Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts 2023 Schedule Reveal Special!

Episode Date: May 12, 2023

Join us as we dive into the Indianapolis Colts' 2023 regular season schedule following its announcement. What are the marquee matchups, are there any primetime games, and which matchups conjure the most and least confidence? Destin Adams (@TheDestinAdams) joins to discuss.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist who can take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are.  Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedon today to get 10% off your first month.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether or not you are a planner, today is an exciting day because we finally know the Indianapolis Colts 2023 schedule. 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. What is up everybody? Thanks for tuning in and making us your, I'm going to say last listen of the day since it's a live evening show. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

I am Jake Arthur. I'm joined today by Destin Adams. Zach's voice is blown out at the moment. He's dealing with something. So Destin is kind enough to fill in. He is our colleague over at horseshoehuddle.com, and he is also one half of the Saddle Up podcast alongside Sean McGinnis. So, Dustin, thank you, brother, for coming in and filling in for Zach today. Hey, any time.

I mean, still waiting for the day I get to do a lockdown episode where everyone is present, but I'll keep filling in when I need to. That's true. Even ones we've planned before, like months, months back, one of us had to bow out. Still waiting. That's true. We've got to make it happen at this point. But today, we're here because it is a schedule release special. We didn't have to pull any topics out of the hat. We know what we are talking about today.

So as of 8 p.m. Eastern, the NFL announced the entire NFL slate of games. We now know the Colts' regular season schedule, as well as their preseason schedule, not to be left out. So today we're going to show you all 18 weeks, break down the biggest matchups, any primetime games, maybe, when they go out to Germany, and anything else that you guys might want to know. So let me go ahead and throw this graphic up, courtesy of the Colts.

They put this out there on Twitter. Nice, beautiful thing to cover up our mugs right now. So it doesn't show the preseason schedule, but that is week one at the Buffalo Bills on August 12th at one. Week two at home against the Chicago Bears on August 19th at 7 p.m. And then week three at the Philadelphia Eagles on August 24th at 8 p.m. So that's nice. Shane Steichen gets a nice little homecoming there.

So as you guys can see, this is a nice schedule. I really don't hate it. I don't have any huge gripes about it. As you see, there's no true primetime games. They do have two in week 15 and week 18 that are subject to flex. So we'll see what happens with those. They could get flexed to four o'clock. I think they could even go into primetime.

There's new TV deals out there. So a lot of that is kind of muddled at the moment. There's a lot more to dig into. It's a whole nother conversation. But Destin and I were just kind of digesting this a little bit before the show. Again, for the second year in a row loaded with AFC South matchups in the beginning. It looks like you got Jacksonville

and Houston the first two. You get a little break there, but then Tennessee and Jacksonville in weeks five and six. So man, Dustin, what are you thinking about this schedule so far? Yeah, I mean, so it's similar to last year when it comes to the AFC South, like you said, four in the first six with both Jacksonville matchups in the first six, Houston week two, Tennessee week five. It's kind of crazy that there's just like a huge gap after that week six game with Jacksonville until you get the next AFC South game too. So week six against Jacksonville, and you don't go against an AFC South opponent again until week 13. So we will go on just about a two-month break from a divisional matchup. We go to Jacksonville October 15th, and we will be going to Tennessee on December 3rd.

They could potentially use it. If the first part of their AFC South schedule went anything like it did last year, they could use it. We don't talk about last year, Jake. We don't talk about last year. Yeah, we don't talk about Bruno, and we don't talk about last year. But unimaginatively, they end the season again, second year in a row, at home against the Texans.

Will they be battling for one of the top spots in the draft order again? We'll see. Will the Texans screw themselves out of the number one pick? We will see. Hey, they can't. Arizona has it, right? Oh, you know what? That's right.

Hey, Houston has no reason to lose games. Oh, man. Yeah, this is a total money ball game for them in week 18 now. But no, I, I, I really don't hate this. You know,

of course we'll talk about more of it in the next segment, but of course they've got the buy there in week 11 after Germany. I, the teams actually do have the option of whether or not to take it. I don't know why any team wouldn't. Maybe if you don't take it, you get to pick your opponent the next week though, correct? I'm not sure how that works, but I just know the only reason a team wouldn't want to do it is if it's super early in the season.

