00:14:55 he's never had a full season, whether it's just minor dings and stuff that calls him to miss a game, or the neck injury, the ACL, the Achilles, like he's had season-enders too. So there will always be something in there where you're like, okay, he's been healthy for 12, 13 weeks now. Is something going to happen? And, I mean, that's just the unfortunate reality for him,

Starting point is 00:15:18 because that is his history. Like, I don't think that's us being harsh with it. That's just literally been how every season has gone for him. So, you know, you just kind of hope for the best. And I mean, the guy deserves a fully healthy season. I think the Colts deserve for their quarterback to have a fully healthy season. But just the reality for me is I will always maintain like at least a six. And if the offensive line for some reason falls apart or isn't doing well and he's taking a lot of hits,

Starting point is 00:15:47 that number might climb. Yeah, I don't think the Colts have had one singular quarterback start every game for them since 2021, or 2020 with Rivers because 2021 and Wentz have to miss a game in there too? I'm sure he did. I'd have to think about it. Is that the Brian? No, Brian Hoyer was 2019 with Jacoby. It's either 2021 or 2020.

Starting point is 00:16:09 Fact check us in the comments below for sure. Let's go to our next one here. Alec Pierce, now the Twitter doctors, Jake, have been telling us about this. this limp in his gate for months. Every time he walks, the ankles clearly not right, but then you just saw him out of practice, running around and looking pretty good, looking like Alex Ears again,

Starting point is 00:16:26 cleared for contact a little over two weeks to get back out there for the game. What is your concern level for him coming off of this ankle surgery? Not very concerned now that he's back. I'm really not all that concerned. Like, just understanding that he's not yet 100% and, like, there's going to be some ramping up. I feel as if like he's he's not going to I think Keenan Allen eases this for me a little bit. Now that they've got another legit receiver in there and just from the like these last couple days seeing guys target Keenan Allen.

Starting point is 00:17:03 It looks like it's going to be just fine. Now how much of the vertical element, how effective will that be? I'd like to think pretty good because like he's still really their only guy that takes the top off of. of the defense unless you're going to have Ashton Dooland try that a bit as well. So as far as like this current injury and the effect it's going to have on it, I'm really not that concerned. Again, now that he is back. Yeah. One to 10 though. What number would you put on it? Three. Three. Okay. Yeah. I like it. It's been like five months, you know.

Starting point is 00:17:36 Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm with you on that. Let's go to DeForest Buckner next because this is one that we were super, like if you would have asked me back in April, I would have said like an eight probably on this one. but now we've seen him go through a lot of training camp we've seen the ramping up we've seen him getting more run with the first team lately looking like de forest buckner in some practices so now post training camp jake two weeks to go until the season where would you put de foris buckner on scale one to ten with your panic meter i i'll give him a six as well uh just because it's it's a neck like yeah anything involved for me like neck back feet like those ones usually tend to bother me a little bit and at his age he's going to be like 32 33 now at the same time

Starting point is 00:18:22 the Colts don't want to jeopardize his long-term health and he doesn't either you know he's he's got a family like he's going to be smart about it so he's not going to throw himself into a situation irresponsibly but just you know at at this age things don't always feel as good as they should so I don't necessarily feel like he's going to like reaggravate it, but could it be something that slows him down a little bit or maybe, you know, he ages quicker and physically, you know what I mean? Like his decline happens quicker. I'll put it at about a six.

Starting point is 00:19:01 Like, we've seen him in training camp, but we need to kind of, he plays a very physical position. We kind of need to see him through the rigors of a season first. Yeah, no, for sure. And let's get one more in here real quick. Mooney Ward. And this one's kind of weird because going into training camp, we would have said the panic meter regarding the concussions from last year, right?

Starting point is 00:19:19 Like how much would he be out there? Like, what would it look like? But now with this recent press conference where he said that he's going to have be navigating a back injury throughout the whole season, and it's something that he's going to be managing throughout the whole year, I guess we have another layer to this here. So what's your overall panic meter on Mooney Ward when it comes to his injuries and what the Colts can get out of him?

Starting point is 00:19:39 Because he's looked fine in training camp when he's played. just he missed half of it and he's coming off the concussions and now it's this back injury. So where are you at with your panic meter on Mooney Ward? 9.9, I think. Like I think I'll give him that 0.01% because he has been out there for a decent amount of practices. But, you know, the concussions already, like three of them to the point where he considered seriously considered retirement was leaning that direction through the offseason.

Starting point is 00:20:09 That's serious enough. but now that there's this back injury that comes from last year that apparently might flare up on him from time to time. Again, like I said, I don't like back injuries. And that's something that could keep just about anybody out. So he's someone who I think every time I see him make a tackle or something, I'm going to hold my breath. Yeah, no, I agree. So ending on that positive note there from Jake, not so positive note there from Jake. We're going to dive into our panic meter with certain positions.

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Starting point is 00:21:51 conversation on the panic meter for this Colts team heading into the year. We talked about injuries in the last segment and contrary to popular belief. Jake is pretty optimistic on Alec Pierce and his recovery from his injury, but Mooney Ward certainly still scares him quite a bit going into the year. Let's start with the most negative one, or one of the more negative ones here, because honestly looking at the ones we have on our list here, Jake, they might all be like nines. Edge room. Now, again, they swung big for Trey Hendrickson.

Starting point is 00:22:19 It didn't work out because of the shenanigans from the Baltimore Ravens. We get our, is exact our revenge on them in week one, I guess, right? But they missed down Trey Hendrickson. There wasn't many backup plans available after that, but they still didn't do anything, right? They didn't make any trade. They didn't sign another guy. They didn't draft anybody with notable draft capital. So they're going into the year, presumably, with an edge rush room of Latu, Key,

Starting point is 00:22:45 to him a low-out, gums, Curry, and Clemens. We'll be their six guys. What is your panic meter with that edge rush room heading into a must-win season for the Colts? Yeah, let me start by plugging the kind of the column you wrote over on Colts roundtable.com this week about the edge rush. Yeah, I think I share your panic in this. I'm going to put it at about an eight. I think there's some okay depth there, but it's not very top heavy

Starting point is 00:23:17 because you're super reliant on LATU becoming a star. I think the fact that you have right now, a healthy secondary will hopefully allow Lou to Blitz more. The blitzes have looked great this summer. The jailhouse blitz is, you know, bringing a safety blitz, bringing the linebacker through the A gap, those have all looked really good all summer against the Colts offense, against the Patriots, against the Falcons. Like, I believe in their ability to generate pressure through the blitz.

Starting point is 00:23:48 But as far as, like, getting there with four and especially off the edge, I don't love it. I'll put it at about an eight. I still will say they should have done more before the draft because now how they've built this room after the draft is there's just no room for anybody else unless they trade someone away. So I don't I don't love it. I'll put it out around an eight. Yeah. No, I think I'm a little higher.

Starting point is 00:24:13 I think about like a nine, but I think a lot of that has to do with just two and a low out, not really taking that step forward. It really is concerning for me going into the year. Let's go to another one. I actually don't have this one in the notes here, Jake, but I was reminded of a sentiment I've seen from a lot of beat reporters this offseason where like good God, Daniel Jones, please stay healthy, like all year long. So let's do your panic meter for backup quarterback on this Colts team.

Starting point is 00:24:38 Where do you feel like if Jones were to miss, let's say if Jones were to miss like three games in the middle of the season, what would your panic meter be? So to do this one, I'm going to kind of compare it to the rest of the league because there's not a lot of like awesome backup situation. So I put it out around a five. Like Anthony is probably a startable player in the league in some situation. depending on what your game plan is. So I'm not overly concerned if you have to do a few games. Anthony, he obviously has, you know, some abilities that not everybody does. He avoids sacks like nobody's business, his ability to run.

Starting point is 00:25:20 He's got an insane armed talent. He's as erratic as all get out, but, you know, whatever. And then Riley, if he can quit, if he can get out of his head a little bit and find what he had in those two couple the couple games last year that's a player you could probably win a game or two with as well if you're not decimated by injuries everywhere else so i'm really not that worried about the quarterback room overall just because it's it's not like the colts quarterback room is so much worse than everybody else's like everyone's kind of in the same boat but it kind of goes back to daniel jones health where i'm always going to have like kind of a

Starting point is 00:25:59 six on the quarterback room yeah no for sure let's go to one that you're not going to be very positive on. Backup Center. It's been a disaster this offseason. Dalton Tucker experiment not really worked out. Jimmy Morrissey hasn't looked very good back there either. Josh Krutz, you know, it's funny. Every other play with him is either like a pancake block in the run game or he's whiffing completely and allowing like a play to get stuff. So I don't know what to think of him. Maybe put him on the practice squad and iron out those bad plays. But overall, like the backup center one has to be one of the highest panic meters we have on the team, right? Yes.