If you don't want your bye in week five or something. So do you remember last year, packers jets game right after green bay was overseas um what i think that was like one of the things that like sauce gardner said after the game um was that they picked us like they picked us for this game instead of a buy and then the jets beat them um so i think that's how it works though if you don't take the buy that you can it's probably like picking from like a select amount um because there's so many things the league has to do um the buy week's a little interesting because some people will look at week 11 as a buy and say that that's late but it's actually the earliest buy the colts have had in three years last last year was week 14 and the

year before that week 12 yeah in a in an 18 week now, it's a lot closer to midseason than it is late. But, again, that allows them to catch their breath. Again, if the season starts this year like it did last year, they could really need that bye. But it's – I don't know. I really don't love the team you cover playing overseas just because like you know it's gotta affect him somehow um but yeah that that bye week is not gonna be your typical bye week they're gonna catch up on their resetting their entire bodies from jet lag and everything but

if uh looks like we got some rematches in here, you know, Raiders, Steelers. There's some revenge game possibilities as well. Carolina Panthers, Week 9, that is an enticing one. Yeah, I mean, any chance you're going to get these storylines? I thought Carolina was one of the ones where if the Colts ended up on that like Thursday slate and you have to kind of match up teams, that Carolina had the storylines to get you there. We're going to talk a little bit more about those in-depth storylines in a little bit. But the Carolina game has the revenge factor.

It has the rookie quarterback facing each other factor. Because by week nine, I think you would hope Anthony Richardson's playing by then, even if it's not week one. But that was the one where I thought if we were going to get one, I thought the Panthers would be a prime spot for it. But instead, it's a 405 start instead of the one, I guess. So that's our version of primetime this year. Yeah, I don't hate it whatsoever. I

really, I really don't last year at Biddle. They wanted all those primetime games. They wanted home ones. They got like five or something and it went poorly. So I'm, I'm cool with them hitting the reset button and not having as many primetime games this year. Yeah. When you, when you had that rough, rough five to six weeks stretch weeks stretch um one of which got to be the minnesota game um on nfl network i believe even um but just just a just a just a rough few weeks there um in a row with uh the colts having to put the team of last year in front of the millions and millions of people in all across the world. So we, we won't have to go through that this year.

We won't have to go through that. No, absolutely not. And I won't have to get home at 2 a.m. from the stadium anymore, which I'm pretty geeked about. But next, which of these games are the most premier of matchups for the Colts? And obviously a lot of that rides on Anthony Richardson and when he starts playing. But first a word from our pals over at Built. If you guys are looking for a delicious snack, but don't want all the sugar and calories,

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and how quickly the Colts can maximize Anthony Richardson. Also check that out on HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has got his new series that he has put out now. So you'll definitely do not want to miss that. So, Destin, premier matchups this season. Again, primetime games, no true primetime games, but they do have Week 15 at home against the Steelers, which is a flex possibility,

and then Week 18 at home against the Texans. That's not going to be a super enticing matchup. That Texans one, I can't imagine. But Steelers could be nice. You know, if Kenny Pickett is taking that next step and Anthony Richardson is out there, or if the Colts happen to be playing well behind Gardner, Minchie, whatever, the league could decide to go Steelers, Colts, put them in some sort of primary matchup, a 4 o'clock kick, Saturday, whatever. But, yeah, do either of those matchups really talk to you?

I can't imagine that Texas one does. Well, it depends. So let's say Anthony Richardson doesn't start week one. They decide to, like, wait it off a little bit so he's not there for the CJ Stroud matchup in week two. If that happens, then week 18 could be the first time we see Stroud versus Richardson. And if you're going through Colts nation throughout the draft process, you could probably make the argument that those were the two most sought after quarterbacks with

this fan base. Will Levis being another that was talked about quite a bit. But those two being the forefront of a lot of fans and ideas of who that quarterback would be. So if Richardson doesn't play week two, that week 18 one could be a lot of fun for that reason. Week 15, I may just have some PTSD, Jake, when it comes to the Steelers, because man, they have our number. It just feels like every chance. And we've had some fun moments. We had Pat McAfee throwing for the first down on Thanksgiving.