Starting point is 00:26:37 And like Tucker's performance just in general hasn't been great. But I think obviously the most fundamental part of playing center is completing the snap, which he has had issues with. Even recently there was, I think it was a practice rep where he skied it over Anthony's head. So that's still a work in progress. It is something new to him. So to give him a little bit of grace. but that doesn't mean that he should be the colds backup plan if something happens to Tanner Bordolini. And considering Bordolini is missed games in each of the last two years with concussions,

Starting point is 00:27:09 good chance the backup center has to play. I'd put it at about an eight. And if it's Anthony that was at quarterback, I'd probably put it at a nine or ten. You know what I mean? Because Anthony is a guy who struggles catching snaps and Tucker is a guy who struggles snapping. So that would be a huge problem. but yeah, backup center, I'd put that at about an eight. Yeah, yeah, let's build upon your cornerback worry with Mooney Ward from the last segment as well.

Starting point is 00:27:34 And, you know, we're looking at this cornerback room where on paper, it's the deepest and best that Chris Ballard has ever put together. But Mooney Ward, you have your 9.9 panic meter on him. Can Taylor Britt is going to be suspended for week one. Justin Wally has never played in an NFL game at this point. And the backups behind those guys have been dreadful. all pre-one of them just got cut the other day because he had been so bad in the preseason. And this was the guy who was running with the first and second team in training camp and had the most snaps of all corners last year in Mackay Blackman.

Starting point is 00:28:08 So what is your panic meter not really with the top of the cornerback depth chart, but just like cornerbacks five and six, you know, going into the year. It shouldn't be that big of a conversation, but I think for this Colts team, it has to be because of the nature of what's happened at cornerback the last couple years for them. Yeah, probably like a seven because like you were going to depend on Mackay Blackman to probably be like your fourth corner or fifth corner because Cam Taylor one at least, right? Yeah. Taylor-Brett's going to be suspended. Exactly.

Starting point is 00:28:39 Like I think Cam Taylor-Brit has looked good enough for me to say like he'll rebound to be better than what he was in Cincinnati last year. But like you said, he'll be suspended week one. Blackman who would have played some snaps this year is not even here anymore because he wasn't good enough. Jonathan Edwards, once it got to game time, didn't look like he made the strides he needed to. And then we don't really think they like Jalen Jones in this scheme all that much. And then so what's next? Rob Carter Jr. And like he had a pretty rough game as well.

Starting point is 00:29:11 He's really only got special teams value right now. So that seems like a group that could be ripe for a waiver wire edition in the next few days once, once roster cuts come through. I don't feel as good about the depth of it as I did even a few weeks ago, to be honest with you. Yeah, like a seven. Yeah, the preseason games in general have just, it's unfathable how bad that those guys have been outside of Jalen Jones. But again, like, Jalen Jones isn't getting into the game until like almost the fourth quarter. So it's like Blackman, the thing with Blackman is so weird because like it's one thing if you're just struggling in coverage or if you're like Edwards where you're there, but your awareness is like zero and you don't know where the ball is.

Starting point is 00:29:58 But four DPIs in two games, when you're not even playing the whole game, is egregious. Two of them in one drive and another one backed up in your own end zone on fourth down. And you give the offense new life, new set of downs and they score on you. Like that's unacceptable. Yeah. And it's not even like he wasn't allowing catches and he was just getting DPI's. Like that was like what, Rockia Sins, rookie season. Remember he had that one game with like five DPI's.

Starting point is 00:30:20 But at least he was never really allowing that many catches. Blackman was also getting burnt for catches. I don't want to kick the dead horse here, or beat the dead horse. But, yeah, it's just so unfortunate how that happened. But yeah, we'll see the bottom of this quarterback depth chart. So I know this has been kind of a negative bit to the end of the episode, but I do think it's positive that outside of edge, all these have just been depth positions because in general,

Starting point is 00:30:44 I think we're pretty optimistic about all the starters across the board. It's just the back notes in the depth and stuff like that. we are a little bit concerned about. But we'll have more on that in the next couple of days. The Colts again had their final preseason game on Saturday at 1 p.m. And then they have roster cutdowns due by Sunday at 6 p.m. These are Eastern Time, of course. And we'll see what this first Colts roster looks like come for the 2026 season.

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