But even that, when you end up losing, you have multiple games where Big Ben went just off against this Colts defense for years. 500 yards, four touchdowns. Martavius Bryant catching for 200 yards, four touchdowns. Martavius Bryant catching for 200 yards, three touchdowns. Just unreal fantasy numbers put up against the Colts in this time. So anytime I see Pittsburgh on the schedule, it's a rough one. So I guess we'll see.

Maybe part of me hopes it's not on primetime for that reason. Yeah. And then I guess we can kind of call the Germany game like a prime time premium because it'll be on national television just at 930 in the morning. Exactly. Honestly, I again, I mentioned I don't love the team you cover playing overseas, but I do really like the 930 a.m. games. I mean, your day starts early and then it's just football all day you know sun up the sun down but no week 10 Patriots it's technically a away game for the Colts so they're they're not coughing up a home game on that one nine home eight away again 9 30 a.m with the bye week the next week

I don't hate it if you if you got an away game against the Patriots and you don't have to play it at Gillette which is a place that obviously the Colts don't have a wealth of quality performances to say um so I don't I don't mind that one at all so yeah it definitely isn't awful um I mean if you're gonna go overseas and I think it's a cool experience for the fans over there I think it's a cool experience for the guys to kind of get that experience. It also brought us a picture of Grover in one of those little German hats. So that's a win just for that content alone. But if you're going to go overseas, you always want it to be an away game, unless you're Jacksonville, who's there every single year.

They're going back-to-back, aren't they're staying twice yeah yeah i think one of them's a divisional game they have the titans over there right yeah i think so and it's funny because for one of the more passionate home fan bases and all the duval and everything their second home is could not be farther away so that's yeah i don't know so let's get into some of these premier matchups though so obviously jacksonville and houston the first couple weeks week three we could get anthony richardson against lamar jackson in baltimore that one could be really fun uh that could be a really fun matchup uh rams week four isn't i think the rams would be better than they were last year.

I don't think it's gonna be as big of a rough patch as it was. The Titans week five at home, that could be Anthony Richardson versus Will Levis. We'll see. The Titans are another team that have kind of had the Colts number since Andrew Luck retired. The death match week six at Jacksonville. What do you think, man? Do you like the placement of this one?

I mean, it's not, it's not super early in the season this time. See, like I have always just been a person like all these curses that the Colts are trying to break. It's legit. Are you one of these people that counts the tie last year as the week one curse being broken?

I don't know. No, it's, it's not a win. So, yeah. So the week year as the week one curse being broken i i don't know no it's it's not a win so yeah so the week so the week one curse is still there um i think i would have loved to go to jacksonville week one just have both there like both curses on the line the same time uh two birds one stone action um and you don't have to worry about them um so week six we'll see like it's kind of funny that if the Colts are going to break both curses this year, they have to sweep Jacksonville, which seems hard. Unlikely. Yeah, like an unlikely situation. So now we have ourself in a spot where we could be only breaking one of those curses.

If we get swept by Jacksonville, obviously obviously we're pushing that curse off another year. So I don't like that Jacksonville's week one, it's not the road game just because we're having to have both those curses get talked about all year long. But we'll know by week six, if those two curses have been broken. Yeah. So for those of you who don't know, we're talking about, so what is it like 2013? Is that the last week one win for the Colts? Yes. We're going on a decade now that the Colts haven't won in week one, which seems crazy. And it's something that makes you believe in curses Colts won in Jacksonville was when Darius Butler was out there getting interceptions. It was a while ago. We were all in diapers. There were no cell phones. The internet was still being created, but last time we won in Jacksonville.

There's not much to say about that one other than let's just get it over with. Is it going to be a loss? Are they going to break the curse? Whatever. Let's see. Okay. So we mentioned the Panthers week nine. I'll get into that one later because our next segment,

we're going to talk about games we feel really good and really bad about. Let's see. Titans again at Tennessee week 13. That's not been a great place for them to play. Bengals. So I'm not going to put the Colts in any barometer games, any measuring stick games this year, but it could be interesting. A late season game at the Bengals, that's obviously one of the best teams in the league with an incredibly high-powered offense and a decent defense. That could be one where if the Colts perform really well in that, it could be an encouraging sign for their future.

I mean, you could definitely make – I mean, I feel pretty confident saying that the Bengals are the best team on this schedule, that the Colts are going to play this year as well. So in the AFC, a quarterback like Joe Burrow, the Colts have a couple wins against Cincinnati in recent history, even one against Joe Burrow in comeback fashion. But we – so that will be an interesting one. Fourteen weeks in, we'll see how many games that means Anthony Richardson's in. We could be getting a little bit into Richardson's groove.

He'll be in there by then. I agree. I still think, if you ask me right now when he plays, I still think it's week one. I just feel it. Yeah, gun to my head I would say that too because I think that's their intention. Yeah.

I think they want to get him ready for week one because a lot of teams come out and say like I think Carolina was like no we have a different starter right now and like the Colts are going to say Gardner Menchie's their starter right now but they're gonna try to get Anthony ready for week one it'll be up to how quickly he can grasp things. I feel like they've been very smart about the wording with Gardner, even at his intro press conference. Every time they were asked about it, Gardner's going to be here to compete. We haven't heard that quarterback one, who's the starter right now. Obviously, when training camp comes around, we're going to have to see who gets

the opening starting reps But They've done a good job right now where It's a competition we're going to let it play out But I think they want him to start As much as we want him to start Yeah now Gardner knows the deal And the contract reflects that as well

Like they did not give him some Big backup money deal like His money is Very expendable. They don't need to get him out on the field right away. Next, which of these games on the schedule do we feel the best about? Which ones do we feel absolutely terrible about, if any? Coming up next. All right, Dustin, I'll let you lead off. Are there any games here? Mind you,

this is pretty much a rebuilding team. Are there any games on this slate that you are just slamming the table? Yes. The Colts are going to win. I feel pretty confident that we get a Houston game. I think that roster is in a larger rebuilding spot when it comes to the amount of talent spread across it. I think it's a very similar situation with a new coaching staff in place. A lot of new players are going to be integrated this year.

So two teams in similar situations, just a little bit different on how they operated the offseason. And the Colts have done pretty well to get at least one game against Houston over the past few years. Obviously, this past year they tied one, lost one. So I feel pretty confident that we're not going to get swept by Houston. But with where the Colts are after that, I mean, it gets harder after that to say that there's games on here that I feel very confident about. I think a team on here that is going to be worse than a lot of people expect is the Buccaneers. I think the Buccaneers could be pretty low this year. A little bit different vibe out of Tampa than what we've seen these past couple of seasons. The coaching staff

there this past year just looked lost. So we'll see what that looks like there. But I think Tampa is probably the second game after one of the Houston that I feel like the best about. But I keep seeing everybody talk about how easy the schedule is. But I think the Colts are in a weird spot right now where we just don't know enough things to say we're fully confident in anything. Yeah, the Colts do have the fourth easiest strength of schedule based on last year's standings of their current opponents. I'm really just going to parrot exactly what you said. I'm pretty confident they'll win at least one of the Houston games. I'm more confident saying the Week 18 game

because it's more likely they'll have a rookie quarterback in there. We just saw how things went against Houston last year. It wasn't great. So I'm more confident in the Week 18 game. I think the Colts will be hopefully gelling and getting on the right track by that point. I think Houston will start showing improvement there as well. Um, but they're more likely to be taking on that rookie quarterback in week 18. And hopefully Anthony Richardson will really be hitting, hitting some sort of stride by

the end of the season. The Buccaneers as well they do still have plenty of weapons uh still on offense but you know as far as quarterback and everything goes i'm not confident in that i don't their their defense isn't just that ridiculous unit anymore that it once was or at least i don't think it will be um and the colts defense, I think, will still be plenty good. So I'm more confident in the Colts defense stopping whatever Tampa can offer in their offense. And then, let's see, I feel pretty comfortable with the Raiders game, too, honestly. I think that's one I would pick for a win as well.

I mean, the Raiders lost to the Jeff Saturday Colts last year. And then two years before that, Jonathan Taylor had a huge game against them or was the year before. Regardless, the Colts have been able to beat the Raiders quite handily in recent years. They do have a loss on there within the last few years, but the Raiders are just a team that I think the Colts have figured out generally. So I would feel pretty comfortable with that one. When you play them as much as we have, I'd hope that you get a little bit of understanding there. They might as well be the fifth AFC South team, the way that they just end up on this calendar every single season. And I will say Jimmy Garoppolo is probably the perfect quarterback

for Josh McDaniel's system right now. But this late in the season, is Garoppolo even going to be out there? No intentional shade, but the guy hasn't been able to stay healthy. So the second to last game of the year, can you even count on him being out there? I don't know. I feel comfortable with that one. On the flip side, are there any games that you just want to skip because you just don't feel confident at all? Well, like I said earlier, the Colts on week one, not a fun one. So we have Jacksonville at week one. So now we have to have that in our heads.

As we said earlier, a curse against playing at Jacksonville. The Jags have just had our number when we go to Jacksonville. Week 6, that's going to come around. Carolina, that revenge, I just feel the way the Frank Reich tenure ended, I think that's going to come to bite us week 9. I think that's one to watch to bite us week nine. I think that one, that's one to watch for sure. One of the only four o'clock games of the cold tab on the season right now, that Bengals one is tough just because I, like I said earlier,

I think that's the best team that we're playing this season. So you use the word measuring stick a little bit earlier. So it could be good for that for sure. And like I said earlier with Pittsburgh, every time I see them on the schedule, I just think of all the butt whoopings I've had to watch over the years. So until we prove otherwise, that's going to be on my mind as well. Yeah, I really have no qualms with that at all.

I think that Saints game is going to be pretty tough now that they've got a pretty good quarterback back in the fold with Derek Carr. Bengals game, obviously, while I think the Colts, if they make it interesting, that'll be a good showing for them, but I have no expectations of that right now. Steelers, obviously, until they actually beat them, it's like a totally different team than the team the Steelers teams that used to kill them but it's still the same result it seems the the Falcons game I think has it could be a I think it could be a shootout honestly in this one I'm it's not one I'm not confident in but I'm actually kind of intrigued by it. But really the game I feel worst about,

I immediately just had an image in my head is, is the Panthers game. It seems like the ultimate Frank Reich revenge game. Like I can just see, you know, the whole city of Charlotte is going to be behind Frank in this one. It's like, it could be getting ugly. It's late in the game and the Panthers get like a defensive touchdown or like

some long rushing touchdown, just pan to the sideline. It's Frank just like shouting and cheering and everything. And it's, it's the image of revenge that that's exactly what I see in that Panthers game. I do not feel good about that one whatsoever. So the PG version of what we saw from Nick Sirianni last year in Indianapolis, when he let it be known how he felt post Frank Reich.

Yeah. It's, it's the past, the pastor Frank version of whatever Nick Sirianni puts out there. Yeah. I don't think Frank has it in him to have that same uh colorful commentary i would low-key love it if we just got like our first just frank reich f-bomb and oppressor right right after the game um man like or if you just see like him with a sound bite where he comes up

to the mic and he's like jeff saturday over me over me Jeff Saturday oh yeah because that's the thing it's it's not even just that he was fired he was then replaced by Jeff Saturday like there's oh there's so much that I'm not gonna say I I'm not gonna say I want it for Frank but I could see it like there's such thing as the football gods and this seems like a terrible recipe for the Colts on that one yeah definitely feels like a hard knocks missed out, not having the Colts last year for sure. They really wish that they were a year later on that one. Well,

they got the Carson Wentz Colts. So that's, they got, they got plenty. Yeah. We've had a lot of eventful years, sadly. Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. Well, I think that is it for us, everybody. Every dayers. Thank you again for hanging out with us this week. Be sure to check back with us as we continue to bring you content from the Colts facility.

OTAs are still underway, the offseason program. We'll give you our thoughts on what we think the Colts still ought to be doing. I know Zach is going to have some geeky stuff cooked up as to film stuff. And now that he knows the schedule, it's going to get real. I know he's going to have some really good stuff coming your guys way. If you guys don't already follow at locked on Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL, and at Zach X two on Twitter,

also at the Dustin Adams, also subscribe to locked on Colts on YouTube, as well as horseshoe huddle. So you guys can check out Dustin and shots podcast. And really wherever you guys listen to podcasts, we're everywhere. Now you guys can check out Dustin and Shad's podcast and really wherever you guys listen to podcasts. We're everywhere now. We would also love your ratings and reviews. That helps pump us up on the ratings. And with that, we will see you guys tomorrow.